When times are tough, businesses are forced to look to alternative ways of using their facilities and services to bring in extra revenue. The hotel and service industries are particularly vulnerable to economic changes as when people are forced to watch the pennies, it is often the weekends away and meals out that are the first to be dropped.
Increasingly, hotels and restaurants are turning to the lucrative business of conference hosting to bring in extra revenue, and it can be an extremely effective way of not only raising extra funds but also of promoting your venue.
Conferences offer a unique opportunity to welcome delegates from many different companies and locations and with that comes the opportunity to impress them with your venue and services. For example, many delegates may be from local companies who may well be looking for somewhere to host their conference in the future.
There may also be companies coming from further afield, and if your location happens to be a hotel or other tourist venue, it can be a unique opportunity to showcase your venue to people who may wish to spend time using your facilities.
The promotional opportunities are rich for those in the service industry who want to increase the scope of their business, but how do you go about capitalising on these opportunities?
Create A Great First Impression
It surely goes without saying, but creating a great first impression is key if you want to see some of the delegates return with their own companies. Ensure your venue is clean and tidy, the service efficient and that delegates are met and shown to the appropriate room. Don’t assume that it is the responsibility of the company hosting the conference to deal with the delegates, be pro-active in making sure they are made to feel welcome and know where all the appropriate facilities are.
Use Relevant Promotional Products
Half of the battle when selling your venue to delegates is making sure they remember your name and have your contact details to hand. Many delegates may well attend a lot of conferences in many different venues, so if you succeed in making your conference venue stand out in their mind, you need to make sure that they leave with your contact details to hand.
Delegates will need many different items at a regular conference, and the more of these you can put your details on the better your chances of securing future business. Promotional gifts and giveaways such as paper, pens and mugs can all be important ways of making sure your venue’s details secure a prominent place on the desk of potential customers when they return to the office, meaning that you increase the chances of them contacting you rather than hitting the search engines.
Avoid The Hard Sell
Remember, you want to try and get delegates back to your venue but they are not there to be sold to. Avoid giving everyone a sales pitch as this will annoy the delegates and may jeopardise your relationship with the company who are hosting the conference.
Rather than giving everyone a sales pitch, simply ensure that your service is impeccable, your facilities are well advertised and that any relevant marketing materials are displayed in places such as bars and café’s where people will congregate.
If you impress people with your high standards and impeccable service, delegates will be more inclined to dig a little deeper themselves so the hard sell really isn’t necessary.
Put on a slick and professional service, ensure that people are aware of your facilities and that they leave with your contact info on relevant promotional products and you could find that there are many business opportunities available off the back of just one conference.
Image by: Duke Energy
Alan writes articles on issues surrounding the 
