Two event experts share practical strategies for forecasting expenses, negotiating fees and making sure every meeting dollar works harder
Editor’s note: This summary of the webinar transcript was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
Meeting budgets are under pressure from nearly every direction. Rising labor costs, higher food and beverage prices, AV expenses, internet fees and an expanding list of service charges can quickly turn a carefully planned budget into a much larger final bill.
During a recent Smart Meetings Knowledge Exchange webinar, event production expert Scott Frankel, president of Animatic Media, and meetings and hospitality professional Bre Maxim, account director at Bishop-McCann, shared strategies for building more realistic budgets, identifying hidden costs and negotiating expenses before they become surprises.
Build a Budget for Today’s Reality
One of the biggest mistakes planners can make is simply adding a blanket percentage to last year’s budget and calling it a forecast.
Maxim noted that while inflation and rising labor costs have affected virtually every area of event planning, individual costs have not increased at the same rate. Instead of automatically adding 5% or 10% across the board, planners should reassess individual line items and determine whether each expense still deserves a place in the budget.
“Just because something is five or 10% more expensive doesn’t mean your budget just automatically has to accommodate it,” Maxim says.
AV is a particularly challenging category. Frankel pointed to higher labor and transportation costs, along with changes to wireless technology, as factors contributing to significant increases. In some cases, he says, individual AV expenses can be 15% to 20% higher than they were previously.
Get the Real Numbers Before Signing
Some of the most expensive surprises can be avoided by getting detailed quotes during the site-selection process.
Frankel recommends obtaining estimates for AV, internet, electrical and rigging before signing a venue contract. Even if an upcoming event closely resembles a previous program, costs can vary based on the city, venue, in-house provider and current labor rates.
“If you don’t know what your electric, internet and rigging are going to cost, you don’t know what that venue is going to cost as a whole,” Frankel says.
Planners should also review a venue’s requirements for third-party vendors before signing. If outside suppliers must meet specific insurance or operational standards, those requirements—and any associated costs—should be understood in advance.
Understand Your Technology Needs
Internet is another area where understanding actual event needs can prevent unnecessary spending.
Basic attendee Wi-Fi may be sufficient for groups primarily checking email or accessing basic information, while streaming, polling, cloud-based presentations and other interactive technologies may require dedicated bandwidth.
The same applies to AI-enabled event apps and other digital tools. Planners should consider how attendees and staff will actually use technology rather than automatically purchasing the largest available package.
Frankel also encourages planners to negotiate internet packages. If a venue’s smallest package exceeds the event’s actual requirements, it may be worth asking whether the price can be adjusted.
Connect Every Expense to an Objective
When event costs rise but the overall budget does not, something has to change. Maxim recommends starting with the purpose of the event and identifying the outcomes stakeholders expect to achieve.
From there, planners can determine which expenses directly support those objectives and which might be adjusted. Options could include reducing the attendee count, shortening the event by a day or moving the meeting closer to company headquarters to reduce travel costs.
Frankel also encourages planners to push internal stakeholders for more specifics before requesting AV estimates. A general request for a ballroom, breakout rooms and a reception does not provide enough information to develop a meaningful production budget.
Read More: Can’t-Miss Contract Tips
Planners should determine details such as whether breakout rooms will feature panels, how many microphones will be needed and what level of production quality is expected.
The more specific the request, the more realistic the resulting budget will be.
Negotiate Beyond the Room Rate
A lower room rate does not necessarily mean a lower overall event cost.
Maxim recommends assigning a dollar value to every concession and considering how much the group will actually use it. A concession that looks attractive on paper may have little value to a particular program.
Service charges can be more difficult to negotiate, but other fees may provide opportunities for savings, including bartender, butler-passed service, chef-attendant and outdoor setup fees.
Read More: The Four Contract Clauses Every Planner Must Master
Planners should also establish exactly what an AV or food and beverage discount applies to. A 10% discount is difficult to incorporate into a long-range budget without an agreed-upon pricing baseline.
For multiyear programs, Maxim suggests negotiating a cap on annual increases. A property may not agree to lock in today’s prices several years into the future, but it may agree to limit year-over-year increases to a specified percentage.
Make Contingency Part of the Plan
Maxim also recommends building contingency into the budget rather than treating it as extra money to spend freely.
Depending on the program, planners might set aside contingency specifically for food and beverage and production or create one broader fund. The money provides flexibility when registration numbers increase, scope changes or stakeholders add elements to the program.
As the event approaches, contingency should ideally become smaller as decisions are finalized and funds are strategically reallocated.
“It’s a lot easier to ask upfront for that money and then give it back if you don’t need it than to continually be asking for more money as you go,” Maxim says.
Find Savings in Food and Room Usage
Historical data can help planners avoid overbuying food and beverage. Registration numbers do not necessarily reflect how many attendees will participate in every meal or break, so past attendance patterns can provide a more accurate basis for guarantees.
Planners can also examine the timing of breaks. A coffee station that remains open for hours, for example, may not be necessary if attendees only need refreshments during a specific window.
Frankel’s top budget-saving recommendation is to rethink room usage. Rather than setting up AV in one room for a morning session and another for the afternoon, planners can look for opportunities to use the same space for multiple purposes. Keeping an existing setup in place can reduce equipment moves, resets and labor.
Some of these efficiencies can support sustainability goals, too. Frankel points to digital and LED signage as an alternative to printed materials, noting that the displays can be updated throughout an event and used for multiple purposes.
Ultimately, the experts’ advice comes back to one principle—know what the event needs before deciding what it should cost. Careful forecasting, early negotiations and strategic prioritization can help planners avoid budget surprises while directing more dollars toward the experiences that matter most to attendees.
