If you’re a full-service hotel offering meeting and event space, chances are a large percentage of your business comes from group bookings. But how can you ensure that you win the business that is most profitable for your hotel? That’s where the perfect group booking proposal comes in.
What to include in your group business quote
A group booking is commonly defined as nine rooms or more, but it can often also include catering and event space, transportation, and additional services.
Your group booking proposal should include:
- Rooms allocation – nine+ rooms
- Meeting and event spaces
- Food and beverage options
- Recreational facilities
- Transportation services
- Additional services.
Our advice
Our customer success team is made up of revenue experts from around the world. We asked for their advice on how to ensure your group booking proposal hits the mark with your would-be client and achieves the revenue goals for your property.
Get the key information right
“Although it varies by property, there is key information to be included in any booking proposal. The first is arrival and departure dates. Without this, you won’t know if you can accommodate a potential group.”
“Be sure to include the number of rooms by stay date, number of guests, customer budget, and company details — this helps build a partnership.
“It’s important to include any special services that will ultimately define the overall group stay experience.
“And always remember the proposal is not only for rooms. Be sure to include the operations teams as well.”
Cornelio Encarnacion, Associate Director of Customer Success, LATAM
Use cancellation and attrition policies
“Don’t give too big a discount. Instead, use your cancellation and attrition policies to provide flexibility to the booker and protect your rates. Also, if you’re not going to sell your suites, be generous with the suite upgrades for the VIPs coming in. This also frees up more standard rooms for you to sell to transient guests closer to the arrival date.”
Jeong Beom Pyon, Director of Hospitality Solutions, APAC
Make it visual and outline your extras
“Add pictures of the rooms and meeting spaces they are looking to book, etc., so your potential guests can visualize it.
“And don’t forget to include any additional offers. For example, if a group has requested a meeting room, with tea, coffee, and water, include information on additional coffee break items, or corporate theming.
Laura Leser, Senior Customer Success Manager, EMEA
Be firm on deadlines
“It’s important to include details on the validity of the quote — that should be front and center of your proposal. For example, ‘This quotation is valid for seven days’ or ‘This quotation is valid until this date’. And make sure you follow up before this deadline. Corporate bookers go out to market to multiple properties, they’ll forget they’ve done it and then several weeks later, when you’ve had pick up, they’ll come back to you. By then your rates have gone up two or three times, and accepting the quote in its original format might not be commercially viable. Adding a deadline gives the property more control to turn down the group, if that is the most profitable decision.
Tomos Jones, Senior Customer Success Manager, EMEA
