[Lnc-business] Informal Poll LNC December Meeting

Alicia Mattson agmattson at gmail.com
Fri Aug 1 06:52:23 EDT 2014


Helms Briscoe helps scout out options for meeting sites within whatever
parameters we give them.  They solicit the bids for us from the hotels.  We
can tell them what data we want to know about each property, and they'll
collect it for us.

The committee we appoint to oversee the process will narrow the field down
based on data comparisons, and Helms Briscoe will further negotiate the
offers with the finalists.

Helms Briscoe does not have any authority to commit us to anything on their
own.  We have the final say.  In the end, after all the data assembly is
done, if we don't like any of the offers on the table, we can walk away and
can do it a different way if needed.

During the LNC meeting at which we were going to vote on the 2016 site,
there were two Helms Briscoe agents on site.  While we were debating other
business, they were in the hallway on the phones with the finalists
leveraging the offers against each other to get additional last-minute
concessions.  At the time of the vote, they came in and told us which items
on our spreadsheets they had improved in the meantime - this one dropped
their guest room rate by $10/night, that one lowered their food/beverage
requirement, the other one is offering new perks, etc.

The LNC is billed nothing for this service.  If we accept one of the
contracts Helms Briscoe negotiated for us, then they get paid by the
hotel...kind of like how a realtor gets paid out of the seller's revenues.

Speaking as a person who did a lot of work for the 2012 and 2014 site
scouting processes, using Helms Briscoe for 2016 saved me an incredible
amount of time so I could do other projects instead.

Their people have a lot of experience in event planning and negotiating
these types of contracts.  We can have experts on our side even if the LNC
members aren't experts in the subject.

If circumstances change and something goes sour with the contract after it
is signed, Helms Briscoe agents will step back in to assist us while we
navigate the problem with the hotel.

I was very pleased with the experience with them last time.

We should decide early on whether or not to use them for 2018, *before* we
solicit any formal bids from hotels.  If we use them, Helms Briscoe should
submit our RFP, collect the bids, and take the ball from there.

-Alicia





On Fri, Aug 1, 2014 at 2:52 AM, Daniel Hayes <danielehayes at icloud.com>
wrote:

