To compare three seminar quotes, the three agencies first need to have answered the same question. Send each of them the same brief, require a line-by-line answer, then bring every proposal back to the same scope: flights included or not, before or after VAT, number of nights, meals, drinks, tourist tax, transfers, organisation fees, deposit and cancellation terms. Without that work, the cheapest quote is often simply the one that contains the least. This article gives you a brief template to copy, the normalisation grid, and a costed example of the gap a different scope produces.
Why can two seminar quotes almost never be compared as they stand?
Because each organiser prices the seminar they have understood, and writes it up in their own format. Reading the public pages of agencies and venues offering seminars in Marrakech, you find at least three ways of displaying a price: an amount per person per day before VAT, flights included; a package per person for the stay, flights not included; and a “from” price that nobody explains. These three figures do not measure the same thing, and none can be compared with the other two without rework.
The same thing happens in the quotes you will receive. One agency will have counted three nights, another two. One will have planned a dinner every evening, another only the main evening event. One will have included airport transfers, another will leave you to take taxis. Each of these choices can be defended; added together, they move the total by several thousand euros without any change in the quality of what is delivered.
How much does a different scope change the total?
To measure it, we ran the model behind our seminar budget calculator on one seminar, changing only one parameter at a time. The baseline: 60 participants, a 4-star hotel in single rooms, 3 nights, 2 working days with AV, 2 dinners, an evening at the hotel with a DJ, a rally in the medina and airport transfers. Like all the calculator’s estimates, these figures include a 10% contingency and exclude flights, alcoholic drinks, tourist tax and organisation fees. They are market ranges, not contractual prices.
| What changes in the quote | Estimated total | Per participant |
|---|---|---|
| Reference seminar (3 nights, 4-star) | €34,200 to €56,600 | €570 to €940 |
| Without the 2 dinners or airport transfers | €30,500 to €49,800 | €510 to €830 |
| Without AV (sound, projector, technician) | €32,800 to €53,900 | €550 to €900 |
| 2 nights instead of 3 (so one dinner fewer) | €27,200 to €45,000 | €450 to €750 |
| Evening in the Agafay desert instead of the hotel | €40,100 to €66,500 | €670 to €1,110 |
| 5-star hotel instead of 4-star | €52,000 to €85,600 | €870 to €1,430 |
Two lessons stand out. First, a quote that leaves out two dinners and the transfers looks €3,700 to €6,700 cheaper while describing a seminar with fewer services: those costs will reappear on site, paid by your participants or through expense claims. Second, the hotel category weighs far more than everything else: accommodation alone accounts for €14,400 to €23,400 in the reference scenario. If two agencies are not proposing the same category, you are not comparing prices, you are comparing two different seminars.
What should a seminar brief contain?
A seminar brief fits on two pages. Its job is not to decide everything on the agency’s behalf, but to fix what is not up for discussion and to say clearly what remains open. Here is the template we recommend, section by section; copy the headings and fill them in.
1. Background and objective. Who is going, why, and what the company expects from these days: a validated strategic plan, a sales launch, a team that knows each other better. One sentence per objective is enough.
2. Participants. The firm number and the maximum, the split by departure city, the share of single rooms, people with reduced mobility and known dietary requirements. The number of single rooms changes the accommodation budget more than any option.
3. Dates. A main date and at least one fallback. Flag any constraints in your internal calendar. For a seminar in 2027, bear in mind that Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February, give or take a day depending on the moon sighting, and that March to May and September to November are high season in Marrakech.
4. Working programme. The number of working half-days, the plenary layout (theatre, classroom, round tables), the number of breakout groups, technical needs (microphones, projection, interpreting, recording) and any fixed timings.
5. Accommodation. The expected category, the room type, whether you want a single site or not, the maximum acceptable distance between the hotel and the meeting room.
6. Meals and evenings. The number of lunches and dinners to plan, the main evening event (preferred venue or open), the company’s policy on alcohol, who pays for it and up to what limit.
7. Activities. Free time planned, any group activity, and whether it is compulsory or optional.
8. Transport. Who buys the plane tickets (you, your business travel agency or the supplier), airport transfers, getting around on site. Remind participants that French nationals must travel with a passport valid for the whole stay: an identity card alone is no longer accepted (France Diplomatie); other nationalities should check their own government’s advice.
9. Budget. An envelope or a range, stating whether it is before or after VAT, per person or in total, flights included or not.
