April 2006
Cheat Sheet: Facility contracts
What should and what shouldn’t be included in contracts
By Linda C. Chandler

Commonly negotiated extras
• Meeting space
• Move in/move out days
• Rental discounts tied to food and beverage expenditures
• Tables and chairs
• Marquee announcements
• Parking
• Room-set changes
• Work rooms, speaker rooms, etc.

Rule of thumb
Beware of clauses that reference labor rules or operations and policy manuals that have not been provided. Request a copy of such documents and renegotiate items they cover, if necessary. Be sure you’re bound only by the documents you see, not future revisions that may be added without your knowledge.

Other specifics
• Although many facilities have exclusive service providers, planners can negotiate use of their suppliers, particularly if they supply evidence of a long-standing contract with their own suppliers or if a facility’s supplier is inadequate to provide everything the event requires.

• Require that the center guarantee its condition will be as good or better than at the time of the site visit/contract signing. Get an opt-out for cancellation if there are damages or deterioration that will substantially affect your event. Set a time limit after the event in which the convention center must notify you of any damage issues. Do a thorough walk-through with the convention services manager after the event to identify whether any damages should be charged.

• Require that the center meet all fire, safety and security regulations. Affirm that the center is responsible for ADA compliance. Security outside the convention center itself is often left unmentioned. Specify doors and hours for security personnel and designate who will be responsible for security in areas adjoining the convention center.

• Specify that the convention center may not contract space to a competing show during the time of your event. Ask the convention center to inform you of all other events scheduled in your time frame.

• Be sure you know what services are included in the rental of the facility. Facilities charge for extra room changeovers, audiovisual feeds, additional chairs, heating/air conditioning or janitorial fees. Insist on full disclosure of all fees, taxes and surcharges — not just that they exist but how much they cost.

Outlining liability
• Because many facilities are municipally owned, there may be clauses that exempt them from lawsuits. Submit countering language that at least achieves mutual indemnification.

• Subrogation clauses may limit the event company or its insurer from recovering losses from the convention center or its insurer. Amend these sections with mutual subrogation language or waivers that limit liability to the amount covered by insurance. It’s also a good idea for each party to add the other to its policy as an “additional insured.”

Cancellation clauses
• Most contracts excuse the facility for cancellation in the event of acts of God, but event planners should negotiate language that covers their own cancellation for other circumstances such as airline strikes, labor issues and disease epidemics — which are justifiable reasons to cancel or postpone an event.

• Often contract language says if the center cancels, it’s penalized only by the return of the event planner’s deposit. Negotiate language so that if the event is bumped, the center becomes responsible for costs incurred to the planner for moving or postponing the event, including travel for new site visits, reprinting promotional materials, or higher labor or room rates at an alternative site.