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Making Wedding Parties Fall in Love with Your Hotel

Wedding Parties Fall in Love with Your Hotel

When wedding parties stay, you get a golden opportunity to provide unforgettable service.

After a long lull during the height of the pandemic, you can expect a wedding “boom” in 2022 and beyond. That means plenty of opportunities to make a great impression on wedding parties with personalized service.

In fact, it’s expected that 2.6 million couples will say their vows across the United States during the year, according to the Real Weddings Study, an annual report from wedding site The Knot. And the average wedding has about 110 guests, many of whom will need hotel rooms.

“The return of total wedding spend to pre-COVID levels is an indicator that the wedding industry is on the path to full recovery,” says Lauren Goodson, Senior Director of Insights at The Knot Worldwide stated in the report.

If your hotel will be the lodging of choice for some of these brides, grooms and guests, here are 5 ways to make sure wedding parties have an amazing stay for that special day:

  1. Cater to their desires. One of the top ways to serve couples who are getting married is to find out what they want. That means doing market research in your local area, talking to couples who contact your hotel and asking local wedding planners what they seek from a hotel. Once you know what they want, it’s easier to deliver.
  2. Sweeten the deal. Offering special discounts or perks to a wedding party can help to endear you to any couple. In fact, discounted bridal suites are one of the top perks couples look for when seeking out a place for them and their wedding guests to stay. Other perks some couples love include a shuttle to and from the wedding venue or a private space for a small brunch the next morning.
  3. Offer room block updates. Reserving a room block can be stressful for a couple, as they’re essentially acting as a “middleman” between their guests and the hotel. Create a system for giving the couple updates on room block bookings so they will know if they need to fill rooms or add more to the block. Good communication can help to calm nerves and avoid last-minute surprises.
  4. Offer help with special touches. Couples want to acknowledge the fact that many of their guests traveled from out of town and went to considerable expense to see them get married. They may want to distribute gift bags, offer turn-down service or coordinate other little surprises for their guests. The more help you can offer to make this go smoothly, the easier you’ll make life for the couple.
  5. Give the couple special treatment. Place a gift in the wedding suite to commemorate the couple’s nuptials. It’s hard to go wrong with touches like a traditional bottle of champagne on ice, gourmet chocolates or flowers. A token of appreciation will make the couple feel special, and acknowledged, on their big day. Another show-stopping touch: put their names on a marquee.

When courting the wedding business, there are a few key elements to keep in mind: good communication and organization, compassion and understanding and acknowledgment of the fact that a couple chose you to be a part of a day they will remember forever.