10. Response format and consultation timetable. The required response grid (see below), the submission deadline, the decision date and the selection criteria with their weighting: price, quality of venue, on-site presence, cancellation terms.
Should you give agencies your budget?
Yes, at least as a range. Without a budget, every agency guesses: one shows you a palace to impress you, another a modest hotel to be the cheapest, and you receive three different seminars. With a shared range, the three proposals sit within the same frame and you can finally judge what matters: the venue, the programme, the organisation.
If you have no idea of the order of magnitude, make a first estimate with the calculator, then put it in your brief, stating that it is indicative. To see which services sit behind each item, our seminar organisation page describes what we handle, from the venue to on-site logistics.
How do you bring three quotes back to the same basis?
The method has three steps. You impose the grid, you fill the gaps, then you compare equivalent totals.
Step one: ask the agencies to answer in your grid, one line per item, each with an amount or the words “not included”. A quote that does not fit the grid is not a more creative quote, it is a harder one to read.
Step two: for every line marked “not included” by one agency and priced by another, add to the incomplete quote the higher of the two other amounts. This is deliberately cautious: a cost left out of a quote is rarely cheaper when you buy it separately, at the last minute.
Step three: compare totals in the same unit (including VAT if your company cannot recover VAT on these costs, excluding it otherwise; ask your finance team), in total and per participant.
| Grid line | The question to ask |
|---|---|
| Flights | Included or not? If so, which departure airports, which times, hold luggage included? |
| Accommodation | How many nights, which category, which hotel by name, single or double room? |
| Working days | Meeting room, breaks and lunch included? How many breakout rooms? |
| AV | Sound, projection, microphones, technician present all day or for set-up only? |
| Evening meals | How many dinners, with which drinks? Is alcohol included, capped or excluded? |
| Transfers and shuttles | Airport out and back, travel between the hotel and the programme venues? |
| Tourist tax | Included in the price or paid on site by each participant? |
| Organisation fees | Flat fee, percentage or built into each line? On-site coordination included? |
| Tips and contingencies | Planned for, and in what form? |
| Price and currency | Before or after VAT, in euros or dirhams, valid until when? |
The organisation fees line deserves particular attention. Some agencies show them separately, others spread them across every item. Both practices are legitimate, but only the first lets you see what you are paying for the agency’s own work.
Which terms should you compare besides price?
Two quotes with the same total can expose you to very different risks. Also compare:
- The payment schedule: the deposit amount, the dates of further payments, the payment method and the currency.
- Cancellation: what you lose if the seminar is cancelled three months, one month or one week before.
- Attrition: how many participants you can drop, and until what date, without paying for their room. This is the clause that costs most when numbers fall.
- Option validity: until when the hotel and meeting room are held for you, and in whose name the option is placed.
- The seller’s guarantees: if the offer includes travel services, check who is selling and under what status.
How should you read the cheapest quote?
With caution, but without prejudice. A low price may come from genuine buying expertise, a hotel in a quiet period or a lower margin. It may also come from a narrower scope. Before you choose it, ask three simple questions: is the number of nights and meals the same as in the others? Is the hotel named, or only described (“upscale 4-star hotel”)? Is the price firm, or indicative and subject to availability?
An unnamed hotel cannot be checked: ask for its name before comparing. A price “subject to availability” commits nobody: ask until what date it is guaranteed. And if the gap is still large once the grid is complete, simply ask the agency to explain it. A precise answer, line by line, is a good sign; a vague answer is a bad one. Once you have chosen, the same grid becomes your checklist for fine-tuning the selected quote with the agency.
Frequently asked questions
How many quotes should you request for a seminar?
Three is a good balance: enough to compare, few enough for each agency to take the request seriously and for you to read every proposal in detail. Beyond that, the normalisation work becomes heavy.
Is there a sample seminar quote?
The best sample is the one you impose: the grid in this article, one line per item, with an amount or the words “not included”. The online calculator also produces an item-by-item estimate you can use as a presentation template.
Should flights be included in the quote?
Not necessarily, but the answer must be the same for all three agencies. If only one includes them, remove them from its total or add them to the others before comparing.
Should you prefer a quote before or after VAT?
It does not matter, as long as all three are expressed the same way. Ask your finance team which basis to use, then require it in the response grid.
You can estimate your budget with our seminar and team building budget calculator, find out more about our seminar organisation in Marrakech, or send us your brief to receive a free quote set out item by item.