As the Seasons change into Autumn we are reflecting on some of this Summer’s best hotel events and promotions. It is important for hotels to host unique, interesting and strategic events. From hosting a beautiful and elegant wedding fair to a quirky and fun disco these events can increase the footfall into your hotel and reach out to the local community.

The benefits of hosting an event:

1. It increases footfall to your additional services like cafes and restaurants.
2. It gives you useful pictures to use on your social media. This is valuable for hotels that want to appear different and full of character. We know it is hard to find good promotional material which is why events are the perfect way to show off your extra capabilities beyond bed and breakfast. You can also promote events online using event tools and digital promotion tools.
3. Reach out to the business community.  Hosting an event that requires you to talk to other business can help your hotel find useful contacts and information. This will really help you with future events and endeavours you want to pursue. For example, hosting a wedding fair can lead to you having a brilliant new relationship with a talented local photographer. It’s win-win situation
4. It brings in people to your hotel that wouldn’t usually book a room. Hosting an event can give people a flavour of staying at your hotel and what your location is like. If the event goes well they may book with you in the future and boost your revenue. It also brings in locals to your hotel so they can get to know you as a local business rather than somewhere that only caters for visitors.
5. Increasing your bookings. If you host a niche and engaging event people will travel to enjoy your event and hopefully stay in the hotel overnight. This increases your booking and fills up empty capacity in off peak seasons. One of our favourite examples is a recent Only Fools and Horses convention where people travelled from all around the UK to enjoy a weekend of laughs. It’s a great way to get your hotel brand known in social circles that will convert into repeat customers.

These are just some of the benefits to events, as you can see they are an important aspect of event management in a hotel. When looking at hotel strategy it’s important to look at the wider picture and grasp PR opportunities like events with both hands.