Communication: Listening and Delivering
Departments and Key Staff
CCSMs rely on several operational departments for successful meetings, events, conventions, and tradeshows. In catering conventions services a CCSM interacts with all departments with a hotel. Among these supporting departments are the following and their responsibilities and how this is vital to catering convention services support.
Sales managers and support departments:
Catering sales: Typically, the first contact a bride and groom or nonprofit planner have—to build rapport and gain confidence their event will be a priority.
Meeting or convention sales: They have the relationships and knowledge to convince planners your company is the right choice to earn their business and carry out expectations.
Group restaurant sales: Provides groups that want a break from traditional meeting space with restaurant venues for meals.
Group rooms coordinators: They are among groups’ favorite staff for planner or meeting planners for all their efforts in the forever-changing reservations of guests, planner meeting planners, and their VIPs.
Business center: This service can be an in-house offering or a retail lessee. CCSMs will work closely with the business center to inform meeting planners and guests of the services provided such as tradeshow outbound shipments, ordering of directional signs, making copies, mailing of all types, printing of boarding passes, and so on.
CCSMs: Fellow coworkers with the same job title. This team is imperative to the overall success of the department. They provide mentoring, camaraderie, and relief when a CCSM is off work due to illness, vacation, meetings, and so on.
Front desk agents and managers: Their duties are invaluable for finding solutions to check-in issues from early check-ins, late check-out requests, service recovery upgrades, and overall special room requests.
Housekeepers or GRAs (guest room attendants): This is the team responsible for cleaning all the guestrooms in the hotel. They are also the first to be accused of theft and the first ones to be praised for their abilities to turn a room from dirty to sparkling in a matter of minutes. Without a stellar housekeeping team the hotel will not have success, especially on days when there are an extremely high number of sleeping room checkins and check-outs.
Convention setup: This team is vital to the overall success in the timing of a group’s general sessions, rehearsal and breakouts, setup of tables, chairs, staging, and so on. In casino properties this is a 24-hour, 7-day a week department with 3 shifts of staffing.
Banquet managers: This team of managers and assistant managers are responsible for all food and beverage events on the convention floor. They coordinate with servers, food runners, and stewarding staff for the execution of breakfast, breaks, lunch, receptions, and dinner.
Banquet servers: This team of dedicated staff is responsible for providing the actual serving of food and beverage to guests. This team works directly off the BEOs and under the direction of the banquet manager. They are compensated with automatic gratuity from a portion of the service charge. CCSMs work extremely closely with this team during the meal functions.
Stewarding managers and staff: This team is responsible for the cleaning and polishing of banquet-serving items from china, glass, and silverware. CCSMs, chefs, and banquet managers will work with this team advising during BEO meetings what equipment, size of plates, and types for glassware are needed for each event.
Chefs:
Executive banquet chef: This person oversees most culinary operations including hot kitchens, Garde manger (cold kitchens), and pastry kitchens. CCSMs will work closely with this person to design custom menus, learning of food seasonality, cost, and unexpected shortages.
Garde manger: This position is responsible for pantry and for the ordering and production of items in the cold kitchen, including items such as fruit, juices, salads, dressings, and cold hors d’oeuvres. CCSMs will work with them on custom items and special dietary requests.
Pastry chefs: These chefs are responsible for the product ordering and baking of breads, pastries, desserts, and cakes. CCSMs will work closely with them on custom logo sugar pieces, unique desserts, and wedding cake design.
Chef Tournant: These are chefs that support all kitchens and can provide answers to current stock for pop-up requests from groups needing food items not previously ordered.
Cooks: They support all chefs and make up the most staff in banquet kitchens. This team works together to prepare food per the chef’s instructions and gets it to the runners so all the banquet food is delivered on time.
Runners: These culinary team members are responsible for delivering food from the kitchens to the proper ballrooms.
Engineering, facilities, or front of house departments:
Carpenters: Lay dance floors, hang banners, build, fix, and maintain items in the hotel.
