I was talking to Catering Manager last week who told me that since their property is about to start a renovation that would be complete in 10 months from now, so next April, they wanted to wait to market their venue for Indian weddings. 

We all know most renovations don’t finish on time and 10 months is the padded deadline. The actual deadline is 8 months. So basically the venue would be shiny and new sometime between February and April of 2019. And they want to wait to market the property until the renovations are complete.

In my opinion, that is the wrong approach. The renovation period is the exact perfect time to start and persistently market the property.

1 Year Delay: By waiting they’re delaying bookings by at least a year since most Indian weddings have a 10-12 month booking window. 

Not Indian wedding-friendly to Indian wedding-friendly: The new space that this venue is adding opens it to the Indian market for the first time, whereas before their policies and spaces weren’t a good fit. 

Thus this venue isn’t on their radar. So the venue will have to market the space.

This long gap of time was also the perfect time for the catering and operations team to invest in learning about Indian weddings: how to sell to consumers, operations, working with outside caterers.

Direct Marketing 7-to-1: Did you know that on average it takes businesses seven times to get through to a customer once? Businesses have to get their name in front of a cold customer 7x before they get 1 customer’s attention, mindshare, or engagement. 

Another reason why the venue should make efficient use of the renovation period by letting people know about the new space. 

Renderings: We worked with another venue that did market the venue during the renovation and they booked 5 large Indian weddings that each had multiple events and at least 300 guests each. 

The key to their success was having detailed renderings of what the new spaces would look like that they could show couples during site visits. 

{The Indian Wedding Sales
Cycle for Venues Under Renovation}

The booking sales cycle might be a little longer for venues under construction. Couples will want to visit a few times and even check the renderings against the actual as milestones are met. 

One couple that we worked with was interested in a resort under renovation. They liked the Catering team and the renderings of the new spaces. They weren’t in a huge rush to book their venue so they waited until the lobby was completed.

They mentioned how their peace-of-mind grew immensely when they visited again  couple months later and saw that the finished lobby looked exactly like the renderings. And they ended up booking with that venue that week. 

{Conclusion}

Venue renovation periods are a great time for Catering and Marketing Teams to focus on sales and marketing. Especially for venues that are going to be a great fit for Indian weddings for the first time.  

Unfortunately “if you build it they will come” only happened in the movie, Field of Dreams. Venues have to consistently market. On average to get through to a cold customer, they have to see your name at least 7x. 

This article is part of our series:

{FAQs About ShaadiShop}

{ShaadiShop Testimonials}

“We just booked a full Indian wedding through ShaadiShop at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. In addition to the business, we appreciate the exposure ShaadiShop creates about our venue, as the couple didn’t know about our resort until ShaadiShop told them about us. Additionally, we appreciate the pre-qualification work that ShaadiShop does to match couples and venues that are a good fit for each other. We had all the info needed to conduct the initial meeting. What a great service for venues to market to the South Asian community!” – Angie Florence, Catering Manager at The Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach, CA

“We’re so glad we joined ShaadiShop to market this hotel to the South Asian community in the Orange County area. Every wedding we close from their leads returns more than 3x our investment. Moreover, they pre-qualify leads and educate consumers creating a much better sales cycle for our catering team. Venues looking to reach this market, join ShaadiShop!” – Ryan Hurd, Catering Sales Manager, Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove

“Shaadishop helped me not only find venues but also understand how they work, the fees, and tips that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Definitely a need service in the desi community. “ Hinna S., Bride

“Cannot say enough good things about the service from Samta and ShaadiShop who helped us research venues for our wedding this year. We wanted a non-hotel venue, and to get married within 6 months. ShaadiShop immediately found us venues, contacted them and educated us about all the things we needed to think about while selecting a venue. They put all the info together in a fabulous, super impressive, spreadsheet that helped us compare venues – seriously amazing and such a great help. Working with them made the whole stressful process MUCH easier and I can’t believe it was all free! ShaadiShop’s website is fantastic and such a great service for South Asians – so glad I found them!” Anjli S., Bride

“We’re so glad we used ShaadiShop to book our venue. The info on the website is amazing and then they gave us such personalized attention! They were such a valuable resource for selecting venues, helping us understand policies and logistics. Their suggestions saved us a lot money too! They really understood us, what we wanted and helped us get it. AND it’s free! So glad there’s a service like this for South Asians. Awesome that there’s something like this for South Asians!” Janki K., Bride

“I worked with ShaadiShop to find a venue for my daughter’s wedding. The website is easy to use and has so much useful information. ShaadiShop made everything easy for me – getting quotes, suggesting venues, explaining fees and policies. Most importantly, my daughter and son-in-law are happy with the venue. ShaadiShop is a great and service for our community. I’m so glad I found them!” Charu S. Bride’s Mother

cover image: ShaadiShop mascot, Shyam wearing his construction hat at the construction zone of a Hilton resort in Orange County, California.