Our client hosts annual educational events aimed at keeping its highly-skilled workforce at the forefront of their fields. With a history of supporting their mobile business needs, SilverDoor conducted a comprehensive review of their meetings and events requirements to secure premium accommodation.
As part of their annual training programme is a five-day conference for newly promoted team members, aimed at equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and experience to become effective leaders. The client asked SilverDoor to secure quality accommodation to ensure delegates were comfortable, well-rested, and fully prepared for the conference.
“Working with SilverDoor gave us the flexibility we needed to book accommodation for our five-day event seamlessly. Their adaptability to our processes benefited our team on the ground, while their convenient hold times and follow-up with our rooming list process alleviated potential challenges and proved invaluable. ”
- EMEA Event Manager
The Situation
The project required coordinating two cohorts of employees across 72 apartments with separate check-in dates for both groups. Working with SilverDoor for many years, the business outlined its preference for a particular SilverDoor property partner – and requested that all their delegates were hosted in apartments operated by the same partner.
The primary goal for SilverDoor was to secure the preferred accommodation, in the right location, at the best possible rates to ensure budgets were met.
The client requested a formal contract and agreement for their bookings in advance. Normally, the process involves sending terms, requesting payment, and finally sending confirmation upon receiving payment. However, in this case, the client wanted a contract specifying all terms, including payment deadlines. The team put together the client’s requested contract, ensuring an easier booking experience.
The conference took place during peak season known for high demand and rates, posing a challenge regarding room availability. To ensure employees secured their chosen rooms, we leveraged our long-standing relationship with the property partner to negotiate a hold period of three months while arrangements for the conference and travel were made. This involved setting clear deadlines to specify when apartment holds would expire, which we then synchronised with the clients schedule.
What we did
Events and conferences can often involve unforeseen challenges and last-minute change of plans, meaning clients can sometimes need to cancel or amend bookings right up until the day of check-in, so our goal is to support our clients to navigate these as smoothly as possible. For this project, we negotiated a bespoke cancellation policy with our property partner, prioritising our client’s best interest.
Alongside a 120+ day free cancellation policy, we negotiated a tiered system that permitted cancellations within 30 - 89 days with no charge for up to 20% of the rooms. This flexibility allowed our client to manage their arrangements effectively and adapt their programme as needed.
“I felt an overall very dedicated support from SilverDoor for this event, we were feeling like special guests and not as a random group which is always a nice feeling for us… and I am sure our attendees felt the same. ”
- EMEA Event Manager
The Outcome
We wanted to ensure that every guest in each cohort received the same high-touch service for which SilverDoor is known, so the Head Account Manager and Senior Key Account Manager responsible for the project flew in to help with and oversee the check-in process.
With the first guests arriving at 11:00 AM and the final one at 11:00 PM, each guest was greeted by a SilverDoor representative to answer any questions or queries. Additionally, we strategically booked two separate blocks of apartments to ensure seamless guest transitions, enabling them to check-in and out without any delay.
SilverDoor’s Account Management team negotiated the original quoted nightly rate down by 53% of its initial cost.
This significant reduction not only kept the project within budget but also secured their preferred serviced apartment location.
We also secured breakfast arrangements for our guests before the conference. Despite the on-site kitchen’s usual opening time of 8:00 AM, we successfully negotiated with the property to open at 7:00 AM for the party’s sole use, accommodating their schedule to ensure they were able to enjoy the breakfast provision, and arrive at the conference on time.
