From chaos to structure: How 34 steps can take your convention sales to the next level
Understanding and mastering convention sales
Every lost day in convention sales costs your hotel valuable revenue and can mean the difference between a loyal customer and lost business. Yet, too often, processes fail due to outdated structures, siloed systems, and slow response times. Event planners expect quick, precise quotes. Their patience has a limit, and that's usually just a few hours.
That's why we at MICE DESK have broken down convention sales into 34 clearly defined steps to identify weak points, optimize processes, and fully exploit sales potential.
Why you should act now
If your convention sales team takes longer than 24 hours to create a quote, you'll lose customers. Worse still, it leaves the impression that your hotel isn't organized or customer-focused. In an analysis of over 7,000 inquiries, we've already determined how significant a role speed plays in convention sales .
The challenges are the same everywhere:
Slow pricing: Inquiries often get stuck between convention sales and revenue management for hours or days.
Manual work steps: Data must be transferred into the PMS and CRM by hand – a real time trap.
Lack of integration: PMS, CRM and revenue systems do not communicate with each other, which means important information is lost or has to be entered twice.
These problems cost not only time but also money. Delays in convention sales lead to declining conversion rates and thus to significant revenue losses.
MICE DESK's 34-step method
Our experience has shown that many problems can only be solved by analyzing the entire process in detail. That's why we've broken down convention sales into 34 steps – from the initial inquiry to follow-up.
This is how it works:
Analysis: Each process step is examined individually, and the process time is measured to uncover bottlenecks and inefficiencies. For example, when recording customer inquiries , we discovered that 12 minutes per inquiry were often spent requesting missing information and manually entering it into the PMS. By standardizing inquiry qualification, we were able to reduce this time by 66%, resulting in three times faster processing.
Standardization: Clear workflows and checklists ensure that nothing is forgotten and that all employees work according to the same guidelines.
Automation: Repetitive tasks such as transferring inquiry data to the PMS are handled by technology. One example of automation is the mapping of special requests , such as customized setups or technical requirements. Using our ROCKET software, these can be transferred directly to the relevant systems, completely eliminating manual duplication.
Integration: API interfaces and the use of robotic process automation (RPA) seamlessly connect all systems, eliminating the need to transfer data manually.
This method has not only accelerated processes but also drastically reduced the error rate.
Measurable results that convince
Optimizing convention sales using our method leads to tangible success:
50% faster processing: The time between inquiry and quote creation is halved. Depending on the technical setup, it can even be 5x faster.
40% fewer errors: Automated processes and clear workflows eliminate human errors.
Higher customer satisfaction: Customers appreciate quick, precise answers and are more likely to book.
More efficient teams: Employees can focus on value-added tasks instead of wasting time on manual data transfers.
A practical example:
With our support and the implementation of our 34-step method, a chain conference hotel was able to reduce its booking times from an average of 48 hours to less than 12 hours. As a result, the booking rate increased by 55%.
Conclusion: Speed and precision are decisive
Convention sales isn't a field where you can improvise. Clear processes, motivated specialists, modern technology, and a focus on speed are the key to surviving in a highly competitive market.
Do you want to know how to optimize your processes and respond to inquiries faster? MICE DESK helps you take your convention sales to the next level.
Arrange a non-binding consultation now and make your hotel a pioneer in the conference hotel industry.