Onboarding Training Process
This document will guide you through an onboarding training session with venues.
Before you start the session make sure to log in to MEC through Endeavour as the user you’re training so they can see all of their venue data. If you are training a number of people from different venues use the demo venue.
How you make the most from your listing
* We should start the session by showing them all the elements that must be filled in for the RFP
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dashboard
Explain the two enquiry boxes at the top. Today’s outstanding enquiries will show any enquiries sent today, older outstanding enquiries will show any older enquiries, and will remain there until either the agent releases the booking, or the venue responds.
Subscriptions & Ranking section shows the main image of the venue, the destination ranking and any outstanding alerts which they can click on and amend their listing. This is also where they can click on ‘View Subscriptions’ and view their current and previous subscriptions.
Quick Stats will show their average lead times, response times, enquiry value, and total enquiries. The top row is for the current month and the bottom row is for the last 12 months.
Explain that they can check their Enquiry Response Rate and their Enquiry Deadline Performance in the section below, which will show the current month and the last 12 months. If they hover the mouse over the bars, it will show the numbers for responded, failed to respond, telephone enquiries for the Enquiry Response Rate box and responded on time, responded late, failed to respond and telephone enquiries for the Enquiry Deadline Performance.
In the section below, they are able to hover over each bar and check their Total Enquiry Value per month, their Average Meeting Size per month, Average Meeting Duration in days per month, and in the sections below that, they can compare their average enquiry values (blue) to the destination (purple) enquiry values per month. The last graph shows how many times they came up in searches (blue) and were viewed (purple).
Mention response times: Agents usually give 2-3 hours for responses. Calder Conferences, who predominately book meeting space for the Government, have response times are considerably shorter at 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Response window is Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. - if an enquiry gets sent at 5 p.m., the timer will stop at 6 p.m., and will start back up at 8 a.m. the next working day. *The timer does not consider bank holidays*
Enquiries
Ask if they have responded to enquiries before. If yes, go through the status, source, reference number and explain they need the reference number when they want to contact an agent. Let them know you will send them an Agent Contact List after the call. Don’t forget to send it.
Explain the feedback column. When an agent releases a booking, or the venue declines an enquiry, they have to give a reason why, which will show in the chat bubble under feedback.
Under the documents section, they can open and view documents. If there is a yellow triangle in front of the document, it means the agent hasn’t yet approved the document. This is where they can view the release report, confirmed document, or the current option report.
‘View Response’ to see the history of a booking.
They are able to filter at the top by Venue, Status, Created/Arrival Date, Dates and Source (agent)
Instant Book
Instant Book training is done separately if they have it already.
If they don’t have Instant Book, explain that this is a separate product that we offer and if they would like to speak to the sales team, we will let the team know and they will get in touch.
Explain how it’s used to instantly book small meetings for 30 people or less. Let them know about the widget, and that they would be able to add this to their website.
As long as it’s a website user booking through Instant Book, there is no commission to be paid, however if an agent uses it, the normal commission rates would apply.
Claims
The Claims section is to do with Commission Claims.
24-48 hours after the event took place, the agent will send a commission claim to the accounts contact and the commission claim will also be generated in the Claims section.
Reports
If they need access to reports, they need to email Venue Support and request this to be turned on.
If they have access to reports already, they can click on the ‘i’ icon in the bottom right corner, which will take them to the Help Guide page. Here they can search for ‘Reports’ and click on ‘Reports - What does each one do?’ which will give them an overview of every report they can pull.
They are able to filter by dates on the reports, export, download and print them.
Venue Profile
When you click on Venue Profile, it will take you to the Venue Home page. The first section shows the Profile Alerts and Optimisation.
If there are any alerts that need updating on the venue profile, this will show up as a yellow warning triangle and a description of what needs to be done.
Next to this box is the Destination Ranking. The optimise ranking button can be pressed but this will not guarantee page one status due to the complex nature of our search result criteria.
Order on venuedirectory.com - Promoted Listing (This is a paid product) Enhanced Listing with Instant Book, Enhanced Listing with Instant Book and Green accreditations, Enhanced listings just with green accreditations, Enhanced listings and then Basic listings
Essential you will feature as high on the list that is possible based on the above for a generic destination search
The best way to ensure your venues comes as high as possible in the search results is to ensure that your listings is regularly monitored maintained and updated, with Instant book availability in the calendar and any offers clearly entered
If you want guaranteed top spot then we recommend purchasing promoted venues or spotlight venues - our sales team will be happy to discuss this with you
You can also see the main image for the venue on this page, as well as where it is pinned on the map, and the logo.
General Information
General: In this section, you can update the Venue Name, Rating, Overall Style, Website URL, Short description - a short overview of the venue, Full Description - a more in depth description, Last Refurbished date, and whether the venue has Disabled Facilities.
Location: make sure the venue address is correct and the venue is pinned on the map into the correct location.
Phone Numbers: check if they have any other telephone numbers they need adding such as Central Reservations and C&B.
Transportation: This is where the venue can add directions to their venue, whether that’s from an airport, motorway, or train station.
