Hotel Contract Negotiation Tips, Tricks, and Traps

Very helpful!

Incredibly helpful resource.

Very helpful quick guide to hotel contracts....definitely a worthwhile purchase for anyone that will have their hands in negotiating a hotel contract.

I was very interested in reading Stephen Guth's book as I teach Contracts & Negotiations as part of a university's Professional Meeting Planning Certificate Program. When I read Stephen's credits on the first page, however, I was a bit apprehensive. He mentioned that he's a lawyer, but didn't mention hospitality industry experience or experience negotiating hotel contracts...which he mentioned in the next few pages. I had my pen ready to start making negative notes in the margins, but I was COMPLETELY WRONG about my assumptions.I give HOTEL CONTRACTS NEGOTIATIONS - TIPS, TRICKS, AND TRAPS a big THUMBS UP! It is a comprehensive and well written text for anyone involved in negotiating hotel contracts. It is very detailed and easy to understand for those with a basic knowledge of negotiating hotel contracts. For the novice, it might take more than one reading, however, a glossary is included to make the book more user friendly. Yes, I did use my pen many times - mainly to underline and star sections that I would like to remember to teach to my class.I appreciate that Stephen includes actual contract clauses and sometimes gives 1, 2 or 3 choices with detailed examples as to why one may be more suitable than the others. I highly recommend reading this book carefully from cover to cover, as I did.I had a few different thoughts in the Food & Beverage area (I also teach Food & Beverage Strategies), but each of us has his or her own reason for certain clauses.Stephen Gurth does understand negotiating with hotels and the hospitality industry and I give his book 5 stars. I will recommend this book to my students to use as a reference, along with my lecture.As a note, read the back cover first before reading the book as it explains Guth's detailed qualifications.Arlene Sheff, CMP

Great Resource - fun to read, well organized, great advice!I have followed Stephen Guth on several LinkedIn discussion groups for some time; he shares great ideas and advice with his colleagues in the hospitality industry. So I was looking forward to reading this book. I was disappointed! I actually laughed out loud at some of the situations he detailed in the book while reading it on a flight last week. I could see myself in some of the same exact situations.Stephen hits the nail on the head - most planners don't negotiate contracts 24/7, and the hospitality industry is an extremely dynamic environment. That being said, planners can adopt some "go to" strategies as they enter the negotiating arena so they are better prepared with an understanding what is most important to them. This is a great read for planners, association executives, vendors and hoteliers. Mr. Guth's book is a good refresher for experienced planners and an important learning tool for those newer to the business.I will keep this book readily available. Well done!

First and foremost, I consider Stephen's Guth's new book, Hotel Contract Negotiation, a resource book like a dictionary, and a valuable one I will use frequently. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about understanding the many nuances of negotiating hotel contracts. One of the major attractions of the book is the organization. It's like a contract checklist with a menu of items that can be selected at will to fit any number of real-life situations. In addition, the comprehensive Index gives me the ability to quickly reference most any topic at a moment's notice. Another favorite feature is Mr. Guth's commentary that accompanies each one of the detailed contract clauses, along with the alternate language options. He covers all the bases.I do have one caveat. If you are new to the hotel contract arena, you may find the material somewhat challenging. By Mr. Guth's own admission in the Introduction, this book "assumes some basic understanding of the hospitality industry and contracting", and in Appendix II, MHSA Defined Terms, he acknowledges that, "In some cases...certain terms as defined herein...may be different than the industry-recognized definition". His approach is somewhat unconventional and a bit more structured than what we see in typical hotel contracts today. However, that's all the more reason to read and understand his approach to negotiating contracts. One thing I can assure you, whether you are new to the process or a seasoned professional, this book will challenge you to think. That alone makes it worthy of your time and attention.

I am a meeting planner, and work on about 50 contracts at hotels every year. I also have 10 years of experience in global sales at one of the largest hotel chains in the world. I found this book to be very helpful in outlining what each contract clause covers, and why it makes sense to have certain things in a contract.But, I think that his advice to present your master agreement to the hotels makes sense only if you contract dozens of meetings each year. For the planner who does only a few meetings a year, having a master contract that you expect the hotel to agree to, is simply not a practical use of your time. You will spend far too much time going back and forth with the hotel and their legal department. I would suggest instead that you let the hotel know some key clauses you would like to see in the contract and work with them this way. If I go to buy a car, I do not bring my own contract.The introduction and opening chapters are really great at laying out each step in the hotel contracting process.