Despite the importance of the quality of the venue and the experience for incentive travel, most contracts are silent on quality.
The quality of the experience is among the most important aspects of an incentive travel program, and yet most contracts don’t talk about quality issues. But they should, said industry attorney Joshua L. Grimes, Grimes Law Offices, in a recent SITE Global webinar.
From the condition of the facilities and the level of services being provided to how the venue’s personnel deliver those services, incentive planners should be able to rely on knowing that the same level of quality they see on site visits and in the property’s marketing materials is the same quality they can expect at the time of their event. “The challenge is, you don’t always see that,” said Grimes.
He recommends first and foremost that planners monitor the property before the event to make sure it’s ready for your group. “If you hear through the grapevine there are issues, address it up front,” he advised. But don’t depend on the grapevine if you don’t have to. “I can’t stress enough that planners should do a site visit just before the meeting and document everything.”
“Have a quality clause in your contract that says that if the supplier or the venue fails to deliver as promised, remedies should include the right to cancel, or if, as happens in many cases, it’s too late to cancel, a discount off of services or other or other damages.”
For example, include language that says the hotel agrees that the quality represented on its website for the services that your group will be using will be the same or better at the time of the meeting. What if the hotel wants instead to say in the clause that the hotel agrees to keep the Mobile Guide stars or the AAA rating that the property has at the time of the meeting? Grimes isn’t too keen on that plan, because while those designations do have meaning, but not sufficient for the purposes you need for your event.
So what would be key indicators of quality for your incentive group? Staffing is an important component of quality for most groups, so get it in the contract if you need a particular kind of staffing, such as a specific number of people available at the check-in during your group’s arrival, or a specific number of banquet servers to serve your group’s meal functions.
If your group doesn’t like to wait more than five at five minutes at the bar and that’s an important quality factor, talk about how many bartenders the venue can provide. If your group is particularly concerned about food allergies, require that the servers be educated about how to avoid cross-contamination, label ingredients, etc. Grimes added that there should be a remedy for non-compliance as well.
Construction and renovation is another area where the venue’s definition of acceptable quality may differ from that of the group, he said. For incentives, you don’t want to have a lot of scaffolding and construction debris around your group’s guest rooms and meeting spaces.
Sometimes the property won’t appreciate how their renovation of a hallway is a quality issue if your guests can still get to their rooms. But for a high-end incentive, you don’t want people walking through scaffolding. “It’s important to note these issues beforehand, because the property may not realize how it impacts your group,” Grimes said.
He suggests you include language in the contract that specifies that the hotel must notify the group of renovation or construction within 10 days of when the general manager becomes aware of it. And if you’re not notified promptly within that 10-day period, there should be damages, such as discounts to attendees and the group. And put a number on it, say at least 10% off of the room rate and any amenities attendees may order. “If you don’t put a number on it, you will fight about it.”
And it’s not just scaffolding that can be an issue. For example, if the meeting space has a large picture window with a view of the mountains that will be boarded up, you should be told about that too. That view could be a key meeting why you’re at that venue — people want to be able to see the mountains. And if those windows are boarded up because they’re doing construction, that’s a major quality issue for the group, even if the hotel still has the golf and pool. You may still choose to go ahead with the meeting, he said, but ask for a discount off the master account.
“The contract also should require that all amenities your group intends to use — swimming pool, restaurants, bars, spa — are all going to be open and available and not be impinged by construction or renovation,” he said.
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