Intermediaries & Suppliers

1. Intermediaries & Suppliers Chapter Eight

2. More than F&B • Some clients will need unique audio, visual, and/or lighting services • Some will require specialized dining table and buffet-table presentations • And others may need something extra special to ensure that guests come away from the functions with many happy memories • Unique attractions are used by clients to highlight celebratory catered events • Awards dinners, weddings, new-product introductions, and the like, .

3. Outside Services • Caterers specialize in providing food and beverage service • While some are capable of providing additional services, others prefer to leave these to outside experts • A caterer cannot be all things to all people • He or she must draw the line somewhere • Cost considerations render it virtually impossible to store all of the specialties that clients might potentially need.

4. When dealing with services other than food and beverage, usually the caterer is faced with five options. He or she can: • Provide as many of them as possible itself • Steer the client to outside service contractors • Expect clients to find their own outside service contractor • Authorize concessions • i.e., provide in-house space for outside service contractors to set up shop • Use some combination of these four possibilities.

5. Facility Provides Services • A facility usually will provide its own special services only if it is economically feasible to do so, or if there are no other outside alternatives that can be trusted to do the work correctly and efficiently.

6. AV • Providing a full range of audio-visual (AV) services can be expensive • AV technology changes so rapidly that it is difficult to keep pace • A complete in-house AV system is a major investment, but one that is required in conference centers, exhibition halls, and resorts located in rural areas where outside service contractors are not readily available.

7. Outside Service Contractors • Decorators • Designers • Audio-Visual • Photographer • Transportation • Media coverage • Specialized security • Printer • Host/hostess. • Talent bookers. • Florists • Specialized food • Furniture • Exhibit equipment

8. Service Contractors • Service contractors range from full service to single service • Full service general service contractors, such as The Freeman Companies or GES Exposition Services, rent pipe and drape, dance floors, risers, temporary carpeting, furniture, audio-visual, exhibits and a variety of other items • Single service contractors could be florists, photographers, limousine companies, etc.

9. In-house Concessionaires • Large hotels, convention, and conference centers that don’t offer special services, but don’t want to inconvenience clients, may grant a few outside service contractors concession status • These contractors will automatically receive a client's business unless he or she wants to make other arrangements with another service contractor • The facility usually allocates the concessionaire some storage space within the property so that necessary equipment and materials can be kept on site.

10. In-house Concessionaires • Facilities usually charge a commission to in-house vendors • These costs are passed on to the client • Some facilities charge outside vendors a surcharge for the right to work in the venue • This is done to discourage the client from using a favorite vendor • This ensures the caterer will not lose its commission.

11. Combination of In-house and Outside Services • Occasionally the facility may provide some services itself while the client is expected to secure others • If a convention needs specialized sound and lighting services, you may be able to provide microphones and speakers, but the client may have to use an outside service contractor to provide the necessary lighting.

12. Vendor List • After price comparisons, select one or two primary suppliers for each service when possible • Benefit: You develop and maintain a working relationship that results in better service and in-house discounts • Example: Using the same booking agency for all entertainment may result in a free band for the employee Holiday party.

13. Vendors • Florists • Bakeries • Retail Agencies (Rental Companies) • Printers • Photographers • Music • Audio Visual

14. AV Needs • If a client is using AV services, the catered function must be held in a room where sound is transmitted effectively • The walls should have absorbent panels and be at least one inch thick • If air walls are used, they should be two to four inches thick • The seals and gaskets must be intact and tightly secured to prevent sound leaks.

15. AV • Wool or thick-pile rugs are excellent floor coverings • They absorb unwanted sounds, such as those created by footsteps and moving equipment. • The function ceiling should not be too high or sound can reverberate • If local building codes require high ceilings, have acoustical material installed to reduce this or position speakers so it is minimized • Usually if there is sound reverberation, you can overcome it by installing temporary fabrics, tiles, baffles or other acoustical material.

16. Entertainment • The caterer's major involvement in the entertainment decision is to take it into account when planning the catered event • If a dance band is scheduled, everything from banquet setup to work scheduling will be influenced • Considering the major impact that entertainment will have, the catering executive cannot work effectively unless he or she is has this information.

17. Entertainment • The caterer must also know if there are any additional services that must be provided • The entertainment contract will indicate what they are and who is responsible for securing them • Require the client to show you the entertainment contract prior to signing it • There may be conditions that you cannot meet, or will require you to add extra charges.

18. Key Variables for Entertainment • Lighting Requirements • Number of Dressing Rooms Needed • Rehearsal Time and Facilities Needed • Sound Systems • Setup Time • Security • Staging Requirements • Dance Floor • Buffer Area • Liability

19. Entertainment Variables • Food, Beverage and/or Sleeping Rooms for Entertainers • Operational Logistics

20. Independent Meeting Planner • The most common type of intermediary used by clients • Clients hire them to plan and implement the entire function • Or they can be used to perform specific services, such as site selection, negotiations, or registration of convention attendees • They can coordinate business functions, meal functions, beverage functions, and outside service contractors

21. Special Events Planner • These intermediaries are sometimes engaged by corporations to plan and implement company parties and other similar affairs • They usually have a select clientele list that are served on a periodic, predictable basis • A special-events producer may plan a company's employee picnic every year • Clients tend to prefer this type of long-term arrangement because it ensures continuity and variety.

22. Destination Management Company • The DMC is a liaison between the out-of-town client and all of the services of a destination that the host property does not offer • DMCs range from those that provide very specialized services to full-service firms capable of handling all logistics • Full-service firms can book entertainment, plan theme parties, coordinate tours and spouse programs, and handle off-site events (including catering) at museums and other local attractions.

23. Government Services • You may need to inform the fire department if you are putting on an outdoor pyrotechnics display • The fire department may also need to oversee and inspect any portable electrical-power setup to ensure it is grounded properly and safe to use in a public area • In some jurisdictions, a fire marshal must approve banquet room setups to insure guests will be able to evacuate safely in the event of a fire.

24. Government Services • The local health district would need to approve portable, temporary tents, cooking lines, serving lines and so forth to be sure you are not violating health guidelines • You may need special parking permits for busses, parade permits, or a temporary off-site liquor license • If a client has a public official, such as a city mayor or state governor, speaking at a meeting, you may be dealing with bodyguards, or in the case of the President of the United States, the Secret Service.