Consuite
A Consuite is one or more rooms that are devoted to providing hospitality to the convention's members, usually in the form of food and drink and space for good conversations.
Typically conventions provide both a non-smoking and a Smoking Consuite.
Planning and Executing a Consuite
Corkage waivers and other legalities
Hosting a Consuite may require specific contract negotiations with your hotel or convention hall. Hotels make a lot of money on catering and restaurants and will tend to object to your serving food and drink to your members that you do not purchase from them. You might need to point out that you are not selling this food, that it is being given freely to members of the convention. Still, in order to keep you from doing this on the same floors in which they sell food, hotels charge a corkage fee on food that is brought in from outside and served in function space. They may try to charge corkage on other spaces as well. You need to secure an agreement in your contract, if possible, that your green room, Consuites, and individual Room Parties will not be subject to these fees. This is called a corkage waiver. Technically you don't legally need to get a corkage waiver for Room Parties since those are not being hosted by the convention, but you may still want to for the protection of your members.
Consuites that serve beer are also in competition with hotel restaurants or bars that serve alcohol. Also, hotels might get uncomfortable because the way alcohol is served or distributed within the hotel could threaten their own Liquor License if it is not done properly. Reassure the hotel that you know the legal ramifications and that
a) You are not selling alcohol b) Only your Staff will serve alcohol and those people will all be legally of age to do so c) Your staff will check IDs and obey liquor laws including the ones about not serving minors d) You know what the liquor laws are in your area (don't lie-- know this)
In some states, places that sell alcohol are required to have official bartenders serve it. Your hotel may try to insist that you hire their bartenders to serve alcohol in your consuites. Refer them to point a.
Please note that laws vary. This is not legal advice, this is contract negotiation advice. If you are uncertain as to your legal position, consult a lawyer.
