*Editor’s Note- This was an assignment for Journalism 104, Writing Essentials. Our task was to write a memo as if we were an employee for a company that was looking into hotels for an upcoming conference for new employees. 3 Hotels and all of their pricing was given to us and we had to simplify and shorten that information into a memo including the prices, the pros and cons and our personal recommendation for the conference. All of the people and places are made up for the purposes of this assignment.
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To: Mr. Frederick Worth
From: Anika Kieler
Regarding: Hotel Recommendations for Upcoming Conference for New Employees
The upcoming new employee conference is going to be held in Kansas City and will have about 300 attendees over a three-day period. We are planning on needing about 8-10 breakout rooms each day and at least one ballroom. Breakfast, afternoon coffee and tea, and an evening reception will be hosted by the conference each day. We have three different options. Highpoint Airport Plaza, Goldfield Hotel, and Hotel Mason. My recommendation is the Hotel Mason.
Hotel Mason has a wide range of amenities and will meet our requirements. It is in a good location and has easy access to some notable places in KC. It also has a 24-hour gym, tennis courts and a heated pool. It has a lot of space for our conference and has high reviews. We pay about $7,000 for 22,000 square feet of conference space, a 9,280 square foot ballroom with a capacity of 700+ depending on the type of event held in the room. We would pay about $12,000 for A/V Equipment and support with high-speed internet and WiFi throughout the whole building, and the hotel will manage the entirety of our Audio and Visuals including design, service, maintenance, and rental. Food and drinks would be about $32,860 for continental breakfast, coffee, and tea in the afternoon and a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres. Estimated total cost: $51,860
My second place recommendation is the Goldfield Hotel. This option is the most expensive of the three. In order to rent their 40,000 square feet of space, 1 expo room, and 30 breakout rooms, we would pay $9,000. For every breakout room with A/V, we would pay 500 dollars per day. For 10 breakout rooms over the entire conference, we would pay $15,000. The tech in the expo room is $2,600 per set up ($7,800 in total) with the added fee of $1,200 for an onsite technician for 8 hours, all three days. Food and Beverage come to a total cost of about $31,558 for breakfast, coffee, and tea and reception with light snacks and beverage service. This hotel is centrally located by the Power and Light District with easy access to the highway and the airport and has complimentary WiFi, a fitness center, pool, business center, valet, two restaurants, and a Starbucks. Estimated total cost: $64,558
The last option is the Highpoint Airport Plaza. The 50,000 sq ft of 2 banquet halls, 1 expo room, and 14 breakout rooms is free as long as we pay $22,000 in other costs including overnight room rentals. A/V is $20,100 for Breakout room tech and $6,300 for Ballroom tech. Onsite technician is $960 for all three days. Food and Beverage cost comes to a total of $30,558 for breakfast, coffee and tea, and a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres. This hotel has the worst reviews and complaints of cheap infrastructure, unsanitized and messy rooms but is located close to the airport and a nearby shopping mall. Estimated total cost: $57,918
Overall, all three hotels have their benefits and drawbacks. Hotel Mason provides the most middle ground room and is what I believe to be the best option, although Goldfield Hotel is a good second option, and Highpoint Aiport Plaza a third. Even though Hotel Mason is a little more expensive, it will provide a good mix of amenities to keep our guests close to the conference, but also has the space we need, without having too much extra room. We will not have to worry about the tech because the hotel will run and operate all of that for us. We also have a reliable internet connection anywhere in the building, which will allow us to be as productive as possible. We also get quite a bit of food and drinks for what we pay. It is for these reasons that I strongly suggest using Hotel Mason for our conference.
Anika Kieler 