Mr. Rosenberger

Sales & Marketing

Create the Ultimate New Years' Eve Family Package

By Matthew Rosenberger, Consultant & Publisher, ABC Travel Guides for Kids

Ask most parents of young children (10 and under) where they are spending New Year’s Eve and Day and the answer you will most likely hear is, “We’ll be at home with the kids”. Your marketing team’s mission is simple: Change that answer to, “We’ll be celebrating at a hotel that has an awesome family New Year’s Eve Package-it’s our tradition!” Kids get excited about New Years Eve; they can stay up late and celebrate. A well-designed package that includes a celebration earlier in the day for the family, and options later for the parents, will provide families with an exciting way to begin each new year and create tremendous good will for your hotel or brand. A highly visible and properly marketed plan reaching for national rather than just local or regional media coverage should introduce families to your package and highlight your brand’s commitment to families, even if they don’t actually book the package.

I recently asked about 40 of my daughters’ classmates, campmates, friends and associates, all between the ages of 6 and 10, if they could go to any hotel in the country which hotel would they choose. The answers I heard the most (almost unanimously) were The Nick Hotel and “Disney World” in Orlando, Great Wolf Lodge, The Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA and “New York City”.

Now I suppose if this informal poll had been taken in different parts of the country with more youngsters involved, Nick Hotel, “Disney World” and Great Wolf Lodge would remain high on the list, while the Hershey Lodge would be more regionally known, and an answer of “New York City” would be less frequent. But the lessons to be learned from this little experiment are huge and offer tremendous insight into the best way to reach kids and their families.

The properties selected by my daughters’ peers are all extremely family oriented with onsite amenities and activities for kids and their families. What those queried failed to name were any of the major hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, or Sheraton. Why? Because kids look for fun, novelty and brand recognition; the key components, among this demographic, and absolutely necessary to help kids identify their preferred hotel. Undeniably the Nickelodeon, Great Wolf and Hershey brands are strong among children (and moms and dads and grands for that matter). While the “Disney World” and “New York City” answers suggest that these regions have strong recognition among kids as fun and exciting places to visit, most polled were unable to name specific properties that were their favorites in these locations. (I did have a couple of “The Plaza” answers, primarily because of the Eloise books-again highlighting that “novelty” is effective with children).

It is difficult to compete with the Nick Hotel, primarily because of the worldwide brand recognition due to the media conglomerate that is Nickelodeon; and Great Wolf Lodge because of the water park aspect of the properties; and Hershey Lodge again because of the surrounding attractions associated with the property, but if some of the principles learned from this exercise are applied by your marketing department toward the creation of a family oriented New Years Eve package your package can be successful, and over time, your package might become the answer to the question posed at the beginning of this article.

So what is your property’s game plan if you are not the Nick Hotel or Hershey Lodge?

One option is to find a nearby partner that caters to kids and has an annual New Years Eve or Day celebration for families and form a win-win alliance. Just about every city (and many regional areas) have either a “Children’s Museum”, aquarium or zoo in close proximity to your property. Other considerations for partners should include bowling alleys, miniature golf courses, family-oriented restaurants, amusement parks, art museums, history museums, etc. Using your CVB is also key to reaching out to the community and visitors about the alliance and your plans.

It is never too early to begin developing a strategy, especially if your property is not equipped to accommodate an on-site celebration. Of course there are other advantages to keeping the celebration off site. Namely, your property won’t have to use on-site space or personnel that can be reserved for more traditional bashes and your marketing dollars, when combined with those of the already established partner’s, should present a compelling presentation to your audience. But if an appropriate partnership can’t be formed, don’t throw in the towel - think outside of the box. Use open meeting rooms to create family oriented parties with games, crafts, movies and activities for the kids. The pool is also a great option when coupled with fun activities, even a band, magician, or comedian. If more properties would use more creativity and imagination even with the simplest package, like hiring a magician to do a magic show for the kids, or a “flick and float” movie at the pool, more families would book it. Soon, not only will word spread about your property’s New Years Eve package, but your property will quickly become identified as a family friendly property that goes out of its way for kids and families. Keep in mind-most kids under 10 do not need to stay up until midnight to celebrate, just being with family or friends is the celebration. Throw in a fun trip to the aquarium and an on-site magic show and wham bam you’ve got an incredibly fun package put together with activities that will thrill and delight the entire family.

With increasing competition in the industry to attract families, properties that already have built in attractions need to step up their game a notch to create the perfect spot for families to celebrate the New Year (as well as hold on to their share of the lucrative family travel demographic). Consider one of our favorite properties, Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel & CoCo Key Water Resort just outside of Boston in Danvers, MA. Not all properties have the luxury of having an on-site water park, but the Sheraton Ferncroft does and the property still goes above and beyond when it comes to planning a fun filled New Years Eve celebration for families. The property’s marketing guru, Traci Bergan spearheads an overnight package inclusive of dinner in the ballroom with activities for the kids like face painting, crafts, popcorn and movies, etc. The water park also stays open late, until 11pm on NYE and for 2009 the property even held a “resolutions contest” awarding 10 families (one for each of their locations) a family getaway with VIP treatment and a ton of upgrades. All the elements are here and this is a fantastic place for families to start a tradition, have fun, and ring in the New Year.

Keep in mind, one of the advantages of promoting and attracting families to your property to celebrate the New Year is the reality that many of these guests will become repeat visitors during the year. But you must keep in close contact with guests who book the family New Year’s package. Send them emails and mailings throughout the year, especially slower periods, and invite them back to celebrate throughout the year. Send birthday wishes and treats to kids, (and mom and dad for that matter), do things that your competitors are not doing and that are not time consuming or costly - you will be rewarded immensely. Remind your guests of the perks and amenities available at the hotel: watching football games and parades on those huge HD TVs, while the kids swim or watch their own movies in their room. There is a ton of space for family members, both onsite and off for that are guests of the hotel; there is close proximity to area attractions and museums; and most importantly there is an opportunity for everybody to enjoy themselves, and make memories together. With on-site amenities that can appeal to everyone and the right tone set by the hotel, a family tradition of celebrating New Year’s Eve will impact your bottom line in more ways than you can imagine and your ROI will shoot through the roof.

For families with young children, New Years Eve and Day are about family togetherness. Creating a family package to help families start a new tradition, ease stress, travel time, and provide a new experience for their family will be welcome with open arms and result in a lasting relationship with your guests. I know what our family is doing this year for New Year’s Eve it’s been the same tradition for a number of years; we’re headed to a hotel to celebrate and we can’t wait!

Matthew G. Rosenberger is a family travel consultant and publisher who works with hotels that want to be recognized as the most family friendly in their region. He is publisher of ABC City Guides for Kids, an all-in-one alphabet book, activity guide and souvenir. The books are customized by hotels and resorts to feature their images, logo and address on the book's front and back covers. Mr. Rosenberger also promotes his selection of family friendly hotels at his website and family travel related assignments through his "We Love Kids" and "TOP FIVE" pick selections. Mr. Rosenberger can be contacted at 215-242-4011 or mgr@kidstravelguides.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.