What to look for in a 3rd party meeting site selection specialist

Despite claim that the commission model of site selection and contract negotations in meeting planning is "over," both meeting planners and those who serve as site selection specialists understand there’s actually increasing demand for third-party meeting sourcing to bring relief to their meeting and event planner clients. A meeting site selection professional can save you countless hours.

Thankfully, a lot more sourcing specialists have entered the business in recent years, but that brings up another challenge: how to select the right person for your program?

Here are a Few Things to Look For:

1) Clout. The hotel industry continues its consolidation, and prices are rising, so having someone on your side with industry knowledge and negotiating power can help save you precious time and money. Sometimes this means narrowing down destinations, finding a hotel with appropriate space available for your preferred dates or help getting the best rates. However, most of the time, it means all of these and more.

“It always depends on the specs for the kind of hotels the client is looking for,” said Jerry Rosenthal, CHA a 16 year site selection veteran of ConferenceDirect based in Chicago who recently placed a group in the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago where several attendees arrived by private jet.

That’s why a sourcing professional will take the time to evaluate the complexities of a planner’s needs against current market conditions and use their clout to expertly negotiate for what’s most important and adds the most value for their client. Adds Lori Stickley, CMP, CASE, Senior Director, Global Accounts at HelmsBriscoe: “HelmsBriscoe will not only save the planner time in securing the hotel but assist with the best concessions and contract terms."

2) Experience. Whether a specialist works for the likes of HelmsBriscoe, Maritz Global Events-Experient, HPN Global, ConferenceDirect or another volume negotiator like American Express GBT or CWT Global Events or someone who works on their own, provided they've been in the business, have likely helped to arranged hundreds of meetings and better understand the many ins and outs of conference and event contracting, they will have a leg up on room block and concessions negotiation, and will obviously know a lot more than someone who doesn't. The meetings industry is very relationship focused, and as anyone in business knows, developing solid relationships takes time. Even newer companies that are developing their own sourcing technology have meeting advisers that can guide you through the booking process and give you a leg up whether you're planning an important-but-small board meeting, annual sales conference, or industry convention & expo. As an industry insider, they can bring negotiating power, expertise and nuance to the table that would take you years to develop.

3) Local, regional, and global knowledge. Sometimes selecting the right hotels within the meeting destination – within blocks even – can make all the difference between a positive and negative attendee experience. Example: if a hotel has a great location, but half the attendees have to park on the other side of the river, one person will be blamed, and we know who that is.

4) Integrity. Perhaps this is most important. With so many moving parts going into planning a meeting or convention, it is impossible to foresee everything that you could need or that can happen. A good site selection professional seeks to fill in those blanks with their experience, transparency and honesty. For example, most third-parties operate on a traditional commission on the hotel rooms booked and will let you know up front if this may differ in any instance. The commission they earn may be negotiated up front, with the venue, depending on the size of that piece of business and the work involved. Either way, you as the client will be privy to this information.