A planner cannot magically make last minute changes, but rather must obtain agreement from all parties and be willing to be flexible to ensure an event runs as smoothly as possible. Courtesy of Tamara Jesswein

In a fast-paced business environment, organizing events has become a key component of a thriving company. From corporate meetings to conferences and trade shows, events present a prime opportunity for businesses to highlight their brand and connect with their desired audience. However, due to the escalating costs associated with event planning services, it is more critical than ever for companies to negotiate with vendors to secure cost savings. Mastering these negotiation skills is essential for maintaining budget control and delivering a successful and impactful event.

In the U.S., where the event and meeting industry is booming, negotiating with venues and vendors for cost savings has become an art form and a key skill for event planners.

When looking for a venue to hold an event, you outline your needs and expectations in a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP). Venues use the RFP to tailor their proposal to the specific requirements in the RFP, and if everything looks good, you sign a contract. However, there are instances when an RFP and the subsequent contract need to be modified. Maybe you need more meeting room space, or you aren’t expecting the attendance you had planned for. Although you’ve already signed a contract with the vendor, it is possible to make changes, but it takes negotiation and flexibility on the part of all parties to make it work.

“I heard a hotel lawyer one time say that, before the contract is signed, it’s negotiating. After the contract is signed, it’s begging,” says Timothy Arnold, CMP, CMM, regional vice president with Hospitality Performance Network (HPN) Global. “I don’t like to necessarily say it’s all begging, but there is definitely the expectation that what we ask for after the contract is signed may or may not actually be able to be accommodated by the hotel.”

Alison Huber, senior manager of travel and events for Baker Tilly in Madison, WI,  approaches these conversations with her company’s venue contacts looking for the most suitable outcome to leverage their partnerships. “It is often a back-and-forth conversation, with the outcome not quite our perfect scenario, but still accommodating our needs,” she says.

Common Reasons for Post-RFP Changes

Attendance and adding or subtracting attendee rooms or meeting spaces are some of the most common reasons for having to make changes after a contract is signed.

“Most of the time, it’s my clients who say, ‘Hey, we’re going to add this other meeting. Is there any way we can add 40 rooms and three meeting spaces?’” Arnold says.

Huber says she usually sees changes in meeting space assignments, times and the flow of the event room block. “Historically, our strong, transparent relationships with our vendors has allowed us to make adjustments while still meeting our contractual spend/pick-up terms,” she says.

Tamara Jesswein, CMP, senior corporate event manager with HID Global in Austin, TX, says needed changes usually come up when creating the meeting agenda after the contract with the venue has already been signed. For example, in one instance, her client decided they wanted to have six breakout sessions rather than the four initially secured in the contract. “Often you need to think outside the box for adding meeting space following an executed contract,” says Jesswein.

Before approaching the venue with proposed changes, you should set expectations with your client in case the changes can’t be accommodated. “You can’t just say, I’m sure that’s no problem to add a ballroom for 500 people and add 300 rooms. It may be a problem,” Arnold says.

When communicating with stakeholders regarding necessary changes, Huber says research and preparation are essential. “Gathering the data, creating various options, then sharing and discussing the options has worked well,” she says. “This includes talking to our program owners about budget or agenda implications and working with our venues to accommodate changes.”

Changes made prior to the event are manageable, but it may be a different story for those last-minute changes made onsite, Jesswein says. “The changes that are made on site are the ones you need to be succinct and implement with the least amount of disruption. Plan, check the plan, execute the plan.”

Making Changes After Contract Approval

Here are a few best practices to follow when making changes to an approved contract:

Review the Contract Rerms

Before you request any changes, make sure you review the original terms of the contract. This ensures that any modifications are consistent with the agreed-upon conditions and don’t violate any contractual obligations. Not adhering to the original contract terms could lead to legal disputes or financial penalties, so it’s crucial to understand the implications of any changes.