Electricians: Responsible for the electrical power, air conditioning, fire watch, replacing light bulbs, fixing and maintaining the electric fixtures and systems indoors and outdoors of a hotel.
Directors and managers: Oversee the day-to-day operations within a hotel or facility. This can include the management of staffing, work orders, capital projects, fixing and maintenance of elevators and escalators, and hiring of specialty contractors and suppliers.
Bell desk and valet: This team can respond to VIP requests including room drops,1 group arrival via motor coaches, and wheelchair or motorized scooter rentals. CCSMs will provide these departments with group resumes, memo of local events that will impact the departments and the parking areas. In turn they control the hotel entrances with easy and professional coordination.
Room service: Vital for the success of VIP amenity deliveries and coordination of meetings and catered events in suites.
Accounting: This team provides financial accountability to the hotel. CCSMs will interact with them on contracted deposit collection, final payments, direct billing, aging reports, and final accounting.
Security: This team provides for a safe environment for internal and external guests. They will also be the liaison with first responders, as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement when needed. CCSMs will work with them on notifying their department on issues within the meeting space and hotel that need their attention—items such as theft, unruly guests, medical emergencies, and crowd control. It’s important to note that once a planner submits a written security report, for liability purposes CCSMs should not speak about this incident, but rather refer all questions directly to the security or risk management departments.
Human resources (HR) : This department oversees all personnel issues. CCSMs typically will not work directly with HR, but their directors will in the hiring and discipline of associates. The team of HR professionals will also provide training to all hotel associates.
Risk management: This department exists to minimize the legal responsibilities for the hotel. This includes putting into place programs or policies for safe working habits. CCSMs work with this department to obtain certificates of insurance listing the hotel as an additional insured for every provider of services that is in the convention space. Additionally, CCSMs will work with them on group special requests that may create risks within the meeting space such as demonstrations that are subject to potential accidents, use of exotic live animals, flying drones, and so on. Again, it’s important to note that once a planner submits a written security report, for liability purposes CCSMs should not speak to this incident but rather refer all questions directly to the security or risk management departments.
Spa and fitness center: This department is a favorite among hotel guests and may in fact be why they choose to stay at hotels that offer services such as massage, facials, saunas, and workout facilities. CCSMs will work with agents of these departments for making appointments for planners and their VIPS.
Wedding chapels: Some hotels, especially those in casinos, have standalone wedding chapels. Other hotels or facilities offer weddings in outdoor settings and inside ballrooms. CCSMs will work closely with wedding service coordinators on the timing of ceremonies as it relates to their corresponding wedding receptions.
Restaurants:
Group sales teams: This team books group reservations with a set menu and food and beverage minimum. CCSMs will work closely with them on suggestion when a group is seeking a restaurant experience rather than a ballroom setting they have been in all day. This includes celebrity restaurants typically found in casino resorts.
Food and beverage management: Managers responsible for staffing and the day-to-day operations of restaurants and bars. CCSMs will advise the restaurants via the resume of large groups that meals are not provided for. Restaurant managers are able to staff appropriately when hundreds of guests have a lunch break without a lunch provided in the meeting space.
Reservations: An offering of the guest services, concierge, or telecommunication departments to take reservations when the restaurants are closed. CCSMs and their assistants are often requested to obtain VIP restaurant reservations for “C” level executives or meeting planners.
Marketing: This team of professionals provides creative materials such as sales kits, property maps, and annual catering menus. Social media and its tracking is a large part of their responsibilities. This includes travel websites and their posting of guest experiences. Additionally, they provide TV, movie, special event and direct mail advertising for the hotel as a whole, and for individual departments. CCSMs will work with the marketing team on approving materials such as corporate logos, planners requesting the use of proprietary photos, filming within the meeting or convention space, special events, revisions to maps and menus.
Concierge: This department may be in-house or outsourced to a private company. They provide reservations and recommendations for guests. These services include reservation and information on local restaurants, sightseeing tours, shopping, nearby medical facilities, and so on. CCSMs will be able to refer guests and meeting planners to the concierge for expert local knowledge.
