RFP - LINK Program 2025 Site Selection Service

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is seeking a site selection company to procure hotel services for its 2025 LINK Program, which will be held in the Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area during August 2025. The procurement is a Request for Proposal (RFP) for professional site selection services with specific requirements, including identifying a hotel that can accommodate 160 participants and provide approximately 160 guest rooms per night. Required hotel amenities include event space with crescent rounds, a podium and stage, meal spaces, registration area, breakout rooms, and a staff office space, with preferred additional services such as food and beverage and audio-visual support. The evaluation criteria for vendor selection are weighted as follows: Experience (35%), References (30%), Proposed Schedule (25%), and Cost (10%). Proposals must be submitted electronically to Melissa Roberts by 5:00 p.m. EST on January 23, 2025, with preliminary questions due by January 13, 2025. The site selection service work is expected to be performed between January and March 31st, with the contract concluding upon hotel selection and contract confirmation.

There are no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations mentioned in the procurement documents. The targeted room rate is between $170-289 per night for a 4-star hotel with ROH king rooms, and the program requires 4-6 suites, 7 staff rooms for three nights prior to the program, and an additional 30 guest rooms for the night before the program begins. While no incumbent vendors are explicitly named, previous LINK programs have been held at prestigious hotels including the InterContinental New York Times Square, Humaniti Hotel Montreal, Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, and The Gwen Hotel in Chicago. The scope of services is strictly limited to hotel site selection, excluding additional services like web registration, airport transportation, or on-site staffing. The winning vendor will receive exclusivity for the outlined services and timeframe, with security requirements to be discussed during hotel negotiations. No specific budget range or award value is provided in the procurement documents.