Communicate With the Other Stakeholders

When changes are needed, open and clear communication with all stakeholders is essential. This can include holding a meeting to discuss the proposed changes, sending out a detailed email outlining the reasons for the changes and providing a platform for stakeholders to ask questions and express concerns.

When planning events for Baker Tilly, Huber says her team focuses on factual, data-driven decisions and honest, transparent communication with the stakeholders. “We use our playbook to drive consistent processes and ensure everyone is aware of the changes and associated impacts,” she says.

Negotiate the change

Negotiating the needed changes requires discussing their impact on the scope, timeline and cost and reaching a mutual agreement that satisfies both parties. When negotiating changes after a contract is in place, event planners should know that they don’t have leverage to make changes if the vendor is unwilling to do so, says Arnold. “The contract is a pre-existing document and so anything we do to modify the contract takes an agreement from both parties. I can’t just unilaterally wave a magic wand, and all of a sudden, everything’s changed. The contract is still an underlying document, and if it says we need to pick up 150 rooms, we contractually agreed to it. Any revision to that is going to have to take some flexibility on both sides.”

Subtracting rooms or meeting space from contracts is usually a little harder than adding them, so Arnold says he looks at how the change may be advantageous for the vendor. “The first thing I do is look at what the hotel is selling online. Maybe they would enjoy having some extra rooms to sell at the higher room rate,” he says. “Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they say no. It’s just a matter of opening communication, having good partnerships with hotels and my customers and knowing that everybody can be a little bit flexible to get the results we need.”

Document the change

Once an agreement is reached, it’s wise to document the changes in writing so you have an official record of the modifications. “When changes to a contract are made after the original is signed, then I do what is called a change order for the stakeholder to approve,” Jesswein says. “I will not add additional costs to the budget without the stakeholders’ approval.”

Implement the change

After documenting the modifications, take the necessary steps to implement the changes. This may involve adjusting plans, timelines and resources to accommodate the new requirements. Jesswein recalls one event she planned for HID Global where she needed to add 100 attendees to the original RFP. To implement the change, she included an addendum to add extra rooms on peak nights, update F&B minimum requirements and reconfigure meeting spaces to accommodate 100 additional people. “Of course, we made sure all of this was plausible prior to requesting the addendum to the contract and securing it,” she said.

Learn From the change

Once the event is over, it’s good to reflect on the process, consider what went well and what didn’t and identify lessons learned from handling the RFP modifications. This can help improve future RFP processes and better prepare for potential changes in the future. If you are working with a new venue, it can also provide insight into how accommodating and flexible the management is.

However, if a venue is difficult to work with, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a deal breaker to use them again. It just better prepares you for what to expect. “I’ve had instances where hotels have been very difficult to work with, and I’ve booked that hotel again, but I put clauses in (the RFP) to protect what they were difficult with last time,” Arnold says.  “I had one where they refused to give me credit for rooms booked outside the block. It took three months to get that resolved with the hotel. I booked that hotel again, but I made sure that we had much stronger language in there for getting credit for rooms outside the block.”

Flexibility and Communication Is Key

In the end, the key to having your event run smoothly when making changes after the contract is signed is to have open communication with the stakeholders and to be flexible on solutions. “There are always solutions,” Arnold says. “I can always find a solution as long as we’re flexible.  It may not necessarily be the solution we were initially looking at, but everybody’s always been happy with the solution that we’ve been able to find.”

Effective event planning hinges on clear communication, flexibility and thorough preparation. While a well-crafted RFP and signed contract set the stage, the dynamic nature of events often necessitates post-contract modifications. These adjustments, whether due to changes in attendance, meeting space requirements or unforeseen circumstances, require careful negotiation and a willingness to adapt from all parties involved.

Reviewing contract terms, engaging stakeholders, negotiating changes and documenting modifications are essential steps to successfully managing the complexities of post-contract adjustments. “You have to go in realizing that you have a signed contract, everything is locked in place, and if (the vendor) can do something outside of that, that’s awesome,” Arnold says. “But there’s no real obligation for them to do so, so you have to have that partnership.” C&IT