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bricks

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Our county B&B association is meeting next week with representatives from the new Performing Arts Center of our local college. This venue is getting A+++ performers and Broadway touring companies, so we want to partner with them for packages. They've never done it before, and neither have we. Does anyone have experience with this? Any practical suggestions?
 
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
 
It requires a lot of work.
I am currently here waiting for check outs, and a return call from a "package" a guest has purchased. The office closes at 5pm, so I have to make sure they have seats available, then quickly book the room here and take it out of inventory, and quickly speak to them when they open and buy the tickects on MY CREDIT CARD, and then quickly charge the guests credit card, send the confirmation to the guests, and then get the rest of the package together when they are here. Hoping that part of the package sends the tickets to me IN TIME, which they never do.
So the package is a pre-paid no cancellations, once I buy the tickets there is no turning back.
All in all it is more trouble than it is worth. It is not a discount package, if anything you need to charge more for your time and running around.
This scenario above was just for one room, one couple, on package. Working with third parties is NOT MY IDEAL SITUATION, as mentioned this was last night, now I am waiting for them to call back so I can order the tickets.
The ONLY reason I do it is to offer some nice packages, and to be able to share those ONLINE in diff marketing agencies, like our state tourism website (and hope they will feature us with this package)
Meanwhile, had a romantic picnic package yesterday and the guests told me this am it was the greatest thing ever! This package is solely done by me, I make the decisions and the arrangements, no third party involved. Smooth sailing...
 
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good..
Proud Texan said:
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
Not very good may get better with practice. It is a chance to see a performance for free. As long as you tell your guests it is an amateur LOCAL theater company in advance, what the hey. This may be the first PLAY they have ever seen so to them it may be good. Nothing encourages better performance than butts in seats. I would love to have that arrangement.
 
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good..
Proud Texan said:
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
Not very good may get better with practice. It is a chance to see a performance for free. As long as you tell your guests it is an amateur LOCAL theater company in advance, what the hey. This may be the first PLAY they have ever seen so to them it may be good. Nothing encourages better performance than butts in seats. I would love to have that arrangement.
.
gillumhouse said:
Proud Texan said:
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
Not very good may get better with practice. It is a chance to see a performance for free. As long as you tell your guests it is an amateur LOCAL theater company in advance, what the hey. This may be the first PLAY they have ever seen so to them it may be good. Nothing encourages better performance than butts in seats. I would love to have that arrangement.
Imagine a grammer school play put on by special needs children while you're tripping on acid. Multiply that by 5. Add the two hours of your life that you just wasted and will never get back, THEN you will know how bad they are.
 
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good..
Proud Texan said:
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
Not very good may get better with practice. It is a chance to see a performance for free. As long as you tell your guests it is an amateur LOCAL theater company in advance, what the hey. This may be the first PLAY they have ever seen so to them it may be good. Nothing encourages better performance than butts in seats. I would love to have that arrangement.
.
gillumhouse said:
Proud Texan said:
We are attempting this very thing. We are a requiring a two-day minimum stay so that we can afford to offer a discount on the room. It's hard getting everything coordinated, but I think it will be worth the effort.
What we are getting our partners to do is to discount or otherwise provide a special of some kind specifically for our guests. We sell the package then pay our partners.
Our local community theater was willing to give our guests free tickets for their perfomances. We thought this was great until we saw a couple of their productions. We don't recommend them actively. Not very good.
Not very good may get better with practice. It is a chance to see a performance for free. As long as you tell your guests it is an amateur LOCAL theater company in advance, what the hey. This may be the first PLAY they have ever seen so to them it may be good. Nothing encourages better performance than butts in seats. I would love to have that arrangement.
Imagine a grammer school play put on by special needs children while you're tripping on acid. Multiply that by 5. Add the two hours of your life that you just wasted and will never get back, THEN you will know how bad they are.
.
Gotcha!!!
 
I was approached by the Director of one of our local theatres. He actually called and wanted to meet with me as he found that I was promoting lots of local venues on my blog. (Pre-FB pages social media and promotions, & I was the only B&B or hotel that was pushing local activities.) He was going to get me some complimentary tickets to put into packages. I never heard from him again except to run into him at various social functions, where I reminded him about what we discussed. "Oh, yes, yes...I need to get those to you." And there you have it....
We promote them and they rarely come through for us...
 
Partnering is a great way to offer interesting packages to guests. You'll need to know the partner's cancellation policy. In the case of a theatre group, it's zero. You buy the tix, they're yours. It's one reason I haven't done any kind of theatre packages. By the time the guest finds the pkg, the good seats are gone. Or all the seats are gone! Unless you buy a couple of season's tickets and then have only 1-2 'exclusive' packages available.
It would be nice if the venue would give backstage access to guests. See if that's available on opening night.
I generally stick with package deals that involve open-ended tix. That way the guest can go when they want and there's no expiry date. We do one pkg where I have to make reservations and THAT is hard. The venue might be full and then I have to call the guest back. If the weather is really bad the venue closes, so that involves a refund.
Still, I probably book 10 packages each summer, so it works for me. And I put in a cancellation policy for pkgs that is tougher than our room cancellation policy. That way the venue has time to rebook those seats.
 
It is NOT easy, just like others have said. If YOU buy the tickets and they cancel, you are SOL, unless they know there is no cancellation. Then you have to hold your breath they will not attempt a charge back and win.
I have done something a little different to the venue package idea. I get businesses to provide discounts on their services. The guest books directly with the other business and provides them with our unique discount code which I provide in our confirmation email along with the contact info for the business. They book the time/date they want and use their CC. It is a win/win/win.
 
I have just been putting a package together with my BB trade association which would work well for you I am sure.
(1) when the guest books a ticket with the theatre they have to give your business name and for that they get a small discount and you get a point. Set number of points gives you a free ticket which you can use yourself or make into a package or raffel prize or bonus for guests.
(2) set up a mailing list for bb's so that as soon as a new act is signed to come you all get an email so it can be promoted by social media ie you tell your mailing list, facebook, twitter people - they stay over with you and buy theatre tickets.
(3) would you display posters and or programs etc in exchange for points?
(4) an on the day mailing list ie XYZ has tickets left for tonight? this is good for popular shows so you go do added value with the guest ie there are still a few tickets left for XYZ for tonight.
all these things cost nothing and dont leave you carrying the can if it all goes pear shaped! what helps us here is that the box office for all three theatres are all run from the same office!
also is there an opportunity for accommodating cast etc? we call it in the UK a digs list.
(5)
 
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