When you're holding an entire meeting at a convention center, chances are that your group will share at least a few meals in the center as well. This can be good news, as many convention centers seem to be taking food and beverage more seriously than ever before and offering catering services at a whole new level.

"As more cities across the country are building or expanding convention centers, the level of expectation of planners and attendees has been raised," said Lee Avery, CMP, director of catering sales for Centerplate at the Colorado Convention Center and Denver Performing Arts Complex. "Attendees expect the same level of quality and service as they might experience at a luxury hotel. At our facility, we provide several styles of food service as well as customized menus and tastings for our social clients as well as our convention planners."

While outstanding food service can be expected, if you're accustomed to planning food and beverage events at hotels, working with convention center catering services can be significantly different. Here are a few items to consider the next time you plan a food and beverage event at a convention center: 

• Thorough communication. Although convention centers are able to provide the same services as hotels, some services that are automatically included at hotels must be requested at convention centers. For instance, "When you ask for a meeting room setup, hotels automatically include a table with a pitcher of water and maybe some mints, but some convention centers don't," said Jami Leveen, director of marketing for ARAMARK's Convention Centers and Cultural Attractions Division. "Some convention centers are adding automatic extras like this because they're competing directly with hotels for smaller meetings. But all convention centers are probably able to provide it; you just have to let them know what you expect."

According to Leveen, many meeting planners don't think to mention that it is the first time they've worked with a convention center. As a result, center employees assume that the planner knows what is and isn't standard, and the planner assumes it will be just like planning a meeting in a hotel. "If we don't ask and you don't tell, then we're both going to be disappointed," she said. "But if we know it is your first time at a convention center and you're used to planning meetings at hotels, we'll know what we need to discuss in terms of what might be different."

In addition to discussing your experience with convention centers, it's a good idea to openly discuss your budget and expectations. "I think it's good for meeting planners to share their hot buttons," Leveen said. "You might say, 'I hate seeing napkins in coffee cups,' or whatever you feel strongly about. And if that's the standard at that center, they'll know to make a change for your group.

"Also, be really upfront about your budget and goals so there are no surprises," Leveen continued. "Sometimes you start the discussion about your vision and what you want the room to look like, but if you get the budget out front, the catering manager can help you set priorities and you can figure out where you need to pool resources."

• Banquet Event Orders. Whether you're at a hotel or a convention center, the banquet event order (BEO) serves as the written order of your food and beverage service and includes the details that a culinary and banquet team will need to service your needs. While BEOs are similar in both convention centers and hotels, they may look a little different. "In a hotel, a BEO may contain more detailed information about a room setup or audiovisual requirements, as the document will be distributed to all of the internal departments," Avery said. "In a convention center, however, the BEO may be more focused towards the food and beverage operations, as most convention centers have separate departments or contractors who handle the physical room sets and audiovisual equipment."

Because convention centers often use numerous contractors or in-house departments, keep in mind that you will likely need to complete separate order forms for various services, including food and beverage, audiovisual, and room setup, at a center.

• Timing. The major difference between food and beverage functions at a hotel and a convention center is the sheer size of events that a center can handle. Because convention centers cater to very large groups, and "the kitchen may be several blocks away, timing is crucial for food preparation and delivery," Leveen said.

Be sure to discuss with the center's catering manager the exact timing and schedule of the event. For instance, will there be times during the program when service will need to be stopped? If there is a band, should the band take breaks to coincide with service times?

• Health and safety. Whether food is served in a hotel, restaurant, or convention center, the health and safety requirements are the same. "However, due to the volume of meetings and exhibitor floor schedules, convention center planners may need to have food available for longer periods of time than for smaller hotel meetings," Avery said. "A planner should consult [with the center's] catering manager and discuss any lengthy meal service periods in advance so they can work together to ensure food safety for their attendees."
• Guarantees and overages. According to Avery, "flexibility and communication" are key for meeting planners when it comes to making guarantees and dealing with overages at convention centers. "Planners need to remember that convention centers order food and beverage and schedule their staffs based on the needs of upcoming conventions," Avery said. "This is different from a hotel that maintains a full-time [catering] staff and keeps food and beverage [on hand]. While convention center caterers keep many food and beverage items in inventory and can accommodate pop-up orders and changes to guarantees, planners are advised to partner with their catering sales team regarding changes to guarantees to ensure that food and beverage services are not impacted."
• Early involvement from catering. For memorable meals that will add to the experience of your meeting, consider a convention center's catering service from the beginning of your planning process. If you reserve space and do preliminary planning several years out, that's obviously too early to begin planning menus; however, food and beverage personnel can provide unique insight into those early plans. "With large food and beverage functions, planners should include the center's caterer during the site inspection and selection process," Avery advised.

For instance, "at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, there's a beautiful area that looks great for food and beverage events, but it has limitations for the service component of such events," Leveen said. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a meal function there, but you may run into hurdles if you plan one without talking to food and beverage until much later. If a food and beverage person is in on the early discussions, they can point out that you may need to add room in your budget for pipe and drape to make the space really effective."

• Raise the bar. "Food and beverage service at a convention center should be evaluated by many of the same criteria as a hotel," Avery said. "Planners should consider the center's catering company, its reputation and creativity, and its length of service at the center. Planners should consult with industry colleagues to learn about past experiences."

Convene^®'s Meeting Budget series is sponsored by The Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Visit its Web site at www.mtccc.com.