For owners: define what you are buying
Before a question is written. The outcome, the risk you want transferred, the standard you will hold the operator to, and how you will measure it.
03Pillar: Strategy
RFP and proposal support
We help owners prepare for complex RFPs, and operators win them. Having sat on both sides, we know where these go wrong.
Who this is for
- Owners and public bodies issuing management RFPs
- Operators and vendors responding to them
- Destination organizations running competitive bids
- Boards accountable for a procurement decision
The business problem
An RFP is a strategy document disguised as procurement. The issuer decides the outcome long before submissions arrive, in how the questions are written and the evaluation weighted.
Most owners write RFPs by adapting the last one. Most operators respond by describing themselves. Then both sides wonder why nobody is happy with the result.
When clients call us
- A management agreement is approaching expiry
- The organization has never run a competitive process of this size
- A bid must be won and the response has to be more than technically compliant
- The board needs a procurement decision that will withstand public scrutiny
- An incumbent is being challenged, or is defending
What we do
For owners: build the evaluation before the submissions
Criteria and weightings agreed in advance, so the decision is made on substance and can be defended afterwards.
For responders: find the real question
Behind every RFP is a problem the issuer is trying to solve. Answering the document is table stakes. Answering the problem wins.
For responders: build the case, then write it
Strategy, commercial position, team, and story. The submission is the last thing we do, not the first.
What you get
Deliverables may include
- RFP strategy and process design
- Scope, specification, and evaluation framework
- Market sounding and respondent engagement
- Bid strategy and win themes
- Submission development and review
- Presentation and interview preparation
Outcomes clients are after
- A process the board can defend and the market takes seriously
- Submissions compared on substance rather than presentation
- For responders: a bid built on the issuer's actual problem
- A decision that holds up eighteen months later
Example projects
Representative example, illustrative only
An owner preparing a management RFP
- Situation
- A publicly owned arena approaches the end of its management agreement. The board has never run a competitive process and is unsure what it should be asking the market for.
- What we do
- Define what the owner is actually buying. Build the evaluation criteria before the submissions arrive. Structure the RFP so the responses can be compared on substance rather than presentation.
- Outcome
- A process the board can defend publicly, and a decision made on the merits rather than the polish of the deck.
A destination aligning stakeholders for a major bid
- Situation
- A destination organization is bidding for a significant event. The hotels, the venue, the airport, and the city each have a different view of what winning is worth.
- What we do
- Get the economics on one page. Broker the commitments before the bid is written, so the submission reflects what the destination can actually deliver.
- Outcome
- A bid backed by real commitments, and a stakeholder group that stays aligned after the award.
How the engagement works
Work here usually takes one of these shapes. We will say which fits before you commit.
A standing relationship with a defined scope. We stay close enough to the business to be useful quickly, and far enough outside it to say what an employee cannot. Most retainers settle into a monthly rhythm of working sessions, review of live decisions, and access between them.
- Board and owner decisions
- Growth planning
- Sounding board for the CEO
We take the seat. Commercial, partnership, or venue leadership held by an experienced operator for an agreed number of days each month, with real accountability for the outcome. The role is scoped to end, and we build the internal capability to replace it.
- Between permanent hires
- Function too small for a full-time exec
- Capability you intend to build
Scoped, priced, and delivered against a date. A market entry assessment, a partnership strategy, a guest experience review, a commercial plan for a venue. You get the work, the reasoning behind it, and a practical recommendation you can act on.
- A decision to be made
- A plan the board must approve
- Work with a deadline
We have sat on both sides of the table. On the issuing side we help define what you are actually buying and how to evaluate it. On the responding side we shape the strategy, the story, and the submission. Either way the work runs to the submission date.
- Venue management RFPs
- Destination and event bids
- Operator selection
Senior leadership on site while you run a search, complete a transaction, or stabilize an operation. We hold the role, keep the organization moving, and hand over cleanly with the knowledge transferred.
- Leadership transition
- Operational stabilization
- Post-transaction integration
Let's talk
Ready to bring us into an RFP?
Tell us where you are, issuing or responding. If we can help, we will say how. If we cannot, we will say that too.
Get in touch
Tell us what is in front of you.
Send a note and a senior member of the firm will reply, usually within two business days — or use the Book a Meeting button to pick a time.