International Women’s Day is a day observed on March 8 every year. It is a day where we can all celebrate and reflect on the social, political, economic, and cultural achievements of women, while creating even more awareness about the fight for gender equality.
From a hospitality perspective, the day offers a chance to do a little extra to show all the wonderful women at your establishment, both guests and staff, some much deserved appreciation. It is a chance to shake up some of your existing offers and promotions. It is a chance to try out new services or packages, and much more.
So, let’s take a look at 5 tips to help celebrate International Women’s Day at your hotel.
1. Social Media Promotion
One of the easiest and most effective ways to do something special for International Women’s Day. Making some special graphics to share on social media during the week leading up to it and on the day itself can help draw attention to your establishment. It can also be used to promote any event or special offers you might have planned.
Some of the more popular types of posts to make include famous quotes from amazing women throughout history, some details on such famous women from history, posts highlighting some of your amazing female staff and their work, etc.
It might also be advantageous to work with influencers to help spread the news of your upcoming plans on social media as they have a wide reach.
2. Themed Decorations
International Women’s Day is another opportunity to put on your creative thinking hats and do some themed decorating. While it may not require a large budget and effort akin to Christmas or New Years, you can still do a lot to add some festive flair to your establishment.
The official color of the day is purple. However, different years add other colors to complement the campaign they might be running those days. This gives you a good basis from which to come up with themed decorations. Balloons, hanging sheets of cloth, and streamers can also add some festivity to the day.
This is also a great chance to pay homage to some of the most important female figures in local history, which can help tie the day to the destination where you are located.
3. Special Offers or Discounts
One of the most effective ways to draw attention and eyes to your establishment is to introduce some special offers or discounts. International Women’s Day is one of those occasions where you can do this and have it be thematically appropriate.
Offering special menus at your restaurants could draw in crowds that want to have large dinners with friends, along with couples who might like to celebrate together. Offering packages for your spa facilities is also a great way to bring in some new visitors. This can also be a great chance to promote new services, rework older ones, and give a push to less popular services. Discounts for stays at your establishment is also an option.
Increasing interest in your hotel through special offers and discounts is one effective way to draw in new and repeating guests.
4. Special Event on the Day
International Women’s Day is also an opportunity for you to host a special event to commemorate it. The reason you might want to do this, beyond simply celebrating the women in our lives, is that it would increase buzz about your establishment and give people a reason to visit it.
Some ideas for events you could host include a special gala for women, partnering up with local NGOs or welfare organizations to host their Women’s Day event, a themed ball, or a more freeform party for the younger demographic. Spicing up the event with gift bags or coupons for stays at your hotel is a good tactic to keep your brand fresh in the minds of guests and potential guests.
Special events with a limited time to attend can also create a fear of missing out amongst people and encourage them to make the time to go to your establishment.
5. Support your Female Staff
Last but definitely not least, one great way to celebrate International Women’s Day is by focusing on the women working within your organization. They work hard and sacrifice much to be at the beck and call of guests in the hospitality industry. If there’s anyone who deserves recognition and care that day at your establishment, it is them. There are many ways to support your female staff. Some are short term and some are long term. Since this is about one specific day, let’s talk short term.
In the short run, offering them a bonus or extra time off might help them a lot. Additionally, you could host a staff event for the women working at your establishment as well. This can give them the space to unwind and enjoy themselves without being on the clock. Gift baskets and discount vouchers could also make them feel appreciated, though it is worth pointing out that giving them vouchers to where they already work might be seen as cheap or disingenuous.
It is highly recommended that you take the time to appreciate the hardworking women who give their best to your establishment. After all, they are an integral part of your success.
Those are just some of the ideas we had on how to celebrate International Women’s Day. We wanted to highlight some of the different options you had while adding some examples of things you could try. We focused on promotional options, celebratory options, and event-based options.
We hope the takeaway from this is that there are many different ways you can celebrate the day and that it is a day worth celebrating. The struggle towards equality for women in political, social, economic, and cultural spheres is still ongoing. So, it might serve you and your establishment well to be on the right side of history on this issue.
While we have you here, we’d like to invite you to check out our app, TripKit. TripKit is an easy-to-learn, easy-to-use, highly customizable digital concierge app. It intends to help your staff by easing the mental burden of tracking bookings, requests, and other relevant data.
You can visit our website to schedule a tour with us today!