Successful events are founded in successful partnerships…

To get the best deals, planners must raise their negotiating game by thinking like sales managers, knowing the value of their business and being more flexible with dates, rates, meeting space and other logistics.

Convention center and hotel contracts are evolving documents sensitive to both market conditions and new risks that need to be managed. The anti-discrimination clause is a prominent example.

There is room to maneuver when it comes to convention center contracts, and the facilities can be accommodating in view of client value and client relationships.

Negotiations take on greater significance for planners as a strong seller’s market drives up costs across the board.

For those who engage in contract negotiations by profession, it might seem that an association meeting planner’s job is a dream by comparison. But, not in today’s newly emerging marketplace.