Frustrating to say the least

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Hi all,

As you may already know, I have a hotel residency. To be totally honest I have a few weddings throughout the year (10 this year I think) and a few birthday parties etc but the main chunk of business comes at Christmas.
Back in August I had a meeting with the hotel and they booked 15 nights throughout the last week in November and through December for christmas parties. On my contracts I have a 28 Day cancellation period and if something is cancelled within that time frame then there is a charge. Last monday I had a call from them and they cancelled the first 3 nights (22nd, 23rd & 24th November), then today they call me and cancel another 3 nights (29th, 30th & 1st December).

Now firstly, I am double or trebled booked on those nights already so it's not really that much of a big deal although it is frustrating because equipment could have been set up and left there to make things a lot easier. What gets me is that whenever the local paper has adverts etc for hotels putting on christmas parties etc..this hotel is NEVER there. It's the same with weddings etc...The hotel should be doing at least 25 weddings a year and be packed at christmas so it makes me wonder if I should bin the contract after christmas? I live 5 mins away, I have done last minute bookings there and have had follow on work from weddings or other functions that I have done there. I have NEVER had any complaints, just praise all of the time from the management and guests but when I do a function I find that 99.9% of the time I am waiting at least a fortnight for my money even though the invoice has gone in to their head office a fortnight before (you have to co-ordinate it like that as they are terrible for paying). This hotel isn't a small chain either, it's quite a big company and I feel that I have been too nice to them in the past.

As it stands now, I have 9 christmas parties left to do for them. What would you do in my position?

By the way, I do understand that they have to provisionally book the dates back in August in advance and I understand that sometimes the earlier dates do get cancelled, it's happened before elsewhere but the reason they have been cancelled is because no'one has booked with them so this then goes back to what I was saying about advertising doesn't it. It's also a bit of a bummer because on a couple of the dates, I had enquiries that I turned down and lastly, I am going to have to tell the guy that was covering some dates for me that he is now going to have to go elsewhere.

[Vectis]

Sounds like you're being played a bit...

For Christmas bookings I always take a £50 deposit per event at the time of booking (or on invoice terms) with a 50% refund promised for any dates cancelled before 31st October shown as a refund against future invoices.

Seems to be accepted amongst local hotels etc. as a fair policy.

Tough call on whether to 'bin' them or not... Personally I'd probably give them another year but maybe offer them a 'first refusal' basis for your last rig. So before booking out your last of 3 or 4 or however many you have for a given date you confer with them?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Thanks for the comments mate. I have arranged a meeting with them before the first christmas party and also for January when I will air my concerns and I may well take some of what you have said on board. I like the deposit idea to be honest. I do it with all of my private work so I really don't know why I haven't done it with them. I also told them a while back that my prices would go up in January as I would have done 2 years at my introductory rate, they know it's fair as they have been getting my services cheap compared to other places. It's just a bit of a bummer when nearly £2000 gets wiped off just like that through cancellations..

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Here's my take on it, and you probably ain't going to like it....

Firstly, cancellations happen a lot at this time of year due to ticket sales not being reached and your cancellation policy seems fair to me and after all it's not like they've cancelled prime nights is it?

Secondly, how the Hotel run it's business is nothing to do with you and should remain that way. I would be grateful for the 10 bookings a year and stop complaining that they aren't advertising in the right places.

It seems you are more worried about the fact that you will have to move gear around now and will be inconvenienced.

Also, I'm not sure how long you've been dealing with Hotels, but getting money within two weeks is a great timescale. Nothing to moan about there IMO.

I understand your frustration as it happens to the best of us, but come on, look at the situation.

They recommend you and you get:

10 weddings a year
9 Christmas parties a year

The venue is 5 minutes from your house and they pay within two weeks.

