As a long time member of LinkedIn, I notice that one of the most popular discussions with event professionals and meeting planners is using third party service providers unaligned with the host venue. At times, especially with audio visual, venues bill numerous fees and charges to the client who does not use “in-house” services. Following is some contract language provided courtesy of Karla Stuecker, Senior Meeting Planner at the American College of Surgeons, which she calls “Use of Outside Vendors:”
“Group will not accept or agree to any policy or contract containing conditions, terms, or clauses which unreasonably restrict our choice of third party suppliers for our event(s) at any meeting facility, whether such conditions are expressly stated in this contract, or whether they are contained in the general operating policies of the facility, be they published or unpublished.
Furthermore, Group will not accept or agree to any fees, surcharges, or penalties of any type charged by a meeting facility that are in any way based on or tied to our choice of third party suppliers, whether such fees are expressly stated in the contract, or whether they are contained in the general operating policies of the facility, be they published or unpublished. Hotel agrees that supervisory or shadowing fees relating to outside vendor use will not be imposed if not explicitly disclosed in this contract or if otherwise dictated by union regulations.
If Group chooses to hire outside vendors to provide any goods or services at Hotel(s) during the Event, Hotel(s) may, in its sole discretion, require that such vendor provide Hotel(s), in form and amount reasonably satisfactory to Hotel(s), an indemnification agreement and proof of adequate insurance.
This clause shall be appended to all contracts that are executed by Group, and if it is determined that this clause is in conflict with any other clause, portion of any contract, or any general operating policy of the facility, then this clause shall be deemed to take precedence over the other item(s) with which it is determined to be in conflict, unless specifically agreed otherwise.”
Any thoughts or comments?
