Go/No-Go: The Questions That Decide If You Should Award an Event Partner

What we tell planners

Before you award, get live answers — not brochure paragraphs. Who is the named operations lead, and are they in Arusha, Nairobi, Mauritius or on a laptop in another continent? What happens at 02:00 when a Seronera airstrip closes or a Praslin boat cancels? Which hospital and which evacuation product is contracted, not ‘available’? Can they show a visa matrix dated this quarter for the nationalities on your draft list?

Inventory: which lodges and venues are actually on request versus photographed from a library? Will they write that river crossings are not guaranteed? Will they split gorilla families and crater vehicles? Will they refuse a landing-night gala? If the answer to any refusal is ‘we can make it work,’ that is a no-go for a duty-of-care programme.

Commercial: is the number itemised enough for your auditors? Who holds supplier contracts — the DMC or a chain of WhatsApp vendors? What is the cancellation ladder? Are light-aircraft luggage limits and park fees inside the number? If air is out of scope, do they still design arrival windows?

Chemistry: did they ask about headcount, fitness, and whether this is an incentive or a meeting — or did they send a generic eight-country map? Award the partner who tells you the constraint in the same conversation as the idea. If two scorecards tie, pick the one who already operates the scarce thing you need (gorilla permits, northern Serengeti peak, Mauritius gala tent, Addis–Lalibela airlift).