Industry News & Insights

How to Win Association & Non-Profit Event Business

Getting that association and non-profit business through the hotel door isn’t always easy. These groups come with their own quirks and challenges, but that makes our industry interesting, right?

We recently brought together two incredible women to discuss what it takes to build successful partnerships between hotels and associations: 

• LaTika Webster from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), celebrating its 50th anniversary this year
• Jessica Jacobs, who recently joined Visit Milwaukee after working with Marcus Hotels & Resorts

Their conversation revealed genuine insights into how hotels can build relationships that convert to bookings and what motivates associations to return. 

While the focus was on hotels and associations, the relationship-building strategies they shared apply just as well to CVBs, conference centers, and other venues looking to win group business. 

Here are key insights from what they shared.

How Personal Connections Drive Bookings

So, how did these two first connect? LaTika and Jessica realized that Hopskip initially brought them together. 

LaTika had sent an RFP through the platform for NSBE events, which landed on Jessica’s desk at her former hotel.

“When I reviewed the RFP,” Jessica explained, “I noticed LaTika had carefully called out the hot-button items for her group.” Instead of dismissing the business because it didn’t perfectly match their booking guidelines, Jessica picked up the phone.

“That first conversation lasted about an hour and a half,” she laughed. “We’re both talkers.” Rather than jumping straight into negotiations, Jessica focused on understanding the unique needs of NSBE’s student members.

This approach formed the foundation for NSBE booking two events at Jessica’s hotel. 

Their story also has a fun twist (of lemon).

“We connected through our love of French 75s,” LaTika shared. “Now, each time we get together, we carve out time to catch up over a French 75.”

Their friendship deepened when LaTika got stuck on a plane for seven hours – on what should have been a 17-minute hop from Chicago to Milwaukee. She missed all her pre-con meetings and arrived exhausted.

“Jessica had her staff leave a French 75 kit in my hotel room. When I finally showed up after missing an entire day, my French 75 was waiting for me.”

It wasn’t just about the cocktail—it was about Jessica remembering their shared tradition and finding a way to maintain it even when things went wrong. That kind of personal touch strengthens business relationships and makes planners want to return.

Creative Solutions for Space-to-Rooms Challenges

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room for most association businesses – that challenging room-to-space ratio.

LaTika likes to tackle these challenges head-on: “We deal with a primarily collegiate student demographic of collegiate engineers. We need lots of space for competitions and workshops. I started our conversation by saying, ‘I know our rooms-to-space ratio is off, let’s address that.'”

Jessica appreciated this transparency: “Every group has its own set of challenges or things that might seem a little off. It’s really just about being willing to work through those things.”

Together, they found four creative solutions:

1. NSBE came to Milwaukee in November. “If anyone on the call isn’t from Milwaukee or hasn’t been there, it gets kind of cold in November,” Jessica noted. “When you’re coming in one of our need months, we might be able to be a little bit more flexible on our booking guidelines.”
2. LaTika asked, “What are some other ways that I can bring value and spend to the property?” and proposed a multi-event contract. “I do multiple regional events for the same regions. What does the structure look like if we do a multi-event contract?”
3. She connected a local NSBE chapter with Jessica to host their fundraising gala at the hotel. “Once that group came to me about their gala idea, I said, ‘I’m gonna send you right to Jess.’ We want to be good partners.”
4. They partnered with Visit Milwaukee to explore additional resources for the event, creating what LaTika called a “trifecta of a partnership.”

The lesson? 

Don’t immediately reject a challenging ratio – have the conversation and get creative together. As LaTika puts it, “I ask my hotel partners, what can we do to be a good piece of business for you?”

Why Real Conversations Win More Association Business

Both speakers emphasized one game-changing approach: talk to each other.

“I make an effort to meet with every single property that submits a bid,” LaTika shares. “Part of the reason I do that is because it establishes that rapport early, but I’ll also say, ‘Let’s review your bid, and what I want to do is pre-identify areas that I know are out of alignment with what we typically see.'” 

This proactive approach means they’ve already flagged negotiation points before shortlisting.

