Venue Selection For Weddings

Encore just filed to go public and it quietly admitted the thing we’ve been told was impossible. Buried in the risk factors is a line that may change how every event organizer negotiates AV. You aren’t as locked in as you think. Encore runs AV at ~2,200 venues. It serves 95% of the Fortune 500. It's the largest B2B live-events company on earth. Here's what the filing says, in plain English: → The exclusivity binds the venue. Not you. Encore is the only in-house provider. But the contract does not stop you from bringing in an outside team for your event. Planners keep that option. → They capture about 80% of business in their own venues. Roughly a fifth of events go another way. The "preferred provider" desk is not the only door. → The venue is paid to steer you. Encore hands venues big upfront checks to sign, plus commissions on what you're charged. The markup you pay helps fund the nudge toward the in-house desk. → Prices have climbed ~88% per event since 2019. They also admit they sometimes cut prices to win or keep business. The page where they list their risks reads like a negotiation playbook for the other side. So what does this mean for future events? The "preferred provider" desk loses its grip. Organizers who get one outside quote suddenly have leverage they didn't know existed. Budgets treated as fixed become negotiable. And the venues that win long-term are the ones who stop hiding the opt-out. If you run events: pull your venue contract. Find the exclusivity clause. Have Claude or ChatGPT read what it actually says, not what the AV desk told you it says. You may have more room than you think. (See below what one of our customer’s did to avoid AV costs 😂)

The Women’s Euros 2025 is underway! ⚽ While we support our teams in this European tournament, it’s also important to keep in mind the environmental impact of these events. The sports industry is responsible for 350 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, and international tournaments are a significant contributor to this. Organizers and governing bodies have a responsibility to maximise efficiency and reduce emissions. In UEFA’s ESG strategy for this year’s tournament in Switzerland, they outline their intention to: ⚡ Ensure that electricity used in the stadiums comes from renewable sources 🔌 Review power usage requirements and implement an optimization plan 🔋 Use state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly generators You can read the full commitment here: https://lnkd.in/gjATtHmf UEFA’s commitment is a clear call to action - a reminder that cutting energy consumption in sports stadiums is key to decarbonization. The good news? The technology to do this already exists. We can turn stadiums into smart, energy-efficient buildings (and Schneider Electric already is). Here’s how: 1️⃣ Building analytics turn data from meters and building systems into clear actions - helping to identify energy waste, cut costs, and fix equipment that’s not pulling its weight. 2️⃣ Power management systems maximize availability, reliability, and quality - while also improving energy efficiency and managing costs. 3️⃣ Building management systems (BMS) give facility managers real-time control over HVAC, lighting, and other critical systems. Basically: they’re the brains of the operation. As we watch the tournament unfold, I won’t just be cheering for France, I’ll be rooting for progress. When sport and sustainability go hand-in-hand, we all win! #WEURO2025 #UEFA #Sustainability #SustainableSport #EnergyEfficiency

A client signed their venue and A/V contract before bringing me in. Their general session quote was $736,469.49. After a "massive" discount of $316,766.35, the final cost dropped to $419,703.14. And they honestly thought they got a deal. Here is the reality: hotels capture the majority of "in-house" A/V business not because they compared options or offered the best rate. It’s because by the time A/V is even discussed, the venue contract is already signed. And once that ink is dry, your leverage is gone. If you want to protect your budget, here are the 7 things you must challenge before signing: 1️⃣ "Preferred" vs. "Mandatory" – A preferred vendor is not mandatory. Most clients never challenge this distinction. 2️⃣The Outside Vendor Fee – Ask for the exact number. The "outside fee" they warn you about is almost always smaller than the hidden overages they charge you inside. 3️⃣Labor Rate Clarity – Lock in hourly rates, minimums, and overtime. If this isn’t tight, your onsite bill will balloon. 4️⃣Percentages vs. Services – Question "service charges" and "admin fees." Ask what physical labor or gear those percentages actually cover. 5️⃣Locked, Itemized Gear – Reject "estimates" or blanket "packages." Demand actual, itemized gear lists with price guarantees in the contract. 6️⃣Hidden Utility Fees – Rigging, power, internet, and supervisor fees. If you go outside, what do they charge for these? Get every fee upfront. 7️⃣Price Escalation Caps – If there is no cap on how much prices can increase post-signing, you don’t have a budget. You have a wish list. You have the right to choose your own A/V partner, even in major hotels. Yes, there might be a fee to bring in an outside team. But you need to know that exact number before assuming the in-house option is saving you money. If you aren't negotiating these terms during the initial contracting phase, you’re already overpaying. I step in before the contract is signed, because that is where the real control and savings actually happen.

