Just after decades of postponing, partners are keen to tie the knot and the demand from customers for weddings is skyrocketing. Host Ryan Embree discusses how inns can place by themselves to seize current market share and safe bookings from both equally engaged partners and marriage ceremony attendees. Hear now!
Episode Transcript
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Ryan Embree:
Welcome to Suite Location the place hoteliers check in and we look at out what’s trending in resort advertising and marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree.
Ryan Embree:
Hello there, anyone. Welcome to another episode of the Suite Spot. This is your host Ryan Embree, and we’ve acquired a good episode for you these days. For a topic issue that hoteliers have truly been missing out on the earlier two a long time, and I’m confident company and travelers have as nicely. And that’s weddings. The pandemic certainly had a massive effect on team business and that provided weddings. We saw a great deal of couples postpone their weddings to later on in the yr or later on down the line. And it’s owning a huge impression on occupancy. But now as we see ourselves receiving even more and more as a result of this pandemic and see that form of gentle at the conclude of the tunnel, we see much more and extra people now achieving out. And people partners that postponed, they’re prepared to get married and we’re viewing those people friends now experience extra and far more at ease coming and being at our lodge.
Ryan Embree:
So that’s what this episode is all about: how to attract more weddings to your lodge and how to leverage your electronic marketing and advertising and accomplishing it. So right before we get commenced in this episode, a pair swift stats on what we’re seeing with weddings. So this is according to the Knot, “wedding venues in close proximity to me,” research phrases are up 200% due to the fact the thick of the pandemic and there are forecasted to be 2.6 million weddings in 2022. I am absolutely sure the hoteliers listening to this are really, quite delighted to hear that news and all those data. And that usually means a good deal of occupancy chance. But again, these guests, these brides, these grooms, when they choose to possibly make a wedding day block or even decide on your resort as their marriage venue, they are likely to be executing much more investigate than ever. They’re gonna be executing their because of diligence, specially when the stakes are this higher, when it is your wedding ceremony working day, you know, you think about it.
Ryan Embree:
So, so what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna sort of crack this episode up into two one of a kind sections. The 1st would be to how to basically use digital advertising to bring in the joyful couple, correct? The brides and grooms that are looking to perhaps both all over again, pick your resort as the wedding ceremony location by itself if you have locale and venue area for them, or even if they are looking for a marriage block, but there’s also the other facet to it, of our wedding company and what guests that may well not have traveled around the previous two years are gonna be looking for in buy to make them come to feel comfy. For the reason that as we’ll converse about later, if, if they do not feel relaxed, there is no wedding day block price cut that is likely to make them continue to be at your lodge versus selecting a competitor. No low cost provided there that, once again, is gonna give you the higher hand.
Ryan Embree:
So we’re gonna speak about people two approaches and we’re gonna kind of split it down into what our digital promoting abilities in this article at Vacation Media Group is: social media, standing management, and responding to testimonials. So we’ll start with popularity management when it comes to attracting brides and grooms, and the very best way that we can do that is by way of phrase of mouth. By way of case reports, recommendations from previous partners that maybe have used our lodge as a marriage location and are pretty, incredibly satisfied with the experience that they received. The extra modern, certainly, the better, right? A bride and groom that experienced a wedding experience in 2018 might not be suitable nowadays in 2022. So you are going to definitely want to try out to decide a tale or generate a story and explain to a story that is much more latest and is likely to genuinely resonate with that bride and groom today.
Ryan Embree:
You know, you can lookup as a result of your general public reviews on the net. Clearly, a situation study or testimonial, you’ll require some sort of permission in order to use that estimate or convey to that tale. But with general public testimonials, their expressions and thoughts are already out there publicly. So making use of your track record knowledge and on line testimonials, if you occur across any of these good reviews, you can go forward and use those people. 1 issue that engaged partners will glance for when seeking for a resort for their visitors to continue to be in is how you are treating your guests right now, suitable? Your company says a ton about how the pleased couple will be dealt with after they appear on property and how their friends are going be dealt with. So hold that in brain, for the reason that you are not just impacting these person travelers, but a huge occupancy block, like a marriage block, they’re gonna be hunting at your assessments to see, all over again, how you’re treating your clients every single day to see if this is the form of service that they want when they are being for their exclusive instant. Connect them with suppliers, or have a most popular list that you can present.
Ryan Embree:
You wanna develop as much value for this engaged couple as feasible. So if you are geared up on your conclude, we know how demanding it can be to approach a wedding and, and large activities like this. So if you previously have a desired record of distributors that you get the job done with or you know, to make lives a minimal little bit less difficult, which is gonna go a long way in separating by yourself from the competitors, and in the same way hook up with community businesses and distributors that may well be ready to refer you, suitable? So you make form of a partnership there with those vendors, but I will set type of a disclaimer there, never just set any one on this most popular list, actually do your investigate, do your due diligence and make absolutely sure they’re respected for the reason that that popularity can come again and be linked to you. When we speak about responding to evaluations, you know, we can look through review information and uncover some actually neat designs and traits that we could use to leverage new marriage ceremony business enterprise for our lodge.
