Hotel How-To
Major chains are helping brides manage wedding details first hand with Web-based planning features
By Nola Sarkisian-Miller CTW Features
That once was information held under lock and key is now at the fingertips of brides-to-be. Hotels, such as Marriott, Hilton and Sheraton are posting their wedding-related data online and easing the wedding planning process. That’s good news for a harried bride-to-be who once had to phone hotels and wait for return calls – often at an inconvenient time at work – for her basic research.
In the past, many hotel chains kept the booking of rooms separate from the wedding planning department to ensure the bride worked with a personal concierge from soup to nuts, which could also give more leverage to the lodging company, says Samantha Goldberg, wedding planner and star of Style Network’s “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?”
Hotels now have realized in these recessionary times that convenience is one more aspect of customer service that time-starved brides are seeking. For bigger hotel chains, they can also collectively present their spectrum of brands, giving the brides more options and benefiting the hotels.
“More rooms are being booked and their clients are able to stay on top of what’s going on,” says Goldberg, who’s the spokesperson for Hilton’s new wedding online resource, Guestiquette. “People do like that type of control. Being at the mercy of someone's 9-5 [job] while you’re working can be frustrating.”
Hilton’s Guestiquette provides space calculators, tips on saving money and wedding planning advice. When brides visit the Marriott Web site, they can access which hotels offer wedding services and specifics, such as their number of guest rooms, banquet seating capacity, reception standing capacity and floor plan details. To entice potential customers, the site offers free wedding planning software for those who sign up with Marriott.
Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis and W Hotels are among the Starwood brands promoting their wedding packages online. Those brides interested in the Westin can block rooms for guests, plan their honeymoon or register for the company’s home products, such as robes and blankets.
Even though individual hotel properties often list their wedding services, having the backing of the parent firm is welcome exposure, say hotel representatives.
“For us, we’re a resort property, so a big part of what we sell is geared toward weddings and events,” says Amber Palmer, wedding coordinator for the Coronado Island Marriott Resort in Coronado, Calif. “It only helps us more if brides can also find the information at the Marriott site.”
