Nothing frustrates meeting and event planners more than dedicating time to a site visit at a hotel or event venue, then coming away without the specific details needed to decide whether that’s the right place to book.
Many times, the cause of a disappointing site visit is a lack of preparation by the venue staff. “When I planned meetings, I went on some site visits where I wondered whether the property team even knew I was coming that day,” said Ciara Feely, veteran hospitality sales consultant and trainer, in her session titled “Art of the Unforgettable Site Visit” during October’s IMEX America show in Las Vegas.
For the hotel and venue reps in that session, Feely emphasized that an effective site visit is not simply a tour that shows off the various spaces, technology and F&B choices the facility offers. Instead, “a site visit should be personalized to the planner and seamless as it moves between each department,” she noted. “The objective is to build trust with planners that your venue is the right place for their groups—and that you are the right partner.”
However, Feely then told the planners in the room that personalized, seamless site visits can only happen if they provide the venue with specific details in advance about their event’s objectives and the critical elements they need to see and experience while on the site visit.
Among the requests that planners should make for the site visit are:
• A tour of both a standard guest room and a suite
• A visit with the head of F&B to ensure the group’s preferences have been accounted for, and to sample various entrees and desserts that fit those preferences
• A tour of the main-session room and various breakout spaces. If the venue cannot set up the main room in the style a group will use, ask for photos of that room with the desired setup
• A meeting with the in-house audiovisual/production team to ensure they understand the group’s needs
• A tour of other unique spaces and environments that attendees will remember after the event
• Details about security protocols throughout the venue
One other important tip from Feely: “If you shared the budget range for each event element ahead of time—which you should—do not answer budget questions during the site visit.” She noted that such a conversation can distract from the purpose of the site visit; those questions can be answered in later communications.
In the end, Feely advised that planners be proactive and persistent to get the site visit they need in order to make the right decision. “Make the property prove through the site visit that they are synchronized as a team, and that they are anticipatory rather than reactive.”
