6 Things You Won’t Find on a Site Inspection Checklist 

Doing a site inspection is the only sure way to assess a hotel. What you see online could never convey what it feels like in person.

But even when you visit a property, what you’re shown might not be everything you need to know or do to be sure it will deliver for your event. Site visits are all about the logistics — room sizes and configurations, food and beverage, AV. But there are other, more subtle things you should be doing and looking for.

Consider these.

1. Share Some Quality Time Together Before the Site

The relationship with your hotel salesperson and convention services manager can make or break your meeting. So when you have the chance to be together on site, take some time for coffee and conversation before you walk the property. Not only does it help build a relationship, but it gives them a chance to ask questions and understand your meeting better.

2. Go Incognito

A hosted visit through the CVB or hotel saves you money — but it can also be deceptive because the hotel will be doing everything it can to impress you. You probably won’t have the same experience as a regular guest. That’s why some planners selectively choose to travel on their own dime, to do an incognito site inspection and experience the service as it truly is.

3. Walk the Walk

Attendees don’t like walking long distances. If you’re considering a resort, you don’t want them complaining to each other about how they had to wait 20 minutes in the blazing sun for the shuttle, or how it took forever to walk to their room from the meeting space so they never had a chance to change for dinner. So walk the various routes that your guests will have to walk while you’re there. Are the walkways and bus stops covered if it’s rainy? The size of your group and the age and fitness level of your attendees might require additional shuttles or golf carts — or it just might not be a fit.

4. Who Are the Other Guests?

A hotel that’s too family-focused might not work for your group, and the site inspection is a chance to look for signs of that. Ask the hotel not just about the percentage of leisure vs. meeting business, but for the booking history on the dates of your meeting. Never make assumptions, as one corporate planner did — and during her early January meeting at a Florida resort there were children everywhere, even though school vacation had ended the week before. 

5. Explore the Neighborhood

For a multi-day meeting where attendees have a chance to get outside, their impressions will be as much about the setting of the hotel as the property itself. If it’s a fabulous urban hotel but the surrounding streets are lined with mostly empty storefronts, this will negatively influence their experience. How close are walking and running trails? How safe do you feel?

For an incentive group, consider that all-important first impression. When guests drive up the driveway and approach the hotel, does it feel like they’ve “arrived”?

6. Always Follow Up

There’s nothing more rude to your hotel partners than expecting them to give up their time to show you around and then not sending a thank-you. Again, it’s about showing respect and building a relationship early in the game.