> Members or Staff,
>
> What did Helms Briscoe do for us exactly and what exactly did that cost
> us? How many times have we used them?
>
> Daniel Hayes
>
> On Jul 31, 2014, at 3:54 AM, Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Helms Briscoe was the name of the company referenced by Norm.  We used
> them to help with the 2016 convention site scouting.
>
> -Alicia
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 1:45 PM, Norm Olsen <region1rep at donedad.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Four points with regard to this thread:
>>
>> First, I prefer low cost for both LNC meetings and conventions. I am
>> fortunate in that I live in a city which is the hub for three major
>> airlines, so I have several choices in getting to most any city non-stop at
>> a competitive airfare.  Others may not be so fortunate.
>>
>> Second, in my humble opinion, conventions should be held on Memorial Day
>> weekend.  I suggest that choosing this date will produce the largest
>> attendance and the lowest cost.  Choosing this date, or allowing an
>> alternative, should be the first decision the LNC should make with regard
>> to the 2018 convention.
>>
>> Third, I suggest that conventions are best run by a private entity (ala
>> Denver 2008) and not by the LNC itself.  Doing so enables the producing
>> organization to solicit sponsorships from private organizations and vastly
>> reduces the burden on LNC staff among other advantages. Therefore, given a
>> decision with regard to date as presented above, the first step in
>> selecting a convention location should be to solicit bids from interested
>> private groups for organizing and producing the convention.  The LNC should
>> then choose to either accept one of the submitted bids or choose to run the
>> convention itself.
>>
>> Fourth, in the event that the LNC chooses to produce the convention
>> itself and having made the decision of the date of the convention, the LNC
>> should choose a venue from a list produced by the organization which
>> produced the list from which the 2010 convention venue was chosen.  (The
>> name escapes me, but Briscoe & Somebody, something like that.)
>>
>> Using LNC meetings to check out possible sites is OK, but let's keep in
>> mind that our duty to the membership is to have a convention which the
>> largest number of our membership will be able to attend with due
>> consideration given to both scheduling and financial aspects.
>>
>> Norm
>> --
>> Norman T Olsen
>> Regional Representative, Region I
>> Libertarian National Committee
>> 7931 S Broadway, PMB 102
>> Littleton, Colorado  80122-2710
>> 303-263-4995
>> Norman.Olsen at lp.org
>>
>> "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then
>> you win." -- Gandhi
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of
>> Nicholas Sarwark
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 6:12 AM
>> To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>> Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Informal Poll LNC December Meeting
>>
>> Thanks Daniel for sending these options out to the LNC.  My personal
>> preference is the later weekend and the Hampton Inn, due to the significant
>> savings to the members (on travel and room cost) and the LNC (on meeting
>> space and breakfast).  I'm happy to do a tour of the Hilton Riverside as a
>> potential convention venue while we're there.
>>
>> If there is a strong preference for the earlier weekend or the more
>> expensive hotel, I would defer to the rest of the LNC.
>>
>> -Nick
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 1:34 AM, Daniel Hayes <danielehayes at icloud.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Members,
>> >
>> > I started to write another email trying to compare and contrast the two
>> seeming top contenders for our December meeting and just decided to repost
>> the Email I sent to staff, the chair and Guy. Dec 13/14 seems to be by far
>> the cheaper weekend. In addition to the mail there is also a chart of the
>> top 2 contenders Hilton Riverside and Hampton inn Convention Center
>> included.
>> > Can we get an informal indication from members as to their thoughts on
>> these 2 hotels before we put a motion back up?
>> > Do people seriously want to consider NOLA for an upcoming convention
>> and do we think its worth the extra money to stay in the Riverside to
>> better evaluate it or would you guys rather stay in the Hampton which is
>> less expensive?
>> >
>> >
>> > "After having spoken to Robert, he seemed to indicate that typically
>> there are about 6 or so people interested in taking tours, even when in the
>> hotel proposed for the convention. The increased convenience might bump the
>> participation by a person or 2. Most members of the LNC don't put much
>> interest into the location of the NatCon and leave it to the LNC Convention
>> Planning Committee.
>> > I of course am interested in promoting NOLA for a NatCon for various
>> reasons.  Coming at it strictly as a member of the LNC.  I think a top
>> destination city like NOLA will only enhance NatCon Participation. I feel
>> this increase will be most pronounced in an off election year like 2018.
>> Coming at it from a local standpoint, we of course would love the increased
>> access for a Presidential year NatCon like 2020, but the destination city
>> increases would probably be lower than the effect it has on an off year as
>> there is already increased interest during a Presidential year.
>> >
>> > I think from the LPHQ standpoint, the dates for the 13/14 are
>> significant as well as the concessions garnered for the individual rooms.
>>  With those dates in mind for these 2 hotels.  The Hampton can save us
>> $1800.  That said, the costs of the Riverside are in line with avg meeting
>> costs for the LNC.
>> >
>> > Our State LP is looking at holding our Winter Peace Party the weekend
>> that the LNC is in attendance.   One of our local members has gotten us a
>> bead on a private room at the top of the Jax. It's a premium location
>> located right on the river in the French Quarter. With drinks and
>> appetizers included, we have gotten it for a rate of $35/person.  It's a
>> great rate and we are hoping that some of our neighbors from surrounding
>> states might be interested in coming in and socializing with us for the
>> weekend.  This location is somewhat of a straight shot from both hotels
>> with the Riverside being about a 5-10 minute walk from Jax and the Hampton
>> being about 15-20 minute walk.  Overall the Riverside is right on the edge
>> of the FQ, It's across the street from the Casino, etc.
>> >
>> > I am from the school of, let's save the money, but I have to realize
>> that I am a lot different in my mindset from a lot of other people. So for
>> me, staying at the cheaper venue would be a go.  However on top of that, I
>> am not staying at any of the venues, I am sleeping at home with my dogs. So
>> there may indeed be some value in staying at the likely NatCon contender so
>> that most LNC members can get a feel for it even if they arent paying
>> attention.”
>> >
>> > Daniel Hayes
>> >
>> > ave HQ $1800.
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Lnc-business mailing list
>> > Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>> > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>> >
>>
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