You can book top celebrities or create an unforgettable immersive experience and still leave your guests feeling unseen and unappreciated. When hospitality is an afterthought, guests can wander through LED lights or creative activations and remain anonymous and underappreciated. And when guests are left feeling underappreciated, you’ve failed to make an emotional connection and your brand suffers. Focusing on hospitality-led events can strengthen your relationship with attendees, turning them into loyal brand ambassadors. In this article, we’ll delve into the shift toward hospitality-driven events in New York City.
What is a Hospitality-Driven Event?
A hospitality-driven event focuses on being attentive to the attendees. It takes the hospitality you would show guests in your home and translates it to the event space. That doesn’t mean you have to cook your grandmother’s world-famous lasagna for your event attendees. But it does mean that you focus on their comfort, needs, and preferences.
Hospitality-driven events differ slightly from production-led events in that the event’s center is on the attendee rather than the immersion often seen in production-focused events. However, you can combine production with hospitality for the ultimate attendee experience.
Why Brands Are Focusing on Hospitality Events
Hospitality events make attendees feel seen. They make attendees feel special. Focusing on hospitality closes the affective gap between the consumer and the brand. They turn brand fans into friends.
Create Emotional Connections
Hospitality-led events are powerful because they create emotional connections between your brand and the consumer. Attendees feel themselves become more than clients. Done correctly, hospitality events make each attendee feel like the event was planned with them in mind. Because it was.
Boost Brand Reputation
Hospitality events are a great way to boost your brand’s reputation. When they receive great service at your event, attendees can’t help telling others. They chime in on social media posts. They bring up your brand in conversations. You become known as a brand that goes above and beyond.
Build Brand Loyalty
We all know that it costs more to find a new client than to keep an existing client. It only takes one outstanding experience for a consumer to decide they’ll be your customers for life. A well-executed hospitality event could be that outstanding experience.
Examples of Hospitality Events
Hospitality events often combine an exclusive experience with creature comforts. The goal is to give your guests access to a coveted event while providing for their needs and comfort.
Sporting Events
Book a box with the Yankees or the Mets. Or treat clients to a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game. Be sure to include luxury catering and an open bar.
Networking Events
B2B brands can offer their clients unique networking opportunities. Invite clients to a networking event in a private room at Hotel Delmano or Valerie. Curate the guest list so that attendees can make synergistic connections, being careful to avoid competing companies.
Corporate Branded Events
B2C brands can make their best customers feel special with exclusive corporate events. If you’re a brand with member-benefits, you can identify your top customers and invite them to your event. There, they can receive exclusive merchandise along with the red-carpet treatment.
Influencer Events
Influencers are prime targets for hospitality events. You can give them luxury experiences that they can share with their followers. And the free merchandise they receive will provide opportunities for more brand-related content.
Why NYC is the Perfect Backdrop for Hospitality Events
Even seasoned New Yorkers haven’t run out of new experiences in the Capital of the World. In addition to ample world-class sporting and entertainment opportunities, New York is also known for exclusivity. You can be the brand to bring attendees into a world they otherwise might not be able to access.
Plan Your Next Hospitality-Led Event With EMRG Media
Hospitality-driven events combine exclusive access to coveted experiences with a focus on your guests’ comfort that would make your grandmother proud. Getting hospitality events right creates an emotional bond with your attendees. Their loyalty to your brand skyrockets, and their word-of-mouth advertising becomes priceless.
Partner with EMRG Media and nail the finer points of hospitality-driven events. Our event planning team knows how to create exciting experiences while attending to guests’ creature comforts. When your guests feel valued, the value of your brand reputation increases. Contact EMRG Media today.
