Contractor travels with personally owned 12' Cargo trailer to transport all conference supplies and materials to the site and return and store at office.  The above does not include other standard items SO travels with such as ice chests for hospitality, hospitality supplies, training materials, SW NAHRO Flags, registration supplies, etc.

 

Would another Professional Services Contractor commit to this type of personal service for the association?  It is a great deal of laborious work to load, unload, setup, teardown, trouble shoot, etc. all of the necessary equipment.  Speakers / Moderators tend to call the hotel AV department at the first sign of complications.  That call alone generates a minimum of a 1 hour technical assistance fee even if the fix is as simple as providing an alternate connection cord!  S & S travels will a wide range of technology to prevent the need of renting items from the hotel and we discourage (prohibit) speakers from calling hotel for technical assistance!  We inform the hotel in advance at the pre-conference meeting that should they receive such calls they must first inform us of the issue prior to them responding so that we can address.

 

Who is looking out for the Associations best interests?  S & S Unlimited, Inc. negotiates over 200 total hotel contracts per year!  My philosophy is “You Do Not Get What You Do Not Ask For”!  My experience has taught me that there is always value added services on the table for the asking, you just need to know what to ask for!  The RFP’s we submit to potential venues include a wide range of concessions that often times are overlooked by meeting planners!  Free WiFi for guest rooms and meeting space, complimentary hotel staff rooms, reduced AV pricing, reduction in food and beverage pricing, lower food and beverage minimums, complimentary meeting space, flexible hotel cut off dates, return business in lieu of attrition fees, complimentary welcome receptions, etc. 

 

Most venues require advance payment, but we make it a priority to get direct billing approved in advance so that we are allowed 30 days to review the venue’s final bill for accuracy.  Ninety percent of the time the initial hotel bill is not accurate.  Could be as simple as a discount not applied, taxes charged when not applicable, failure to deduct room nights earned, but regardless with S & S Unlimited, Inc. watching out for you, you are guaranteed that the bill reviewed by my team and submitted for payment is accurate and includes all the discounts and credits due the association.