RFP User Guide For Venues and Services

Transcription

1 RFP User Guide For Venues and Services April 2013 Cvent, Inc 8180 Greensboro Drive McLean, VA U.S. and Canada (toll-free) UK (toll-free) Australia (toll-free) All others and local International Numbers can be located here Please Note: Some features in this document may not be available to all users. If you are interested in purchasing additional features, please contact Cvent Sales for more information at

2 Contents Getting Started... 3 Find your Cvent Profile... 3 Logging In... 4 The Administration Tab... 4 Account Setup... 4 Account Settings... 5 RFP Settings... 5 Users... 5 Adding a New User... 6 Copying a User... 8 Support... 9 The RFPs Tab... 9 Updating Your Cvent Profile... 9 Venues Overview Venue Details Meeting Rooms Image Gallery Local Attractions Promotions Contacts Documents RFP Routing and Escalation Web Widgets Venue Administration Proposal Defaults Standard Fields Package Pricing Taxes Estimated Costs Additional Questions Services Managing Your RFPs RFP Selection Create a Custom View Manage RFPs Dashboard RFP Search Mark an RFP as In Progress Create and Submit the Proposal Sync the Proposal Assign the RFP Turn Down the RFP Forward the RFP Print or Save the RFP Message History Suppliers & Responses Managing Your RFIs RFI Selection Reports

3 Getting Started This user guide will help your venue create, edit, and preview your profile listing on the Cvent Supplier Network. It will also guide you through the process of managing the RFPs your venue receives. Find your Cvent Profile The Cvent Supplier Network has over 200,000 venues and 20,000+ event suppliers, so it is likely that your profile is already live on the network. Use the following steps to locate and view your current profile. 1 Go to 2 Go to Find an event venue in the lower left corner. 3 Click Advanced Search 4 Select a Region and Area for your Search. 5 Click Search. 6 Click on the name of your venue to view the profile information. Note: Call , option 2 to have your profile moved into your own Cvent account. Once your profile has been moved into your account, you can log into Cvent s software and make updates to your profile and manage the RFPs you receive. 3

4 Logging In To log in to your Cvent account: 1 Go to 2 Click Log in located in the upper right corner. Passwords must be alphanumeric and contain between 8-20 characters. 3 Enter your Account, Username and Password. 4 Click Log In. Please contact Supplier Support at option 2 or at suppliersupport@cvent.com if you do not have your account login information. The Administration Tab Upon first logging in, you will see at least two tabs on the top navigation bar: RFPs and Administration. This chapter will begin by teaching you the Administration tab. Account Setup The Administration section allows you to update account settings and manage Cvent usernames. Click the green Administration tab at the top left of the page to start your account set up process. 4

5 Account Settings The Account Settings section is available to set up any account-wide settings. Use the section links on the left to see the different options available. RFP Settings In the RFP Settings section link, users can set forwarding options. Choose if users can forward RFPs to only venues in your account, chain, or in the entire Cvent Supplier Network. Click Edit to make any changes. Select the forward option and click Save. Note: If your venue resides in a hotel chain account, your corporate chain manages this setting for your organization. Contact suppliersupport@cvent.com for further questions. Users The Users section gives you the ability to create and edit usernames per property(s). Different user roles can be created to give the appropriate access rights to a person at your property. For example, some users should only have access to venue information while other users should only have access to RFPs. 5

6 Adding a New User Step 1: Click Add User and Enter the User Information This username should reflect the user s address. Select a user role to determine what type of access this person will have in the account. To send an automated to the new user containing the login details, keep the Send User Login Information set to Yes. Fill out the contact information to help the employee when filling out proposals later on. For accounts with more than one venue, Cvent has created standard user roles to choose from: RFP Access Only, Profile Edits Only, Create Users, or any combination of the three actions together. 6

7 Step 2: Create a Password This step is eliminated if you have the setting Send User Login Information turned on in step 1. Passwords must be alphanumeric and contain between 8-20 characters. The user will be prompted to change this password upon their first login. Step 3: Define the User s Visibility If you have multiple venues in your account, you can set users to only access specific venues. For example, if you are at a regional office, but need to build a login for a new sales manager representing one hotel, you can create the username with access to only one venue. 1 Review the list of venues that your user will obtain access to. 2 Check the boxes to the left of the venue name and click Delete to remove a venue from that user s access. 3 Click Finish. 4 If you are satisfied with the access of venues you are about to give, just click Finish without deleting any properties. Note: Don t forget that a user will automatically be notified of their username if you keep the Send User Login Information setting set to Yes in Step 1! 7

