We’re launching two new events, in addition to The Future of Web Apps:
- Future of Web Design (FOWD)
- Future of … (can’t tell you yet!)
The Future of Web Design is in London and our other event is going to be in New York City. Gill and I are in NYC right now, pounding the pavement and viewing venues. What’s been most fascinating to me is learning about the business models of venues and hotels.
I love figuring out how other companies make their profits, cut costs and make business decisions. I think there’s always opportunity to gain from other’s wisdom and experience.
Here are a couple interesting things about the hotel/venue industry:
- They’re absurdly profitable on their guest rooms but make almost no money on their venue space. Therefore, they basically give away their venue space, as long as you fill lots of guest rooms.
- Hotels will use their venue space as a powerful way of selling guest rooms
- Venues that don’t have guest rooms look to make all their profit on the food and beverage
- They’ll try to sway you by throwing in larger rooms for you and your staff, if they haven’t sold those rooms already. They’re not losing any money, as the larger rooms would’ve gone unsold anyway, and they’re gaining your good will.
So the most valuable lesson I’ve learned? If you have something (product, service, etc) that’s going unused, find a way to use it to encourage potential clients to do business with you. Make that resource work for you, instead of wasting it.
After viewing the Waldorf=Astoria, their Head of Sales kindly treated us to Champagne Afternoon Tea. It was amazing! I know it was a tactic to help win our business, but it was still wonderful (and ironically, will probably make it more likely that we’ll go with them).
If you ever get the chance to talk shop with people from a business that’s totally different than yours, I’d highly recommend it. It’s a great chance to pick up tips for improving your own business.