The negotiation process is further complicated when a sports organizer wants to sign a long-term contract with a hotel. Before entering into negotiations, sports event organizers should also keep in mind how they will assure the host hotel that the participants will actually stay at the designated hotel. Basically, the opportunity to negotiate a long-term, favorable deal with a hotel depends on the time of year the rooms are needed as well as the size and history of the group.
Most hotels prefer to enter into long-term agreements with groups that are large and stable.
Hoteliers oftentimes wrongly assume that a sports group will have a high attrition rate, so it's important for the organizer to be prepared to discuss whatever concerns the hotel may have. If the organizer's group will fill their room block for the entire period under negotiation, the hotel should be more willing to make concessions. Debbie Abdelgainy, manager for the sports travel division of Associated Travel International, advises event organizers with stable events to request the same rate over the entire length of the contract. If it is not possible to get the same rate over the length of the contract, Abdelgainy advises sports organizers to ask hotels to limit the rate increase to a maximum of 5 percent per year. However, some hotels that agree to cap future increases may then be less likely to guarantee the desired room block.