All the departments, from the front office to the kitchen, are on their toes. Afterall, these hotel events are a source of revenue for every department. 

During the peak season, many properties host events at a great frequency, and often they have banquets sold out. But what about the off-season? 

I know, that’s a tough time for any hotel business. So, today we will discuss all the possible ways to increase events at hotels.

How to increase events at hotels?

Increasing hotel events is no rocket science. Implementing the correct steps at the right time will help you achieve this.

Here are nine easy ways to increase events at your hotel.

1. Promote your space

Well, no one will know that you have a space to host events, until and unless you let them know. Promoting your venues is one of the important steps that can increase events at your hotel.

So, how to do it? 

Simple! Approach the right audience. Now, that depends upon the type of events your property can host. 

For instance, if your hotel has lawns, then the target audience would be guests looking for wedding venues. In case you have conference halls, you can approach corporates for business meetings.

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A post shared by Seasons Banquets (@seasons_banquets)

I know, this may seem like a basic step. But trust me, once you start promoting your space to the right audience, you will be hosting events frequently.

2. Connect with travel agents

Travel agents are a vital part of the hospitality industry. They are one of the sources that connect hotels and guests. 

Many event planners take help from travel agents for making their tour arrangements. Most of them look for accommodation facilities for a large group of guests.

You can approach these travel agents with your hotel’s portfolio. Ensure that you highlight all the facilities available for hosting an event.

Be it capacity, seating arrangement, technology, amenities, or more. Have a tie-up with travel agents on a profit-sharing or commission basis. 

This would initially boost your room sales and eventually increase events at your hotel.

3. Partner with event planners

It is a kind of direct marketing to the guests. Event planners are one of the key players in the hospitality industry.

Not all of them manage high-end events. Some prefer parties and functions with a small headcount. The best part of small events is that they are easily manageable and end quickly.

So, you can host two events in a single day. In order to increase events at hotels, it’s necessary to partner with small and big event planners alike.

Partner with event planners from a different niche. Don’t miss any of them. This is one of the most effective ways to increase events at hotels.

4. Be available on event planning platforms

Recently, I was surfing on the internet, and I came across a website – weddingz.in

Out of curiosity, I checked the website for more details. The working concept of the firm is simple and quite intriguing.

The website listed all the available spaces in the city to host a wedding. Guests landing on the website can shortlist the venues they like and schedule a visit. 

A person from the organisation guides them through their selected locations and books one which guests zero in on.

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A post shared by Weddingz.in (@weddingz.in)

Many websites work on such a simple yet effective module these days. 

You need to list your hotel on such platforms, highlight your venues, facilities, and offerings. These event planning platforms can assist you in targeting guests and increasing events at your hotel.

5. Don’t forget the corporates

Be it boosting room sales or increasing hotel events, working with corporates is the best approach. (I learned about this during my training days.)

Our hotel had many corporate clients. Some of them were regular visitors.

The frequency at which they hosted business conferences was unbelievable. Every month they had a seminar or a product training session which lasted for 5-6 days.

But naturally, the hotel’s banquet halls were busy for the entire day in those days. In fact, our hotel’s 50% guests were the ones attending the conference.

That’s when I realised how beneficial it was to have corporate tie-ups. I would strongly recommend you to connect with organisations. 

Once you have them as your customers, you tend to have an opportunity to host maximum formal events at your hotel.

6. Host your own events

Who said that you can’t host events if you don’t have anything in your bucket? Why wait for an opportunity when you can host an event of your own?

It’s the easiest way to be in the limelight. All you need to do is, organise and promote an event at the hotel. 

The event can be about the hotel’s opening anniversary, new year bash or any other workshops. You can market it across various channels and your loyal guests.

Promoting a self-hosted event garners the attention of event planners and the guests. Eventually, leading to an increase in events at your hotel.

7. Influence through social media

Social media is a perfect tool to promote events of your hotel. Millennials and GenZ share their life stories on social media.

The best part is, they geotag the location of any event they visit. It gives the properties a free promotion on the internet.

Moreover, with the use of relevant hashtags, these posts reach a wider audience. Make sure you have an online presence.

Whenever you host an event, don’t forget to post about it on social media platforms. It will keep your guests updated about events and functions happening at your property.

Further, don’t forget to promote events on Facebook, because many guests attending any event look for it on Facebook.

Facebook events have paved the way for hotels and planners to market their events across the globe. This tip works like a magic wand in increasing events at your hotel.

8. Focus on delivering the experience

In my previous blogs, I have always emphasised on delivering a better guest experience. Be it in terms of stay, food or events. 

According to an article published by Harvard Business Review,

“Guests having the best experience in the past, tend to spend 140% more than the guests who had poor experience.”

Events involve providing a great experience to two different sets of guests:

1. The organiser, or the event planner
2. Event attendees

In any case, you have to ensure a flawless operation and management of the event. I know you might be wondering – What can hotels do for it?

It’s simple, check for all the arrangements before the event starts. Focus on these five aspects – Ambience, food, hygiene, service, and technology.

The key to hosting a successful event is delivering a great experience with flawless operation and management.

Pro-tip: After the pandemic, guests avoid attending any events. You can highlight safety measures deployed at your hotel. Also, you can use pictures to showcase the safety precautions you took to host a successful event.

9. Don’t host stereotypical events

Do you know why dinosaurs went extinct? Because they could not adapt to the changing environment.

And I’m sure, you don’t want the industry to suffer a loss, because they couldn’t keep up with changing trends. 

For instance, your property organises small events and parties for a long time. One fine day, you receive a query for hosting an event for 100 pax.

You have the space available for the required date. But, you have to deny it because you don’t have enough experience of organising large events. 

I would recommend you to organise and host various types of events that are possible at your hotel. It will help in increasing your hotel’s business exponentially.

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