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Creating Event Opportunities

An opportunity can be created from a number of screens. For example, in addition to using the Opportunity screens and views, you can create opportunities from the Accounts and Contacts screens by clicking the Opportunities view tab associated with those screens.

CAUTION:  When modifying an opportunity, make sure that you are on the sales team that is associated with the opportunity. In other words, make sure your name is on the list in the Sales Team field of the opportunity record. Not doing so can lead to unpredictable and undesired results.

For example, suppose you select an opportunity with an associated sales team that does not include you. The selected opportunity has an associated room block, which in turn has room block line items. If you change the Arrival Date of the opportunity, you cannot access the functionality for selecting Update Dates or Update Day Numbers to specify how to apply the change to associated records. Consequently, the change to the Arrival Date is not propagated to the Date fields on the room block line items.

This task is a step in Process of Capturing Hospitality Opportunities.

To create an event opportunity

1. Navigate to the Opportunities screen.
2. From the Opportunities Home view, complete the fields in the Add form, and then click Add & Go.
3. Click the More Info view tab and perform the following actions.
   1. Complete the fields in the Key Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Name	The opportunity name.
      Projected Property	The property that is most likely to win the bid in the case of more than one property bid. If the property is flagged, the property is associated with the estimated revenue for the opportunity when the quote is generated. You can choose a nonparticipating property for the opportunity if necessary.
      Revenue	Read only. The total rolled up amount from the projected property revenue.
      Currency	The currency used for the opportunity transaction.
      Business Type	Indicates whether the opportunity is group or local. A local opportunity typically does not require sleeping rooms.
      Sales Status	Read only. When the opportunity record is created, the status is automatically set to Prospect.
      Peak # Function Spaces	The number of function spaces required for this opportunity.
      Peak # Rooms	The number of rooms required for this opportunity.

   2. Complete the fields in the Arrival Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Arrival Date	The date and time the event begins on the property.
      # of Nights	A value can be entered, or the value can be calculated from the arrival and departure dates.
      Departure Date	You can enter the date of departure, or it can be calculated from entries in the Arrival date and # of Days fields.
      Decision Date	The date when the customer must make a decision about the terms of the event. Managers can reference this date when developing revenue forecasts or releasing inventory.

   3. Complete the fields in the Account and Contact Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Account	The account associated with the opportunity function. A new account can be added, but existing account information cannot be edited from this view.
      Intermediary Account	The intermediary account that brought the business to the property.
      First Name, Last Name	Name of the account contact. Select the Primary check box if the individual is the primary contact for the event. Click the Contract check box to include the contact as the primary contact in the event contract record.

   4. Complete the fields in the General Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Description	A text description of the opportunity.
      Post as Name	The name that appears on the customer documents and announcement boards.
      Parking Code	The contractual terms for guest parking, which might include a parking fee or valet services.
      Sales Team	Members of the sales organization involved in the event sale. The default is the user ID of the opportunity creator.
      Opportunity #	A unique identifier for the opportunity.

   5. Complete the fields in the Dates section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Alternate Dates	Alternate dates for the event opportunity in case the desired dates cannot be booked.
      Preferred Dates	The preferred dates for the event. These dates are entered for informational purposes, until dates can be set at the function and function agenda levels.

   6. Complete the fields in the Tracking Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Sales Status Date	Date of the last status change.
      Reason Won/Lost	The reason the opportunity was lost. Examples are Price, Relationship, Terms, Property Physical Attributes, Lost to Competition, and so on. NOTE:  Values are only available for selection if the Sales Status is set to Lost/Turndown.
      Originating Property	The property originally requested by the customer. This field is used when the original customer request cannot be fulfilled and another property is selected.

   7. Complete the fields in the Capacity Requirements section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Total # Nights	Read only. The total number of nights allocated to the opportunity.
      Peak # Attendees	The maximum number of attendees expected for the event.

