Convention Planning - Preventing Disasters - Step 1a - Convention Service Managers

To prevent "Convention Disasters", "Sleeping Rooms and Meeting Space" are the names of the game. Once you have them, you can do anything, but if you have not confirmed rooms and specific meeting space, convention disasters happen. So, you have negotiated your convention sales contract and finished "Step 1". Now, what is the next step? Your best move is to get to know your Convention Service Manager - "Step 1a."

You might ask the question, why? Because your Convention Service Manager or CSM can and should prevent disasters from happening. Their goals are to make sure your convention goes off flawlessly and make you happy in the process.

The Sales Manager does the contract, but the Convention Service Manager is the person that services your convention. While your Sales Manager is still involved with the convention, your file is turned over to the CSM to finalize all the details needed to prepare a convention resume. The resume along with banquet event orders are the main means of communicating to the hotel staff everything you want to accomplish.

Do not wait too long after that contract is signed to find out who is handling your group. Ask the question early. Start communicating with your Convention Service Manager and set up an appointment to meet personally. You have a contract that lists rooms and space, but your hotel service contact needs to know everything about you and your convention. Contracts do not tell all. They are a start, but most groups have something peculiar about them that needs to be passed on to the CSM.

Now, let's make sure you know what CSM's do and why it is so important to get to know your Convention Service Manager.

Convention Service Responsibilities - first, the Convention Service Manager will be your main contact from this point until the convention is finished. While they represent the hotel, it is their responsibility to make sure everything you have requested in the contract is successfully implemented. However, please do not take for granted that, just because you have a contract, everything including rooms and meeting space have been set up properly by your Sales Manager.

Let's go back to the contract and really think about a Sales Manager's goals and duties. They look at conventions and clients in a different light. Their goals are to sell rooms while maximizing revenue and they are judged on the amount of business they book. Hopefully they are doing it right, but many times they take risks by sliding in a piece of business when meeting space and sleeping rooms are very tight. Most of the time the space works out and the sleeping rooms become available, but not always.

Confirm Sleeping Room Block - in comes the CSM and starts working with you. Great Convention Service Managers review the contract once it is turned over to them and they confirm sleeping room blocks, suite requirements, special blocks for VIP's and any special needs that have been requested in the contract. They make sure that not only are the rooms set aside in the contract, but the rooms are set aside in Reservations and all specific arrangements for making reservations have been set up. Again, they don't assume that everything is correct. They double check to make sure all the sleeping rooms are confirmed. This is to protect you.

Confirm All Meeting Room Space - the CSM's next step is to confirm all convention and meeting space arrangements. Your contract lists a certain number of meeting rooms per day and those rooms are supposed to be able to handle your meeting requirements. But will they? Most contracts do not specify the names of meeting rooms. Your contract will state a meeting for 300 persons to be set classroom style from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. So, you assume your Sales Manager has blocked a room that will take care of your group. But, has he? Remember that the Sales Manager's goal is to book the convention and he gets credit for total room nights and convention rate. Hence, sometimes he takes shortcuts on the meeting space in order to book the convention. He might assume that you have over estimated your numbers and will only show up with 250 persons. So, if the meeting space blocked in the contract will only hold 250 persons, but 300 show up, you have problems. It becomes the responsibility of the CSM to prevent disaster and make sure it works. Granted, that is not fair, but it happens. Again, who is really protecting you from convention disaster?

So, now you realize "Rooms and Space" are the names of the game. You have completed "Step 1," and have a contract in hand. Now, you are ready for "Preventing Convention Disaster - Step 1a - Get to Know Your Convention Service Manager."

Granted, there are many, many more steps in the process to protect you from "Convention Disasters," and those will follow, but "Step 1a" starts with getting to know the person that will take care of you. Get to know, communicate and develop an understanding with the one person that will make sure you look good, your Convention Service Manager.