Peer Advice

Q: As states begin to open up, what should we do to promote our party and event business to our clients and potential new customers?

A: Steven Herring, president/event specialist, All About Events, Paso Robles, Calif., who serves on the ARA of California board

During the pandemic, we have been offering what we’ve called “keeping the magic alive” posts on Facebook and Instagram. Those posts have included nice photos of weddings we have done in the past to keep the excitement going, provided encouraging words to our brides to hang in there and shared that we are here to assist them in complying with state restrictions.

My business also took advantage of the American Rental Association’s Clean. Safe. Essential. (CSE) certificate training program. We’ve been posting our safe practices as well as guidance on what the changing state restrictions are and what they mean to our brides.

We have stayed active by sharing information and offering guidance to the different Chamber of Commerce boards in our area, which I sit on. I also helped form the San Luis Obispo Event Coalition, which works with the California Association of Private Events, CAPE, to offer recommendations to area and state health department officials regarding what we can do to offer weddings safely.

Part of our marketing strategy has been to share that information in our social media posts to brides and in emails to our vendors. We want to keep everyone informed, show that we are on top of this issue and are there for them. This has helped us be a resource with our vendors and has allowed us to work with brides for small, socially distanced weddings at private residences.

Our goal has been and continues to be focused on providing the information our brides and vendors need to know, offer recommendations, be positive and let them know we are here for them. We know there is pent-up demand. If we can just not lose more money this year, that will be great. I foresee 2022 and beyond as a very busy time for us.

Each month in “Peer Advice,” Rental Management asks a veteran rental operator to address a specific rental question. If you have a question to be answered by a peer, send it to Connie Lannan at connie.lannan@ararental.org.