Improved Communication = Better Buying Process

Transcription

1 Improved Communication = Better Buying Process P R E S E N T E D B Y B E T S Y B O N D U R A N T, C M M, C T E P R E S I D E N T, B O N D U R A N T C O N S U L T I N G C I C W E B I N A R J U L Y 2 1,

2 Betsy Bondurant, CMM, CTE President, Bondurant Consulting 30+ years in meeting and event industry 360 perspective: Meetings, events, travel and trade shows Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) Procurement operations Hotel sales and marketing Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Volunteer Leader: MPI, GBTA, PCMA, CIC 2

3 Who is in the audience? 1. Planners 2. Hoteliers 3. 3 rd Party Planners 4. DMO 5. Other 3

4 erfp Tsunami 4

5 GBTA 2014 erfp Research # of erfps compared to 2013 to 2012, increased or greatly increased from 2012 to 2013 Suppliers reported asking for additional information to complete an erfp 42% of the time. The top 3 reasons declined in 2013 were: the space was unavailable (74%) rooms were unavailable (69%) arrival-departure pattern (54%)

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7 Record Demand in North America

8 Green is not for Go!

9 Little New Meeting Builds

10 Transient vs. Group

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12 Planners, how have the current market conditions affected your erfp strategy? 1. Send out erfps to more cities 2. Send out erfps to more hotels in same city 3. Send out erfps to more cities & more hotels 4. Have not changed my erfp strategy 12

13 Suppliers, Compared to 2015, is your erfp volume: 1. About the same 2. Decreased somewhat 3. Increased somewhat 4. Increased significantly 13

14 RFP Channels for Groups erfp Client Direct Hotel Website 3 rd Party Hotel Hotel Sales Hotel Agents Global Sales

15 Who touches your lead? erfp Sales Manager Proposal Lead Control Director of Sales System Input Sales Manager Rev. Mgmt Client

16 Planner s sourcing ecosystem Compliance Legal Hotel Internal Client Procurement 3 rd Party Planners DMO Travel Finance

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18 Planners, will you respond to the following from a hotelier looking for clarification: Phone call 3. Questions via erfp tool 4. No additional communication 18

19 Verbal and written communication is vital 19

20 Challenges with availability 20

21 Planners: What have been challenges in finding availability? 1. First choice hotel not available 2. First choice destination not available 3. Costs are more than budgeted 4. Fewer concessions are being offered 5. Day of week pattern must include a weekend day 21

22 Hoteliers, do you feel empowered to provide date/space alternatives to your clients? 1. Always 2. Occasionally 3. Rarely 4. Never 22

23 Planners: What are you doing differently? 1. Including more destinations/hotels in initial search 2. Booking further out in planning process 3. Increasing meeting budget to account for higher rates 4. Considering a 3 rd party to provide sourcing expertise 5. Providing more information on budget and history in RFP 23

24 What the Hotelier Wants: History Budget Meeting Objective 24

25 Hoteliers: Are you receiving enough information from your clients to sell their meeting internally to the DOS and Revenue Manager? 1. Always 2. Most of the time 3. Some of the time 4. Rarely 5. Never 25

26 Planner Best Practices Include your history Disclose your budget Share the objective of the meeting Identify Make or Break concessions Indicate # of properties included in the RFP

27 Planner Best Practices Qualify venues for fit Book it or close the loop Educate your clients Limit number of cities and properties 3 cities and 5 properties in each

28 Hotelier Best Practices "Just Respond" Turn it down if you need to Use the available technology If specific information is requested respond to questions or details outlined

29 Hotelier Best Practices Meet deadlines Be Transparent Respond to the right client Build relationships through communication

30 Based on our conversation, will you do any of the following? 1. Use a longer sourcing timeline 2. Inform leadership of market conditions 3. Revise your RFP content to include more information on history, budget, objectives 4. Adjust your budgets 30

31 Based on our conversation, will you do any of the following? 1. Share the challenges with the specific piece of business 2. Develop alternatives scenarios 3. Inform them of market conditions affecting the proposal 4. All of the above 5. None of the above 31

32 Q & A 32

33 Improving erfp effectiveness White Paper: EX/RequestsforProposals.aspx Collaboration between GBTA and CIC Apex Standards Working Group 33

34 Thank you! Betsy Bondurant, CMM, CTE, HMCC 34