For any hotel needing to sell meeting space, the “little things” can and will make all the difference in luring new businesses as well as turning existing customers into loyal patrons. Often times, small meeting spaces are an afterthought for a hotel After all, how important is a 15-person breakout when you have a 500-person convention on the main floor, right? Wrong!
No matter the size of the property, these smaller meetings are often the bread and butter for sales departments. Conventions generally happen once a year, but these smaller meetings are often weekly or monthly occurrences. Look at them as an opportunity to show off the property rather than an inconvenience on a busy day.
Water Service
One of the more time-consuming aspects of general session meetings is water service. Glasses have to be assembled, polished, and placed. The same with the water pitchers. Then, just prior to the meeting taking place, the housemen have to rush in with water Cambros and fill the pitchers before the meeting starts. Then, during lunch or dinner, everything has to be cleaned up and refreshed.
Anyone that has ever worked in a banquet department can tell you this is often disastrous. The housemen are still in the room when guests are arriving. Water gets dripped onto the tablecloths. Cambros get tipped over and there is a mad rush to get it cleaned up before the guests arrive.
A far better option is making bottled water service the standard. Yes, it costs more in terms of menu price, but look at the man hours and wares being saved in the process, and it will more than even out. Also, take into consideration the aesthetic appeal of how much better bottled water looks on the table and this small upgrade is a no-brainer.
Coffee Service & Breaks
How frustrating is it when you are at a meeting and pour yourself a cup of coffee and it is ice cold before you ever take your first sip? In most cases, it is the presentation that is causing this, not cold coffee out of the urn. When using urns or thermal pots, make sure they are warmed up before the coffee goes into them. Servers should be filling them with hot water prior to loading up the coffee to bring the thermal or urn up to temperature.
Coffee cups are another culprit. Breaks are often set up in the back of the room or in a public space. Either way, they are more often than not close to an air conditioning vent, which means the cups are getting colder the longer they sit out. A quick fix for this is to keep the cups in a warming cabinet until the guest needs them.
This tip should also be used during banquet service. Putting the cups out during service might add a few minutes to the actual service time, but the fact the guests are getting warm coffee cups on the table rather than a pre-set that chills the coffee as soon as it is poured will not go unnoticed by the guests.
Charging Stations
Today, virtually everyone has a laptop, tablet, and/or smartphone when they are attending a meeting. If they are stuck in a room all day, chances are their battery life is going to run out long before the meeting is over. Adding charging ports to every table is a small touch that will truly be appreciated by the guest. Furthermore, it is a touch not every hotel is offering as of yet, so your property will stand out and become the standard.
These are all easy adjustment to make and other than having to buy some charging ports, they are changes that can be implemented immediately and at little cost. More importantly, they are changes that will be immediately noticed by your guests.
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Photo By hemul75