Looking for new package ideas

[OnTheShore]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?

 

[gillumhouse]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?.

I offer a minimum of 3 things in the package - more if you can. The room rate is a given - that they can look up on your site. However, you can value a packed lunch or a dinner you serve, or a strawberry or cheese or whatever platter you want at a price that gives you a profit that cannot be subtracted out to discover how much they were paying for this.
When I do an inn-to-inn package whomever has the highest room rate is the rate used (usually mine) x 2 plus applicable taxes (we often have different tax rates). Then we decide what else will be in the package - lunch, dinner (or one place dinner was extra) and turn-by-turn routing between which had proprietary value. When I was doing dinner packages I included $25 per plate for the dinner - you could get a dinner for 2 for $20 in town. BUT my dinner was considered worth whatever (they could not subtract out that it was $50 for that dinner because there was also a packed lunch) because it was a large bowl of salad (only one couple ever emptied it), a loaf of my homemade French bread, as one guest described to another next morning - a manicotti log with a flower of rosemary stem, green pepper slivers for leaves tied together at the bottom with a half of a black olive and a center slice of roma tomato for the flower on the plate served (only time I ever did plated). There was ice cream for dessert and coffee/tea of course. Both inns did same thing (their dinner was whatever they served) and the total was divided by 2 with appropriate taxes added. First inn took the charges and sent a check to the other inn.
Lunch here was a bottle of cold water (that would keep the lunch chilled), sandwich on my homemade bread determined by what they chose (in advance) for filling - ham, chicken/turkey, or beef, a package of baby carrots and cucumber spears, individual size container of Pringles (they would not crush), some of the muffins from breakfast, napkins and a .5 oz bottle of waterless hand cleaner was put in one of the two lunch bags. Components were wrapped in waxed paper to be "Green". The bag was an insulated brown-bag size with my logo printed on them - the other inn also had bags with logo and there was one of each used for inn-to-inn, both mine if it was my package. Bags cost me $5.50 each printed. The bags were a "gift of the Gillum House" (cost rolled into the cost of package of course). One couple came back 3 years later and she told me she uses her bag for lunch every day. Cost of bags went under Marketing.
Originally, I thought "package" meant a deal. NO! Package has to be VALUE to the guest. They always felt they got full value for their money. And I know because we had several come back again for the packages.

 

[Morticia]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?.

In the winter you can add a third night for a reduced rate. I'll also discount the room slightly on the other two nights.
A lot of guests find the package on the state tourism website and then just book a room and not the package. Saves me a lot of effort!

 

[Arks]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?.

Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?

Rather than costing less, one way of promoting it is the time you're saving them because you are making all the arrangements for them, and giving them the benefit of your local knowledge so they don't have to do a lot of research on their own. "Save time! The best choices are made for you with our XYZ package."

 

[gillumhouse]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?.

Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?

Rather than costing less, one way of promoting it is the time you're saving them because you are making all the arrangements for them, and giving them the benefit of your local knowledge so they don't have to do a lot of research on their own. "Save time! The best choices are made for you with our XYZ package."
.

My packages were using rail-trail, seeing covered bridges, wineries, history, I had all of it on my routes - except the rail-trail which I can see from my office. If they were stay-over, the also got the use of a Gazetteer that has every backroad and highway in it. I showed them how to use it before they would leave for the day.

 

[Morticia]

How does everyone go about pricing their packages?
Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?
Does anyone offer any package as a sort of "loss leader," something to help get heads in beds during slow periods (but at a cost)?.

Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?

Rather than costing less, one way of promoting it is the time you're saving them because you are making all the arrangements for them, and giving them the benefit of your local knowledge so they don't have to do a lot of research on their own. "Save time! The best choices are made for you with our XYZ package."
.

Presumably the guests would want to perceive that they are getting a deal, that the package price would be less than if they paid for the components of the package separately?

Rather than costing less, one way of promoting it is the time you're saving them because you are making all the arrangements for them, and giving them the benefit of your local knowledge so they don't have to do a lot of research on their own. "Save time! The best choices are made for you with our XYZ package."

Time is money. We do say something along those lines for one of our packages because it is so full of things to do that the guest might not have found.

 

[nataliebee]

For us it's Harvest Jazz and Blues that comes up the second week of September (starts tomorrow!) This year there isn't as many big names this year which has affected our bookings. Another is anything related to events going on downtown, as we are a ten-minute riverside walk to a the downtown core.
We have been looking for ways to initiate getting a package together; any tips? I have a marketing, sales and admin background but the funny thing is, I am racking my brain to see how we can get something started.
Our location is perfect for hosting romance packages, ski and stays, adventure packages, restaurant, theatre, you name it.
What do I ask a potential collaborator? I really have no idea how to respond to "well, what do you have in mind for a partnership?" I feel as though having a proper presentation may work best..

What I do for packages may be different from other places - I try not to work with one off events or places that may run out of tickets.
So, I will do something like a babymoon where everything is easily purchased and the guest goes and does things on their own with their gift cards.
I don't like having to call a million people trying to organize something like a massage.
Things that are totally dependent on weather I try to avoid. Things like skiing as an example. No snow? Everyone wants their money back.
I'll do a shopping package where the guest gets gift cards for different stores, passes for the movies and dinner in town. They organize their whole day around the different stores and movies.
.

So in that case do you go out and buy a selection of gift cards in advance or just purchase them as people book the packages?

 

[Morticia]

For us it's Harvest Jazz and Blues that comes up the second week of September (starts tomorrow!) This year there isn't as many big names this year which has affected our bookings. Another is anything related to events going on downtown, as we are a ten-minute riverside walk to a the downtown core.
We have been looking for ways to initiate getting a package together; any tips? I have a marketing, sales and admin background but the funny thing is, I am racking my brain to see how we can get something started.
Our location is perfect for hosting romance packages, ski and stays, adventure packages, restaurant, theatre, you name it.
What do I ask a potential collaborator? I really have no idea how to respond to "well, what do you have in mind for a partnership?" I feel as though having a proper presentation may work best..

What I do for packages may be different from other places - I try not to work with one off events or places that may run out of tickets.
So, I will do something like a babymoon where everything is easily purchased and the guest goes and does things on their own with their gift cards.
I don't like having to call a million people trying to organize something like a massage.
Things that are totally dependent on weather I try to avoid. Things like skiing as an example. No snow? Everyone wants their money back.
I'll do a shopping package where the guest gets gift cards for different stores, passes for the movies and dinner in town. They organize their whole day around the different stores and movies.
.

So in that case do you go out and buy a selection of gift cards in advance or just purchase them as people book the packages?
.

So in that case do you go out and buy a selection of gift cards in advance or just purchase them as people book the packages?

I get them as the packages are purchased. I try to make them something that fits together. Shopping-dinner-movie. Sightseeing-admission to attraction-dinner. Or a day trip to another town where I put together a bunch of places to go with a map.

 

[Generic]

Ever used Cardpool to buy some discounted cards? I see cars for one of the places in your town, Morticia, that offers 16.5% off

 

[Morticia]

Ever used Cardpool to buy some discounted cards? I see cars for one of the places in your town, Morticia, that offers 16.5% off.

Ever used Cardpool to buy some discounted cards? I see cars for one of the places in your town, Morticia, that offers 16.5% off

We can use the rewards on our credit card to get the discounted gift cards. Or, I wait until they're doing a promotion and I get a $10 coupon for every $50 gc I buy.