Greenlight Guides

Money, Money, Money: Tips for Keeping Your Meeting Under Budget

These days, everyone is looking for tips to keep a meeting under budget and tricks to save money on meeting planning. With so many details to consider, and rising costs at just about every turn, keeping a meeting on budget can seem daunting. But with a little savvy and a lot of advance planning, you can cut costs on your event without sacrificing quality.

Without question, the best way to save money is to adopt the three-p strategy: Proper prior planning. When you arm yourself with firm objectives, a solid budget checklist and a clear idea of your meeting's requirements and historical data, you're setting yourself up for success in cost negotiations. Start early, and the savings will follow.

Negotiation is another key to saving money. Never be afraid to shop around or ask vendors for a better deal – the first quoted price is rarely the lowest. Meeting planners can save thousands of dollars just by asking for a better price or complimentary services. Remember that vendors want your business and will usually work hard to secure it. Also, when negotiating, it's important to know your stuff. If you come to the table with a clear idea of current fair market prices, you're in a much better position when discussing quotes.

Below are some additional suggestions for creating the best meeting possible without breaking the bank.

• Consider public venues outside of hotels like theaters, restaurants and aquariums for great group rates. Universities often have affordable meeting spaces for smaller groups.
• If the situation permits, consider an outside venue, which will require less decoration.
• Consolidate the space you use. Rather than renting two separate rooms for seminars and meals, see if you can find one room that can accommodate both.
• When negotiating a contract, be sure to talk about add-on fees. Since these are generally tacked on to the end, they are difficult to plan for. Ideally, you can negotiate a flat rate that precludes add-on fees. If the vendor agrees to this, be sure to get it in writing. It may be a worthwhile investment to have a legal expert assist with writing this into the contract.

Room Rates

• The general rule for saving money on hotel rooms is to be conservative in reserving room blocks. If you overestimate, you'll end up paying money for unused rooms. Use data from past meetings to estimate how many people will use the hotel rooms you block off and how many people will be making their own arrangements.
• Many hotels will provide comped or reduced-rate rooms for staff and speakers when asked.
• Consider renting dorm rooms instead of hotel rooms.
• Keep your dates flexible. Many hotels offer lower rates for off-season or Saturday-night stayovers, so consider staging your meeting over a weekend or during slow months.

Food and Beverages

• Always try to negotiate prices for meals based on consumption, not per person. This way, you will not pay for any unused food or drinks. If you do end up paying per person, consider asking attendees to sign up for meals in advance, and then issue meal tickets to those who did.
• When possible, buy your own soda, bottled water and alcohol in bulk in advance. These items are traditionally subject to overpricing.
• Consider cutting out lunch altogether and allowing guests to explore the area while lunching on their own.
• If there is another group using the venue right before or during your meeting, ask the kitchen if they will prepare the same menu for you. Since the kitchen saves money on ingredients, prep and labor, the quote for food will probably be lower as well.
• Choose quantity over variety. Offering fewer choices can drastically cut down on cost.

Audiovisual

• Renting A/V equipment from outside agencies is often less expensive than renting in-house equipment.
• Review your speaker’s audiovisual needs just before the start of the meeting. Out of necessity, speakers often put in their A/V requests before they have a full picture of how they will present. Any extra A/V materials that they will not use can be returned before the meeting.

Entertainment

• Ask taxi companies and the CVB for discount coupons to attractions in the area.
• Give people extra free time instead of organizing entertainment.

Other tips

• Design and print as many materials on your own as you can while retaining the professional feel of your meeting. Print two-sided pages whenever possible.
• The CVB can usually provide free collateral such as maps of the area and other tourist info.
• Buy locally to cut down on shipping costs.
• Research possible tax breaks
• See if your vendors will give you a price break for on-site payments.
• Research possible sponsors for your meeting. Many companies will foot some of your costs if you agree to advertise for them during the meeting.
• Review your accounts daily and double-check your invoices on the spot.