8 Copying a User Step 1: Select a User to Copy From the full list of users, click on the name of the user you wish to copy. This will open their User Profile, where you will find the Copy User button. Note: Copying users can be very helpful at the regional level, as all properties associated to a username will copy over to the new user. This can save you time with venue visibility. Step 2: Enter the User Information This username should reflect the user s address. Select a user role to determine what type of access this person will have in the account. To send an automated to the new user containing the login details, keep the Send User Login Information set to Yes. Fill out the contact information to help the employee when filling out proposals later on. (For screen shot, see step 1 under Adding a New User above.) Step 3: Create a Password This step is eliminated if you have the setting Send User Login Information turned on in step 1. Passwords must be alphanumeric and contain between 8-20 characters. The user will be prompted to change this password upon their first login. 8

9 Step 4: Define the User s Visibility Identical suppliers that the original user has access to will be copied and displayed on the screen. You can delete suppliers as necessary. Support Suppliers have a variety of support tools available under the Support tab, including an online help guide, a customer care contact page, live and recorded training classes, documentation, and site maintenance updates. Customer Care: Locate Cvent s Customer Care contact information. For assistance, please suppliersupport@cvent.com or call the phone number listed for your region, and then press option 2 in the teleprompt menu. Training: Suppliers are welcome to sign up for a live training session (administered via WebEx) or watch a recorded training video (hosted via Wistia). Documentation: Suppliers can find PDF documentation on how to use the system as well as on enhancement release notes. The RFPs Tab The RFPs section allows you to update your Cvent profile, set up proposal default values, manage and respond to RFPs, and run reports on the data in your account. Upon clicking into the RFPs tab, you will be brought to the Overview page, where you can watch helpful videos or navigate to each of the above mentioned actions. Updating Your Cvent Profile Cvent will help venues initially build a complimentary profile to be displayed to event planners. Once you take ownership of your account, the venue is then responsible for maintaining the profile. 9

10 Venues When clicking into the Venues tab, if you do not see anything, it is recommended that you call Cvent to see if your venue has already been created. If it is listed, we can move the profile into your account for you. If not, we can help you build your initial profile within your account. Once the venue is listed in your account, you can simply follow the steps below and edit the existing profile. Click on the name of your venue or use the action dropdown to edit your listing. Before getting started, make sure to take a look at your Profile and Defaults completeness percentages. This will give you a good idea of where to start! You may see some yellow Alerts as you navigate through your account. For any area of your profile that is empty, the system will give you a prompt to make sure you fill out that section. These alerts are intended to help you, but you can disable them whenever you d like. 10

11 Overview Once you click on the name of the venue, you will be brought into the Overview section of your profile. Utilize the Section Links on the left to navigate through each section of your profile. Here, you will see some helpful information such as: Who are your Venue Administrators? (For more information, visit the Venue Administration section of this document.) How complete is your profile? Use the links provided, along with the Section Links, to increase your profile completeness percentage. How complete are your proposal defaults? Use the links provided, along with the Section Links, to increase your profile completeness percentage. Who are your lead catchers and users? See a list of your property s current Lead Catchers and Usernames. What is your RFP response rate/response time? See a detailed graph that will show your RFP response percentage and another graph that shows your property s average response time. You can use these helpful sections, along with the section links on the left hand side of the page to navigate and make changes in your account. 11

12 Venue Details The Venue Details section contains the basic information about your venue. This includes content such as brand affiliation, a venue description, amenities, total meeting space, ratings, and more. This section is broken up into four tabs: Venue Details, Facility Information, Amenities and Listing Options. Venue Details: Click Edit to update your venue s details. Once you finish making your updates, click Save before moving on. If you have an upgraded marketing package, you will have the option to display your Twitter and Facebook links. Please contact Cvent if you would like to update your Locations. These locations are a filter in the Supplier Network. 12

13 Facility Information: Click Edit to enter additional information about your venue. Click Save before moving on. The Northstar Rating is powered by Northstar Travel Media, and is an objective and unbiased evaluation of your venue from experienced editors. To add or change a rating, contact: cventhotelreq@ntmllc.com Note: Meeting Room Space, Number of Meeting Rooms, Number of Sleep Rooms, and Proximity from Airport are filters that planners can use to narrow down their search in the Supplier Network. We highly suggest filling out as many of these fields as you can. 13

14 Amenities: Click Edit and check all the amenities that apply to your venue to share what you have to offer. Click Save before moving on. 14

15 Listing Options: Click Edit to update your Listing Options. The main image is the first image that will display on the profile. The listing image and listing text will display on the search results page. The Ad Text and Ad Image are features available for properties with a 3 or 4 diamond Cvent marketing package. 15

