Sales and marketing
Getting a museum to rent out a meeting room is impossible
The Business Review (Albany) - by Kenneth J. Rawley
I've always been fascinated by the difference between for-profits and nonprofit companies. A recent excursion into the nonprofit world made me wonder how things get done--or more to the point, don't get done.
An investment banker friend in Boston told me he was looking for a meeting room to host a meeting for his clients and for CEOs of prospective client companies. I offered to help him find a room.
He gave me an idea of what he needed and suggested a hotel he was familiar with. I agreed the hotel would be nice, but told him there must be rooms with more character at some art galleries and museums in the area. He took the suggestion, and I had a task.
At the first gallery, I found a lovely room. The room would be available, but the deal would have to be approved by the director, who happened to be on a two-week vacation. I asked why we couldn't book the room, considering it was available and my friend was willing to pay the required fee. No dice, not until the director came back.
The second venue, another gallery, also had a suitable room. The date was open, and there was no problem booking. But the cost was astronomical--in the range of 10 times the fee for the same size room at the hotel--and it didn't include any audio-visual services or food. I suggested that the fee was way too high. They reduced it, but not nearly enough.
My third choice, a museum, had a nice room, too. But they wouldn't allow burners to be used under food serving trays. They were afraid of fire. I listened politely, but I was thinking of the gala events held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, for example, where this would not be a problem.
Another museum also had a fine meeting room, but the request would have to be run through the board of directors. The room is empty 95 percent of the time and could be a revenue generator. I was told, in slightly nose-in-the-air terms, that the museum's function was to show art, not raise money on room rentals.
My friend's audience will be well-heeled, and they will control a great deal of corporate dollars earmarked for the arts. But not one of the people I spoke to at any of the nonprofits seemed to understand or care. Even if they were aware that they were being offered the opportunity to showcase their facility to CEOs who could fund a major show, their own boards handcuffed them.
Go figure.
Rawley is a marketing consultant who speaks to audiences locally and nationwide. He can be reached at 899-8159 or KJR032@cs.com.
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