A $108 Galveston meeting package costs $135 after service

A corporate client asks for a quote on a 30-person working day: room, breakfast, lunch, two breaks, a projector. You send a proposal with each item priced. The client sends back a hotel's meeting package at one per-person number that looks lower than yours.

It usually isn't. Published package prices almost always sit before a service charge, tax and the AV that isn't included. Here's what the published packages actually contain, and how a restaurant can compete with them.

What a "package" means

The International Association of Conference Centers sets the clearest standard. Its quality standards require members to offer "an all-inclusive, flexible package plan" that is "inclusive of basic presentation equipment such as digital projectors," with internet access "as part of the meeting package." A venue that "applies a separate charge for the use of basic technologies" is listed as not acceptable.

That's the definition corporate meeting planners carry: one price per person per day, with the room, meals, breaks and basic AV inside it. In the US it's often called a day meeting package or complete meeting package; overseas, a day delegate rate.

What published packages cost

San Luis's is the clearest example of the gap. The $108 day package includes continental breakfast, a lunch buffet, all-day breaks, AV and the room. Add the 25% service charge and it's $135; if tax applies to the service charge, about $146. Meals are served in the resort's conference dining room; "private room requests for meals and breaks are subject to a surcharge."

Across the packages I found, the sticker understates the real cost by roughly 25 to 35%. And AV often depends on size: one California resort includes a projector only for groups of 50 or more.

Where hotels make their money now

CBRE's hotel research for the first half of 2025 shows banquet revenue down 7.3% at convention hotels, while public room rental rose 9.5% and service charges 7.9%. Banquet beverage fell 2%. A 2026 survey of conference venues found 57% reporting lower alcohol consumption.

Put simply, hotels are growing fees faster than food. That's the opening for an independent.

How a restaurant competes

A 2023 banquet packet from a Maggiano's location shows the restaurant version: an all-day meeting at $48.95 per person, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. — continental breakfast, a mid-morning refreshment and a family-style lunch. A 5% event fee goes to the house. AV is separate: $200 for a projector, $60 for a screen, $19.95 for Wi-Fi.

For 20 people with a projector, screen and Wi-Fi, that comes to about $1,322, or $66 a head before tax and tip — about half the San Luis all-in price for a comparable day.

But notice what it does wrong by the conference-center standard: it charges separately for Wi-Fi and the projector, exactly what the IACC calls unacceptable. A planner comparing it to a package sees the add-ons first. A restaurant that bundles the projector, screen and Wi-Fi into one per-person price matches the standard the planner expects, at a fraction of the hotel's price.

One more practical point: AV takes space. A Georgia steakhouse's private room seats 60 without AV and 30 with it. Price the room on its AV setup, not its banquet maximum.

Minimums and attrition

Packages come with headcount floors. One resort requires 20 people for its package, and buffets need 25. I couldn't find a venue publishing a per-person attrition percentage for packages; they handle the risk with the minimum. Because the package price includes the room, a short headcount costs the venue room revenue too, which is why the floors exist. The guarantees post covers how the final count works.

What I'd put in a restaurant meeting package

1. One per-person price for room, breakfast, lunch, two breaks, projector, screen and Wi-Fi.
2. A minimum headcount instead of a room fee, stated up front.
3. The service charge and tax shown as a total next to the package price, so the client compares all-in to all-in.
4. A half-day version for morning meetings that end at lunch.
5. Break timing that matches the agenda. The conference break post covers how much a break really pours.

What I'm not going to give you

A US average package price. I couldn't find one from any industry source.

The big brands' package prices. Neither Marriott nor Hilton publishes brand-wide per-person prices.

A standard attrition rate for packages.

What to do

1. Ask the client for the competing package's terms, including service charge, tax and AV.
2. Quote all-in next to your package price.
3. Bundle the basic AV and Wi-Fi.
4. Set a minimum headcount rather than a room fee.
5. Price the room on its AV capacity.

Disclosure: I work at Katalyst, which sells catering software that builds package proposals. The advantage a restaurant has over a hotel here isn't software. It's a lower cost base and the willingness to put the Wi-Fi in the price.

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