On Monday, HOTELS presented the first of a three-part series based on a webinar about managing group business through the pandemic and tactics they are employing to generate revenue today and going forward. Today, in Part 2, the discussion turns to hybrid meetings, vaccine passports, working differently with planners and evolving contracts.
Sponsored by Oracle Hospitality, more than 500 readers of HOTELS and hotelsmag.com signed up for the virtual event entitled, “Driving revenue in the crucial meetings and event space.”
Moderated by HOTELS Editor in Chief Jeff Weinstein, panelists included Kelly Knowlen executive director of sales engagement and special events at Hilton; Brandi Ronk, director, Sales, Groups & Meetings at Sol Group Corp., which represents the global portfolio of Melia Hotels International; and Dan Surette, chief sales officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts.
HOTELS: What does “hybrid-ready” really mean?
Kelly Knowlen: We took a look at what a typical bandwidth use was at the property, and then what additional bandwidth they would need to support a small event with 20 or less attendees. Our IT team did that assessment with our partners to identify them as hybrid-ready. They also had to agree to a multi-site offer. So, our Hilton worldwide sales team could negotiate the terms of a multi-site agreement if someone wanted to have a consecutive event at multiple properties.
Brandi Ronk: Hybrid is the name of the game, especially as people are having these regional group meetings, and we want to tie them all together to have a national meeting, or a global meeting. Another area that I might add, is applications hotels are putting out to keep them safe and secure and COVID-ready. It includes Apps that hotels have for hands-free viewing of activities, restaurant menus, spa menus, etc.
You can order room service on an APP now, or some of the hotels, you can actually open your door with the APP. So, I think that’s been pretty remarkable how quickly that the Apps have been integrated into our industry. I know they were kind of starting, but now they’ve really taken off.
Dan Surette: We have to tell our [sales] teams, you can’t hand off hybrid to the AV team and everybody else anymore. You have to be knowledgeable in the space. The days of ‘date, rates and space’ and hopefully you’re going to book is over. You need to be a consultant on technology, safety and cleanliness, restrictions – all of that. It’s forced us all to take it up a notch for our sellers because the customer is going to expect that, and we need to help guide them through it.
H: Do you see a future use of vaccine passports in meeting spaces?
Surette: We talked with our legal team and our operations team and asked where does that onus sit? Is it the requirement of the hotel, the county, the planner? Where does the responsibility sit? For us, we’re not going to require it.
While some states like Texas and Florida have less restrictions than others. We’re going to mask up and we’re going to do all the right things. But it’s going to be the planner and the attendees wishes of what they want to do. But there’s a lot more coming on this, without question, as it relates to passports and testing and shots.
Knowlen: We launched a suite of testing and wellness screening resources in the last couple of months, and it’s just what Dan said, we’re not requiring it. We’re not in the business of medical testing or anything like that, we’re in the business of hospitality. But if our planners are looking for that, it’s something they require. We want to give them the resources, so our Hilton supply management procurement department negotiated with some vendors for preferred pricing for everything from handheld temperature devices, to on-property testing, infrared screening and everything in between.
H: How else are you working differently with planners?
Ronk: We’re diving deeper into the planning process at the sourcing and contracting phase than we ever have before. We’re having to create plan A, plan B, and plan C with our customers, as the local regulations continuously change.
Surette: We’re talking about what you really can do with food and beverage. Are we doing passed hors d’oeuvres or, as we’ve all learned, everything’s wrapped individually. I’ve never talked about vessels before, other than ships. But everything has to be in a vessel or, it has to be premade, and single-use. But I don’t know that that’s going to go away.
Now we’ve had some planners say, we want to open the buffets, and we want to do individually served, and we want to pass hors d’oeuvres, and we want to pass drink. Now in some states like Texas and others, you can do that, and there are no distancing restrictions. But I think it’s educating the planners and our teams as we learn and grow.
H: How are the contracts changing?
Surette: Contracts are exactly as they were before. We’ve rewritten our force majeure clauses a dozen times. We’ve all tried to be as flexible as we can, but to a point. And now we’re having to be a little harder in those discussions, and we certainly want to rebook and be a good partner, but I think the future of the force majeure clauses, and some specifics in those clauses, are going to be more important. I think we’re always going to try to partner with our clients, but it’s been a lot of arm wrestling and we get it, and it’s been difficult. But now that we’re sort of past the danger zone, discussions are going to continue.