In terms of planning events, things went from bad during the pandemic to worse in 2025 for Brett Sterenson, president of Hotel Lobbyists.

The Washington, D.C.-based planner for associations and government agencies canceled 80 meetings last year due to funding cuts, a decrease in travel and the prolonged government shutdown.

“That’s not a statistic any planner wants associated with their name,” says Sterenson.

It is, however, an example of the importance of mastering the art of contract negotiations.

As experienced meeting and convention organizers can attest, the bottom could drop out of an event at any moment. Sometimes, the gathering can be saved, albeit in a limited form. In other cases, the focus shifts from generating as much revenue as possible to protecting the organization from crippling losses.

Even in the best-case scenarios, it’s become an uphill battle for associations to lock in favorable hotel room rates. Securing manageable F&B and audiovisual pricing are significant additional challenges for cash-strapped groups dependent on their membership’s attendance to break even for the fiscal year.

While the stakes are high, there’s no need to treat contract talks as a showdown at the OK Corral. Cooler heads and colder data will prevail for the well-prepared event planner, says Alyson Corey, vice president of conventions for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA).

“Negotiations are really just conversations, not something you need to fear or be stressed about,” she says. “You’re not walking into an old-fashioned showdown, you’re simply talking to people who want your event to succeed just as much as you do.”

Here are 15 ways to successfully negotiate hotel contracts before your next event.

1. Know Your Product

Regardless of whether you are new to an association or job, or have been there for years, it’s the planner’s job to understand the scope of the meeting. Information is power, says Jonathan Howe, Esq., president and founding partner of Howe & Hutton, Ltd.

Planners, like courtroom attorneys, are essentially making their case during negotiations. The goal is to earn a verdict that your event is so valuable to a hotel that you can win concessions.

Historical attendance, booking patterns and spend data are essential leverage points as each adds a layer of economic impact that your event represents. “You have to look at the total value you’re bringing to the hotel,” says Howe. “The more data you have, the better you can negotiate.”

Corey adds, “When your requests are rooted in real data, there’s not much to disagree about.”

2. Study Past Invoices

Almost as important as knowing your event’s history is researching past charges for similar meetings, says Connie Bergeron, CMP Fellow, president of Site Selection Solutions, Inc., based in Charleston, S.C.

Food and beverage is one line item that can quickly turn into a “budget buster” if you don’t have comparisons to draw upon, warns Bergeron. If your event has never spent more than $50,000 in F&B previously, it wouldn’t be prudent to accept a proposed $100,000 catering fee up front, she notes. “Without knowing the actual previous invoice data, a group could agree to a catering minimum spend that is not achievable and would definitely not be covered by the budgeted spend and, for associations and nonprofit organizations, not covered by the meeting registration fee,” Bergeron explains.

3. Build in Flexibility

Association planners in charge of a citywide event book at least three to five years in advance. Corey, for instance, is already accepting bids from cities for 2029, 2030, 2031 and 2032.

While it’s reasonable to plan on about 4-6% year-over-year attendance growth, unforeseen circumstances like weak economic conditions, poor industry health and declining travel trends can stall momentum. “No one can predict years out, and 2020 proved that,” says Corey. “If conditions change, the contract has to allow for adjustments.”

4. Wait to Book If You Can

Smaller association meetings that require only one hotel for all of their needs have the luxury of waiting, says Sterenson. He’s found events of about 100 attendees can secure their best deal about six months prior to the meeting. “Hotels are hungriest three to six months out when they still have holes in the calendar they need to fill,” he says.

5. Show Some Flexibility

Mayur Patel, who, as director of events, runs AAOHA’s series of small annual meetings, adds that intimate gatherings can still secure concessions by being flexible on dates and locations.

For instance, AAOHA opts to hold its Atlanta-based event at the Gas South District in Duluth, a suburb with substantially lower costs than those offered downtown or in Buckhead.

Howe agrees with the strategy, noting that hotels will be more willing to offer discounts for events that occur during weekdays. That way the venue can keep its rooms filled during traditionally slow times while freeing leisure travelers to book for higher rates during the weekend. Another way to play into a hotel’s hands is to book during a shoulder season, which often has better rates than peak-demand moments. “The more flexibility you have on dates and locations, the better your deal is going to be,” says Howe.

6. Use F&B as a Bargaining Chip

Food and beverage, which requires a minimum order, is a key way for hotels to earn revenue. Going above that basic payment is essentially gravy to the venue, and planners can use that to their advantage, says Patel. Planners can use overages above the F&B minimum to negotiate relief on attrition or room pickup. If you’re really lucky, the hotel will waive meeting room rental fees for going above and beyond on nourishment, he adds. “If I’m spending $5,000 to $10,000 over my food and beverage minimum, that’s leverage I can use to have a conversation about pickup flexibility,” says Patel.

