Business Resource Center
Events services FAQs
Common questions and answers about event and meeting planning from the events services team.
- What are the current UC per person entertainment meal rates?
- Do these maximum rates include delivery?
- What about the other costs associated with a meeting?
- What are the current UC travel meal rates?
- What is the rate for a buffet?
- And brunch?
- If I want to organize an evening reception before dinner, how would the cost be calculated?
- What is the meal rate for a dinner held after a meeting?
- What is our UC meeting rate at “X” hotel?
- My boss is traveling next week and needs a sleeping room. Can you please book a hotel room for him?
- I have been working directly with the vendor. Can you please help get them a deposit?
- I don’t know how many sleeping rooms we will need. Can we just block a small number of rooms and add on as needed?
- What is attrition?
- Does the BRC ESG support all UCOP departments?
- What do I need to do to request support from ESG?
What are the current UC per person entertainment meal rates?
Breakfast: $26.00 (no change); Lunch: $45.00; Dinner: $78.00; Light Refreshments: $18.00
Do these maximum rates include delivery?
Yes, the maximum per-person expenditures listed above includes the cost of the food and beverages,
labor, sales tax, delivery charges, and other service fees.
What about the other costs associated with a meeting?
The costs of room rental, room setup fees, media rental, and decorations, etc., are not included in the
per-person rates and are separate event costs.
What are the current UC travel meal rates?
The daily meal and incidental expense (M&IE) for domestic travel is now $71.00. The amount
reimbursed is based on actual expenses, up to this new amount. Please remember that only expenses
actually incurred are reimbursable. If travelers are requesting the maximum allowance, they should be
prepared to submit receipts supporting the request, in accordance with UC Policy, G-28.
What is the rate for a buffet?
The cost of a buffet cannot exceed the applicable meal rate associated with the type of buffet, i.e.,
breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
And brunch?
Reimbursement for a brunch may be made using the lunch rate.
If I want to organize an evening reception before dinner, how would the cost be calculated?
If a reception or light refreshments is offered before dinner, the combined charges for the reception
and the meal should be treated as a single event at the dinner rate, i.e., the per person rate for the
reception and dinner combined cannot exceed $78.
What is the meal rate for a dinner held after a meeting?
If you include this dinner as part of the agenda, and all dining guests participated in the meeting, the
$ 78 dinner rate is applicable.
What is our UC meeting rate at “X” hotel?
Negotiated UC rates only apply to individual sleeping rooms, based on availability. Group rates need
to be negotiated separately, taking all things into consideration such as sleeping room to meeting space
ratios, food and beverage expenditures, peak season, group requirements, etc. To determine if hotels
have a negotiated UC rate for individual travelers, please log-in to the online Connexxus portal.
My boss is traveling next week and needs a sleeping room. Can you please book a hotel room for
him?
For individual travel, we recommend UC travelers book rooms directly through Connexxus. The ESG
assists with group hotel room blocks only, which typically require 10 sleeping rooms or more per night.
I have been working directly with the vendor. Can you please help get them a deposit?
The BRC ESG team needs to be involved in the beginning planning stages to help coordinate event
contracts. If you are planning the meeting yourself and just need help getting a contract signature or a
deposit, please coordinate directly with BRC Yellow contracts at brcyellow@ucop.edu. Please note: Any
event contract with terms & conditions must be coordinated through BRC Yellow for signature. The ability to commit departmental funds does not convey the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the University.
I don’t know how many sleeping rooms we will need. Can we just block a small number of rooms
and add on as needed?
It is very important to research past meetings, or poll your attendees to determine sleeping room
requirements the best you possibly can. If you don’t block enough rooms, the hotel may not have space to accommodate additional attendees, or may charge additional rooms at a higher rate. If you over commit, you may face attrition penalties.
What is attrition?
Attrition is used by hotels to ensure organizations fulfill their contracted obligations. Example: Total
Room Block = 100 rooms; 80% attrition rate = 80 room commitment (or sometimes referred to as 20%
allowable slippage); Group actually picks up 65 rooms; Group will be charged an attrition penalty fee
based on the lost revenue of 15 rooms (the difference between commitment and actual). Attrition can
also apply to Food & Beverage. Note: Attrition rates are negotiable!
Does the BRC ESG support all UCOP departments?
At this time, the ESG team currently supports about half of all UCOP departments. Departments who
are officially supported by ESG have participated in a rollout orientation to discuss working with the
planning group. If your department is not supported by ESG, we have developed some resources to
assist you in your planning efforts including a Planner’s Toolkit, and a list of current UCOP caterers.
Please contact us for additional details. If you are interested in working with ESG in the future, please
submit a list of your forecasted annual meeting support to brcevents@ucop.edu and we will schedule an
orientation meeting. This information will help us prepare for future staffing needs.
What do I need to do to request support from ESG?
All requests must be submitted using the online request form (pdf). This guarantees the event will be centrally logged as an official UCOP event and assigned to one of our planners. Event support requires coordination with the department, vendor, BRC, UCLA, etc, so please make sure to submit your request for support well in advance.