Transcript Document 7519677

A Meeting Planner’s
Guide to Catered
Events
Chapter Nine
Outside Suppliers
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Providing Other Client Services
Audiovisual
Entertainment
Lighting
Ground Transportation
Government Agencies
Cooperating with Other Caterers
Rental Companies
 Some catered events require much more
than food and beverage service.
 In addition to food and drink, some
meeting planners will need audiovisual
and/or lighting services.
 Some will require specialized dining and
buffet-table presentations.
 Caterers cannot be all things to all
people.
 They must draw the line somewhere.
 Cost considerations render it
virtually impossible to store and/or
provide all of the special types of
services meeting planners might
potentially need.
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 When dealing with services other than food
and beverage, caterers usually are faced with
five options:
 Provide as many of them as possible
themselves.
 Steer meeting planners to outside service
contractors.
 Expect meeting planners to find their own
outside service contractors.
 Authorize concessions.
 Use some combination of these four
possibilities.
Outside Service Contractors
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Decorator
Designer
Audiovisual
Lighting
Photographer
Transportation
Media coverage
Specialized security
Printer
Host/hostess
 Talent bookers
 Florist
 Specialized food ( e.g.,
subcontracting a sushi bar
from a local Japanese
restaurant)
 Furniture
 Exhibit equipment (e.g., pipe
and drape, pop-up booths,
etc.)
 Some caterers have a list of approved
outside service contractors they
recommend.
 The list includes only those contractors
they feel are capable of doing the job
properly.
 To be placed on the approved list,
contractors normally must have adequate
references, proper licensing, and adequate
insurance.
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 A caterer does not want to risk
recommending someone whose
ineptitude will cause dissatisfaction and
ruin the chances of repeat patronage.
In-house Concessionaires
 Large hotels, convention centers, and
conference centers that do not want to
provide their own special services, yet do
not want to inconvenience potential
clients, may grant a few outside service
contractors concession status.
 These contractors automatically receive
a client's business unless he or she
wants to make other arrangements with
another service contractor.
In-house Concessionaires
 Large properties usually allocate the
concessionaire storage space so
equipment and materials can be kept onsite.
 The concessionaire also will need space
to house employee work areas.
 Usually the concessionaire has its own
backup warehouse facilities off-site.
 By having on-site space groups can be
serviced quickly and efficiently.
 Employees and equipment are readily
available at a moment's notice;
emergencies or last-minute requests can
be handled immediately.
In-house Concessionaires
 Caterers usually charge a commission to
in-house vendors.
 Understand that these costs must be
passed on to the end user.
 With high commissions, a meeting
planner may end up paying a higher fee
for a simple slide projector.
In-house Concessionaires
 Some caterers charge outside vendors
who are not part of their in-house group a
surcharge for the right to work in the
venue.
 This is done to discourage the meeting
planner from using a favorite vendor.
 This ensures that the caterer will not lose
its commission and satisfies the caterer
that the service will be provided correctly.
Entertainment
 Many catered events offer some type of
entertainment.
 Responsibility for booking, scheduling, and
coordinating is up to the planner.
 The caterer's major involvement in the
entertainment decision is to take it into account
when planning the catered event.
 If a dance band is scheduled, everything from
banquet setup to work scheduling will be
impacted.
Entertainment
 The banquet setup crew may have to
work around the band’s road crew,
affecting the banquet setup crew’s
normal work schedule.
 Considering the major impact that
entertainment will have, caterers cannot
work effectively unless they are privy to
this information.
Entertainment
 Be sure the caterer sees the
entertainment contract before you sign it.
 There may be conditions that the caterer
cannot meet or will require you to pay
extra for.
Entertainment
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Lighting requirements
Dressing room requirements
Sound systems
Rehearsal time and facilities needed
Setup time
Security
Staging Requirements
Entertainment
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Dance floor
Buffer area
Liability
Complimentary F&B, Lodging
Operational logistics
Lighting
 Overcome a plain, pedestrian environment.
 Highlight persons, products, and specific
function room décors.
 Illuminate speakers and other entertainers.
 Focus attention on a particular spot.
 Create an exciting and dramatic dance floor.
 Frame an area.
 Follow awardees from their seats to the stage.
 Provide other decorative touches.
Lighting
 Lighting can also be used to tell a story.
 Laser equipment can project company
logos, pictures of awards recipients, and
names of VIPs on a wall so that
attendees can view them when they
enter the facility.
Ground Transportation
 Some ground transportation firms specialize in
providing limousine service.
 They can pick up and drop off attendees as
well as be on call for personal needs during
conventions.
 Shuttle or motor coach service often is
employed by the meeting planner because it is
more efficient and, in most cases, a lower-cost
alternative to using taxicabs.
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Ground Transportation
 A few ground transportation companies
specialize primarily in entertainment.
 Some trips, such as charter boat rides
and trail rides, are planned strictly for
their entertainment value.
 The Napa Wine Train is an example.
Motorcoaches
 Busses are usually booked per coach on a four- to fivehour minimum rate.
 Busses can be booked on a daily rate if you need them
all day.
 A daily rate is usually less expensive than booking them
for only a few hours.
 Busses charge from the time they arrive at the pickup site
to the time they drop off passengers; however, some
calculate their time from garage to garage.
 In this case, the meter is running from the time the coach
leaves the coach company until it returns to the coach
company.
Motorcoaches
 Most companies do not charge garage to
garage, but if it is a busy time, a regional coach
company may not have the inventory; in that
case, it would subcontract the job to a coach
company that is outside the city.
 When this happens, you usually would be
charged garage to garage.
 Find out what you’re paying for.
Motorcoaches
 Are driver tips included in the charges?
 What about staffing?
 Will staff be on-site to load luggage, coordinate
the transfers, and communicate with dispatch?
 If so, what are the charges for staffing?
 How many staff should you have?
 Typically, staff is paid on a four-hour minimum;
the cost also includes a positioning fee (i.e.,
parking/cab fees, etc., for the staff person).
Motorcoaches
 Will there be signage on the coaches?
 Will staff have communications with all
other staff, dispatch, and drivers?
 Where will motor coaches stage?
 How much time before your event will
they stage?
Government Agencies
 Inform the fire department if you are putting on
outdoor pyrotechnics.
 Make sure that the pyrotechnics company has
the appropriate liability insurance, typically $1
million.
 The fire department may also need to oversee
and inspect any portable electrical power setup
to ensure it is grounded properly and safe to
use in a public area.
 In some jurisdictions, a fire marshal must
approve banquet room setups to ensure guests
will be able to evacuate safely in the event of a
fire.
Government Agencies
 The local health district would need to approve
portable, temporary tents, cooking lines, and
serving lines to ensure you are not violating
health guidelines.
 You may need special parking permits for
motor coaches, parade permits, or a temporary
off-site liquor license.
 If an event will include a public official, such as
a city mayor or state governor, speaking at a
meeting, you may be dealing with bodyguards
or, in the case of the President of the United
States, the Secret Service.
Rental Companies
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Audiovisual
Refrigerated storage
Freezer storage
Generators
Transportation
Tables and chairs
Tableware (flatware, china, etc.)
Service utensils
Napery (at times meeting planners want colors or
patterns the facility does not own)
 Centerpieces (meeting planners often rent or bring in
their own centerpieces)
 Lighting
 Tents