5-Hotel Comparison Template (Plug & Play for Office Managers)
Five hotels replied to your RFP. Now you stare at five PDFs in five different formats and don't know which is the winner. This plug-and-play comparison template normalizes the data into one view so you can make a confident decision in 15 minutes.
The problem with hotel proposals
Each hotel formats their reply differently:
- Hotel A: room rate quoted "from €175"; F&B as a daily delegate package
- Hotel B: room rate "all-in €240" but excludes F&B; AV charged per-day
- Hotel C: rate breakdown by category (single, double, suite); F&B per-meal
- Hotel D: package "from €295/person all-in" but the "all-in" excludes VAT
- Hotel E: pricing in dollars (yes, this happens for US hotel chains in Europe)
You can't compare. So most Office Managers either pick on price (often wrongly) or default to the most familiar brand. There's a better way.
The 5-hotel comparison template
Open Google Sheets / Excel. Use these column headers:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Hotel name + city | Identification |
| Stars | Service expectations |
| Distance from [station/airport] | Logistics |
| Single room rate (incl. breakfast) | Comparable accommodation cost |
| Number of rooms quoted | Capacity check |
| Meeting room rate (per day) | Often free if rooms are booked |
| Lunch (per person) | F&B comparable line |
| Dinner (per person) | F&B comparable line |
| Coffee breaks (per person, per day) | Easy to forget |
| AV included? Y/N + € | Hidden cost |
| Service charge % | Layered on top |
| VAT % | Country-specific |
| Cancellation policy | Risk if dates shift |
| Attrition % | Risk if fewer attendees |
| Response time (when did they reply?) | Service quality signal |
| Photos available? Quality? | Visual fit |
| Special requests handled? | Flexibility signal |
| Total quote (their headline) | Their math |
| Total NORMALIZED (your math) | The number you compare |
| Cost per attendee (normalized total / headcount) | Apples to apples |
| Notes / red flags | Gut + specific concerns |
How to fill it
- Open each hotel's PDF.
- For each row, find the answer in the PDF. If not in the PDF, email the hotel and ask. Mark "TBD" until they reply.
- Calculate Total NORMALIZED: sum of (rooms × nights) + (meeting space × days) + (F&B × people × days) + AV + (service charge applied to F&B + AV) + VAT on everything.
- Calculate Cost per attendee: total normalized ÷ number of attendees.
Decision framework
Once filled, apply this 4-criteria decision:
| Criterion | Weight | How to score |
|---|---|---|
| Total cost | 40% | Lowest = 4 pts, highest = 1 pt; pro-rate the middle |
| Response time + service quality | 25% | How fast did they reply? Was the response thorough? <4h + thorough = 4 pts; >48h + thin = 1 pt |
| Meeting space + AV fit | 20% | Photos look right? AV included? 4 pts; ad-hoc and you'll be paying more = 1 pt |
| Flexibility (cancellation + attrition) | 15% | Generous = 4 pts; restrictive = 1 pt |
Sum the weighted scores. Top score = your winner.
Common red flags to look for
- "From €X" pricing — there's always a more-expensive option being hidden
- "Subject to availability" on multiple line items — they're not committed
- F&B prices that don't include VAT or service — quote is intentionally low to win the bid
- Attrition clause >80% with no flexibility — you'll pay even if attendees drop
- Slow response (>72h) — service quality at the event will likely match
- "Delegate package" with no breakdown — bundled to hide what's actually included
Or skip the spreadsheet entirely
Building this comparison manually takes 90-120 minutes per RFP cycle. Easy RFP does this in 5 seconds: every reply auto-populates the comparison table with normalized columns, TOPSIS scoring across all 4 criteria, plus AI flags for red flags. 14-day free trial — perfect for your first event. Upgrade to Pro (€79/mo) when you hit 3+ RFPs/year.
Bottom line
The Office Manager's superpower is structure. Build the template once, save it, reuse it. Within 3 events you'll be the company's go-to for events — and your manager will stop asking "are we sure about this venue?". Get the matching RFP brief template to send out before you receive replies.
Ready to skip the manual work?
Let Easy RFP send and score your next RFP. Five hotels, automated, free.
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