Yesterday inside Club Ichi, we had a fabulous conversation about... "the Elephant in the Ballroom," an honest conversation about in-house A/V. Thanks to Shawn Petersen and Chelsey A. Dulina (nee Quine) for leading the conversation. Club Ichi's Audio Visual Braintrust brought together event planners, AV pros, and venue insiders, and the nuggets were too good not to share. The No. 1 fix that needs to happen: Stop treating AV as an afterthought. Bring your preferred AV partner on the venue site visit before you sign *anything*. By the time you're in contract negotiations, you've already given away your leverage. If you're current venue booking process looks like this: Venue RFP → review dates, rates, and space with leadership → leadership chooses → negotiate contract → sign contract → 👉 bring in your production/AV team.... then you have it backwards. Try this next time: Venue RFP → review dates, rates, and space with leadership → leadership chooses → 👉 bring in your production av team → negotiate contract → sign contract. A few other things that will save you money: → The quote link trap. If your contract says "AV included per attached quote" and the quote is a link, beware. Links can be updated after you sign. Require Exhibit A in pdf, not a URL. → WiFi #fakenews. In-house AV will quote 5–10 Mbps per person. You likely need 0.2–0.3. Do the math on realistic concurrent usage. The FCC also says hotels can't legally block you from bringing in outside WiFi. → The $50K TD move. A Technical Director isn't just a crew member, they're your technical advocate. One TD saved a team $50K on WiFi bandwidth alone. Even if a hotel says "no outside AV," you can often still bring your own TD. → Admin fees. They're usually margin, not actual costs. Push back during negotiation to understand if they are adding to your program or just adding to the budget. They may disappear or reappear under a different name. Watch for both. We compiled everything into a field guide for our Insiders - find it inside our Club Ichi community. It lives in the Insider section in our Circle platform (holler if you can't find it).

🫒 While the rest of the world holds committee meetings and roundtables, Dubai passed 4 laws in about a week’s time. The laws were aimed at 4 areas that the Dubai government decided were non-negotiable: public safety, building standards, how people actually live and Emiratisation in private sector contracts dealing with government services. 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: If you are running shared accommodation, you now need Dubai Municipality permits and this applies across Dubai. Dubai Municipality will set occupancy limits, minimum space per resident, required shared facilities and areas where shared housing is allowed. Dubai Land Department will maintain an electronic registry to track it all and enforce standardised lease‑contract requirements. Non‑compliance attracts fines of up to AED500,000 (rising to AED1 million for those who need to learn a second lesson). Other sanctions include licence suspension, permit cancellation or eviction. Existing operators have one year to fall in line. 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆: Applies to all buildings across Dubai, including those in private development zones and free zones and is designed to ensure structural integrity, regular maintenance, safe system operation and overall occupant safety while reducing accidents and protecting lives, property and the emirate’s urban character. Dubai Municipality is tasked with enforcing these requirements through a digital building‑management system. A mandatory Quality and Safety Certificate may only be issued after licensed engineering firms inspect and assess each building. 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: Overseen by the Department of Finance, this law regulates contracts and competition between contractors, while prohibiting unauthorised penalties. Most importantly, it mandates a 1:1 Emirati to non‑Emirati staffing ratio to align outsourcing with Emiratisation and service‑quality goals. 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆: An emirate-wide framework that essentially tells everyone like venues, event organisers, building owners, that safety is no longer optional, aspirational or someone else's problem. Mandatory standards now cover facilities, events, homes, buildings, public spaces and consumer products. Fire safety, evacuation plans, crowd control, first aid -> if you are hosting people, you are responsible for them. Electrical equipment, swimming pools and beaches are regulated. Hazardous materials cannot be handled or disposed of without authorisation. Non-compliant products cannot be sold. And in a detail that should surprise no one but somehow still will: there is now a legal obligation on individuals to follow safety instructions in public spaces like not opening manholes or interfering with garbage bins. Dubai just made common sense compulsory. How many governments can say they move from vision to action this fast and with such precision?

