WHY IS IT that a hotel or event facility does the research and takes the time to hire brilliant architects and talented design teams but, consultants with meeting and event production expertise are usually not included in the mix.

Why do I bring this up?  Although the revenue from meetings and events usually make up approximately 60-75% of a hotel’s income and an even greater percentage at catering and conference facilities, venues continue to be built which are not user friendly.  By that I mean ceilings are not high enough; doors are not wide enough; power is not strong enough; lights are not bright enough or, are too bright and cannot be properly adjusted; freight elevators are too small; loading docks are too few and too far away; hang points are not where they need to be, hallways are too narrow; food service access points are poorly placed; air conditioning is not always adequate; airwalls stop nothing but air; etc., etc., etc.  

Bob Estrin of be creative in Orange, CA believes, “the biggest problem in venue design is balancing income creating space with back of house space.  It’s a delicate balance between property owner and architect in creating an event friendly space”.

For example, ... a new hotel was about to open when I took a hard hat tour.  After admiring the finished product I asked the GM how someone would get an automobile or large piece of machinery into the ballroom.  When asked why I would need that I explained that many companies like to reveal their new products during annual sales meetings when they have their entire sales force in one room.  I repeated my question and his reply was, “maybe we could turn it on its side and bring it in on a dolly”.  Needless to say, a corporation would never allow their product to be transported in that manner. What do you think happened?  The hotel had to break a wall it had just finished constructing to accommodate the needs of the client. 

Another example, ... a new hotel had just opened for business when I booked their ballroom.  We had a set-up which took approximately 6-8 hours that included lighting, sound and video.  Nothing elaborate, but obviously more than the designers considered when they built the space with virtually no power in the room.  What did we do to meet our power needs in this brand new hotel?  We had to rent a generator to power our equipment in the ballroom!

With that said, how difficult would it have been to add a line item into the design budget for consultation with a meeting planner/event producer with a minimum of 15 years experience?  Or, perhaps, even put together a team of consultants who would make recommendations before the space was built?  The amount they would pay in the pre-construction phase will be considerably less than it would be after the project was complete.  What is it Ben Franklin said, .. “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”?