Contract terms and conditions – Don’t underestimate their impact

No matter whether from a venue or other type of supplier, terms and conditions are probably one of the most intimidating and least read documents for most people. Yet even those from trustworthy businesses can have a major impact on event planning.

Contract terms and conditions are mostly written in a complicated legal language, very long and printed in a very small font, which makes many shy away from reading them.

People prefer to focus on the organizational details of the contract like: have the right meeting rooms been booked, does the offer include the required technical equipment, does the catering meet our expectations, and so on.

Because of the effort to read them and the time available, people trust that the terms and conditions are fine and do not expect them to have any impact on the event.

Financial consequence and budget problems.

However, in my many years of organizing events I have seen contract clauses that do have considerable consequence, especially on the budget. Financial differences can be a relatively small amount, which can be covered from contingency money, but it can also be a large sum!

One example where such a difference would have had a significant impact was when I was organizing a large conference with around 700 attendees. The venue’s quote offered a flat fee for a beverages package, price per person/per day, during the conference.

So at first glance one would be led to conclude this is an easy way of calculating and controlling the cost for drinks. Just take the amount per person per day and add it to the overall budget calculation.

Do not be surprised if a flat fee is not a flat fee!

However, when reading the fine print of the terms and conditions one would notice that there was an exception: beverages served during lunch were not included in the beverages package! So in effect “flat fee” as per the quote was ambiguous! And with more than 700 people at a three-day conference this difference would have had significant impact on the overall catering costs.

Catching such “quirks” enables one to adjust the budget to include the additional costs in calculations, or find an alternative venue. But only if one reads the terms and conditions. The point is that one must read the terms and conditions not on the basis that there is some problem to be found, but because there could be a problem.

In reading the terms and conditions you might not understand the legal implications of every clause, but with a bit of common sense you will notice if there are any additional costs or restrictions that may impact your event.

Ask questions to clarify any unclear or open issues before you sign. Finally ensure answers are in writing to be sure that there are no nasty surprises when you receive the bill after the event.

This article expresses the opinion and experience of the author and in no way constitutes legal, financial or tax advice, professional or otherwise. If you have legal, financial or tax concerns relating to this article you should seek professional advice on the matter.