16 Preview Click the Preview button throughout the section links to view the changes you have made and how your venue profile will appear on the Cvent Supplier Network to a meeting planner. 16

17 Meeting Rooms The Meeting Rooms section link allows you to add and display all of the meeting rooms available at your property. To edit a meeting room click the meeting room name or icon. To delete a meeting room, click the meeting room name or icon. Note: Any rooms listed in your capacity chart become available to sales managers when filling out proposals. Because of this, Cvent suggests listing ballroom breakouts. Add a Meeting Room 1 Click Add Meeting Room. 2 Enter the Name, Total Space, Ceiling Height, Room Size, and Capacity Details. Based on your marketing package, a Room Description, Image, and Audio Visual Details may be added allowing planners to drill in to each room further. 3 Click Save. Set the Order of your Meeting Rooms 1 Click Set Order. 2 Enter the preferred numerical order in the left column. 3 Click Save. Note: As long as the Set Order fields are numerical, you can use any sequence of numbers. 17

18 Image Gallery The Image Gallery allows you to upload photographs of your venue. A supplier can store as many photos as they would like on the back-end of their Cvent account. Each complimentary profile can display 5 images at one time to a planner. If you have a diamond listing with Cvent, you can display anywhere from images to a planner. Just because an image is active does not mean it is displayed on your Cvent profile. Add Images to your Image Gallery 1 Click Add Image. 2 Enter the Image Name, Image Group and Description. Adding a description to your image will fill place extra content your profile and make you stand out amongst your competition. 3 Click Browse to find a photo on your computer and double-click the image. 4 Click Save or Save and Add. Set the Order of your Image Gallery 1 Click Set Order. 2 Enter the preferred numerical order in the left column. 3 Click Save. Note: The first photo in your Image Gallery will display to the right of your Main Image, (managed under Listing Options) so please be sure the first photo in your gallery is different than your main image. 18

19 Local Attractions Add local attractions that may interest those who come to your venue. These can include parks, museums, theaters, etc. You can have an unlimited number of local attractions in your profile. Add a New Local Attraction 1 Click Add Local Attraction. 2 Enter the Local Attraction Details. 3 Click Browse to find a photo on your computer and double-click the image. 4 Click Save or Save and Add to add more local attractions. Set the Order of your Local Attractions 1 Click Set Order. 2 Enter the preferred numerical order in the left column. 3 Click Save. 19

20 Promotions The Promotions section allows you to enter in any special offers that may be going on at the venue. These may include Book two nights, get the third free, or Hot Dates, etc. The ability to add Promotions is an upgraded feature available with certain marketing packages. Add a New Promotion 1 Click Add Promotion. 2 Enter a Name and Promotion Description 3 Set the promotion to Active Yes and enter in your Active Start Date and Active End Date. 4 Upload an image to showcase your promotion or property and enter a Description of your Promotion and any additional information. 5 Upload an attachment; like a floor plan, brochure, or price sheet; to supplement the promotion if applicable. The Active Start and End Dates determine when the promotion is visible to planners. Cvent will automatically activate and deactivate the promotion based on these dates. Entering Date Ranges are equally as important as Active Dates. They determine if a planner can filter for your promotions based on these date sets. 6 Click Save or Save and Add to add more promotions. 20

21 Set the Order of your Promotions 1 Click Set Order. 2 Enter the preferred numerical order in the left column. 3 Click Save. Contacts Use the Contacts section to set up lead catchers to receive notifications when a new RFP or RFI is submitted to your venue, or to assign RFPs to. 1 Click Add Contact or the icon to edit your current contacts. 2 Enter the Contact Information and check the appropriate RFP Options. In order to receive a printable copy of the RFP on the initial notification, make sure to check the appropriate box. 21

22 Documents You can store documents or document links such as menus, brochures, and room layouts in a document library to be attached to your proposals or to be displayed on your venue profile. Attaching documents or links to your profile is available if you have purchased a marketing package. Each document cannot exceed 10 MB in size. Add a Document 1 Click Add Document. 2 Enter the document name. 3 Click Browse to upload a file from your desktop. 4 Choose the file type from the drop down that matches the file you uploaded. 5 Check the appropriate actions under Proposal Settings and Visibility Settings. 6 Click Save or Save and Add. 22

