Crafting a realistic Annual Conference Request for Proposal (RFP) is essential for creating collaborative partnerships and increasing proposal success rates. Your association’s goal is to position your event in a way that effectively showcases its strengths and aligns with venue and destination priorities. If you are seeing an increase in proposal declines, it is time to start asking some hard questions and reevaluate that Annual Conference RFP.
When we see multiple venues declining to bid, the number one reason is a misalignment between the event’s needs and the venue’s capacity. Some of the most common reasons for rejection include:
- Ratio Issues. The meeting space to sleeping room ratio is often out of balance or cannot be accommodated. An overnight room to space ratio is “wonky” when you want all the ballrooms but only a fraction of rooms on peak. In some cases you are truly asking for more space than needed, such as multiple breakout sessions, separate lunch rooms, or excessive trade show space. To justify the space you truly need, it is essential to grid that space out and explain the necessity.
- Booking Timelines. The requested timeframe may be too far out, or too close, for groups of your size. Additionally, associations are notorious for drawn-out decision timelines, lack of response, or updates once proposals are out, often due to lengthy board meeting timelines.
- Unrealistic Expectations. This can range from asking for pre 2019 room rates or only minimal increases over the past several years to submitting a laundry list of concessions and requests for everything to be free, including no attrition or excessive comps.
- Low Food and Beverage Spend. Food costs have been steadily increasing over the last several years, so you should expect the same for your association events. If your F&B budget is too low, shorten the program or acknowledge the reality that food costs have increased.
To increase your success rate, you must lead with strengths, not just specs, and have some deeper conversations about your Annual Conference.
- Are Your Dates and Patterns Flexible? When you are rigid in your request, it reduces the opportunity for the venue to make your program work in their calendar. Offering alternated dates or even beginning with a conversation on need periods for the property are a great way to find a good fit.
- Know Your Value: Are you including the past five years of data (history and value) in your Conference RFP? If not, make sure you start communicating the impact your event brings to the table from ancillary spend to inhouse AV contracts, these can add value to the venue’s overall evaluation of your event.
- Prioritize Strategically. Utilize a site selection matrix that guides decisions based on attributes important to your entire membership, not based on a Board Member’s vacation preferences. Limiting your search to one or two destinations instead of casting a wide net shows the cities that you are serious in your request.
Ultimately, if you are seeing a high decline rate then it is time to refresh your RFP. It isn’t always easy, but it may be time to have tough conversations with leadership on expectations. When you know your events’ value, you can begin painting a better picture through solid data and that in turn will help you to build stronger relationships with your cities and venues. If you would like more insight on how to start the site selection process, check out my blog here or reach out any time!
Emilie Perkins, CMP Fellow, CAE, CMM, PMP, EDC, HMCC
Emilie joined RGI in 2019 as Director of Client and Conference Services. With over 21 years of experience with strategic meeting management, marketing and design, she has extensive strength in collaboration, fiscal accountability, strategic planning and communication. Emilie has designed, executed and evaluated over 1000 meetings of all sizes and types. She is also an Adjunct Faculty at Indiana University where she has co-facilitated the Nonprofit Meeting Management Course since 2017.