Controlling Room Block & F&B Costs On-Site

Considering the current economy and the forecast for our industry in 2009, there are bound to be cancellations and no-shows to any group's room block and f&b events. Many cancellations may occur prior to program dates, however no-shows can be difficult to avoid on-site, depending on the type of program you are working.

As a professional travel director, it is imperative that you help control costs on behalf of the organization that contracts your services. Your role in overseeing the room block along with food & beverage is essential to managing the client’s bottom line. Although you may not be personally responsible for the overall budget, your on-site management skills have a direct impact on ensuring that unnecessary spending is avoided.

If you are new travel director or an experienced TD who has never been responsible for managing rooms or food and beverage on-site, here are a few tips that may help.

Room Block Tips:
1. Obtain a current rooming list and reconcile with the hotel’s rooming list prior to the group’s arrival.

2. Confirm the hotel’s occupancy status each night the group will be on property.

3. Confirm if the group will be subject to any attrition prior to arrival day. If yes, be sure to inform your Lead Program Manager immediately.

4. Become “best friends” with the hotel’s reservation and front desk manager. These are key staff members that can help you control and manage slippage.

Food & Beverage Tips:
1. Request that the banquet staff not replenish coffee and tea service without approval from the group contact. When the venue staff know you are controlling costs, the less likely you will be over billed for consumption.

2. Institute a cap on alcohol consumption and request that the banquet staff let you know when the group is coming close to reaching this amount. Request that wine & champagne bottles only be uncorked upon consumption.

3. Meet with the banquet captain and review the beverage consumption before and after the event. Again, once the vendor recognizes that you are managing consumption closely, the less likely the group will be billed for unrealistic costs.

4. After the event, divide the number of guests by the number of beverages you are being charged. If theis number equates to more than 5-6 glasses per person over the course of 3-4 hours, you may want to question your banquet captain. When in doubt, never sign a receipt without approval from your lead program manager. It is very difficult to dispute a receipt that has been signed.

For more room block and f&b tips, visit Checklists and Resources located under Profile Settings after logging into your INTD account.

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