23 Add a Document Link 1 Click Add Document Link. 2 Enter the Document Name. 3 Enter the Document URL. 4 Check the appropriate actions under Proposal Settings and Visibility Settings. 5 Click Save or Save and Add. RFP Routing and Escalation RFP Routing and Escalation allows you to set up rules for when RFPs are received from event planners, or for when the lead reaches a certain criteria. These rules can send or assign certain types of RFPs to different contacts based on fields such as RFP type (sleep rooms, meeting rooms, or both), number of attendees, seasonal dates, largest meeting room required, etc. The rules can also be set up to auto turn down RFPs for similar reasons. Lastly, rules can be established to escalate to a particular contact after a lead reaches a certain status after a certain amount of hours. Multiple rules can be set up for each venue. If you are interested in adding this custom functionality to your account, please contact the Cvent Sales Team at Web Widgets Web widgets are interactive images to promote your property s Cvent profile on an external website. You can create a button that links to your profile and use the HTML coding to place it on your website. 1 Click Edit. 2 Enter a name for your Profile Button that will display on the button. 3 Choose a color, font, and button style that will appear within your web widget. 4 Click Save. 23

24 Cvent s web widget can be found on Facebook as an App. Search for Cvent Supplier Network Profile App to add a widget directly to your venue s Facebook page! 5 If you are satisfied with your button, click into the HTML Code tab to copy your HTML Code, which can then be inserted on an external site. 6 Click Preview to see what your web widget will look like. 24

25 Venue Administration The Venue Administration tab includes two tabs, Venue Status and Visibility Settings. The Venue Status tab allows you to view your current status and visibility on the Supplier Network. The Venue Administrators section of the Venue Status tab shows who at your property is set up as the Venue Administrator. Venue Administrators have access to manage users at your property. The Visibility Settings tab will display users who have visibility to the venue s information and RFPs. 1 Click Visibility Settings. 2 Sort the page by user role or username to review the list of users. Proposal Defaults The Proposal Defaults section allows you to set default values for standard fields, taxes, estimated event costs, and custom questions to pre-populate into your proposals. This feature is a great time-saver when responding to RFPs. The Proposal Defaults section has five tabs. Standard Fields The Standard Fields tab allows you to set and edit default answers to standard proposal fields for your account. 25

26 1 Click next to a section to edit the default answer. 2 Enter any updates to your default answer. 3 Click Save. Package Pricing The Package Pricing tab allows you to set one default value for each Package Type (DDR, CMP, All Inclusive, etc). 1 Click next to the Package Type to edit. 2 Enter a Price Per Person Per Day. 3 Enter any Details that are included in that price. 26

27 4 Click Save. Taxes The Taxes tab allows you to set up to five taxes to pre-populate on every RFP you create. 1 Click Edit. 2 Add any relevant default taxes. 3 Click Save. Estimated Costs In this section, you are able to enter costs (F&B, rental, transportation) that are typical at your venue s event. These populate on every proposal, but can be removed or edited per response if necessary. 1 Click the Estimated Costs tab in the middle of the screen. 2 Click Edit. 3 Add any relevant estimated costs. 4 Click Save. 27

28 Additional Questions In this section, you are able to edit default answers to the additional questions you have saved previously. Default answers are initially set up during the creation of a proposal. 1 Click the Additional Questions tab in the middle of the screen. 2 Click next to a question to edit the default answer to that field. 3 Make any updates to your default answer. 4 Click Save. Services Within your username, you may see a Services tab, which allows specific service users to add or update their Cvent service profile. These services can be florists, photographers, catering, transportation, etc. Cvent will help service companies by building a complimentary profile to be displayed to event planners. Once you take ownership of your account, the service is then responsible for maintaining the profile. When clicking into the Services tab, if you do not see anything, it is recommended that you call Cvent to see if your service profile has already been created. If it is listed, we can move the profile into your account for you. If not, we can help you build your initial profile within your account. Once the service profile is listed in your account, you can simply follow the steps above and edit the existing content. 28

29 Managing Your RFPs A Request for Proposal (RFP) is used by event planners to request pricing and availability from hotels, special event venues, restaurants, and services. After a planner sends an RFP to a venue or service in your account, you can respond to that RFP by submitting a proposal or turning down the business. In the Manage RFPs section, you can track and send proposals for RFPs that were sent to your venues and services. You may see some yellow Alerts as you navigate through your account. The system will alert you if you have any RFPs approaching a due date, overdue RFPs, etc. These alerts are intended to help you, but you can disable them whenever you d like. RFP Selection When clicking into the Manage RFPs section, the page will be set to display your New and Updated RFPs by default. However, RFP views can be configured to better prioritize leads per unique business requirements. If you want to view your RFPs in a different way, there is a list of Views to the left that you can use to change your current view, change your default view, or even add a custom view of leads. There are several standard views Cvent provides, including: New and Updated RFPs: RFPs which are still in Awaiting Proposal status, or RFPs that the planner has updated that require your attention. My RFPs: A view specific to National Sales Office Representatives. Due in the Next Week: RFPs in Awaiting Proposal status that are due within seven days. Overdue: RFPs in Awaiting Proposal status that have passed their Response Due Date. Unassigned RFPs: RFPs that have not been assigned to a sales manager or user within Cvent. RFPs from First Time Planners: RFPs from a meeting planner who had never before sent an RFP to your venue through Cvent. RFPs with Flexible Dates: RFPs in which planners have indicated their event dates are flexible. Awarded RFPs: RFPs that have been awarded by a planner to your venue. 29