Jessica has her own go-to question: Ask about past meetings:

• What went well that made a destination or property stand out as a place you would return to? 
• What issue in the past has caused you to not return to a city or to a property?

These answers help her “paint a picture of how that would go differently at my property in my city.”

She also warned against the copy-paste trap: “I can’t tell you how many RFPs I’ve seen where I review the meeting space needs, get my proposal together, we have a call, and the person says, ‘Oh, actually, sorry, that was from our meeting in 2014 in Portland.'”

“The only answer to a question you don’t ask is no,” LaTika says. 

Whether requesting custom menus for college students or explaining why a two-week cutoff is challenging when “my college students have to work around their academic commitments” – just ask!

Using CVBs as Strategic Partners

“The CVB is so important because it’s the authority on all the amazing reasons to bring your event to a city,” Jessica explained. “I know specifically with Visit Milwaukee, there’s so many services that we can offer once an event is booked in our city, on a complimentary basis.” These range from “volunteers at the airport to welcome people” to “signs around the city” and connecting planners with appropriate venues and experiences.

LaTika takes CVB partnerships further: “My conversation with CVBs goes beyond ‘Can you give us a rebate?’ I also talk about ‘help me identify companies headquartered in your city that there may be a potential partnership or sponsorship opportunity.'”

This approach helps bridge budget gaps while creating community connections. 

As LaTika points out, “Our budget hasn’t caught up to where the industry is yet. There are still some gaps. We are space intensive and that’s causing additional room rental in some cases where we didn’t pay before.”

It creates what she calls a “trifecta of partnership” – working with the hotel, the CVB, and potentially the national sales office. “I truly do truly have a trifecta of a partnership… I love to see these things come to fruition and everybody win. That’s my goal – how can everybody win in this scenario?”

Understanding Unique Demographics

Jessica naturally mentioned quantifiable metrics like “guest room block pickup” and food and beverage revenue—standard hotel metrics—to measure success.

LaTika brought a different perspective: “I look to that anecdotal feedback that I’m hearing through my boards about whether our students enjoyed themselves. Was the facility supportive of their needs? How did they feel about the community? Were we able to offer the number of workshops that we felt were a great number of workshops to support and educate our membership demographic?”

This matters because NSBE’s programs rotate through regions. 

“Our programs do rotate on a certain rotation that’s in the bylaws. So when our program goes back to Wisconsin, Milwaukee is always going to be on the radar.”

For student-led associations like NSBE, success means finding environments that work for college students. “We look for environments that are a good fit for a college student. Is it a walkable city? Are there things for them to do?” LaTika explains. 

She also needs hotels willing to accommodate unique needs – “Your incidentals per day is $50 but another one is $100” and “a hotel that’s willing to waive 3rd and 4th guest fees” makes a difference when dealing with college students.

LaTika documents everything meticulously because her board changes annually. “I may start a conversation about a year program with one board, but by the time we start the planning process, I’m working with an entirely new board.”

This makes those relationship-building moments with Jessica even more valuable – they create a foundation that transcends individual board members and builds institutional knowledge for both organizations.

“You’re Going to Hear From Me Again”

Throughout this session, both speakers emphasized the importance of playing the long game in this industry.

“This relationship holds true value for me,” LaTika says. “So if a deal doesn’t work this time, you’ll hear from me again for a future opportunity that might fit better.”

As Jessica transitioned from hotel sales to the DMO side, their partnership flourished—LaTika sources for six regions across the US, creating countless opportunities for ongoing relationships.

Maintaining authentic connections becomes even more valuable in an industry where staff turnover occurs frequently and roles change. The French 75s aren’t just a fun ritual—they represent genuine relationship-building that transcends specific properties or roles.

As LaTika said, “We’re all working toward supporting one another.” That support system might be the most valuable in today’s hospitality landscape.

Whether you’re a hotel, CVB, or venue, LaTika and Jessica’s strategies remind us that behind every RFP and contract are real people looking for partners who understand their needs and are willing to work together creatively to find solutions.

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Want to see how Hopskip can help you connect with association planners? Request a demo today. And if you’d like to participate in future events like this one, follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated!

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