Planner Breaks Down Walls to Get Clients What They Need

Back when Caryl Lyons, the president and owner of ROAR Events Group, was still working as a corporate planner for Symantac, she ran into a situation that sounds like a planner’s nightmare. She was onsite, finalizing plans for a function in a newly-renovated space at the Hotel Golden Tulip Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. Having gone by the hotel’s blueprints to organize a function where all of the air walls would be opened to accommodate her large group, she and the conference services director were astonished to discover that permanent walls had been put up in place of the air walls in the drawing. What was she to do?

“In the space of 24 hours, the hotel actually knocked down the permanent walls. It was phenomenal — the conference was all about accountability and sticking to your word and here was the hotel, putting that actual principle into action!” she said.

“Phenomenal” would also describe the success Lyons has encountered since opening up the Livermore, CA-based ROAR (Reliable, Organized, Accountable, Ready!) Events Group three years ago, during her 14th year in the meetings industry. Many of those years were spent working as a corporate planner for publishing companies and Symantac, but she also spent five years with site selection firm HelmsBriscoe, which she describes as “a good stepping stone for me, giving me exposure to so many hotels I didn’t know were out there.”

During her three years as an independent planner, she’s booked meetings for as many as 1,000 members of a high-tech firm and has worked with high-profile companies like Yahoo. She is currently joined by two independent contractors as well as her husband, who left his job to handle her road shows and finances.

Growth Undeterred by Recession: “We’re growing like crazy!” she glowed, explaining that her business was largely untouched by the recent recession, growing year over year because “people are still having to have meetings.” The price points have remained consistent for her programs, she said, noting, “My clients were frugal to begin with.”

One difference has been that instead of having all members of a company travel to one central location for a meeting, many clients have been taking meetings on the road, holding functions close to where their employees are located. “Bringing the meetings to them has been less expensive for attendees; they’re still getting the information they need but they can go back to their office at the end of the day,” Lyons said.

Enticing Reward Points: Lyons said that while price is still the most important determinant of a program, her clients are often wooed by rewards programs that earn them free room nights with various chains. “Planners are trying to be loyal to a brand because of the double and triple planner points being offered by companies like Starwood and Hyatt,” she said.

Consultative Approach: Lyons works on a 10%-20% profit margin. She said that what sets her apart in the industry is her open and honest approach to her clients and her ability to act more like a consultant than a planner. “We’re not a ‘dates, rates and space house’, that’s not what we do. We work on creating the experience for the attendee and for the client. We don’t just send out a blanket RFP (request for proposal) like the CVBs (convention and visitors bureaus) do, we ask, “What are your goals? How are you being measured?” 

For example, if we find out that a majority of attendees are driving to the meeting, we won’t go after hotel concessions like free Internet. We’re going after free parking instead.” Then Lyons gives her clients “a whole arsenal of information…the top restaurants within walking distance, the great health clubs nearby…we act like a concierge and give clients the details that make them look good to their attendees,” she said.

Menu-Based Negotiating Strategies: Strong negotiating skills also make her services an asset to her clients. “Right now we’re working with Ritz Carlton to work out a tiered deal, like if the client books four Ritz Carltons [for future events], they’ll get X, Y, Z; if they book three, they’ll get X and Y. That sort of incentive affects our client’s bottom line and Ritz Carlton is happy too,” she explained.  Lyons also looks at the client’s booking history when negotiating attrition. “If the client typically has good F&B (food and beverage) but is challenged as far as room pickup goes, we might negotiate a 20% attrition but link the meeting room rental to F&B. If they’re weak in F&B, we might link the room rental fees to room night pickup,” she said.

Educating Clients: Her greatest challenge? “Clients hear about the state of the industry and all the deals hotels are handing out but they don’t understand that you have to actually fit your program into the dates when the hotels are hurting. The rate might be $299 during citywides but only $149 during holes and you have to educate them on that, show them that you still have to be a good partner to a property,” Lyons said.

Maintain Optimism: Her advice to others in the industry: “You can’t get sucked into gloom and doom, thinking there’s no business out there. Friends I have who have opened their own companies are not seeing a downturn. Just remember that most clients are conscientious — what they’re looking for is good value for money spent…planners are like swans in a lake, you have to show a lot of grace even though you’re swimming like crazy underneath. You can’t freak out or let the client see you worry — they’re already freaking out themselves,” she said.