A training manager needs a room for twenty-eight people on a Tuesday in six weeks, with lunch, a projector and somewhere for two breakout groups. She sends the same message to five hotels on a Wednesday afternoon.
Two reply by Friday. One of them gets the booking, and it repeats four times a year.
Step 1: capture the six things that determine everything
Date and flexibility, number of delegates, layout, start and finish times, catering requirements and whether breakout space is needed. Without these nobody can say which room suits.
Step 2: publish your spaces properly
Room name, dimensions, capacity by layout, natural light, ceiling height, whether it can be divided and what is directly adjacent. Organisers are matching a requirement to a room and cannot do it from a photograph.
Step 3: publish capacities by layout
Theatre, cabaret, boardroom, classroom and U-shape all hold different numbers in the same room. A single capacity figure is the most common reason a booking arrives in the wrong space.
Step 4: explain the rate structure
Day delegate, twenty-four hour delegate, room hire only and what each includes. Organisers comparing venues are comparing these and cannot without the inclusions listed.
Step 5: be specific about catering
Arrival refreshments, servings through the day, what lunch actually is, dietary handling and whether it is served in the room or elsewhere. Lunch quality decides whether a corporate client returns.
Step 6: list the equipment included
Screen, projector, flipcharts, sound, microphones, lectern and connectivity, and what costs extra. Publishing this prevents a manager arriving with a presentation and no adapter.
Step 7: answer the connectivity question directly
Wifi capability for the number of delegates, whether guest access is straightforward and whether a dedicated connection is available. Meetings fail on this more than on anything else.
Step 8: explain parking and access
How many spaces, whether it is charged, how delegates arrive and the nearest station. Organisers are judged by their attendees on these details.
Step 9: route to someone with authority
Meeting enquiries need someone who can hold space and quote. A reservations agent answering with a bedroom rate is how these are lost, which is the same routing problem as in group and block booking enquiries across hotel brands.
Step 10: publish minimum numbers and hire terms
Minimum delegate numbers, minimum spend, deposits, release dates and cancellation. Organisers need these before recommending a venue internally.
Step 10b: say who is in the building that day
Organisers worry about a wedding in the next room, a conference filling the car park or building work nobody mentioned. Being willing to say what else is booked on their date, and what that means for noise, parking and the restaurant at lunchtime, is the kind of candour that wins a client who has been caught out somewhere else.
Step 11: offer the accommodation alongside
Many meetings bring overnight stays, and connecting the two is revenue nobody asked for, which links to corporate rate and business travel enquiries.
Step 12: capture at the hours organisers work
Enquiries arrive between meetings and after hours, as covered in meeting room and day delegate enquiries and an AI receptionist for beauty salons.
Getting started
Publish your spaces with layout capacities, rates and inclusions, then capture date, numbers and requirements at any hour. SpideyChat for hotel groups answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.