I run a small fledgling wine import/distribution business supplying hotels and restaurants (on-trade).
A hotel has asked us to host a wine tasting for ~50 guests with 6 SKUs. They’ve mentioned there will be buyers there but we’ve been burned with this before.
We’ve previously done a few tastings for free to get traction, but I’m questioning whether that’s the right approach going forward.
Context:
Approx 24–50 bottles required
Hotel is not yet a customer
No confirmed listing or order yet
They want us to present the wines during the event
My questions:
In your experience, is it standard for the supplier to cover the wine for an event of this size?
Do you typically charge the venue, discount the wine, or tie it to a minimum order?
What kind of commitments do you usually require (listing, volume, exclusivity, etc.) before agreeing?
Any structures you’ve seen work well (e.g. crediting tasting cost against first order)?
Trying to avoid setting the wrong precedent where we’re just giving away stock without converting accounts.
Interested in perspectives from distributors, reps, and F&B buyers.