Parking: Ask if they have any electric car parking spaces at the venue and list these.
Planned Closure: If the venue needs to close for a period of time, they can add a planned closure to their listing. They would need to click Planned Closure - ‘Yes’, add the start date and reopening date. If they don’t know the reopening date, they can select ‘Reopening Date Unknown’. They would need to select the reason - Refurbishment, Seasonal Closure or Other. If they choose Other, they can free type the reason into the details box.
Policies
Sustainability:
This is where the venue can update if they are Carbon Neutral and whether their venue is certified as Carbon Offset.
They can add their Sustainability Rating Notes and Corporate Responsibility in the boxes below.
Terms and Conditions: The venue can add their own Terms and Conditions text and URL. If they don’t add their own Terms and Conditions, then venuedirectory.com’s T’s and C’s will automatically apply.
Users
In the Users section, they are able to view all the active users for the venue listing.
In the User Role section, they can see the level of access each user has.
To the right, they can view who the Super Admin is, who is ticked to receive enquiries, who the accounts contact is, and who is visible publicly.
Please note, only the Super Admin is able to make changes to the users section. The Super Admin will be able to add and remove users, except for Venue Group Managers. In this case, we would get an email, notifying us that the Super Admin wishes to remove a user. We would then check that they should be removed and action this for them.
The only change the Super Admin can’t make is the contact preferences of each user due to GDPR. Every user will need to log in and make these changes for themselves.
Please see User Roles information below:
Venue User Roles and Access for MEC
Types of roles:
Venue User
Venue Administrator
Venue Manager
Venue Group Manager
Super Admin
It is important the role is assigned and suitable for the purpose of the user. For example, users that are on the listing for account/finance purposes only and do not need to amend the listing or more should be made a Venue User.
Images
The images section is one of the most important sections on the listing. The first 6 images that will show up on a client proposal are the main image and the first 5 images in the General folder.
The first 5 images in the General section should be the best of the best images they have of the venue, showcasing their meeting spaces.
To upload a new image, they would need to click on ‘Upload’ > ‘Add Images’ > select up to 10 images > click ‘Upload All’ - once uploaded, click on ‘Manage Existing Images’
They will need to add a description to each image and drag and drop it into the relevant folders.
Make sure each meeting room has an image, otherwise it will show up as a sample image on the venuedirectory.com and in the GRATIS search results which could mean the agent doesn't select the venue for the proposal.
RfP Responses
When preparing RFP Responses, it's important to address both Global Questions and Client Questions. These questions cover a variety of categories, such as your venue's accreditations, safety and security measures, environmental policies, and more.
- Providing detailed and accurate information in your RFP significantly increases your chances of securing business, as numerous clients rely on this information to make informed decisions about venue selection.
- The more comprehensive and up-to-date your responses are, the more appealing your venue will be to potential clients.
- Global Questions are general inquiries about the venue.
- We recommend that venues review and update their answers to these questions every six months to ensure that all information remains current and accurate.
- This helps present your venue as professional and reliable.
- Client Questions are specific to particular agents and inquiries.
- We advise venues to take a few spare moments whenever possible to review and answer these questions. Doing so will expedite the enquiry response process, enabling you to respond more quickly and efficiently to client requests.
- Moreover, when responding to an RFP, if new questions have been introduced, your answers can be saved and will automatically populate the next time those questions arise.
- This feature not only saves time but also ensures consistency and precision in your responses.
- Responding to RFPs promptly is crucial for winning business.
- Venues responding within 60 minutes are 53% more likely to secure business.
- Ensuring your answers are up to date will enhance your chances of success, as your responses will be faster and more accurate.
- By investing the time to thoroughly complete your RFP responses, you position your venue as a top contender, increasing your likelihood of winning the business.
Styles & Facilities
Styles: You can have a maximum of 6 styles that best describe your venue. Simply click on the drop down menu to select one at a time and click on ‘+Add’. Add up to 6 and press ‘Save’ before continuing to the next page, otherwise the changes won’t save.
Facilities: List any facilities that are either available at or near your venue. Select from the drop down menu, then choose whether it’s on-site or off-site and add the distance in miles.
Equipment & Services: Select any equipment that can be provided at the venue from the drop down menu. Add the price, select whether it’s taxable or commissionable and add the maximum quantity available. If the equipment you’d like to add isn’t on the list, select ‘Other’ and freetype.
Event Types: Select any events that can be offered at the venue.
Grounds: Select whether they have grounds (outdoor space) available for use and if they do, add a description.
Conference Rooms
It's very important for the rooms to be loaded accurately with as much data as possible so the correct room can be assigned during the enquiry process.
If they would like to add a new conference room, they will need to click on ‘+ Add Room’
They would need to add a room name, maximum capacity in theatre style, select the floor level, add at least one room feature and add a description.
Once the room has been added, they need to click on the ‘View/Edit Room’ button on the right hand side to be able to add different capacities to the room. They can also fill out the Access and Equipment & Features tab.