   8. Complete the fields in the Classification Information section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      Opportunity Type	Means of classifying the opportunity, for example, Board Meeting, Job Fair, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and so on.
      Group Type	An additional classification means for the opportunity group.
      Opportunity Market	Specifies whether or not the sales representative is selling within his or her assigned territory (In Market) or outside of it (Out of Market).
      Opportunity Segment	Default value is the market segment value, but the value can be changed to reflect a different user segment. For example, a corporate account is typically associated with a corporate segment. However, if the corporation holds a social function, the segmentation attributes might be different (social segment rather than corporate segment).

   9. Complete the fields in the Influence Mechanism section.

      Some fields are described in the following table.

      Field	Comments
      External Event	Another external event that is a compelling factor for the new opportunity. An example would be a scheduled sports event in the area.
      Lead Source	The source of the opportunity. Options include Convention & Visitors Bureau, Direct Response, EBC, Field Sales, Inquiry, and so on.

   10. Complete the fields in the Qualification Information section.

       Some fields are described in the following table.

       Field	Comments
       Opportunity Overview	An overview of the opportunity provided by the sales representative.
       Customer Needs/Objectives	Key factors that the client must consider when selecting the property. For example, a new product release function might have special requirements.
       Concession	Any concessions that the property must make. For example, if the customer requires free transportation to and from an airport, record that fact here.
       Competitor	The name of any other company that is also competing for the opportunity.
       Budget Considerations	Details the amount that the client generally spends on an event and the amount spent on the last event.
       History	Comments on the previous history of this customer.

   11. Complete the fields in the Manager Information section.

       Some fields are described in the following table.

       Field	Comments
       Sales Manager	The name of the sales manager for the opportunity. The person who creates the opportunity is the sales manager for this opportunity by default, but this value can be changed if necessary. When a quote is generated, the name of the Sales Manager is transferred to the quote. Similarly, when the quote becomes an order, the name of the Sales Manager is transferred to the order.
       Event Manager	The name of the event manager for this opportunity. When a quote is generated, the name of the Event Manager is transferred to the quote. Similarly, when the quote becomes an order, the name of the Event Manager is transferred to the order.

   12. Complete the fields in the Relationship Information section.

       Some fields are described in the following table.

       Field	Comments
       Relationship Type	The type of relationship between the opportunity and other opportunities.
       Affiliate Accounts	The affiliate account for this opportunity. For more information about affiliate relationships, see Assigning Host and Affiliate Relationships to Opportunities.
       Parent Opportunity	The parent opportunity.

Specifying Sleeping Room Rates for an Opportunity

When you create an opportunity, one of the fields that you must complete is the Opportunity Segment field. This field is important for determining the sleeping room costs to be applied to the opportunity. In this field, you can specify that the opportunity is part of the government segment. If you do this, government rates are applied to the sleeping room. If you do not specify a government rate, then ordinary sleeping room rates are applied to the sleeping rooms for the opportunity.

NOTE:  By default, the government rate cannot be offered to a group unless the government rate is open for every day that the group is resident at the property. That is, if the government rate is not available for a single day of the room block, then the whole room block cannot be offered at the government rate regardless of the segment with which the opportunity is associated. Your company might follow a different process according to its business requirements.

To specify the sleeping room rates for an opportunity

1. Navigate to the Opportunities screen, then the List view.
2. In the Opportunities list, query for and select the required opportunity.
3. Click the Show More button on the opportunity form.
4. Scroll down to the Classification Information section of the form, and in the Opportunity Segment Field, do one of the following:
   • To apply government sleeping room rates to the sleeping rooms for the opportunity, select Federal Government, Government Contractor, International Government, Local Government, or State Government.
   • To apply regular sleeping room rates to the sleeping rooms for the opportunity, select any option other than Federal Government, Government Contractor, International Government, Local Government, or State Government.

     The appropriate government rate is applied to the sleeping rooms associated with the opportunity.