Ryan Embree:
And what I suggest by that is on the lookout through assessment sentiment data that our evaluation reaction crew skillfully goes in and hand tags evaluate sentiment from your on the web comments and see what information may well be important to wedding ceremony parties, such as location, occasion room, parking, foods and beverage, onsite features. If you start off to observe patterns and tendencies that could be essential to a bridal celebration, you can use that to leverage bookings over your competition. Or if you are noticing a little something that appears to be a destructive pattern that could have an effect on your wedding day get-togethers that are being with you, make certain that these are mounted and resolved prior to they come to be a bigger concern and, you know, affect the experience and type of give a unfavorable name snowball impact likely there. So, and then a different idea that you can do is when you’re responding to opinions, if you detect that a evaluation arrived from a marriage ceremony working experience, so whether or not it be the marriage ceremony guest, no matter if it be the bride, the groom, the mother and father of the satisfied few, answer to them working with keyword phrases and conditions that, first, will aid you with your search optimization for the assets when it arrives to weddings, but also being capable to converse instantly to that wedding, that makes a link there.
Ryan Embree:
And when foreseeable future bride and groom or marriage ceremony planners are looking through these evaluations, you’ll observe that they definitely linked to that party and, and actually could make that all the far more unique when you do that. So make certain you are responding to people evaluations when they come in and, and truly bringing up the occasion by itself. So social media is enormous, we know, suitable? This is a big prospect to discuss to wedding planners, to converse to foreseeable future brides and grooms, engaged couples about the type of practical experience that they can anticipate when they’re on home. So once again, social partnerships, social contests, with close by venues and most popular companions, probably offering an engaged few an chance to appear out to the assets prior to the wedding day. What would it really feel like if you booked with us? Appear working experience our excellent services so that we can give you kind of a glimpse of what you can anticipate when you’re on house.
Ryan Embree:
If we can previously start walking them by way of the process of, this is what I visualize for my day, this will really support us put ourselves in the finest position to get that block and gain that scheduling. Highlighting the happy pair on social media, clearly there is gonna be some permissions that are gonna will need to be granted, but you think about it. Imagine of how much engagement, likes, and shares you are gonna get if you share a picture of the delighted few at their wedding ceremony, proper? Absolutely everyone that was staying on assets 100 per cent will be positive to at minimum like that photo and likely gain some followers from that and extend our hotel’s viewers. Hashtags are big as effectively. So if you are gonna be highlighting the joyful couple question if you could integrate their hashtag, or if they have a hashtag that they’d like to integrate. Again, that is just gonna more your get to, increase your viewers there.
Ryan Embree:
A further great thought is to generate social posts that respond to often requested queries about weddings at your home pertaining to points like probably shuttles to wedding day venues nearby or to the airport. So advertising and marketing the actuality that your hotel, for weddings on website, will do welcome bags and response any sort of pricing inquiries there, yet again, that could now get started individuals down the approach and really start out location expectations for what that major day could imply for being at your assets. Another spot that you actually want to investigate if you have not by now is Pinterest, appropriate? So bride and groom are always wanting for inspiration for their large working day, they’re seeking for innovative concepts on what they can do and how they can make it their individual. Pinterest, according to Pinterest, Pinterest, 60% of their buyers are ladies. So brides could be seeking for venues.
Ryan Embree:
They could be on the lookout for thoughts of layouts for their location and could get some inspiration if you are commencing to add images of your home, rooms, features, venues, empty, and adorned events. And then definitely we wanted to hyperlink that correct back to our site or give them a contact details to potentially produce a highway there of relationship for booking. So, you know, yet another excellent notion is also to provide checklists, suitable? I pointed out this before, we know how annoying it is to plan an whole wedding day. So why not download a checklist, create a checklist branded to your hotel, you know, talking about the techniques that you have to have in order to e-book a hotel block or what that hotel expertise checklist could seem like. These methods and insights could be enormous for a bride or groom on their unique day, looking to get some extra info and become additional economical. So downloadable branded checklists on social media, absolute terrific thought. We also wanna use our social media channels and platforms in distinctive ways, right?
Ryan Embree:
Instagram, for case in point, this is very best, ideal applied to share superior good quality pics and movies of your venue house. It is a incredibly optimistic area. So we genuinely wanna place our most effective foot forward out there when it comes to the social information that we’re sharing. Twitter must truly a lot more focus on these brief bites. And though, solutions to FAQs, area suggestions or cancellation insurance policies, you know, we know through the pandemic, how significantly that is fluctuated items have seemed to quiet down, but if there are any form of nearby limits, Twitter is a terrific way to share people variety of updates. Fb, you can share pics, announcements, updates, and even be a part of wedding ceremony themed groups and share that suggestions of your abilities. So those people checklists that we ended up talking about just certainly great suggestions for Facebook. And then LinkedIn, your concentrate on audience shifts there, proper? We definitely want to be promoting our lodge on LinkedIn to marriage planners.