7. Hold the Line on Attrition Rates

Attrition rates, which are penalties for not successfully filling the number of hotel rooms pledged by your event, add up quickly. Moreover, the manner in which occupancy is measured can be a sticking point. All of the experts we spoke to recommend striving for a minimum attrition slippage of 20% and requiring credit for all room nights that can be identified as booked by meeting attendees. “Some hotels stipulate that groups will only be credited for reservations booked ‘inside the group’s block’ when calculating attrition, which associations should not agree to under any circumstance,” says Bergeron.

8. Buy Yourself Time

Among the top causes of planners’ biggest headaches is the trend toward later registration. While some attendees will take advantage of perks signing up early, the trend is toward waiting until close to the cut-off time.

Patel has taken to asking for a three-week cutoff before attrition kicks in rather than the traditional month. The switch paid dividends recently when a late registration surge filled the hotel room block at the three-week point. He recalls hotel staff had called the week earlier to warn him of a potentially tough outcome, and the extra time spared attrition fees.

9. Verify Attendance and Room Pickup

Howe insists associations should negotiate the right to verify attendance and room pickup independently. All attendees staying at the hotel — regardless of booking method — should count toward room block credit.

Look for inconsistencies such as how an attendee’s name is listed. The person could use their formal name to register for the conference but use a nickname for the hotel. That difference between, let’s say, Jonathan and Jon could cost you if you’re not careful, notes Howe, who describes the strategy as “trust but verify.”

10. Have Non-Negotiables

Hotels are going to come into contract talks with stipulations like F&B minimums and AV costs. Planners should be ready to counterpunch with must-haves of their own. Common sense requirements, like mutual indemnification and the right to forecast, are likely to be accepted if you are acting in good faith, says Corey. “I almost never get pushback, mostly because what I’m asking for isn’t wild, it’s standard, reasonable and backed by the event’s history,” says Corey. “I don’t ask for anything that’s unfair or leaves the other side totally exposed. When your requests are rooted in real data, there’s not much to disagree about.”

Patel, who plans much smaller events than his teammate, has other priorities: “The biggest key for me is not having to pay meeting room rental when we already have a food and beverage minimum,” says Patel.

11. Limit Your Risks

We all hope to not experience another pandemic in our lifetime, but wishing doesn’t make it so. Planners need to prepare for the worst, whether it’s a health scare or natural disaster. Howe says there are two primary methods to be prepared: writing a force majeure clause into the contract and purchasing insurance.

While force majeure, which refers to an “act of God” preventing a conference from occurring, sounds like it should be straightforward, it often is not. “I’ve seen the exact same force majeure language interpreted two completely different ways at the same hotel brand,” says Sterenson.

Corey says the clause needs to be modernized to cover government restrictions, travel bans and pandemics, given the events of the past few years.

As for insurance, the pandemic proved the value of protecting your association’s major investment, says Howe. “Associations that had insurance in place before COVID fared dramatically better than those that didn’t,” he notes.

12. Stay in Communication

Citywide events booked years in advance are not the only gatherings at risk of changing forecasts. For instance, Sterenson may have been able to predict some of the early 2025 disruptions associated with the administration change, but the late-year extended government shutdown was less likely.

When funding dries up and attendees can’t travel, there’s not much planners can do except communicate the situation to the venue. Depending on the current economic environment, hotels may be willing to push the booking to a future date or make other concessions to allow an event to happen even if it’s on a smaller scale than predicted. “I can’t blame you for bad news; I can blame you for not telling me,” says Howe of a hotel’s mindset. “Honesty preserves relationships.”

13. Build Relationships

As Howe alluded to above, the events industry is built on relationships. There has been a noticeable degree of turnover in the past few years, so some long-standing partnerships (and the handshake agreements that went with them) have gone by the wayside. But fostering good will is always a good idea, particularly at venues your organization is likely to revisit.

“‘Relationship selling’ was a buzzword from prior years of hospitality sales training, and we have refreshed the concept to be ‘relationship buying,’” says Bergeron. “The more time devoted to forming friendships with key hospitality sales managers, the better the partnerships are. Quality relationships between event organizers/purchasers and hospitality sales managers result in the important negotiating points being achieved to each party’s satisfaction.”

14. Get Legal Help

No matter how experienced a meeting planner is, they almost surely won’t be fully trained on contract law. Bergeron says understanding your limits will help your association immensely. “If there are any portions of the contract that a planner does not truly understand, the time to ask questions is before the document is signed,” she says.

Planners also need to be aware of what’s required in their organization’s bylaws and share with the venue as quickly as possible. You don’t want a nonstarter to implode talks late in discussions, adds Bergeron.

15. Remember It Never Hurts to Ask

Planners should remember that the worst thing that a hotel can do is say “no” to your demands, says Patel. The only certainty in negotiations is that you won’t win a better rate or other concession if you don’t ask for one, he notes. “I always recommend listing about 10 concessions in your RFP, then deciding which five are truly non-negotiable before you start the conversation,” says Patel.

Hotels and planners are both looking to earn the most revenue possible while incurring the least amount of risk. Still, some negotiations will be more challenging than others. Bergeron says to make the most of the venues that work with you: “Always be appreciative and thankful for every excellent hotel sales partner,” she says. | AC&F |