Case Study: Dr. Victor Taylor

Breaking a contract and finding a new facility for 650 attendees

Planner Name: Dr. Victor Taylor

Affiliation: Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church Department of Lay Ministry

Event: The 14th Quadrennial Connectional Lay Institute took place Sept. 19-21, 2009, at the Millennium Hotel St. Louis in St. Louis, Mo., despite a mid-planning contract meltdown.

Assignment: When Taylor discovered the CME’s chief financial officer signed a hotel contract without meeting space in December 2008, he turned to Arrowhead Conferences and Events (ACE) for a RFP intervention. As the head of an 18-person planning team, Taylor was charged with breaking the faulty Hyatt Regency Riverfront contract, which was signed in 2006, and finding a new meeting facility. Taylor had seven months to inform more than 650 attendees about the change in dates and venue.

Special Challenges: “We were scheduled to stay in a hotel that did not provision us any space and had no space available,” says Taylor, who was planning the event for the third time. “We were able to bring in ACE and in the end, we were able to negotiate a better deal at a different hotel. Michelle Pruitt negotiated an excellent deal for us at the Millennium — just two blocks from the Hyatt.”

How Arrowhead helped: “They taught me the value of the RFP,” Taylor says. “They narrowed the possibilities and our focus. They even wrote our contract with Millennium and tailored it to consist of what we wanted. The cost was in line and we ended up saving tens of thousands of dollars.”

Result: “The entire membership knew that there was a major disruption and snafu,” says Taylor. “But we got the word out early enough and attendance wasn’t effected. We only had three people complain about the date change.”

Advice: “Know your talents,” he says. “I learned that getting out of contracts is one of my main talents. I also learned that the intentionality of planning is absolutely crucial.”