A genuine safety culture CANNOT exist without a solid foundation of legal compliance and best practices. By embedding these elements into organisational operations, companies can: ▶️ Move beyond rhetoric to demonstrate a TRUE commitment to safety, protect lives, and build a culture of trust and continuous improvement. In the UK, our legal framework for safety is comprehensive and hard earned through blood and tears. Covering substantive and administrative regulations along with additional guidance that, whilst not always legally binding, supports compliance - it's available within MILLISECONDS on those mobile phones everyone is glued to. 1️⃣ Statute Law (Written Law): ✅ Acts: Primary legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. ✅ Regulations: Secondary legislation detailing specific requirements under an Act. 2️⃣ Approved Codes of Practice (ACOP): ✅ Provide practical examples of compliance. Not law, but following them is considered sufficient to meet legal requirements.    3️⃣ Guidance: ✅ HSE Guidance: Produced by the Health and Safety Executive, offering advice on meeting legal requirements. Judges often consider adherence to HSE guidance in legal decisions.    ✅ Industry-Specific Guidance: Such as HSE and IoD guidance, influencing decisions in corporate manslaughter cases. 4️⃣ Quasi-Law Guidance: ✅ British Standards: Best practice standards, influential in legal proceedings, such as BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regs): Essential for electrical safety, often expected in practice. 5️⃣ Common Law Principles: ✅ Duty of Care: Unwritten but critical in shaping organisational behaviour and legal judgements. Identifying AND adhering to legal standards for each risk area through thorough risk assessments and robust, measurable policy should be the FIRST step in developing a robust safety culture. Don't lose sight of the basics - without them YOU have no safety culture. Social psychologist Michele Gelfand's research on tight and loose cultures sheds light on how important it is to establish 'tight' protocols whilst allowing for adaptability. This balance reflects why: ▶️ A rock-solid foundation of legal compliance serves as a non-negotiable anchor, whilst ▶️ Guidance provides flexibility. Together, they instil social norms that achieve a level of order and innovation, helping society and workplaces function safely and efficiently. #WorkplaceSafety #HSECompliance #LegalFramework #SafetyCulture #UKSafetyLaw #RiskAssessment #DutyOfCare #ContinuousImprovement

𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗽: The nightmare email that made me add one clause to every contract. "We need to move a few in your group to our sister property. It's only 20 minutes away!" My client's face went white. Their 300-person leadership summit was now split between two hotels. Half the executives here, half there. The "quick shuttle" between properties? More like a logistical nightmare that killed every networking break. That was 2018. And the last time I ever signed a contract without a 𝗡𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲. Here's what most planners don't know: Hotels routinely overbook. When a bigger group comes along or they miscalculate, guess who gets "walked" to another property? Your carefully planned event becomes a scattered mess. The fix is simple. Add a clause like this: "Hotel agrees not to relocate any attendees to alternate properties. In the event of relocation, hotel will provide transportation and cover all additional costs, plus a penalty of $200 per relocated room per night." Last month, a hotel tried to walk 13 rooms from my client's block. I pointed to our contract. Suddenly, they "found" the rooms. Funny how that works. 💡 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Some hotels will push back, saying they "never walk groups." Great! Then they shouldn't mind putting it in writing. 👉 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁? #TuesdayTip #EventPlanning #ContractNegotiation #TheHotelWhisperer