Entertainment: Hotels that offer in-house entertainment, such as casino show rooms, can also be of service to meeting planners. They can offer entertainment for general session and social dinners and receptions. This can include celebrity and local entertainers, DJs and even piano tuners. CCSMs can refer planners or schedule these types of service.
Retail stores: Most hotels and facilities have retail components to their offers. These are stores such as clothing, jewelry, logo items, sundry items, and famous franchise or lessee chains. CCSMs will interface with retailers for suggestions to planners on request.
Unique to Casinos
In a casino hotel: CCSMs will be working directly with these departments:
Casino cage: Vital for cash paid outs against master accounts.
Casino hosts: Providing catering or meeting services to high-end casino planners.
Loyalty gaming card centers: Referring guests to apply for gaming cards to earn points for hotel offerings.
Casino dealers: This staff can have a very positive effect on convention or meeting guests by their friendly manner. The guests in turn speak of this experience to the fellow guests, creating a fun “free-time” environment.
Casino marketing: This department is responsible for creating and executing special events such as New Year’s Eve, 4th of July, slot tournaments, and annual major sporting events within the convention space.
Celebrity showrooms and nightclubs: These hotels are popular for meeting planners to book parties and show tickets. They assist in the overall casino adult experience.
Internal and External Meetings Necessary for Coordinating Catering and Convention Services
Banquet Event Order Meeting
The objective of these daily meetings is to confirm the details of each meeting on a BEO to the operations teams and assign the overseeing banquet manager.
These documents are reviewed from top to bottom and left to right. This meeting includes chefs, banquet, and stewarding associates. The meeting starts with the director announcing:
BEO number: Catering management systems automatically assign BEO numbers to each BEO. However, in large properties it is common to also assign internal numbers. This allows BEOs to be sent out in date and time order regardless of how many different groups have events on any given day.
Each menu item in detail, including what type of plate will be used to serve each item. If there is a buffet, list plates, chafing dishes, cooking equipment, and so on, that need to be discussed.
China, glass, silverware, linens, paper, and plastic to be used.
Items to be preset by the banquet department or on food stations, bars and trade show or exhibit areas.
Planner contact information and onsite contact details.
Accounting information, such a group code.
Room(s) setup information with number of tables and chairs in a specific arrangement such as theater, classroom, chevron, rounds, U-shape, conference, royal conference, hollow square, open, and cocktail style.
There are essentially two types of BEOs: (1) those with F&B (food and beverage) and (2) those with meeting or event room setup only without F&B. BEOs that include room rental, billing for keys, security, water stations, and labor are considered F&B BEOs because it is the banquet department that charges these into the internal systems.
BEO meetings are held every day Monday through Friday. The BEO meeting starts in the order of timing of events such as breakfast, followed by a.m. break, lunch, p.m. break, reception, and dinner. Once this is finished we start over with just the setup BEOs.
Small hotel properties and venues may conduct BEO meetings weekly or as needed.
Following are the days covered in a standard BEO meeting for large properties:
Monday: Wednesday BEOs are reviewed but first we review any changes for Monday and Tuesday.
Tuesday: Thursday BEOs are reviewed but first we review any changes for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wednesday: Friday BEOs are reviewed but first we review any change orders for Wednesday and Thursday.
Thursday: Saturday and Sunday BEOs are reviewed but first you review any changes for Thursday and Friday.
Friday: Monday and Tuesday BEOs are reviewed but first we review any changes for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Those attending BEOs are key operations staff. These include:
Executive director, director, or assistant of catering or convention services to lead the meeting (If all are unavailable, a senior CCSM may occasionally lead the meeting.).
Each CCSM that has groups in-house with BEOs covering the dates being reviewed.
Director of banquets or an assigned banquet manager or assistant manager.
Banquet operations manager or assigned assistant manager.
Executive banquet chef or assigned hot kitchen chef tourant.
Garde manger chef or cold kitchen chef tourant.
Executive pastry chef or assigned pastry chef.
Executive steward or stewarding manager.