Ryan Embree:
So make guaranteed your content’s eye-catching to other experts and presents the effect that wedding planners want to function with your venue. It’s quick to do. You’ve carried out it right before. And individuals testimonies and circumstance scientific tests that we talked about at the starting of this episode, which is a fantastic forum to set that there and then, you know, get artistic with your social media. Exhibit the honeymoon suite, go dwell, it’s possible conversing about when a person guides a marriage at your venue, stroll them via those ways although possibly displaying off the honeymoon suite for the satisfied pair, accomplishing an function on LinkedIn for solely for wedding day planners. This could be a excellent prospect to get a good deal of exposure extremely, very speedily. So get imaginative there. And then for individuals that, that truly want to dedicate their electronic existence to attracting weddings, generate a landing web page on your web page.
Ryan Embree:
On that landing webpage, make certain we’re making use of the distinct keywords, yet again, so you show up greater in look for benefits when people are performing research. Substantial high-quality images, video clips of your hotel’s marriage ceremony venue, yet again, both of those vacant and adorned. We never wanna just give a single notion of what a wedding could glance like. We also wanna give the opportunity to engaged couples to envision what their unique day would glimpse like at your location. So yet again, both equally embellished and non embellished photographs of the location, that’s tremendous, tremendous vital to look at. And then carrying out things like a drone video clip, digital excursions for the engaged partners to definitely get a perception of what your venue presents and what they can assume and what your attendees from out of city are heading to hope. So talking of attendees, you know, which is the 2nd part that I wanted to speak about on this episode, since a lot more people are now likely to be ready to vacation to weddings.
Ryan Embree:
Perhaps a few decades ago, or a yr back, we bought that marriage invite and we had to really sit down and assume regardless of whether we are going to attend that or brides and grooms, when they were planning their weddings truly took into account how many persons they were inviting. Now, some of individuals fears have subsided and perhaps visitors and travelers are experience extra assured about touring to weddings, probably outdoors of their point out, that they may possibly have stated no to in the earlier. But once more, they’re going to be undertaking research very in different ways, especially people visitors that have probably declined other weddings in the previous. So what that means is they’re gonna be looking at your standing more difficult and, and magnifying your track record nearer than they have just before. And that discount, that marriage block lower price, again, there is not a cost in the entire world that is gonna be enough to convince them to keep at your hotel if they do not experience risk-free.
Ryan Embree:
So maintaining an eye on your reputation is heading to be vital to securing a lot more marriage block bookings for your hotel. And then social media is a fantastic spot to established expectations for these visitors that may well not have traveled all over again for several years, maybe when they traveled previous in 2018, they remember those large breakfast buffets. Some accommodations have introduced that back again. Some of them are nevertheless easing into it and some transitioned for very good. Make sure you exhibit on social media and assessment responses wherever your resort falls in that spectrum. Due to the fact the most important issue that we see with hotels receiving negative opinions from friends is when anticipations are not properly set, not that they’re not achieved, they’re not effectively set. One more point you want to hold in intellect is looking at assessments from wedding day company who’ve stayed at the assets. Observe if they mention site or proximity to the local marriage venues that could possibly be in your spot.
Ryan Embree:
So repeating individuals key terms can support you appear larger in search benefits when somebody queries resort near so and so marriage ceremony location. So if you are upcoming to a park exactly where a good deal of weddings are having place, if you are repeating that in their critique responses and indicating, sure, we’re in small proximity to this park, your lodge will come up increased on that search when other wedding day blocks or guests are executing research and attempting to figure out where by to stay there. So at the stop of the day, we have missed weddings so a great deal in this, in this hotel sector. And we’re so happy to see, we know there is a growth on the other facet of this as we get into the spring and summer season, and all over again, I’ve talked about it on this podcast before, it’s heading to be the accommodations that placement by themselves proper now that are gonna protected the most bookings.
Ryan Embree:
And a person of the most crucial factors that you have to have to do is make guaranteed that you have a potent digital existence on the net that is telling a very obvious narrative about your track record, social media tale. It is gonna be all those lodges that seize people bookings and catch the attention of additional weddings to their houses. So at Travel Media Group, we are the gurus in digital promoting alternatives for hotels, status management, overview reaction, social media, and vanity web sites. So for all of your digital advertising and marketing needs, make sure you come to feel free to access out to us. If you are fascinated in learning about how we can aid create posts for you to appeal to a lot more weddings to the residence, we’ve bought a terrific tailor made social option that you have read about on this podcast. Support boost and mature your standing on the web so that you can be in the ideal situation to capture extra of these weddings when engaged partners are seeking to guide and decide a location for their home. I am really fired up about this, this approaching marriage ceremony period.
Ryan Embree:
We know there’s a great deal of engaged partners out there. So if you are fascinated in finding out a lot more about how Travel Media Group can support you catch the attention of more weddings to your lodge, attain out to us, go to our web site. We have got a good deal of info there. We have bought a excellent blog site on precisely what we talked about today. Thank you all for listening to this episode of the Suite Place, and we will discuss to you future time.
Ryan Embree:
To join our loyalty software, be absolutely sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Location is generated by Travel Media Team with deal with art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host, Ryan Embree, and we hope you savored your continue to be.