30 Create a Custom View A custom view allows you to better prioritize your RFPs by selecting specific criteria, columns, and information to be displayed on the Manage RFPs page. For example, you could create a view showing only leads falling in a certain season. Users can create private or public views depending on the type of access you have in your account. Public Views can be configured as semi-public so only certain users at your venue can have access to them. For views, you can determine to Organize By: Venue/Service: Shows all RFPs received by each supplier in a list format. If multiple suppliers in this account received the same RFP, the RFP will appear multiple times. RFP: Shows each net RFP received one time, with the count of your suppliers that received the RFP. 1 Select Add New View from the Views list on the left. 2 Create a name for the view. 30

31 3 Choose up to 6 columns and choose up to three sorting orders you wish to be displayed. 4 Create one or several optional filters to narrow down your view of leads. 5 Click Save. After the view is created, you can edit, delete, add more views, or set default views on the Manage RFPs page. 31

32 Manage RFPs Dashboard Within a venue s view of RFPs, there are many valuable features that are meant to help the user organize their potential business. Stars: You can Star important RFPs that require immediate attention by clicking on the Star icon to the left of the RFP name. Actions Dropdown: The Dropdown to the right of an RFP name allows you to take certain actions, such as Star, Assign, or Print. RFP Code: A unique identifier that can be used for tracking the RFP. The code will appear in the notification you receive about the RFP and can be copied and pasted into the Cvent Search All box within your account. When calling Cvent s customer care, use the RFP code as a reference. Proposal Status: This status will tell you what stage you are in with the RFP. It keeps the hotel, planner, and NSO up to date on all of their RFPs. An RFP can have one of the following proposal statuses: Awaiting Proposal: An RFP was sent, but no response has been made in Cvent. Awaiting Proposal [In Progress]: The supplier has notified the planner they are working on a proposal, but it has not been sent. Awaiting Proposal [Not Submitted]: A proposal has been created, but has not been sent. Submitted Proposal: The supplier has submitted a proposal back to the planner. Turned Down: The supplier has declined this business. Cancelled: The planner has cancelled the RFP. Withdrawn: The supplier has withdrawn their submitted proposal. Awarded: The planner has awarded that supplier(s) the business. Declined: The supplier submitted a bid to the planner, but the planner has declined the offer. No Response: The planner awarded the RFP, but the supplier never took any action on the RFP. Response Due Date: The date which the planner expects a response from your hotel. RFP Received Date: The date your hotel was sent the RFP. 32

33 RFP Search As your venue receives more and more RFPs, Cvent wants to make sure there is a convenient way for you to search through RFPs based on different criteria. 1 Within the Manage RFPs page, click the Search RFPs button on the left. 2 Fill in one or several fields that you would like to search on. To filter on more than one status, hold CTRL while you click the different statuses with your mouse. 3 Click Search. RFP Details To view Additional RFP Information, (such as event dates, total expected attendees, and total/peak room nights), you can hover your mouse over the name of the RFP. To view the full RFP Details, click the name of the RFP. There will be multiple tabs of information about the RFP, which may include: General Information, Contact Information, Event Details, Event Requirements, and Additional Questions. Be sure to go through all of the details so you know what action you wish to take with the RFP. 33

34 After going through the full RFP Details, you are ready to take action on the RFP. At the top of the screen, there will be 6 buttons allowing you to choose which action to take. Mark in Progress: Notify the planner you have received the RFP and you are working on a proposal. You can include a custom message for the client. Create Proposal: Start the Proposal Wizard to submit your bid back to the planner. Assign: Assign the RFP to another user in your account. Turn Down: If you cannot accommodate the business, use the Turn Down button. Actions Drop Down: Gives you the option to: o o o o Star: Mark this RFP as a priority. Forward: Forward this RFP to another venue. Send Message: Send a message to the meeting planner through Cvent. Print: Open a Printer Friendly PDF Version of the RFP to Print or Save. Close: Brings you back to the Manage RFPs screen. 34