Audio-visual manager or assigned representative.
If you represent multiple properties that operate as pods, a BEO meeting could potentially be reviewing multiple properties at a time.
The BEO is an extremely important document. It is the road map of the event. BEOs are covered more thoroughly in Chapter 6.
Preconvention Meeting or Pre-Con
Preconvention meetings are held a day to a few days prior to the start of a convention. These can be conventions of 10 to 5,000 rooms for large hotels. For citywide conventions, this could be in the tens of thousands of rooms.
The purpose of pre-con meetings is for planners and hotel operation teams to meet each other in a formal setting and discuss their roles for that particular convention.
Often the room setup for this is a hollow square with permanent nameplates for operations staff and temporary ones for meeting planners and their staff and vendors.
Guests of pre-cons can be, but are not limited to, the lead CCSM, director of catering and convention services, convention sales manager, banquet director or manager, convention setup operations manager, group rooms coordinator, front desk manager, hotel general manager (for smaller noncasino hotels), audio-visual manager, security manager, concierge, and spa manager (if applicable) on the hotel side. Planners may bring with them to the meeting: additional planners, third-party planners, outside audio-visual companies that travel with them, and exhibit, tradeshow, or drayage companies. It is essential that the planners advise the CCSM in advance exactly who will be attending the meeting.
The pre-con meeting is typically spearheaded by the lead CCSM for the convention. He or she will welcome the guests and introduce the main meeting planner, and then ask the planner to speak about the group profile and what to expect during the convention. Additionally, the planner may have their staff members introduce themselves and explain their roles of responsibility during the convention. Next the hotel operations team introduces themselves with each hotel staff expressing a welcoming message to the group, stating their name, position, and how they have prepared for the group. Each guest should have in front of them the group resume to review what is discussed in the meeting, for example early check-in, late check-out, off-site events, security and emergency procedures, and so on.
Depending on the planner’s expectations and hot buttons, they may address items of importance to them such as C-level requirements, levels of service anticipated and whether they want to know challenges as they present themselves to help in their solutions rather than hearing about them after the fact. This is especially true for third-party planners. For example, if front desk check-in lines are quite busy we might recommend to the planners to suggest guests check-in via self-serve kiosks. Also, if a certain food item did not ship to the hotel in time, the CCSM lets the planner know and offers suggestions for substitutions rather than wait to see if they notice.
After these meeting formalities, the planner is invited to ask questions of the operations team. The lead CCSM will close the meeting with final announcements and invite certain guests to remain in the meeting room to review specific details such as guestroom reports, audio-visual changes, and full BEO reviews.
It is imperative that the planner sees, reviews, and makes any changes to the resume prior to the start of the pre-con. This is their time to confirm any changes they desire or any forgotten, missed, or noncommunicated information.
An important nontangible outcome of pre-cons is getting to see the planner’s style and the rapport that’s revealed and how to prepare for it. For example: Are they serious, humorous, nervous, anxious about a particular detail, confident in your service or experienced enough to know how to handle issues as they arise versus looking for a perfect and flawless event? By the way, in all our years in the meetings and convention business, we have certainly not witnessed a perfectly flawless event. Always “expect the unexpected.”
Postconvention Meeting or Post-Con
The primary purpose of a post-con meeting is to gain feedback from the planner. This feedback generally will disclose how the hotel performed on all levels of service from the preplanning experience to the guest check-in to actual execution of events.
Guests of the post-con meetings are primarily the main event planning contacts and senior level hotel staff such as directors and executive directors of operation departments and general manager of medium- to small-size hotels. Note that planners may ask this meeting be held onsite, or they may prefer a conference call following the convention. Additionally, planners may follow up with written correspondence on their recommendations for future improvement. Occasionally they will ask for compensation for issues that were not resolved to their satisfaction. Such items can include mistakes in overcharging for a particular item, food events or items that were missed, or perceived unpleasant service by staff.
It’s a nice touch at post-cons to surprise groups with a champagne toast send-off and welcome them back for future events.
