A Request for Proposal (RFP) is used widely throughout industries and within government and tourism agencies to manage and select vendors for events. Whether a national tournament, world championship, local award gala or an industry trade show, the RFP facilitates transparency, competitive bidding and accountability throughout every stage of event planning and execution.
RFPs typically are accompanied by references, referrals or testimonials to validate the capability, experience and reliability of a city or host entity to guarantee the ability to deliver on what is proposed.
Endorsements from past clients provide a trusted indicator of competence that the city or entity has successfully planned, supported or executed comparable events. Following is information on the general components of the RFP, the evaluation process and technology assistance.
Components of the RFP
The general description of the event, including dates, is the first section of any proposal. It includes items such as expected attendance, themes, history and any additional descriptive information.
The RFP typically ends with the request for references and the contractual obligations specifying terms and conditions. These terms and conditions may include deadlines for deliverables, penalties for non-performance (e.g., contract breaches), indemnification clauses, the type and location of dispute resolution and confidentiality policies. There are many additional sections of RFPs. Most include the following seven general items.
1. Venue:
Information requested for venues generally includes venue type(s), field or court specifications, seating capacity, audio-visual needs, parking requirements, locker room needs, storage, lighting, electrical power (e.g. amp wattage and voltage), load requirements (e.g., deliveries), etc. For athletic events such as an NCAA championship or major multi-sport festival (e.g., California Games or PanAm Games), these specifications may be requested for both practice and competition venues.
2. Lodging:
Lodging information requested typically includes requirements for the number of hotels and alternate lodging availability (e.g., bed and breakfast) within a geographic distance. The report usually requests room capacity, block availability and a breakdown of availability based on categories (economy, mid-range, upscale, luxury).
3. Transportation:
The requirements for transportation will specify proximity to airports and proximity to public systems. This section will also address the availability of shuttle services or rental vehicles.
For example, a sponsorship agreement for the former Jamie Farr Charity Golf Tournament in Northwest Ohio responsible for raising over $13 million arranged for local automobile dealers to loan a fleet of vehicles for a week to transport athletes to and from the airport and hotels in exchange for advertising.
4. Staffing:
Staffing generally refers to the number and type of staff needed for all services such as ticket support, security or crowd control, medical, volunteer coordination, hospitality/VIP experience, etc.
5. Marketing and Media:
This section of the RFP will include requirements for promotional activities, partnership and sponsorship activation, as well as broadcast rights and any restrictions.
Information in this section will specify what media outlets are available and willing to promote the event as well as the minimum dedicated budget for marketing activities. A detailed marketing plan is generally necessary to satisfy conditions.
6. Financial:
This section specifies the requisite bid fee (if applicable) and revenue sharing arrangements for ticketing, concessions, parking, merchandise sales, media rights deals, etc. It will generally request a budget for services and will specify the source or responsible entities for allocations.
7. Insurance, Permitting, Security and More:
The RFP will include a section pertaining to requirements for insurance for liability coverage and will identify permits necessary. Local authorities generally require special event permits for mass gatherings, erecting temporary structures, using oversize loads and serving alcohol. Requirements for noise permits (e.g., live music or fireworks) and health permits are also generally specified.
A safety and security plan or emergency management is yet another section that maybe be requested in a proposal to host an event. Other areas may include hospitality (e.g., proximity of different categories of restaurants within a five-mile radius), legacy plans or community engagement activities.
Rules, regulations and restrictions are generally provided such as policies restricting the use of Confederate flags or demonstrations of any kind within clean zones. The basic takeaway is that the level of detail specified in RFPs will vary greatly, generally depending on the size of the event.
Evaluating the RFP
The evaluation process, conducted by the event owner, determines the best suited candidate or “winning” bid. This process includes identifying the evaluation criteria and rating system. The rating system may include numeric calculations or a simple check list. Some numeric calculations are based on a weighted scale where sections of the proposal are deemed more important than others.
The first step in creating an evaluation process is to identify criteria. In the previous section, the seven areas (venue, lodging, transportation, staffing, media and marketing, financial and insurance) would be used to create a chart. The rights holder then determines how each criterion is evaluated.
In their bid process, the World Transplant Games (WTG) identifies 10 evaluation criteria including host city capability; governance and structure; games vision, legacy and media; sports program; venues/operations; ceremonies and functions; accommodation and logistics; health and safety; financial arrangements and government support. Each of the criteria is scored low to high on a scale of 1-5 for a potential score of 50.
If a weighted system were used, WTG could alternatively transform the raw score into an adjusted score based on a percentage of weighted importance. In a balanced system, each of the 10 criteria is worth 10 percent of the score, but in a weighted system, each of the 10 criteria is worth different percentages (as long as the total comes out to 100 percent).
For example, the WTG may indicate “Host City Capability” is worth 30 percent and “Games Vision” is only worth five percent. Raw scores are multiplied by the weight and again by 100 to determine the adjusted score.
If the raw score for both criteria was five, the adjusted score would be 150 points for Host City Capability (5 x 30 percent x 100 = 150) and 25 for Games Vision (5 x .05 percent x 100 = 25). The weighted process makes it easier to determine one criterion that carries considerably more weight than the other.
Technology Assistance
The task for assembling and evaluating a RFP as well as the task for completing an RFP in hopes of winning hosting rights has become relatively easy due to ever-evolving technological advancements.
Even the most seasoned event planning professional would agree that the RFP process is much more efficient, precise and user-friendly. Artificial intelligence (AI) now equips industry experts with sophisticated tools to draft an RFP and to evaluate submissions quickly and effectively.
Even a simple manual input of event parameters into a free version of an AI-generative tool such as Microsoft CoPilot, Claude or ChatGPT can almost immediately produce an outline or template of an RFP.
Companies have flooded the internet with paid versions of subscription-based AI software. Loopio, Sparrowgenie, Fastbreak AI, SponsorPro, Arphie, Conveyor, Playeasy and AutoRFP.ai are examples of several AI tools available for generating and evaluating or completing RFPs.
Generally, a monthly subscription with tiered pricing is required. Monthly fees range from $15 to $40 for Arphie to $80 to $120 for ProcureAi (Next-Gen 2026), a sophisticated system providing predictive analytics for venue selection with scoring dashboards and comparison sheets.
Final Tips
Regardless of the type and size of the event, the RFP is a tremendous organizational and planning tool helping validate decisions for selecting the most suitable partners and resources.
It is important to articulate or understand the components of the RFP whether the rights holder or the potential host. It is also important to have absolute clarity of the evaluation process. Technological advances have undoubtedly improved the creation, evaluation and submission process for RFPs, making them easier and more efficient, albeit with a cost factor. SDM
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