How to create longer term stays?

I am interested to learn how to get guests to make longer bookings than 3-4 days.
There's so much to see and do in San Diego!

How long do your guests stay now?
What sorts of reasons do they have for visiting?
What do they say they visit while they are with you?

Offer a stay more, save more discount. We give 5% for 3 night stays and 10% for stays of 4 or more nights. We now get more longer bookings. Also in the area where you show the discount, list out all of the things to do in your area, creating a sample 3-4 day itinerary. If people see how much there is to do, they'll book more days in the area to cover it all.

I've found that free stuff will really entice guests to extend their stay in addition to a room rate reduction. We offer a Sunday Stay-Over Special that includes tickets to a local music show, free pizza dinner, and a 10% reduction in the room rate. That way guests have something to do, they get a free meal, and a bargain on the room.
We talked to the owner of the music venue and he gives us a steep discount on the redemption of the free tickets. The local pizza place has a brown bag special, which is a large pizza for only $6.

Audrey Forrest said:

I am interested to learn how to get guests to make longer bookings than 3-4 days.
There's so much to see and do in San Diego!

Click to expand...

You know that 3 to 4 days is what most people spend on vacations? Especially in one location. They typically do not do more. Even when I go "home" to San Diego I don't spend more than that. It is what it is, maybe work on upselling some packages to increase revenue vs longer stays. ?

JBloggs said:

Audrey Forrest said:

I am interested to learn how to get guests to make longer bookings than 3-4 days.
There's so much to see and do in San Diego!

Click to expand...

You know that 3 to 4 days is what most people spend on vacations? Especially in one location. They typically do not do more. Even when I go "home" to San Diego I don't spend more than that. It is what it is, maybe work on upselling some packages to increase revenue vs longer stays. ?.

Click to expand...

I concur. The longest we ever stayed in one place on vacation was 4 or 5 nights (only 1 time at that) and we made Williamsburg our base-camp to go as far as Virginia Beach for a morning and then back to Hampton Roads and Ft .Monroe. We also did Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg on that trip. We crammed as much as we could on our vacations because we may not ever get a chance to return.
We always had to "make the circle" if going east. 2 nights visiting Daddy, a week to see the historic places and battlefields planned for that trip, a day to get to Himself's parents for 2 nights, and then home. Going west, Daddy was relegated to a long weekend but trips always ended with 2 or 3 nights with his parents. Then we could say we had to get back for work.

We have found that the longer stays are usually family reunions with close knit families that are spread to the four winds. Grandparents who are still young enough to be out and about and want to do things with their children and grandchildren. We have a bunch of condos near by which are not quite big enough for extra visitors so they call us, but usually 4 days are about the tops you will get otherwise.

When I was a college kid, I worked at a couple of the inns in this town. At that time, it was normal for people to spend the whole summer. They had the same table each morning for breakfast and evening for dinner. "Tips" were gifts at the end of the summer.
No one does that anymore.