Resume Meeting
The purpose for a resume meeting is for all hotel operational departments to be briefed in person on a group resume (typically, previously sent out in an e-mail distribution) prior to the group arrival and pre-con. Typically, this is a regularly scheduled weekly meeting and covers group arrival 10 days to 2 weeks prior. During the resume meeting the director of catering and convention services will announce which resume is being reviewed and the CCSM for that group will verbally review each page of the resume and answer any questions that arise from the supporting team members.
Guests of the resume meeting are usually led by the director of catering and convention services, and include the following individuals:
All CCSMs with group conventions for the following weeks
Group rooms coordinator
Housekeeping director or manager
Bell desk captain
Front desk manager
Also, based on the sales concession or group profile, specialty departments may occasionally attend, such as spa services, restaurant and outlet managers, and so on.
Resume meetings are a great time for the CCSM to communicate with the supporting departments about any planner nuances and items to be aware of that are not apparent from reading the resume—items such as: “The meeting planner loves red wine and friendly housekeeping staff,” “CEO may have meeting planner secure motorized scooter, but doesn’t want to be seen as helpless,” and “Group guests are not experienced travelers and may need additional explanation of hotel processes.”
How Planners Annoy CCSMs
CCSMs have to juggle multiple events and myriad details on a daily basis. Planners can make their lives more difficult by doing any of the following:
Failing to return e-mails or phone calls.
Admitting extra guests to receptions that eat and drink, then refuse to pay for them.
Expecting the caterer to deal with issues not included in the written contract.
Insisting on more setup or teardown time than originally contracted.
Walking in for site visits with little to no notice.
Asking for a customized menu when they really just want a discounted menu.
Adding extra meeting rooms that aren’t contracted and not understand why there is a fee for this.
Request special linen or chairs and not understand that the hotel has limited inventory.
Requesting buffet props or decorations that are not available.
Being cheap by ordering breakfast or break items by the piece and not ordering enough to supply the guarantee. This makes the hotel look worse than the planner because guests assume the hotel was being cheap.
Waiting until the day of the event to give the hotel the post as for the various events. If the CCSM can get this information in advance it helps to communicate the group name to everyone.
Using the hotel’s capacity charts as the bible. These are usually guidelines based off minimal audio-visual or décor. If your setup needs are extensive you should have a diagram drawn to show how many guests you can really fit.
Assuming there is an unlimited amount of dance floor. They cannot give every group a 30 feet × 30 feet dance floor.
Assuming that cash bars should not cost the planner anything. We have to charge for the bartender and the cashiers.
Failing to adhere to their approved banquet documents and making changes onsite, thereby disrupting the operations team staffing assignments.
Assuming that beer, wine, and soft drinks bars should be materially cheaper than bars with cocktails.
Using wait staff or setup people as servants. They can be very helpful, but they are not a planner’s decorating staff or setup crew. They are there to serve food and beverage and make sure the room setup is done as per the specifications (At union properties, staff are not required to assist in planner setup.).
Not complying with all of the details included on a BEO, which must be accurate and complete, including the guarantee, timing, vegetable plates, special meals, audio-visual, head table seating, and so on.
Assuming that hotels are not for profit and trying to get caterer to reduce the price of food and beverage.
Asking the caterer what the hotel is going to give them for bringing the hotel this great piece of business. Wanting something for nothing.
Stalling on making decisions on menus, room sets, and so on. It takes time to prepare BEOs (especially for large programs with many events). If the CCSM doesn’t have the necessary information they can’t get the BEOs done, to the planner for signature, and back in time to distribute as needed.
Dragging their feet on signing BEOs. It not only puts CCSMs in a bad position to have to hound the planner for signatures, but prohibits them from distributing the information in a timely manner to the culinary and operations teams.
Allowing extra guests to attend an event, even when willing to pay for them. If more guests show up than the guarantee (over the agreed upon over set) it is likely there won’t be enough seats at a plated meal, or enough food or beverage at a reception. If the CCSM tries to accommodate the additional guests, by adding seats, food and beverage, it makes them look like we weren’t properly prepared.
