How Hospitality Operators Can Secure Their Next Contract by Delivering a Better Customer Experience
TL;DR by Tippy
Relationships are no longer enough for hospitality operators to secure new contracts
Demonstrating better quality and performance determines who wins contracts
85% of attendees say they would return to an event if they experienced an exceptional, goal-aligned experience (Source: Freeman)
Having a solid contract management system that is structured and well documented is key for contract renewal
Hospitality operators should leverage data as part of their performance measurement when renegotiating contracts
Yusei Takeuchi on Pexels
When it comes to delivering an exceptional customer experience at convention centers, the “proof is in the pudding.” Ensuring attendees can easily register, navigate the exhibition floor, and have access to suitable, good quality food and beverage options are just some of the ways hospitality operators can create better event experiences.
By delivering an excellent customer experience, collecting attendee feedback, and documenting everything they do, operators can leverage this as evidence of their performance for any upcoming contract renewals.
With regards to measuring success for hospitality operators, having well-structured systems, setting the right goals, and having clearly defined roles and responsibilities not only reduces gaps in service delivery, but it also prevents slip-ups that could compromise long-term relationships.
The Canadian Homebuilders Association witnessed this oversight at their annual conference at the St. John’s Convention Centre in Newfoundland and Labrador. After the event wrapped up, the CEO of the association sent a formal letter to several senior members of the provincial government filing a formal complaint against the convention center.
The complaints ranged from the association being charged exorbitant fees to the facility not being cleaned properly. The catering provider also didn’t serve sufficient food, leaving the delegates famished. After this frustrating experience, the association made it clear they would never hold another conference at that venue again.
This example teaches us some important lessons:
Deliver a stellar customer experience, and attendees will sing your praises and provide rave reviews that can be used in your performance assessments and contract renegotiations.
Deliver an abysmal experience, and customers will not only take their business elsewhere, but they will also share what they endured online and with their network.
Let’s explore how hospitality operators can learn from past mistakes, knock it out of the park by delivering something remarkable, and how they can strategically secure their next contract.
Demonstrated Quality and Excellent Customer Experience Determines Who Gets the Contract
In hospitality, having documented evidence that operators can deliver an exceptional, seamless, and transparent customer experience is paramount to success within the ecosystem.
Gone are the days where all it took was relationships to win new contracts.
The City of San Diego’s 2017 audit of its own convention center is a good example demonstrating how contracts should be secured through quantifiable outcomes instead of relationships.
The city auditor’s report elaborated on the following:
The operator’s marketing contract with the San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) lacked any measurable performance targets or a corrective-action clause.
These missing factors indicated that “lower quality service” would go undetected and unaddressed, leading to unsatisfied attendees.
Renewal decisions could potentially be impacted by relationships instead of actual performance.
The report underscored stronger accountability for hospitality operators and recommended having performance results, the right metrics, and corrective actions as a prerequisite for contract renewal.
Hospitality Operators Must Prove They Can Deliver the Best Experience
In a competitive hospitality environment, retaining a contract implies that quality alone won't suffice. What also matters is the operator’s ability to prove that they can deliver an outstanding experience.
In PwC’s report “Experience is Everything” - based on interviews with 15,000 respondents across the globe - the research states there is a quantifiable value in delivering excellent customer experiences, and that the price premium for quality CX among consumers worldwide has risen to 16% for services and products globally.
Here are some other interesting statistics from the study:
Source: PwC
“Great companies are no longer just product or service companies; they’re great service companies, and the companies that are moving their investments from traditional ways of marketing and advertising into experience-led services and products are the ones that are actually doing better.”
David Clarke, Global CXO and Experience Consulting Leader, PwC
Global events organizer Freeman also released a trends report called “Unpacking XLNC: Bringing the X factor to attendee experiences.”
In this report, Freeman highlights an incredible insight for event organizers: Attendees don’t go to events for the fanfare and grandeur. They attend to achieve their own business goals.
If they accomplish these goals, they will have a stronger inclination to return.
Here are some additional insights from the report:
Source: Freeman
In an ever-changing market with continuously evolving attendee expectations, the ROI you should be measuring is customer retention.
To stay ahead, hospitality operators must think about how to deliver experiences that are relevant, meaningful, and align with the business goals of attendees so that they come back for more.
“Whether it's discovering a new product, gaining insight from a session, or making a valuable connection, experience amplifies the goals they [attendees] came to achieve”
Ken Holsinger, SVP of Strategy, Freeman
Have a Contract Renewal Strategy in Place Before Renewal Negotiations Begin
Top-performing hospitality operators should have sufficient evidence of how they optimized their performance to prove they’re delivering on their promise.
This is also why having a solid contract performance management system in place is paramount for operators. In short, it’s the process that monitors that everyone involved in the hospitality ecosystem is delivering what they’ve been contracted to do within a specific time, standard, and the agreed-upon terms.
Tippy’s Tip
“Be sure to have the relevant data handy to protect you when issues arise and use these as a bargaining chip when negotiating a contract renewal.”
The following best practices for contract renewal management are what separate top hospitality operators from the rest:
List out your key performance indicators (KPIs) and responsibilities when the agreement is signed and not when the first problem is flagged.
Automated alerts should be in place so that deadlines aren’t missed.
Have a set cadence for reviewing contracts, and don’t wait for issues to arise.
Have every problem that surfaces properly documented, as this can protect you if disputes happen and can be used as proof when the renewal takes place.
Share your contract performance management data with your legal and procurement teams to equip them with the right tools for future negotiations.
Leverage technology and eliminate manual tracking to avoid human error.
Be proactive when addressing risks to your contract renewal.
Operators should also use data as critical evidence of their performance when renegotiating contracts.
Teams should track these key performance indicators (KPIs) to detect underperforming suppliers, prioritize renewals, and report value to the relevant parties. These KPIs include:
Renewal rate
Churn rate
Cost savings
Service level agreement (SLA) compliance
Vendor performance scores
Using data to build a strong contract renewal strategy is all about being intentional, having a strategic plan, and believing in continuous improvement. The most successful strategies hospitality operators use integrate insights, automation, and the right governance to guarantee every renewal decision is in sync with changing business objectives.
Deliver A Better Customer Experience to Build a Stronger Case for Contract Renewal
Delivering better customer experiences and having the evidence to prove it is the order of the day for top-performing operators and getting contracts renewed.
At Competitor IQ, we ensure event attendees are given a chance to provide feedback, voice their opinions, and share their likes and dislikes so that teams can improve the experience for everyone.
Hospitality operators seeking to secure their next contracts must have data and measure their daily interactions proving they delivered on what they promised. However, quality alone is not enough. At the end of the day, it’s the experience that attendees had and how they achieved their business goals at the event that matters.
Ultimately, hospitality is about people, and operators would do well to remember to bring the human back to everything they do.
Curious to know about what your attendees experienced at your event?