Working with a variety of clients, we realized that most of them did not know they could use their own audio visual company in their hotel meeting rooms. This article will highlight reasons why using your own audio visual provider is most times better than using that of the hotel.
Save Costs by Using your Audio Visual Company, and not the Venue’s
First of all, despite being better, the issue of budget is paramount, because bringing your own audiovisual provider saves you more than 60%.
Why Does the Hotel Insist that we use their Audio Visual Company?
The short answer is commissions. Venues get a commission whenever an external party uses their audiovisual company; so, bringing your own company means that the hotel losses out in this commission. Push to use your own audio visual company, and if they still do not accept, you can negotiate using your audio visual company’s charges to drive down costs.
Your Audio Visual Company will give you Better Service
Hotels usually have multiple revenue centres and halls, so they oversee everything at the same time, and this makes it hard for you to be a priority to them. However, your own audio visual company will focus on your event and not have to juggle between several others. Therefore, any payment made to them gives you dedicated support for your specific event.
The Choice of an Audio Visual Company is Yours to Make
No matter the event you are having at the venue, your primary goals of hiring a good audio visual company are to entertain your members as well as get your message across in the best way possible. The audio-visual company you use has the job of doing this, and if they fail to carry out this job correctly, the hotel has nothing to lose; the only party that losses out is you, so doing what it takes to make your event a success means selecting the best company to make it possible. This is your responsibility and not the hotel.
Know and Protect Your Rights
Before signing on an agreement with a hotel, confirm the terms of the contract. Hotels like to insert some clauses that scare you from bringing in your own audiovisual company. They usually charge you extra for this but cannot stop you from using your preferred equipment or personnel, provided you do not alter their setup, and your audio-visual company does not violate local safety regulations in the course of their operations.
BONUS: How to negotiate cheaper internet for your venue
When arranging your meeting or event at a hotel, you will need in-house internet. A no brainer here is to ask for dedicated bandwidth. However, if you are unsure of the services you require or their standard rates, you can get mislead. To negotiate cheaper internet, follow the tips below:
- Conclude your total internet costs before signing the contract.
- Send RFIs requesting for the cost of Wi-Fi per Mbps and connection
- Determine precisely how much bandwidth you need
When submitting a proposal to a hotel or any venue always submit a RFP (request for proposal) before agreeing to anything. This will help protect yourself against unwanted fees or clauses that a venue may try to sneak in to a contract.
This guide is in no way exhaustive but should give you a useful pointer as to why opting for your own audiovisual company is a better idea than using that of the hotel in which you will hold your event.