Intentionally under-ordering food. When ordering a la carte for an event, it is challenging at best when a planner intentionally under-orders food in order to save on costs. This is called low-balling. Many planners assume more food can be prepared if needed. However, additional food may not be on hand, it may take longer to prepare than the reception will last and makes the CCSM look like they ran out of food. The guests aren’t aware of how the food was ordered so they often just assume the hotel didn’t prepare enough.
Not communicating what they need. Unfortunately, CCSMs are not mind readers. If you need a table for displays, awards, and so on, they need to know in advance. It takes time to get items out of storage and set them up properly. It also takes staff, linen, skirting, and so on, which may not be available at the moment you arrive, in a panic, because the room isn’t set exactly how you need it.
One of the common threads is communication. Open lines of communication are imperative.
Do Your Events Stimulate the Senses?
We have five senses: smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. Are you using all five senses to stimulate guests at your events?
Smell
Smell can be a powerful sense. Smell is often our first response to stimuli. It alerts us to fire before we see flames. There are various types of smells, including:
Scent, perfume, bouquet, and fragrance refer to the smell of flowers. Be careful that the scent of the flowers in the centerpiece does not affect the palate and overpower the taste of the food.
Aroma usually refers to the smell of food. The smell of bacon frying, coffee brewing in the morning, popcorn popping—all evoke memories as well as anticipation.
Odor refers to bad smells, such as fishy odors, stale air in a meeting room, mildew, and so on.
Smell is more closely linked to the parts of the brain that process emotion and associative learning than the other senses.
Touch
Think of all of the different textures and temperatures you can feel. Order table linens with a good hand feel. They can be silky or velvety. Try using bubble wrap as a tablecloth. Guests won’t be able to resist popping the bubbles.
Taste
This is a no-brainer. Provide delicious food.
Sight
Lighting can create a tone for the event and create a pleasing ambiance. There are all types of lights available, from tiny, sparkly Tivoli lights in trees to GOBO lights, that project images on walls, ceilings, or floors.
Colors evoke feelings. Reds and oranges are hot colors and excite people. Blues and greens are cool colors and calm people. Guests will eat and drink more in a brightly lit room with hot colors.
Hearing
Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations. Pleasant sounds, such as music at a reception or dinner, can set a mood. Soundtracks of tropical birds or rainfall at luau type of events can elevate the atmosphere.
Staff Communications
Famed hotelier Ellsworth Statler (1863–1928) once said, “Hire only good natured people.” What he meant was that you can teach someone a skill, but you cannot teach attitude. He espoused service with a smile.
In 2012, Cathay Pacific flight crews threatened a no-smile strike.2 What a novel idea. Instead of disrupting service, they would be affecting the quality of the service. It would feel very strange to be in an environment where no one smiled.
After a long day of flight delays, waiting for baggage, standing in a cab line or being crammed in a shuttle, and sitting in traffic in all types of weather conditions, the last thing your guests want to encounter is a haughty front desk clerk.
Hotels have distinct personalities. Hotel personalities come partly from the décor and ambiance, but largely from the attitude of the staff that they encounter.
There is no excuse for poor service delivered with a bad attitude. Hotels should take the time to train their employees on how to develop a friendly tone of voice.3 This is especially important for staff members that answer the phones. They need to put a smile in their voice.4
It has been said that people that smile while talking on the phone have a friendlier tone of voice. Smile and dial is common advice in sales and customer service training. Nestlé places a mirror at each phone rep station so the reps can see if they are smiling when they are talking on the phone.
Ritz Carlton teaches their employees that they are ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.
1 Room drops: Amenities delivered to guest sleeping rooms, such as snacks, beverages or souvenirs.
2 www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/ 9737387/Cathay-Pacific-crews-threaten-no-smile-strike.html
3 www.wikihow.com/Develop-a-Friendly-Tone-of-Voice
4 www.achrnews.com/articles/126561-the-importance-of-putting-a-smile-in-your-voice