How long does a hotel RFP process take?

Manual: 2–6 weeks. With Easy RFP: 5–10 days. The biggest time sink is email back-and-forth — structured forms with magic-link submission collapse it to one round.

How many hotels should I include in my RFP?

5–10 for typical events, 12–20 for large conferences. Beyond 20 you risk hotel fatigue (low response rate). Easy RFP recommends 8 based on response-rate data across 2,000+ MICE briefs.

Best-And-Final-Offer — a competitive round where qualified finalists submit one binding revised proposal. Price can only go down, perks can only be added. Typically saves 8–15% vs accepting round-1 winner. Full BAFO guide.

Do hotels pay to be in Easy RFP's database?

No. Hotels never pay anything to receive an RFP, fill out a response form, or appear in your shortlist. Only event planners pay (Pro €45/mo, Team €175/mo, Free 1 RFP/mo).

Glossary

What is BAFO (Best And Final Offer) in Hotel RFPs? 2026 Guide

25 April 2026·6 min read

TL;DR. BAFO means Best And Final Offer. In hotel RFPs, it's a second (or third) negotiation round where shortlisted hotels submit their final price after reviewing what others offered. Typical BAFO round saves 8-15 percent extra on top of the first-round response. Best practice: run BAFO only with 2-4 finalists, keep it anonymous, single round (not endless re-negotiations). Abusing BAFO damages hotel relationships.

BAFO is the most powerful negotiation tactic in corporate hotel sourcing, and also the most misused. This guide explains what it is, how to run it, and when not to.

What BAFO means literally

Best And Final Offer. Originally from government procurement (US DoD contracts in the 1970s). Now standard in corporate MICE sourcing, especially for events over 100 pax.

How a BAFO round works

Step 1: Initial RFP round

Planner sends RFP to 8-15 hotels. Gets back 6-12 responses within 5-10 business days. Planner evaluates on price + fit + soft factors.

Step 2: Shortlist

Planner identifies top 3-5 hotels. Other hotels are respectfully declined.

Step 3: BAFO invitation

Planner emails shortlisted hotels: "You're one of our finalists. We'd like to invite you to submit your Best And Final Offer. Please consider [specific concessions you want: rate, F&B discount, room upgrades, complimentary meeting space, etc.]. Response by [date]."

Step 4: Shortlisted hotels respond

Hotels know they're finalists but not who they're competing against (best practice: anonymous). They submit their final offer, typically 5-15 percent better than round one.

Step 5: Decision

Planner picks winner. Announces to all participants within 48 hours.

Typical BAFO savings

Benchmark data from European corporate MICE events 2025-2026:

Average room rate reduction: 6-10 percent
F&B minimum reduction: 10-15 percent
Added concessions value: 3-8 percent (upgrades, complimentary services, welcome amenities)
Total package improvement vs round 1: 8-15 percent typical

Smaller events (under 50 pax) see smaller BAFO savings; larger events (500+ pax) see more.

When to use BAFO

Good fit

Event budget over 50,000 EUR (BAFO savings scale with spend)
3+ viable hotels in shortlist
Round-1 responses are within 20 percent of each other on total price
Planner has time (BAFO adds 5-10 days to sourcing timeline)
Negotiating conference, large offsite, customer event, partner summit

Bad fit

Small events under 20 pax (not worth hotel effort)
Urgent events under 30 days out (no time for BAFO)
Only 1-2 viable hotels (no competition)
Executive board meeting at specific preferred hotel (relationship more important than 5 percent saving)
Intimate programmes where quality and connection matter more than best price

Running BAFO ethically

BAFO can be done right or abused. Here's the line.

Good BAFO practice

Invite only genuinely shortlisted hotels (not the full RFP list)
Set clear expectations: single BAFO round, not endless rounds
Keep it anonymous (hotels don't know who the other finalists are)
Specify what concessions you want (price, upgrades, perks)
Give at least 3 business days to respond
Make a decision quickly after BAFO closes
Decline losers promptly and thank them for participating

Bad BAFO practice

Running BAFO with all 12 original responders (wastes hotel time, damages relationships)
Multiple BAFO rounds ("BAFO 2", "BAFO 3") — once you ask for "final", it has to be final
Using BAFO responses to go back to the winning hotel and say "they went lower, beat it" (unethical, hotels talk to each other)
Ghosting losers (no "thanks, not this time" email)
Running BAFO when you've already decided — hotels can smell this

Hotel-side perspective

From the hotel sales team's view:

BAFO is expected for events over 100 pax or 50k EUR
Hotels build a BAFO buffer into round 1 (3-8 percent)
Hotels prefer specific concession requests ("drop F&B min by 10 percent") over "go lower"
Hotels track planners/companies who abuse BAFO and deprioritise them next time

How Easy RFP handles BAFO

Our platform has built-in BAFO mode:

Shortlist finalists from round-1 responses with one click
Send BAFO invitation to shortlist only (not all responders)
Hotels submit BAFO via same portal
Side-by-side BAFO comparison with round-1 baseline shown
Single-round enforcement (no BAFO 2)
Auto-decline emails to non-winners

Running an event that warrants BAFO?

Easy RFP handles both rounds in one flow. Free plan available — no credit card.

Start free