For Event Planners ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll be able to paste any venue or vendor contract into Claude and get back a plain-language summary of the key risks, unusual clauses, and negotiation opportunities — in under 5 minutes. You'll catch the cancellation penalties, attrition clauses, and one-sided indemnification terms that could cost your client thousands, without needing a lawyer for every contract review.
What you'll need
If your contract is a PDF:
If it's a Word doc, simply copy all the text (Ctrl+A → Ctrl+C).
Go to claude.ai and click New conversation. For a recurring client's contracts, use a Claude Project (see Level 4 guide) to maintain context across all their vendor contracts.
Paste the contract text and add this prompt at the top:
Please review this venue/vendor contract for an event planner and identify:
1. All cancellation clauses — exact percentages and deadlines
2. Attrition requirements — what happens if we don't meet minimum guarantees
3. Force majeure language — how does it protect us if the event can't happen?
4. Indemnification clauses — are any one-sided against us?
5. Payment schedule and deposit forfeiture terms
6. Any clauses that are unusual or above industry standard
7. Missing standard protections that should be added (ADA compliance, insurance requirements, etc.)
For each issue, tell me: the exact clause (quote it), why it's a concern, and what I should ask the vendor to change.
[paste contract text here]
Claude returns a structured breakdown covering each category. Look especially for:
Once you've reviewed the analysis, ask Claude for negotiation help:
Based on the issues you identified, write me a professional email to the venue
requesting changes to clauses 3 (cancellation penalty), 5 (attrition),
and 7 (force majeure). Frame each request as standard industry practice,
not as "your contract is unfair." Professional and collaborative tone.
Copy Claude's analysis into a doc or email and send it to your client (or keep for your own records). This creates a paper trail showing you reviewed the contract and flagged specific terms.
Quick risk scan (short contracts):
Review this vendor contract and flag any clauses I should be concerned about
before signing. Focus on: cancellation terms, payment requirements,
liability, and anything unusual for a [catering/AV/floral] contract.
[paste contract]
Attrition-specific review:
What are the attrition requirements in this hotel contract? If we book
200 rooms but only fill 170, what exactly do we owe? Quote the relevant
language and explain the math.
[paste contract]
Negotiation email:
I need to negotiate these 3 specific terms with the venue: [list terms].
Write a professional email requesting changes. Be collaborative, not
adversarial. Reference industry standard where appropriate.
Compare two contracts:
I have two venue proposals. Here are the key contract terms from each.
Which has more favorable terms overall, and why?
Venue A: [paste key terms]
Venue B: [paste key terms]