Maximizing Guest Engagement: How Hotels Can Boost Holiday Event Attendance

Holiday travel season has arrived, and hotels are gearing up for an influx of guests visiting family and friends, or just squeezing in some rest and relaxation during a period when business slows, kids break from school and most of us are ready to take advantage of the opportunity for a bit of down time. Hotels often seek to offer extra incentive for travelers by planning a variety of festive gatherings and experiences that will enhance guest stays.

At the same time, we are balancing holiday shopping, the time crunch to finish work ahead of vacation time and all the additional parties, activities and events that come with the season making it difficult for many to keep track of even the highest priorities. Connecting with customers means cutting through the clutter and remaining in their sight lines during the busiest, most distracting time of the year. Hotels are motivated to ensure their events are well-attended and engaging, which makes it crucial that they implement effective strategies for maximizing guest participation. Only one question: How?

Leveraging Calendar Marketing Tools

Catching the eye of customers and guests around the holiday season is a difficult enough task. Staying on their radar may be even more challenging. To ensure guests never miss an event, explore and identify the best calendar marketing tools for your organization. The more seamless, shareable, and dynamic, the better.

For example, share a calendar that guests can subscribe to so they stay informed about all activities happening during their stay, both at the hotel and in the surrounding area. Additionally, consider incorporating the upcoming events calendar into your check-in process or sending reminders with relevant details to keep guests engaged and informed.

By using innovative calendar marketing tools, your organization can enhance customer experience, boost engagement, and ensure your events remain top of mind.

Providing Seamless Event Reminders and Updates

Your guests are bogged down and pulled in countless directions during the holidays, and they might actually choose your hotel specifically for the purpose of attending a particular event … and then forget about it. Or forget the date. Or the start time. Maybe they had originally planned to squeeze the event in around work or family time and just need a placemarker to prevent them from overbooking or forgetting.

Event reminders and updates from their personal calendars not only keep your event front of mind but also drive awareness, ensuring guests stay informed and engaged. Having the event in their own calendar makes it easier for them to plan around it, prioritize their time, and remember the details.

To make sure your event lands on their calendar, take advantage of reservation reminders and update emails, including an Add to Calendar button, as a means to share the events during their stay. This seamless approach helps guests stay in the loop and ensures no opportunity is missed to enhance their experience.

Boosting Engagement Through Interactive and Personalized Event Experiences

Some hotels may have little trouble filling their ballroom with a New Year’s Eve party – but what about the rest of the holiday season? How might guests be not only attracted for a weekend stay but also engaged to the point that they’ll want to return for a future date?

Trade shows and charity auctions could be right for your hotel, but don’t be afraid to get creative. Events like karaoke nights with themed competitions (e.g., “80s Hits Night” or “Battle of the Decades”), costume parties with prizes for the most creative outfits, escape room challenges tailored to holiday themes, and exclusive VIP performances or meet-and-greets can draw a diverse crowd.

You might also consider crafting events for niche interests, such as wine or craft beer tastings with local vendors, DIY workshops for holiday decorations or gift wrapping, or family-friendly activities like cookie-decorating contests or holiday movie marathons with cozy seating and refreshments.

Additionally, fostering ongoing engagement with happy customers and your community through calendars will boost returning customers. By providing personalized, shareable calendars of events, you create an easy way for guests to stay informed and connected, making it more likely they’ll return to your property for future events and stays.

Streamlining Event RSVPs and Participation

Admin tools may not seem sexy, but they can be incredibly effective for optimizing attendance to special events by simply making it easier for guests to show up. With the right software, hotels can build event sign-ups into booking platforms, websites and emails while creating reminders and updates that go out in emails and are added to personal calendars. Guests have a lot going on. Keep them informed without automation and no additional demands on your workforce.

Hotel event planning and marketing require an incredible amount of creative energy, logistics and legwork, and informing and reminding guests about those curated hotel experiences shouldn’t have to be an extra burden for hoteliers. But in fact, with the right tools, it can be the easiest and most reliable step in the process towards engaged and happy guests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Nilsson is CEO and founder of AddEvent, a San Francisco-based software company that offers cutting-edge calendar, appointment and event management solutions to enhance customers’ event and appointment engagement. As a software engineer by trade, Nilsson developed AddEvent’s primary “add-to-calendar” solution himself in 2012. Since then, he has scaled the company and its offerings to become one of the leading calendar solutions for over 250K+ customers, including Fortune 500 companies.