The Hotel RFP Process From Both Sides: What Hotels Want (And How to Use That to Your Advantage)

Introduction

I've written hotel RFPs as a corporate meeting planner, and I've received them as a Director of Sales at a hotel property. That dual perspective gives me something most consultants don't have: I know exactly what a hotel sales team sees when your RFP lands in their inbox, how they triage it, and what makes them decide to compete aggressively for your business versus send a perfunctory response. Here's what I know.

How hotels prioritize incoming RFPs

When an RFP hits a hotel sales team's inbox, they're making a quick assessment: Is this a real piece of business? Is it the right fit for our property? Do we have the inventory and the appetite to compete for it? RFPs that include clear dates, a realistic room block estimate, detailed meeting space requirements, and a decision timeline get prioritized. Vague RFPs — 'sometime in Q4, maybe 50 to 200 rooms' — often get a generic response or no response at all. Hotels invest sales team time in RFPs they believe they can win. Make yours look winnable.

The information hotels actually use to price your group

Room rate isn't arbitrary. Hotels price group business based on demand for your dates (what transient business they're displacing), the size and value of your room block, your F&B commitment, and their assessment of your group's risk — meaning, how likely are you to fill your contracted block? If you can demonstrate a strong pickup history, a large F&B component, or date flexibility that gives them a less in-demand period to fill, you'll see that reflected in the proposals you receive.

What I include in every RFP I write for a client

Beyond the basics — dates, rooms, meeting space — I always include my client's historical pickup rate, their F&B spend from a recent comparable event, and a clear statement of their decision criteria and timeline. I also include my HPN Global affiliation, which signals to hotel sales teams that this RFP comes through a high-volume sourcing network. That signal changes the response. Hotels that might send a form response to an individual planner will assign their best sales contact to an HPN Global inquiry.

The follow-up process most planners underestimate

Sending the RFP is step one. The follow-up process — ensuring responses arrive on time, asking clarifying questions, pushing hotels to sharpen their proposals, and keeping multiple properties engaged through your decision process — is where most of the value is extracted. Hotels will improve their initial proposals significantly if they believe they're in a competitive process and that a decision-maker is engaged. I personally manage every follow-up in my client searches, which is why I consistently get proposals that are meaningfully better than what clients received when they managed the process themselves.

When to call me instead of managing this yourself

If you're spending more than a day managing hotel RFP follow-up for a group meeting, you're past the point where my involvement saves you time and money. I can have initial proposals in your hands within 48 to 72 hours of receiving your event details, at no cost to you. The hours you're spending on hotel emails are hours you could be spending on the content, logistics, and attendee experience that actually make your event successful. That's the trade-off I help my clients make.

CTA → Let me write and manage your hotel RFP. Contact me at ckconsulting.co — no cost to you or your organization.