Clause: Audit

If Hotel shows that the Group has picked up less than 80 percent of the contracted room block, Hotel agrees to perform an audit before invoicing Group for attrition damages. Group will provide Hotel with an alphabetical list of attendees (including staff and exhibitors, if applicable). Hotel agrees to compare this list in good faith with the list of in-house guests over Group's meeting dates (including up to three days prior to and three days after meeting dates) and credit Group for pick-up for any Group rooms booked outside the Group block, regardless of rate or reservation method.

Effect: Avoid Damages

This sample clause assumes that the hotel contract contains an attrition clause that specifies the group will have to pay attrition damages if its block drops below 80 percent of the contracted room block.

Because many hotels, for privacy reasons, do not want to make their in-house guest list available to the group representative, an audit is usually conducted by a member of the hotel's staff, or sometimes by representatives of the hotel and the group sitting down together to compare the lists. Group attendees can be enticed to book outside the group block at rates lower than the group rates that the hotel has offered in its effort to maximize occupancy. This clause gives the group an opportunity to capture those rooms to avoid attrition damages.

Tyra W. Hilliard, J.D., CMP (tyra.hilliard@gmail.com) is an associate professor of meeting and event management at The University of Nevada-Las Vegas.