Demand for meetings is outstripping supply, and at the same time travelers are leaning towards the authenticity of home-sharing over the all-too-familiar hotel experience.
So how can you manage growing demand for function space, and at the same time keep attendees at your hotel overnight? How can you go about creating entirely new revenue opportunities altogether? Here’s a look at how properties can go about adding square footage without investing in more real estate (or tons of cement).
Have You Tried the Lobby?
More meeting space means more sales opportunity, so how can you maximize the space you have today? Think creatively about how and where events can expand in your property. Rooftops, parking lots, lobbies, courtyards… nothing is out of the question. Some options may even be a better fit than the traditional event space you offer.
Millennial event professionals are hungry for something new. They prefer out-of-the- box ideas, and put more focus on brand and identity. Consider how modern office spaces are changing. Floor plans are open, ceilings are unfinished, cabling and lighting fixtures are left exposed. Depending on the event, modern planners might even be more likely to book an unfinished trendy warehouse over your fanciest ballroom.
The good news is that this trend makes it possible for your property to start putting price tags in places you wouldn’t have thought of before. Additionally, it means that you can accommodate new group segments and at different sizes, which leads to an opportunity to fill more sleeping rooms, sell more receptions, or even keep your best function spaces open for high value clients. Here are a few ideas to monetize more space at a typical hotel.
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1.) Hotel Lobbies
Hotel lobbies are meant to be open and inviting. With high ceilings, places to sit, and food & drinks, they offer guests a sneak preview into what hosting an event or staying at the hotel is actually like. A large hotel lobby can play a perfect host to networking events or drink receptions.
Additionally an event in progress can add more vibrancy to the space. As long as events don’t prevent guests from reaching the front desk, they’ll make the hotel itself feel more alive.
2.) Parking Lots and Garages
Let’s be clear, we’re not suggesting you pack a few tables and chairs into the corner of a garage five levels beneath the surface of the earth. As long as you have a parking area with open skies above it you can set aside an area for events.
Think of these spaces like a park or any outdoor venue with tents, picnic tables, and refreshments. This environment is perfect for games, and activities that require more space.
3.) Courtyards and Green Space
Take a walk around the perimeter of your hotel and look for grassy areas to repurpose as event space. It may take a bit of landscaping, but removing a tree or shrubbery could open your hotel to a new category of events.
For example, corporate team building exercises look for hotels that offer a combination of indoor and outdoor environments. Find a way to adapt your property to their needs.
4.) Kitchens
Your catering staff isn’t always occupying the kitchen, right? You might be able to leverage this space for culinary events. “Cooking vacations” are becoming increasingly popular among millennials that want to experience a new destination through food and drinks.
Capture more sleeping room deals by advertising your kitchen as temporary HQ for aspiring chefs visiting your city.
5.) Rooftops
Everything is better under the sun. Hotels are looking at the next few years as prime time for re-investment. That might mean re-modeling your rooftop to make way for events. Not all buildings are designed with this in mind, but even creating space for an event with just 15 VIPs can have a major impact on revenue by the end of the season.
Partnerships are Greater than the Sum of their Parts
There are only so many ways you can stretch and adapt your space to accommodate new business. After a certain point, you won’t find anymore change beneath the couch cushions. You also might not have the space to expand in the first place. Or, what if your hotel isn’t near the popular hangouts in your city? How can you still capture a meeting planner’s attention when they want to give their events that “downtown” feel?
That’s where you can reach out to partners in your destination to grow group-sales opportunities at your hotel and drive new business to your partners. Afterall, all the best partnerships are worth more than the sum of their parts. Here’s a look at a few ways to go beyond the walls of your venue.
Restaurants and Bars
Today’s leisure and business travelers are craving one thing regardless of the destination: authenticity. The hotel experience in a sleeping room or event space doesn’t change depending on the destination. As a result: planners are starting their location search at local hotspots like restaurants and bars before traditional spaces. That leaves hoteliers with two options:
- After planners book a restaurant event, let them decide if they want to book guest-rooms at a local hotel, or test the waters with Airbnb.
- Proactively reach out to local restaurants and pubs and set up a preferred pricing referral agreement. That way you can satisfy clients that are looking for something different without risking any guest-rooms to Airbnb.
Co-Working Spaces
Create similar partnerships with co-working spaces, as you would with a restaurant. The difference here is that you can’t accommodate the same F&B requests.
A preferred partnership with a flexible co-working space, gives you the same opportunity to accommodate lower- value clients, without losing potential sleeping room revenue. Additionally, you can hold on to full-featured function spaces and focus prospecting on clients that close at a higher rate.
Set up your property as a thought leader and a champion of your destination.
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Parks/Public Spaces
We’re not suggesting that you claim 1,000 square feet at your local park in the name of your property. Public space is… public, you can’t sell it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t include the parks and open spaces that your city has to offer as part of a group package.
Remember the corporate team building events mentioned earlier? Find out what planners are trying to accomplish and pitch an event that makes use of your function space, nearby parks, and of course, your sleeping rooms.
This is where partnering with a CVB can be a major source of referrals. Set up your property as a thought leader and champion of your city. As CVBs lobby to bring major events to your destination they won’t forget your property.
When it comes to mapping out your next event, don’t feel confined by four walls and a roof! Know that you always have options and get creative.
If you found this post helpful, let us know @socialtables.
The post 5 Creative Hotel Sales Ideas to Think Outside the Ballroom appeared first on The Social Tables Blog.
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