35 Mark a RFP as In Progress Notify the planner that someone at your property is working on this RFP, and they can expect a proposal shortly. 1 Click Mark in Progress at the top of the RFP. 2 Enter the contact information of the person who will work on this RFP. 3 Enter any additional comments that you would like to send to the meeting planner. 4 Check off the box next to Also assign the contact above to this RFP if you would like to simultaneously assign the RFP. Create and Submit the Proposal Cvent has a step-by-step template for a supplier to walk through in order to create and send a proposal to the planner. The number of steps with the proposal creation will vary based on the RFP type you received. To create a proposal, follow the instructions below. Any time you wish to save your work, you will find a Save button at the bottom of the screen. Most accounts are set up to time out after 60 minutes of inactivity. Hitting the Save, Previous, or Next buttons will save your work and restart the 60 minutes. If at any time during the Proposal Wizard you would like to view the Full RFP, click the View Full RFP button in the RFP Information box at the top of the page. Step 1: Enter Your Proposal Details & Event Availability After clicking Create Proposal, begin by entering your Proposal Introduction, which should introduce your venue and any selling points that set it apart from competitors. Next, include your Event Availability. For your convenience, the Event Start and End Date will populate based on the planner s primary dates, but these can be edited to reflect your available dates. You are required to include your Availability for the dates you provided. Available 1st Option: You have space available and are offering it first to this planner. Available 2nd Option: The space is currently being held by someone else and will be offered to the planner if it is not booked. Available with Limitations: The majority of the rooms/space is available, but the venue does not have everything that has been requested Enter any additional information about your available dates. 35

36 The proposal introduction is a perfect place to communicate with the planner about what your venue has to offer and what makes you stand out against your competitors. If your venue does not have availability on the planner s preferred dates, you have option to change the populated dates, which will be reflected in the remainder of your proposal. 36

37 Step 2: Enter Your Sleeping Room Availability, Alternate Dates, and Additional Fees Select whether or not you would like to provide package or bundle pricing per person per day rather than itemized costs. Depending on the option you select, the sleeping room chart below will have different formats when entering your costs. Note: Package Pricing will only apply to certain venues that quote group rates in CMP, DDR, DMP, MMP, or All-Inclusive fashion. Please leave the answer selected to No if this does not apply to you. To Enter Sleeping Room Availability (No Package Pricing) Include your sleeping room rates. You must include a room rate for every night that has a quantity associated to it. Include additional notes with the icon. To save time and copy rates from one day to the next, check off the box to the left of the Date column, and click Copy Rates. Then, choose which days you would like to copy the rates to. 37

38 To Enter Sleeping Room Availability (With Package Pricing) Include your Package Type, Occupancy, Room Type, Per Person Per Day cost, and the details of what is included in the specific package. You must include a cost for every night listed. Include additional notes with the icon. If you have set defaults for Package Pricing, the Per Person Per Day and Details will populate for you. Use the Details button to select items that are included in the package. Regardless of whether you choose to use Package Pricing or not, you will have the opportunity to include Alternate Dates that your venue is available and any Taxes associated to your venue. Planners often award business for dates that they weren t originally looking for, so it is highly encouraged for you to include Alternate Dates in your proposal. Provide multiple package options by using the Add Package button. 38

39 Step 3: Enter Your Meeting Room Availability and Estimated Costs View the planner s full Agenda and associate specific Meeting Rooms to each Agenda Item using the Add Room button. After clicking the Add Room button, you will have the option to type in a room name or select from the rooms listed in your Cvent profile. Note: A red * or bold red text indicates a required field set by the planner. Planners have the option to require specific fields. All required fields must be filled out before submitting a proposal. When clicking Add Room, you will have the option to opt out of providing meeting rooms names. You will also be able to populate meeting room specs from your Cvent capacity chart. If you wish to add one room to several rows, check the applicable boxes on the left and then click Add Rooms to populate something into several boxes at once. Note: After one meeting room has been added and saved to the agenda, a Copy Room and Copy Day button will appear in the meeting chart. 39

40 After including your Meeting Room selections, fill out your Estimated Costs. Planner required costs are in bolded red. These costs can be defaulted per property or filled out individually per proposal. Cost Type, Included, Waived, N/A, or Complimentary can be chosen if you do not wish to include a cost. Step 4: Additional Questions Respond to any of the planner s customized additional questions. 40

