A Meeting Planner

1
A Meeting Planners Guide to Catered Events

• Chapter Nine
• Outside Suppliers

2

• Providing Other Client Services
• Audiovisual
• Entertainment
• Lighting
• Ground Transportation
• Government Agencies
• Cooperating with Other Caterers
• Rental Companies

3

• 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.

4

• 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.
•  

5

• 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.

6
Outside Service Contractors

• 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.)

7

• 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.
• .

8

• A caterer does not want to risk recommending
  someone whose ineptitude will cause
  dissatisfaction and ruin the chances of repeat
  patronage.

9
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.

10
In-house Concessionaires

• Large properties usually allocate the
  concessionaire storage space so equipment and
  materials can be kept on-site.
• The concessionaire also will need space to house
  employee work areas.
• Usually the concessionaire has its own backup
  warehouse facilities off-site.

11

• 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.

12
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.

13
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.

14
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.

15
Entertainment

• The banquet setup crew may have to work around
  the bands road crew, affecting the banquet setup
  crews normal work schedule.
• Considering the major impact that entertainment
  will have, caterers cannot work effectively
  unless they are privy to this information.

16
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.

17
Entertainment

• Lighting requirements
• Dressing room requirements
• Sound systems
• Rehearsal time and facilities needed
• Setup time
• Security
• Staging Requirements

18
Entertainment

• Dance floor
• Buffer area
• Liability
• Complimentary FB, Lodging
• Operational logistics

19
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.

20
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.

21
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.

22
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.

23
Motorcoaches

• Busses are usually booked per coach on a four- to
  five-hour 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.

24
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 youre paying for.

25
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).

26
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?

27
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.

28
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.

29
Rental Companies

• 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