Finding the Gold Nugget!
Heather Reid
Since March 12th, barely has a week gone by that I have not participated in some sort of online education relevant to our industry. The generosity of expertise shared by subject matter experts and legal counsels has been amazing! When it comes to education sessions about negotiating event contracts – I am always looking for […]
A “Niggling” Red Flag!
Heather Reid
Recently I was consulting with a contract review client and I encountered a situation that has been weighing on my mind since! As Event Hosts start to consider the viability, the liability and perhaps the desirability of hosting their 2021 in-person events, they may not have the tenets of Force Majeure to rely on to […]
Myth Busted… We “Can” Negotiate!
Heather Reid
Back in 2013 – attending an events industry conference – I overheard an esteemed colleague of mine say “I didn’t know you could negotiate Force Majeure.” What did I just hear? There seems to be a myth in our industry that planners/event hosts shouldn’t…. or even worse….can’t push back on event contracts. Contracts, in the […]
How a contract can cost you your job
Heather Reid
Think submitting your event contract to legal review absolves you of risk? Think again. Meetings and travel consultant Kevin Iwamoto recounts a horrifying story of an American corporate planner who lost her job because of her role in an event contract. The woman passed the contract through her company’s legal counsel, but that was insufficient for protecting the company’s […]
Happy “GMID” 2017! What are you doing to celebrate?
Heather Reid
To all of my colleagues in the meetings and events industry – Happy Global Meeting Industry Day! I am so proud that Canada led the way years ago in nationally recognizing the contributions of this industry – and the industry professionals who make it happen every single day…day in and day out! And now it […]
“Acts of God” send sporting events to the sidelines
Heather Reid
On Monday I had the privilege of speaking about venue contracts at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) 2017 Sport Events Congress. Preparing for my presentation, I discovered many examples of FORCE MAJEURE affecting major sporting events. A few examples: Women’s Hockey Championships Terminated The International Ice Hockey Federation terminated the 2003 Women’s World Ice Hockey Championships in Beijing because of the SARS epidemic. […]
SXSW sees performance contract go south
Heather Reid
Event contracts were in the news last week when New York musician Felix Walworth publicly denounced sections of his performance contract. Walworth performs under the stage name Told Slant and was slated to perform at this year’s South by South West (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas. But he took issue with sections of the […]
Chaos and Circling Back
Heather Reid
Chaos. That’s how I have described the “fall season” for the past 22 years. How about you? Is it “event season” for you too? This week, my team and I are delivering our final major conference of 2016 – and we have one small one left in November…in just a few days, things are going to […]
Being Moved 10 Days Out – Could This Be You?
Heather Reid
As event planners – we all know that no matter how much planning and thought you have put into the lead-up to the event – the last couple of weeks are always crazy! They are crazy with last-minute changes, final budget decisions, confirming attendance, re-confirming attendance, changing attendance (oy!), crossing the “t’s” and dotting the […]
The Humble Checklist – simple yet effective!
Heather Reid
The humble checklist is used everyday… in life saving situations and in mundane routine living! Atul Gawande’s “The Checklist Manifesto” makes the case for checklists being used in any manner of endeavours – from business to investing, from law to medicine, and from construction to aviation. In fact, most parents of a school age child […]
Are You Protected if the Venue Wants to Cancel Your Contract?
Heather Reid
Just as event hosts can cancel their venue contract for “justified reasons” (breach of contract by venue, change of flag or property management of the venue, diminished performance standards) and “no reasons” (too large to fit venue, desire to host in another facility, internal business decision) – venues have the same CANCELLATION options – they […]
WHEN EVENT HOSTS CANCEL THEIR VENUE CONTRACTS
Heather Reid
Cancelling an event can happen for any number of reasons….and this post – which showed the 4 quadrants of cancellation – just scratched the surface! Events might be cancelled by EITHER the event host OR the venue – and it is our responsibility to ensure that our negotiated venue contracts address ALL of the quadrants of […]
The 4 Quadrants of CANCELLATION!
Heather Reid
Typical venue contracts protect the venue’s interests “to the maximum” should the event host wish to cancel their event… but may (or may not!) offer “the minimum” should the venue wish to cancel the event. Are you sure that your venue contract addresses and adequately mitigates the risks and damages for either party should the […]
TOP FOUR TIPS FOR NEGOTIATING YOUR EVENT VENUE CONTRACTS
Heather Reid
Venue contracts: Love, lust or run? TLC’s popular show Love, Lust or Run? is based on the premise of everyday people reacting to the featured guest in their preferred (albeit most often quite strange) outfit. People are asked to indicate if they would “love, lust or run” on the guest based on their appearance. READ […]
FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUDGETING: 16 TIPS FOR DOING MORE WITH LESS
Heather Reid
Every event planner strives to deliver the ultimate participant experience during their events. We live for the thrill of seeing the participants (and our clients or employers) wowed and amazed. However, in these times of economic restraint, we’re being asked to create these experiences on limited or declining budgets. We’re required to improve the bottom […]