Dear Compliance Professionals, Here’s a #Casino and #Gaming_Compliance Checklist designed to support regulatory adherence and risk mitigation, particularly for operators involved in physical or online gambling platforms. This checklist aligns with guidance from regulatory bodies such as the FATF, FinCEN, UKGC, MGA, and AUSTRAC, among others. 🎰 Casino and Gaming Compliance Checklist. 1. Licensing & Regulatory Registration Obtain appropriate gaming licenses (local and international, if applicable). ✔️ Register with the designated Financial Intelligence Unit (e.g., FinCEN in the U.S., AUSTRAC in Australia). ✔️ Maintain up-to-date licensing documentation and adhere to jurisdictional renewal timelines. 2. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance. ✔️ Implement a written AML/CFT Program aligned with FATF Recommendations. ✔️ Conduct a risk assessment tailored to gaming operations (e.g., slots, table games, online gaming). ✔️ Appoint a qualified AML Compliance Officer (MLRO). 3. Know Your Customer (KYC) / Customer Due Diligence (CDD). ✔️ Collect and verify identification documents prior to account opening or play thresholds. ✔️ Apply Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for high-risk players (e.g., PEPs, high-stakes players, cross-border). ✔️ Revalidate customer information periodically based on risk level. 4. Transaction Monitoring. ✔️ Monitor for suspicious betting patterns, chip dumping, or structuring. ✔️ Implement automated tools (Actimize, SAS, SymphonyAI, etc.) to track anomalies. ✔️ Set thresholds for cash-ins, payouts, and conversions (e.g., chips to cash). 5. Record Keeping. ✔️ Retain KYC, transaction, and SAR/STR records for at least 5 years or as required by law. ✔️ Maintain secure, tamper-evident systems for storing player data and logs. 6. Suspicious Activity Reporting. ✔️ File Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs/STRs) promptly with relevant FIUs. ✔️ Train staff on red flags like rapid movement of funds, minimal play, or proxy betting. ✔️ Keep a register of all internal suspicious activity investigations. 7. Responsible Gambling Controls. ✔️ Implement self-exclusion tools and affordability checks. ✔️ Provide clear tools for deposit and loss limits. ✔️ Train staff to identify and manage signs of problem gambling. 8. Sanctions & PEP Screening. ✔️ Screen all customers against OFAC, UN, EU, and other watchlists. ✔️ Conduct ongoing monitoring for sanctions hits or PEP exposure. ✔️ Document actions taken upon matches. 9. Training & Awareness. ✔️ Conduct regular AML and responsible gaming training for all relevant employees. ✔️ Test understanding through periodic assessments. ✔️ Keep training logs updated and accessible for audit purposes. 10. Audit & Oversight. ✔️ Conduct independent AML audits annually or as mandated. ✔️ Review and update policies/procedures at least annually or upon regulatory changes. ✔️ Implement internal control systems to monitor policy effectiveness. What did I miss? 🤔 Add in comments.

Contract Checklist – Before Final Signatures 1. Commercials • Contract value matches final agreed amount • Payment terms, milestones, and currency clearly stated • Retention %, advance payment, and recovery defined • Taxes, VAT, and duties clearly allocated 2. Scope & Deliverables • Scope of work clearly defined and complete • Specifications, drawings, and standards referenced correctly • Exclusions and assumptions clearly listed • Responsibility matrix clarified (who does what) 3. Time & Program • Start date, completion date, and milestones confirmed • Liquidated damages (LDs) clearly defined • Extension of Time (EOT) conditions stated • Delay responsibilities clearly allocated 4. Variations & Claims • Variation procedure clearly defined • Valuation method agreed • Time and cost claim submission timelines specified 5. Risk & Liability • Limitation of liability clearly stated • Indemnities clearly defined • Force majeure and change in law clauses reviewed • Termination rights and consequences clear 6. Insurance & Bonds • Required insurances listed with limits • Performance bond / advance payment guarantee confirmed • Validity period aligned with contract duration 7. Payment Security • Payment certification process defined • Right to suspend for non-payment clarified • Set-off and back-charge provisions reviewed 8. Subcontracting • Approval process for subcontractors defined • Back-to-back obligations confirmed • Nominated vs domestic subcontractor risks addressed 9. Dispute Resolution • Governing law and jurisdiction agreed • Dispute resolution mechanism defined (negotiation / arbitration / courts) • Venue and language confirmed 10. Documents & Execution • Correct contract form and latest amendments included • All appendices, schedules, and drawings attached • Authorized signatories confirmed • No blanks or conflicting clauses Final Tip: “If something is unclear before signing, it becomes your risk after signing”.