The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) – two of the world’s leading meeting industry bodies – have collaborated to produce a new publication dealing with the issue of convention centre contracts. Aimed to assist new centres, clients dealing with convention centres for the first time, students and newcomers to the industry, the document has been structured to consist of simple terminology, free of legal jargon. It is recognised that differing legal systems, business cultures and customs dictate that there can never be a single version of a contract that would be applicable worldwide but this guide provides a starting point to understanding the main topics that should be addressed in any contract.
The document “Contracting with major congress & convention venues” is available through the ICCA website.
The project was driven by Alec Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Adelaide Convention Centre and Chair of the ICCA Venues Category and AIPC Board Member Clare Amsel, Director of Conferences of the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre. The final document draws from the experience and views of senior centre representatives from around the world and it is hoped that it will promote a better understanding as to why certain clauses are included in contract.
“We owe a real debt of gratitude to our task force members, who supplied all the expertise to this extensive review “, said Amsel. “This is a highly complex topic and would have been impossible to address properly without a wide range of perspectives on the variables related to each part of a centre contract”.
“We believe that this document will be as useful to centre clients as to the centres themselves, and that adds real value to this project”, said Gilbert. “The greater an overall understanding both parties have as to the key areas for consideration, the less likely there will be wasted time spent on everyone sorting this out for themselves”.