Please make sure the number of rooms listed in the ‘Rooms’ section, matches the total meeting rooms in the ‘Overall Capacities’ section. Please also make sure that the highest capacity theatre style listed for a room, matches the ‘Max Conference Capacity’.
Delegate Rates
If they are wanting to add a new Delegate Rate, they will need to click on the drop down and select the rate they would like to add.
Once they select the rate they would like to add, they will need to fill out the Rate (From), whether it’s inclusive, partially inclusive or exclusive of tax, add the package details, and a minimum number of delegates.
If you ensure delegate rates are added here when you respond to an RFP you will be able to pull that rate directly into the RFP
Dining
This section is where they can add Restaurants/Cafes and Bars they have onsite.
To add a new restaurant, they will need to click on ‘+ Add Restaurant’, type in the name of the restaurant, the type of cuisine, any awards, and the total capacity the restaurant holds.
To add a new bar, they will need to click on ‘+ Add Bar’, type in the bar name, the type of bar, opening times and total capacity.
Food & Beverage - this is the tab where they can add menus. To add a new menu, simply click on ‘+ Add Menu’ and select the manu type from the drop down. Add the details into the menu text, add the price per person and select the relevant boxes (whether it’s available, taxable, commissionable, if it offers multiple servings, or unlimited servings.) They will also need to type in the minimum servings.
It’s extremely important if they have Instant Book, that they fill out the Food & Beverage section correctly. If they don’t add a price, then someone selects the menu item and books a meeting through Instant Book, they wouldn’t pay for the item unless it had a price listed.
Bedrooms
If the venue offers bedrooms, they can add the total number of rooms they have onsite, specify if they have disabled rooms and add their rates. They can also add into the text box what the room rates include.
To add a new bedroom type, click on ‘Add a new Bedroom Type’, select whether it’s a single, double or twin, and add in the rates.
If they don’t offer bedrooms onsite but they have rooms nearby, they are able to add this information as well and specify the distance in miles.
In the facilities tab, they can select which items are available in the bedrooms.
Brands and Affiliations
Brands and Affiliations is the one section that the venue can’t update by themselves. They would need to select the changes they want to make and then click on the ‘Request’ button. This will send the request to Venue Support to check and we will make the changes for them.
Affiliation/Association, this is where they would select if they are a part of beam or MIA for instance. They’d need to click on ‘Request’ for the changes to be made.
Accreditation/Awards, this is where they would add if they have any green accreditation or venue awards.
Christmas
If the venue offers Christmas parties, they can add an overview as well as parties.
To add a new party, they would need to go to the ‘Parties’ tab, click on ‘+ Add Party’, add the party name, a description, whether it’s a shared or exclusive party, the price, minimum and maximum number of attendees. They can select from the below options and add the package as well.
They will need to add the dates into the calendar as well before saving.
Let them know that the Christmas party information will show on a separate website called christmaspartypeople.com
Weddings
Ask the venue if they offer weddings. If they do, they can click on the ‘Yes, we do weddings’ and add an overview as well as Wedding packages.
Packages & Offers
Venues can add Packages and Offers to their page. The offers will show on the venuedirectory.com website under the News & Offers section.
If the venue has added an Offer, when the agents are doing a venue search in GRATIS, a pound sign will show next to the venue name to indicate that they have an active offer.
Packages: To add a package, click on the ‘+ Add Package’ button and type in the name, description, and add your terms. You will then be able to choose the dates that the package is available between and when it’s visible. You will then need to add the minimum number of delegates and tax type (whether it’s inclusive or exclusive of tax). Add the starting price. At the bottom of the page, you are also able to add a PDF.
Offers: To add an offer, click on the ‘+ Add Offer’ button and type in the offer name, description, and add your terms. You will then be able to choose the dates that the package is available between and when it’s visible. Choose the minimum number of delegates and the tax type, and add the starting price. At the bottom of the page, you are also able to add a PDF.
Please explain to the venue user that the only offer they are not allowed to add to this page are Agent Offers, where they would offer enhanced commission. They would need to contact the agents directly and let me know about this offer, the agent will then be able to update GRATIS to reflect the agreed commission rate.
News
In the News section, you can add anything you’d like to shout about. Whether that is an open day, refurbishment, change of ownership, or any new awards. Again, this will show up on the front page of venuedirectory.com in the News & Offers section.
To add a news article, click on the ‘+ Add News’ button and add the article title, the publish between dates and the news details.
Financials
- Please note, only managers and Super Admins can access the Financials page.
- This is where they would need to add their financial information such as registered company name, company registration and address.
- They will need to tick 'Use the financial details' as yes.
- On the Bank Details tab, they will need to add their venue's bank details.
At the bottom right hand corner of the page, they will see these three buttons.
Let them know that the top one is the Live Chat option. If they need to speak to someone, they can chat with the Venue Support team in real time.
The ‘i’ button is the Help Guide. If they click on this icon, it will take them to the TVD Help Dashboard where they can search for help documents.
The bottom icon is the Email option. They can click on this button and it will send an email to Venue Support.
At the end of the call, ask them if they need a copy of their training call recording for future reference and let them know that you will send out the Agent Contact List.