I really don't know where your problem lies?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I was waiting for some kind of comment like that. I have watered down my comments as there is far more than that to be honest but I won't go into it all here and now but to answer some of your comments, here goes:

I have been dealing with hotels on and off for about 10 years and I know the score. I'll be honest, most of them have been great and most of them have either had a cheque waiting for me at the end of the night or have paid up within the week. Everything with this hotel has to go through their head office accounts department which is fair enough and I understand that but when you put in invoices (for example: last christmas), weeks in advance because you know that their accounts department closes over christmas and you have already paid other DJ's and then wait until the middle of february for your money...well, it's not good but it's all part of learning how to run a business for me and I know that it isn't going to be all rosey immediately.

Also, with hotels, this one in particular..the turnover of staff is quite mad. I have had my contract with this hotel for 2 years come February and in that time I have seen 3 Conference & Banqueting people move on. Every time a new one starts, I have to go through everything again. The only plus point is that a new one took over 3 weeks ago and he seems to have his head screwed on.

Another comment you made was that the way the hotel is run is none of my business - That's is very true and I have said that myself to them but their comment is that it shows I care and they welcome the constructive criticism. I have even had a meeting with the general manager in the past (which is a miracle) and he has said to me that he likes the fact that I offer my help to make sure everything runs smoothly.

The 'Inconvenience' comment you made actually made me laugh because it wasn't meant to come across like that at all. Last year I found myself loading and unloading every day which got a bit tedious. This year they have told me that it can be left there whenever possible as the function room can be split into sections and the bookings for it this year are nowhere as busy as last year. That's what I meant by that...life got easier for 5 minutes that's all.

At the end of the day, I DO know how it all works. I'm in a much better position this year than I was last year because I have learnt a lot since then. It just frustrates me when things like this happen although if I am honest, I know deep down that not everything booked with be confirmed.

Thanks for the comments, despite what you think about me not liking them, I appreciate what you've said...even though I know most of what you have said already.

[DJ James Lake]

Sound like typical hotel work I am afraid

[TonyB]

It is the way things work at Christmas and i think to get paid within a fortnight from a hotel pretty good.

At the end of the day all clients are different and none are perfect (unlike us DJ's :D ). The work the hotel gives you contributes to your turnover plus you get the spin off work which would all be lost to someone else if you didn't do it so I would personally put up with it. By all means have a chat and bring up the subject of advertising in an informal way as it might be something they hadn't thought of but if they are part of a larger chain they might have restrictions imposed by head office of where they can advertise or the head office might control the advertising.

[rob1963]

I don't have a residency in any hotels.

However, if a hotel 5 minutes up the road offered me a residency which involved 19 bookings a year, I'd jump at the chance...

...even if they DID say I'd have to wait at least a couple of weeks to be paid, and I'm speaking as someone who ALWAYS gets paid in advance or on the night, NEVER after the event.

A colleague of mine supplies a couple of local racecourses with quite a few discos for christmas parties each December, and he sometimes has to wait until mid February for payment.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

...believe me I do agree with what you are all saying but please remember that I am still a relatively new business and cash flow etc is important. As I said, last year was a pain because I paid people at the time and then went through December and all of January without any money because I had to wait.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

...believe me I do agree with what you are all saying but please remember that I am still a relatively new business and cash flow etc is important. As I said, last year was a pain because I paid people at the time and then went through December and all of January without any money because I had to wait.

I sympathise, but welcome to the real world!

Why not ask your guys doing the work to wait for 30 days? Mine do at Christmas. It's the only time they do and they appreciate that at that time of year a lot of things are on account.

[TonyB]

Probably a bad terminology but do unto others what others do unto you. I think it is important in a business not to pay out what you haven't received yet. Causes all sorts of cash flow problems. Appreciate its not always possible because it depends on contract conditions but why should you be left cashless when the clients are holding your money earning interest and your guys are partying up with cash in their pockets.

Its strange how being self employed for a while changes your attitude because I used to always pay my suppliers even if I hadn't been paid. Now they wait. If I haven't got it, they can't have it (unless they threaten to send the boys round):) .

Generally I pay things promptly so if there is a delay beyond my control then hopefully there will be a bit of understanding.