Announcing that you’re opening a new hotel presents a great opportunity for you to introduce yourself not only to the local community you’ll be doing business in, but also to your potential customers. Thus, you want the opening to be grand. That's where these hotel grand opening ideas come in.
Organising a grand opening event is a perfect platform to create a buzz about your brand and make a positive first impression. While such an event may involve an investment, most hoteliers are willing to bank on the fact that their impact is worth it. But before planning anything, it's imperative to keep in mind the key objectives behind holding a grand opening for your hotel: To create brand awareness, gauge people’s interest, and form long-lasting relationships.
To get people talking about your brand and ensuring your brand objectives resonate with your potential customers is not an easy job. Before we share some hotel grand opening ideas, here are some tips that may come handy when planning a successful grand opening for your hotel.
Tips to remember before your hotel grand opening:
1. Define the purpose and goals
This might seem obvious, but if you know the purpose behind arranging a grand opening event for your hotel, you're more likely to achieve your business objectives.
- Build brand awareness: This is a one-time opportunity for your hotel to communicate what your brand stands for. Make sure to keep your messaging clear and consistent so people can recognise you. Leverage this occasion to get people excited about your hotel brand and leave a lasting impression.
- Build relationships: A grand opening event provides you a platform to interact with your prospects face-to-face. This is the best time for you to build authentic connections with customers, partners, and vendors you’ll work with through the years.
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2. Create some buzz
A grand opening event will require investing a lot of time, energy, and money, so don’t let your planning prowess go to waste because of poor marketing.
- Social media: Use the power of social media to attract your target audience and get them excited about your upcoming grand event. Show off your creativity to amplify your brand awareness and spread the word about the grand opening event through your hotel’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Create your own unique hashtag and use related popular hashtags, then tag local businesses.
- Online advertising: Social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram offer inexpensive means of online advertising. You can create a separate event page and post all the latest updates to keep the buzz on. And if your budget allows, you may explore other paid advertising options, too, such as Google ad campaigns and other ad managers to increase searchability and visibility of your grand opening event.
- Local media: While everybody is influenced by all the new forms of technology, don't discount the value of traditional media. Don’t forget to market your hotel grand opening in local newspapers and on the local radio. This will help you reach your local community and generate interest in your surrounding local businesses and prospects to attend your event.
3. Invite key stakeholders
We know that the ultimate goal of most hotel grand openings is to boost sales. Make sure to invite clients and investors to cultivate existing relationships with them. Utilise this valuable face-to-face networking opportunity to win over potential clients by talking business in a fun, casual setting. If these prospects, meeting planners, executives, and other decision-makers have a positive experience at your hotel grand opening, they will likely become advocates of your brand and bring you business.
4. Choose themes and décor that complement your hotel and/or surroundings
If you want your grand opening to be the talk of the town, you have to think of creative ways to impress your guests. Understand that balloons, streamers, and banners have become outdated. Instead consider a décor, colour scheme or theme that complements your hotel brand. Think about aesthetics such as drapes, linens, tableware, signage, and floral arrangements that underline what your brand stands for. Embellish your hotel interiors with art pieces that echo your hotel’s vision. Take note of what your region or neighbourhood is particularly known for and choose the theme accordingly. Doing so will reflect your support for the local community, and your guests will certainly appreciate your effort towards adapting their local culture.
Explore hotel grand opening ideas that planners and your target audience will love:
1. Invite celebrities and influencers
It's always a good idea to invite influential people to add some star power to your newly opened hotel. Inviting a local celebrity or a social media influencer will certainly help in drawing more people to your event. Moreover, sending a nice invitation along with a swag bag to social media influencers will persuade them to further promote your grand opening event and your hotel brand on their online channels. You may also consider inviting your local city councillors or mayor to raise your event’s profile. Doing so will attract media coverage and will also add up your hotel’s positive PR.
2. Host a live concert
Nothing unites our souls better than live music. Consider inviting a local band to play at your hotel’s grand opening event. If you're able to promise them free publicity through the press present at your event, you might be able to negotiate well and book them at a discounted price. Listening to sweet harmonies at a live show alongside dinner will leave the spectators in awe. Live music is an exciting, enjoyable, and creative way to draw people to your event. It establishes your hotel as a place of enjoyment — not simply a business trying to make money.
3. Have a flair bartending show
Another way of keeping your guests engaged is to have a trained flair bartender put up a dazzling bartending show. It’s a great idea to keep up the excitement level of your already thrilling event and show off your high-quality hospitality. Let your chic bar counter display "bar magic" via flairtending acts such as juggling, flipping bottles, or manipulating flaming liquors. Such showmanship ensures visual entertainment and enhances the overall guest experience.
4. Have a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Ribbon cutting is a traditional ceremony held for the opening of any new business. Hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony gives your guests a better sense of the timing to arrive at your grand opening event and witness the "Ta-da!" moment. It's an inexpensive activity that can create a huge impact. Make sure to make this moment a happy and memorable one. You can have a celebrity, an influencer, the mayor, or any other dignitaries as a guest of honour. This will entice the local media to cover your ribbon-cutting ceremony and your grand opening as a whole.
5. Host a dress up challenge
To build up some competitive spirit amongst your guests, inspire them with a thematic costume challenge. Ask them to post their photographs on their social media using the hashtag for your grand opening event. Whoever gets the most number of impressions and engagement on their post wins a prize — a free weekend getaway at your property and a voucher for the spa and bar, perhaps?
6. Organise a fundraiser
Fundraisers and simple donations for a social cause establish your hotel brand as one that supports the community. Partnering with a chosen charity is an effective way to build a name for your hotel brand as well as build relationships with patrons who feel strongly about the cause. It also helps in personalising your brand, bringing more purpose to your business than just offering service to the community. Furthermore, it encourages a generous crowd to attend your grand opening event.
Make your hotel grand opening one to remember!
Remember, your hotel’s grand opening event is your moment to create the first impression of your brand. You're not going to get a second crack at it. So, make the most out of this opportunity and use the above-mentioned ideas to achieve your business goals and attract new customers.
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