Nearly 1 in 4 event planners say the hardest part of venue sourcing is figuring out if a space meets their needs—think infrastructure, tech, and amenities.
Another 21% say just finding the right options is a major headache. If you’ve ever felt the same, you’re not alone, and the problem isn’t your search skills.
The truth is, site selection is far more complex than it appears from the outside. Behind every proposal are layers of hotel revenue strategies, availability forecasting, and internal decision-making that happen long before you ever get a “yes” or “no.”
We sat down with a major hotel brand we partner with to get an inside look at how hotels really evaluate event requests and why your approach to sourcing might need some help.
Site selection involves managing a web of moving parts. To give you a clear picture, here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
Understanding these key elements will help you navigate the site selection process with confidence and get the best possible outcome for your corporate event. Let’s break it down.
Hotels aren’t simply looking to see if a room is free and a ballroom is available. They’re weighing your event request against dozens of factors that influence their decision to bid, and how competitive their proposal will be.
For large properties (often called “big box” hotels, with over 1,000 rooms), this is an even bigger puzzle. Multiple sales managers might be fighting for the same event dates and spaces, while the hotel’s revenue management team is evaluating which events bring the most value.
Revenue managers are not salespeople. Their priority is to maximize the property’s total revenue, not only to fill space. That means they look at how your event fits with the rest of the hotel’s bookings, down to which days you’re arriving, how many rooms you need, and whether your meeting space requirements match your sleeping room block.
Related: Get the checklist that will make your corporate event site visits run smoothly and stress-free.
Our hotel rep outlined several elements that influence whether your event is seen as a good fit for a property, and how attractive it will be compared to other proposals they’re considering.
Your pattern refers to the dates and flow of your event:
Hotels often struggle to fill certain days (like Sundays and Fridays), especially in non-leisure markets. If your event helps fill those gaps, you might secure better rates. If your pattern hits a peak day (like Wednesday), which is already in high demand, you may face higher pricing or limited availability.
Pro Tip: The more flexible you are, the better. If you can adjust dates by even one day, you might open up better deals and more options.
Hotels evaluate how many guest rooms you’ll use compared to the amount of meeting space you need. If you request a massive ballroom but are only booking a small number of rooms, it creates a mismatch.
For example, if you’re bringing 500 attendees but only need 200 sleeping rooms, hotels have to figure out how to fill the remaining rooms for those dates. That can make them hesitant to commit unless they’re confident they can sell the rest.
Major conventions (known as citywides) can take over an entire destination.
Our hotel rep shared the example of Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual conference in San Francisco, which is so large that one year they had to rent cruise ships for extra attendee rooms.
When a citywide event is in town, hotel space becomes scarce, prices spike, and flexibility drops. Even smaller city events can have a ripple effect on nearby markets.
Pro Tip: Check the citywide calendar for your chosen location before locking in dates. Your event partner will often have access to these schedules.
Hotels love data. If you can share your group’s past performance, it gives them confidence in your value. Share things like:
Likewise, being upfront about your budget helps venue sales teams tailor their proposals rather than guessing and risking a mismatch.
It’s tempting to hand over a long “wish list” of concessions, from upgraded Wi-Fi to free meeting space. But hotels prefer a focused, strategic list of must-have items.
We suggest distinguishing between “preferred” and “required” concessions, so hotels know what’s negotiable and what’s non-negotiable. This helps them craft a stronger, more realistic offer for you.
Sometimes, even when you submit an RFP, you might later get an email from a completely different sales rep at the same hotel asking about your business.
Many large hotels have deployed sales teams—some assigned by geographic market, others by industry vertical (e.g., law firms, tech companies). Multiple reps might work from the same database, but they do not always see every lead.
That’s why a hotel rep might unknowingly reach out directly to you even if you’ve already submitted an RFP.
This is one more reason why working through an experienced event partner is so valuable. Your event planner can manage the flow of communication, loop in the right hotel contacts, and avoid misunderstandings that could reflect poorly on you.
Large hotels now have a dedicated role called a space optimization managers. This person’s sole job is to play “Tetris” with meeting space, making sure every square foot is used efficiently.
These managers might look at your corporate event and ask:
This means your flexibility on things like start/end times can open doors to better rates or availability.
Related: Watch the video to see how we match clients with venues that truly fit their goals.
The farther in advance you book, the better your options, especially for high-demand months in popular markets.
Some leisure destinations are already booking events three to four years out for peak months like January through March. For recurring events, exploring multi-year agreements can lock in rates and availability while giving you consistent quality year over year.
At GoGather, our goal is to filter the complexity so you only see viable, attractive options. Here’s how we do it:
If you want the best results from your site selection process, here are a few insider tips:
Related: Learn how to make the most of your site visit to set your event up for success.
Site selection is one of the most important (and most misunderstood) parts of event planning.
On the surface, it’s about choosing a venue. Behind the scenes, it’s about strategy, timing, relationships, and aligning your event’s needs with a hotel’s business objectives.
By working with an experienced event partner who understands how hotels think (and who has direct access to decision-makers), you cut through the noise and avoid costly missteps.
Our hotel rep said, “Transparency is key. We’re all one big team.” When you combine open communication, industry knowledge, and a strategic approach, you set your event up for success from the very first decision.
GoGather can help you find, negotiate, and secure the perfect location for your corporate conference, incentive trip, or meeting. Meet with our team to talk site selection and make sure your next event is set up for success.