41 Step 5: Billing, Attachments and Key Contact Information Respond to the Concessions/Contractual Requirements requested by the planner in the Response box. This is also a good opportunity to include attachments to send back to the planner. You can choose to browse your computer for documents, browse your documents library for the documents/links that were setup within the profile or you can add new URLs directly from this page. Enter your Key Contact information, which serves as your proposals Signature. This ensures that the planner knows who to contact in case of questions or follow up. Browse your Document Library to attach static files or hyperlinks loaded into your Venues tab. You can also choose to load files or URLs on the fly. 41

42 Step 6: Submit Your Proposal You have completed the proposal wizard and it is time to submit your proposal to the planner. Be sure to copy any NSO Contacts that were copied on the original RFP on your response. Save up to 15 messages to be used by your venue for future proposals by clicking Save for Future proposals. To locate your saved message, click the Use a Saved Message button and select the message you would like to use. Clicking Submit Now will bring you to the Proposal Administration page, where you will see that the proposal status has changed to Submitted Proposal. You can also choose to Review and Submit Later. Resend: if you choose to make updates to your proposal, click Resend to ensure the planner receives your updates. Withdraw: If you can no longer accommodate the business you can choose to withdraw your proposal. Self Award: If the RFP has been awarded to your venue by the planner and you would like to update the status, you can select Self Award. This will allow you to send an approval request to the planner, who must then confirm the status change. Once the planner confirms that the RFP has been awarded to your venue, the Proposal Status will update to Awarded. Archive: Manually archive old RFPs that you no longer want visible within your standard RFP views. 42

43 Sync the Proposal Planners have the ability to update and resend their RFP through Cvent. If the updated RFP s sleeping room or meeting room details differ from your proposal, an alert message will appear at the top of the RFP and Proposal Detail pages. Within the alert, you will have the option to sync your proposal with the new RFP details provided by clicking click here. Review the changes and the updated proposal before selecting Confirm Sync & Submit or Confirm Sync & Review. Assign the RFP Assignment functionality allows you to internally assign an RFP to the employee who will be responsible for responding to it. It also allows you to time-stamp when an employee receives an RFP, while simultaneously marking it In Progress. 1 Click Assign at the top of the RFP. 2 Enter the Assignment Information, including the assignee s first name, last name, and address. If the assignee is a user in the system or a venue contact, you can populate their contact information by clicking the button and selecting their name. 3 Choose a status. 4 Write a message to the assignee (if you are using Save and ). 5 Check off Mark this proposal as In Progress if you would like to let the planner know that someone is working on this proposal. 6 Click Save or Save and . 43

44 Turn Down the RFP 1 If you are unable to accommodate a piece of business, you can turn down the RFP. 2 Click Turn Down at the top of the RFP Details page. 3 Select a turn down reason. Note: A new validation box will appear when turning down an RFP with flexible dates. The alert will list any alternate dates provided by the planner and include a link to Create a Proposal. 4 Enter your contact information. 5 Type any additional comments that will be ed to the planner. 6 Click Turn Down RFP. Forward the RFP Some suppliers need to forward an RFP to another property within Cvent so that that property will be able to respond directly to the planner via Cvent. 1 Hover over the Actions dropdown, and then click Forward. 2 Enter your contact information. 3 Write an message to send to the property(s). When clicking Add Venue, if nothing happens, you most likely have a pop-up blocker on. Always be sure you allow pop-ups when using Cvent. 44

45 4 Click Add Venue. 5 Select the Metro Area that you would like to forward the RFP to. 6 To further narrow down your search, select Venue Type, Chain Affiliation, and/or Brand and click Search. Note: The forwarding functionality can be turned on and off by choice of the planner in the process of creating the RFP. 7 Click Search. 8 Check the boxes next to the name(s) of the properties you want to forward the RFP to and click Add. 45

46 When forwarding, Cvent allows you to view if a supplier has already received an RFP. By forwarding the RFP to a supplier who has already received it, you will be generating a second notification for that supplier about the RFP. 9 Repeat steps 3-9 to add properties from other metro areas or brands. 10 Once satisfied with your choices, click Forward RFP. 46

47 Print or Save the RFP The print button at the top of the RFP Details page acts as both a Save and print button as it allows you to open the RFP in a PDF format. 1 Hover over the Actions Dropdown, and then click Print. 2 A pop-up will appear which asks you to open, save, or cancel the PDF. 3 In order to print, you can Open or Save the PDF. Message History When sending RFPs a planner may choose to include a message in the RFP notification you receive or they may follow up with an through Cvent. You can send messages to the planner or other RFP recipients as well. 1 Hover over the Actions dropdown, and then click Send Message. 2 Check off the boxes in the To column of who should receive the message. 3 Fill out the From Name that will appear in the recipient s inbox. 4 Enter a Subject and a Message. 5 Choose to use a saved message by clicking Saved Messages, or save this message for future use. 6 Click Send. All of the messages will be stored in the Message History section link within an RFP. Use the Export button to export all messages to an Excel Document. If you wish to view just one message, click on the message link. Suppliers & Responses In the Suppliers & Responses Section Link, you will have the ability to view what your proposal will look like to the meeting planner. If you represent more than one hotel, you can view the proposals from multiple properties side-by-side, in the same comparison format the planner will use to compare proposals and make decisions. You can run two reports in this section: 47

