This case study actually involves not one but three different clients and one great partner property. We contracted meeting space for Client #1 for their annual user’s conference at the InterContinental San Francisco about a year and a half in advance of their event. We secured VERY valuable San Francisco meeting real estate at one of the only higher- end properties with meeting space perfect for mid-size events. A few months later MFactor also assisted Client #2 with booking the same hotel space directly following the conclusion of Client #1’s event. Unfortunately Client #1’s leadership changed direction and they decided that they were no longer going to hold a user conference thus negating the need for their meeting space.

MFactor truly believes in fostering partnerships and it was this valuable partnership with our contacts at the InterContinental was a huge benefit to our clients. Our contract negotiation process is tough and two key clauses we require in every contract are rebooking and resell. Fortunately the resell clause was included in Client #1’s contract so although they had to pay the cancellation penalties upfront there was still a chance of recouping some of these cancellation charges should the hotel resell the space.

Enter Client #3. A little late in security meeting space in the limited San Francisco market, they turned to MFactor for assistance in finding space for their upcoming conference. Knowing that MFactor’s client had just released space at the InterCon we explained the cancellation situation to Client #3. The result? A nod, a sigh of relief and a tentative celebration that space had essentially “appeared!” We immediately picked up the phone, held the space and quickly held a site inspection with Client #3. After a week of contract negotiations with the hotel for Client #3’s contract they had great event space only months away from their May program.

Meanwhile, MFactor notified Client #1 of the great news that the hotel was able to resell the majority of the space they had contracted, resulting in the InterCon processing a refund check to Client #1.

Happy ending right? Yes, but it doesn’t end there…

Since we knew that we had back-to-back bookings at the same property for meetings using the same general session space and the same production company (another of MFactor’s amazing partners) the two senior event planners assigned to these events met with our production manager and identified what could be reused for these back-to-back events. We put together a proposal for each client outlining what Clients 2 & 3 said they were ideally looking for from a production standpoint. Then, they made some adjustments to meld the two ideas and showed each client an alternate proposal outlining the significant cost savings resulting from shared equipment rental and reduced set up and tear down labor costs. If the two clients were willing to use extremely similar sets for the general session and breakout rooms then they would save money…money that could reduce their bottom line or be used to enhance another area of their event. Sold!

Happy client’s 1, 2 and 3! Happy MFactor and vendors!