Event  Management

From selecting a destination or venue to picking out linens and floral arrangements, Appin Consulting is able to provide the appropriate level of support to compliment your in-house capabilities and available time.  You determine the level of support that is needed and the area in which it required at any given point in time.

Food & Beverage Management

Should you ever wish to stop counting tea bags and wine bottles, we have a team of Meeting and Event Managers (MEMs) that are strong negotiators and creative menu designers.  For each function of your event, they will review past event menus and discuss new objectives, budgets and theme ideas. 

Your MEM can take your team’s strategic vision and bring it to life, by consulting with chefs and catering managers to select menus that achieve event goals, and remain within designated food and beverage budget guidelines.  Menus will be selected for diversity and theme, and achieving an overall food and beverage balance throughout the program.

We have developed a number of formulas to assist in ordering the correct quantity of food and beverage for coffee breaks, continental breakfasts, and receptions.  Additionally, our onsite staff requires the facility to monitor consumption and conduct liquor and soft drink inventories for all functions.  Outside of our volume buying on guest room rates and services, one of the quickest places our clients receive cost savings is through our onsite food and beverage management.  With every new client, our proven methods have documented typical food savings of 10% as well as liquor savings of 25%.

Our food and beverage services cover all aspects required to ensure a successful event down to the smallest details. When it comes to a memorable program, we understand that the little things are what make the difference between ordinary and extraordinary.

We will review the event site, the food and beverage options, and recommend the menus within your designated F&B budget.  We can help with Pre-Event Planning, that can include some or all of the following: 

• Help with Food & Beverage Management through menu suggestions, layout, seating and room configurations.
• Negotiate food and beverage menus and associated costs.
• Calculate meal guarantees using historical information, meeting schedules, attendee registration, and other data points.
• Coordinate onsite procedures for all food and beverage events including: Attending the pre-meal meeting with banquet servers/captains prior to events to ensure service plan will achieve standards; and, meeting with catering managers to determine a plan to compile actual attendance numbers for every function (clickers, plate counts and head counts).
• Facilitate onsite food and beverage management and supervision.   
• Reconcile all food and beverage-related invoices and conduct a full Post-Event Analysis. 

We focus on managing costs and maximizing service levels for our customer’s food and beverage events.  Our cost savings recommendations may include:

• Ordering a la carte vs. per person for breakfasts/breaks along with leveraging the guarantees
• Offering a buffet with three entrée choices, while negotiating the cost for it, to equal two entrées
• Choosing gallons of fruit infused spring water, lemonade and tea vs. bottles of sodas
• Conducting bar inventory in and out, for all receptions
• Passing hors d’oeuvres – instead of having food stations
• Negotiating elevated wait staff ratios at all meal functions, for a standard wait      staff ratio rate
• Providing a procedure for special meals for attendees that identify their dietary needs
• Creating daily reports on meal and break consumption

Supplier Partner Negotiation & Management

Need a fresh set of eyes or ideas?  Use any or all of these aspects of what we do!  From Ground Transportation, Speaker Management, Talent Acquisition, Show Management Services and Mobile Application selection to CME/CE Management, Marketing Consultation and Graphics Design.  You choose where you need support and we can step up. 

Whether you need to outsource an entire program, or just certain aspects, we may be able to provide you with some one off services that will help strengthen your core team.  We maintain a proprietary database of suppliers.  Each supplier is required to qualify through a detailed review process inclusive of areas such as standardized contracts, lead turn around results, and a full review of any/all client engagements.  The customized agreements allow the partners to differentiate between other suppliers, allowing enhanced benefits for you.  The knowledge and statistics captured and maintained in our database coupled with outstanding negotiating skills enables our team to secure the best possible prices without compromising quality.

We do not mark-up or charge a handling fee on any supplier expense.  This business practice assures that you receive the absolute best prices available; hidden charges are not part of the financial equation.

We determine the ancillary needs in conjunction with your staff.  We develop a comprehensive and service-specific RFP to submit to prospective suppliers.  Prior to negotiating on your behalf, we will compile the results, comparing rates and services, to make final recommendations. Offering creativity, a collaborative spirit and attention to detail, we can help our client’s gain success by assisting in areas such as AV & Production Services, DMC’s & PCO’s, Entertainment, Equipment Rental, Floral & Tabletop Design, Lighting & Sound, Linens, Off Property Events, Photographers & Videographers, Security, Signage, Speakers, and Web Event Design.

We oversee the vendor management process by understanding all of your requirements and preferences, and by researching and presenting proposals from qualified vendors with recommendations for your final decision.  Our fair and competitive bidding process helps you to manage pricing, and allows us to negotiate the most competitive contracts in the industry... on your behalf.  We can continue the management process by coordinating and communicating all logistical requirements during the pre-planning phase and monitoring all vendor services onsite, should you wish.