48 View Bids Report shows any proposals for properties you represent in a side-by-side comparison format. 1 Check off the boxes next to the names of the hotels you would like to run the report for. 2 Hover your mouse over the Reports dropdown, and click View Bids Report. 3 Choose your Display Options and click OK. 4 Your report will generate and open in Excel. Click OK to open the file. Alternatively, you can choose to save the file to your computer. 5 The report will open in Excel. The proposals will be side-by-side for easy comparison. RFP and Bids Report shows the RFP and Proposal (Bid) individually in a Word document, in the same format the planner will have the ability to see. 1 Check off the boxes next to the names of the hotels you would like to run the report for. 2 Hover your mouse over the Reports dropdown, and click RFP and Bids Report. 48

49 3 The report will open in Word. The RFPs and Proposals will be laid out in one document for you to save or print. Taking Bulk Actions This section also allows you to perform actions in bulk if you have access to multiple properties. Actions you can take in bulk are: Mark as In Progress: Notify the planner you have received the RFP for more than one property at a time, and you are working on proposals. You can include a custom message for the client. Assign: Assign the RFP that was sent to multiple properties to another user(s) in your account. Turn Down: If you cannot accommodate the business, use the Turn Down button and turn down the RFP for more than one property at a time. To take these bulk actions: 1 Check off the boxes next to the names of the hotels you would like to take a bulk action for. 2 Choose from the buttons at the top of the page. 3 Confirm your action. Managing Your RFIs A planner may send a venue or service an RFI (Request for Information). Currently, the only venues set up to receive RFIs are Special Event Venues and Restaurants. RFIs will contain the planner s key contact information, as well as a subject and message. The planner can also choose to include some key details about the event such as event start and end date and total attendees. In the Manage RFIs section, you can track the RFIs that come through. RFI Selection When a planner sends your venue or service an RFI, you will automatically receive an notification. The RFI will also be recorded in your Cvent account. RFIs can be responded to via or phone as all communication will take place outside of Cvent. You can choose to search for the RFI based on the received date or status. 49

50 After locating the RFI: 1 Click the RFI Subject to view the details. 2 View the RFI details. 3 Click Edit. 4 Change the status to the appropriate choice. 5 Enter any internal notes. 6 Click Save. Note: Please see the RFPs > Contacts section of the user guide to learn how to update your venue s contacts for who receives RFIs. 50

51 Reports Reports are an important part of tracking the status and activity of your RFPs. Reports also help monitor the performance of your staff. 1 Click Reports in the red navigation bar at the top of your screen. 2 Click a report name. 3 Select how you want to search your RFPs by using the drop down at the top. a. RFP Awarded Date. b. RFP Decision Date. c. RFP Response Date. d. RFP Received Date. e. RFP Event Start Date. 4 Enter your date range (from the dropdown, or manually), and narrow down your report using the applied filters. 51

52 5 Click Run Report. Report Filter Example: If you have more than one venue in your account, and you want the report to only run on RFPs for a specific hotel enter the following: Field = Venue/Service Name Operator = Equals Value = Cvent Country Hotel After clicking Run Report, you have the option to export the report immediately so you do not have to wait for the report to finish generating. This will allow you to work on other things in your account while the report generates. You will have the option to come back and download it at your convenience. Note: If you do not want to come back later for the report, ignore this step and the report will open in Cvent once it finishes generating. 6 Click Export. 7 To view the status of the report, click My Reports. 8 Download the report from My Reports, located in the Administration tab. 9 Click the Report Name to download it. 52

53 When the report opens in Cvent there will be a navigation bar at the top of the screen. Utilize the different options within the bar to navigate through the report. Navigate through the pages. Zoom in or out Enter key words to search the report. Export the report. You can also have the option to save each report so you can easily run the report based on the same criteria in the future. Saved Reports will be visible to users that share visibility to at least one venue in common with you. 1 Run the Report. 2 After the report opens in Cvent, click the Save Report button at the bottom of the page. 3 Enter the Report Name and Description. 4 Click Save. For more information on Reports, click the Online Help link at the top of your account or contact Supplier Support. 53