Prepare an ideal contract, negotiate with another group, and submit a legally enforceable, agreed-upon contract. For the activity, you will assume the facts below.

Almost Paradise is a family owned, rustic lodge. The grounds are private and secluded. The housing includes seven (7) individual cabins and a 10-room, lodge-styled guest house. They have done solid business for 10-years, primarily advertising Almost Paradise as the perfect “romantic get-away”. Recently, more competitors have located in the proximate area and business has slowed. Facing cash-flow issues, Almost Paradise wants to create a marketing plan that will increase their exposure generally and broaden their appeal to families and outdoors enthusiasts.

Wahoo is a midsized company that specializes in drafting marketing plans for hotels, motels, and lodges. As part of their service they offer to provide overall consultation and create marketing plans rooted in print, television, radio, and the web.

Almost Paradise is interested in retaining Wahoo and securing their services for the next year. They have not found an alternative marketing company with which they are comfortable. Almost Paradise wants to do some intense marketing in the short term to drum up business for an upcoming busy-season. They also want to work on some longer-term efforts that they can unveil afterwards. Almost Paradise wants to focus on web and television mediums primarily, with some secondary print ads. They also want to reach out to all of their past customers. Wahoo’s business is somewhat slow right now and it is eager to secure the Almost Paradise contract.

Draft an ideal contract: As a team, before negotiations begin, draft a contract which you consider a realistic “ideal” for your side. Submit that contract to the instructor by the start of class and explain why you choose to include the provisions that you did (either through marginal annotations or a written summary). What advantages have you secured for your client?

Negotiate: Throughout the week, you will negotiate with the other team. You can decide how negotiations will begin. One side can submit a proposal. Both sides can submit a proposal. Or you can try to negotiate it term-by-term. When all parties are satisfied and an agreement has been reached, you can finalize the contract, sign, and submit it to the instructor. Remember, it is crucial to both parties that some agreement be reached.

Reflect: Individually reflect on the contract and the negotiation process and prepare a summary. What was your overall goal upon entering the negotiations? What terms did you think were crucial to include? Was your team able to get them in the contract? Why or why not? What challenges arose during negotiations and what tactics were employed to overcome them? Based upon the lessons learned from this exercise, what do you consider the keys to successful contract negotiation? Overall, do you think that the final result was close enough to the “ideal” to satisfy your client?