Working with hotels to plan your meeting

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Have you booked your meeting at a hotel? Or are you thinking about booking your meeting at a hotel? Here are some helpful things to know about the different departments you may work with at a full-service hotel. Knowing who does what can help you both during the planning process as well as once you’re on site and need specific help.

Note: What makes a hotel full-service? They typically have several meeting rooms, on-site food service or catering for events, and recreation offerings like exercise rooms, pools, and spas. Limited-service hotels will have fewer of these departments and their staff manage several of these services rather than having separate teams.

• Sales & Catering – books your event including sleeping rooms, meeting space, and catering. Your first contact at the hotel will likely be a sales manager since they know what the hotel can offer you for your meeting and will work with you to make sure you get what you need.

• Group Rooms – this team manages your block of sleeping rooms once the event is booked. Also responsible for setting up the billing for each room (who pays for what).

• Convention/Meeting/Catering Services – the “planner” for your meeting – they take over from sales manager to help get your event planned and executed on property. They will help you plan what you need for the meeting as far as meeting room set up, food/beverage, décor, etc.

• Housekeeping – responsible for cleaning sleeping rooms, public areas like the lobby, and more – also responsible for letting the front desk know when your rooms are ready for check in and potentially managing the delivery of in-room gift bags, welcome gifts, etc.

• Front Desk (Check-In) – responsible for booking individual rooms, assigning rooms to group members, dealing with guest concerns and complaints about their rooms, checking guests in when they arrive and out when they leave, etc. This team is also generally the information desk for guests and others visiting the hotel. This department could include the Concierge who typically handles local area attraction/restaurant information and ticketing/reservations. May also include parking and/or valet services including shuttle bus services if offered.

• Engineering – sometimes known as Maintenance, this team is responsible for maintaining all of the guest rooms and public space as well as responding to guests with issues with something in their room like plumbing or items that do not work. Also responsible for arranging for installation and dismantle of any large items or signage for groups in the hotel. Think anything that needs a ladder or lift and attaching to the wall or ceiling (directional signage, information signage, etc.)

• Security – responsible for life and item safety on the property. Can be staffed by the hotel or outsourced to a security service company.

• Banquets – responsible for executing the set-up, service, and tear down of the event space including food & beverage, tables, chairs, food service, décor, etc.

• AV/AVL – Audio Visual/Audio Visual & Lighting – responsible for setting up and managing any AVL needs for the group. Think presentations on monitors or screens, microphones, background or presentation music, staging, special effects, etc.

• Kitchen – responsible for creating and managing any food and beverage needs from complex menus to simple coffee breaks. The Executive Chef may meet with groups about special menus and provide tastings as appropriate. The kitchen also manages the food and beverage outlets on the hotel property like the breakfast area, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc.

• Accounting/Finance – responsible for billing and invoicing – they will set up the direct bill account (where you can apply for credit so that you can pay via invoice after it’s over), reconciling bills after the event, providing billing reports for the group (you should review these every day of the event to look for potential inconsistencies)

• Recreation – responsible for managing the hotel’s recreation offerings. Could include pool, spa, workout area, rentals, lessons, tours, show tickets, and more.

While this isn't an exhaustive list for every property, it should hit the highlights of which departments you might work with to plan your meeting. Sign up for our free weekly email for a free list of four easy ways to save money when planning your meetings at hotels!

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