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June 2008 | Vol 1 Issue 5 |
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| The Beverly Clark Hospitality Training Newsletter provides catering professionals with the ongoing tools and resources they need to meet the challenges they face and assist them in finding solutions with not only the wedding market, but all aspects of their business, including corporate markets, social catering, sporting events such as golf and tennis tournaments and charitable events. |
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2008 Wedding Trends and Revenue Opportunities
Thank you to Tracy Warholic for submitting a request for "Wedding Trend"
information in the newsletter.
Here you go…!
Discussing trends in weddings and in the industry is always fun. New colors, new looks, fabulous food ideas! As an industry professional, the trick is to find the application for you and your business as to how to take a trend and find the revenue opportunity in it. So, whenever you see the word "trend", think upsell opportunity! Trends provide the "extras" that make your sale go from ordinary to extraordinary. As you read through the following list, jot down a few notes on how these trends can apply to your business, and how you will market them to your clients.
- Eco-Friendly and Organic Weddings
Think botanical gardens in the neighborhood, the city zoo, even the local state fair are all prime locations for a unique wedding.
- Personal and Whimsical Touches
In an increasingly personalized world, weddings are no exceptions to this trend brides are looking to incorporate their grandmother's best recipe as part of the menu, names and places being used instead of numbers on the table assignments and whimsical, personal and unique objects as wedding favors, or forgo favors and make charity donations.
- Small Plates or Tapas
Offers a wide variety of food by offering Spanish tapas. Great for sophisticated evening weddings, or when you’re short on space for a sit-down dinner.
Alternatively, serve tapas at your cocktail hour, creating an urban lounge atmosphere for a sophisticated touch.
- Lush and Luxe
Size does matter! Event designers and brides alike are teaming up to create show-stopping floral arrangements, such as those seen during the days of Marie Antoinette. Think "French opulence" - more petals, blossoms, candles -- even feathers! -- as centerpieces go from simple and low to towering and lush. Gilded place settings, brocade linens, and hand-painted invitations complete the elaborate look.
- Sample Stations
Foodies will love this trend - tasting bars for every whim! Wine and cheese stations will be educational as well if you hire a professional sommelier to provide pairing pointers.
Champagne bar - pick your favorite bottles of bubbly and don't forget the mixers, such as Chambord, Midori, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice. Guests will have so much fun making their own signature cocktails.
- Disposable Video Cameras
Provides cute amateur recordings of your guests. Best of all, you'll get to see what was really interesting and important to your friends and family.
- Hybrid Bands, Dueling DJs & Salsa Bands
To satisfy the different tastes of brides & grooms - put together your own custom ensemble.
- Hot Colors and Color in Unexpected Places
Two hottest wedding colors will be chocolate brown (yes, still!) and a rich orange (not glaring orange, but rather, one that suggests opulence and often has a bronze undertone). Pair this orange with red or cream for beautiful results.
Also, Yellow was all over the spring 2008 runways, which is great news for brides. This ideal wedding color is fresh, energetic, and summery. For a day-time wedding, consider yellow and white for your wedding colors, with yellow daisies, gingham accents, and cheery yellow ribbons tied around vases, napkins, bouquets, and waists. For an evening wedding, pair lemon yellow with chocolate brown. Or, choose a brighter yellow paired with silvery gray.
Silver! The bride who wears a metallic silver wedding dress is sure to stand out and be remembered, or silver heels peeking out from under the bride’s dress, and a rhinestone hairpin. Bridesmaids could wear grey satin bridesmaids dresses, or carry bouquets of white roses mixed with eucalyptus, Artemisia Silver King and/or Dusty Miller. Also, reception space studded with silver linens, branches painted silver, and rhinestone accents.
A little surprise pop of color in an unexpected place - blue or bright red bottoms of the bride’s shoes, or a colored crinoline underskirt that peeks out during dancing.
- Wedding Logos
Graphic elements create a unified look for your wedding stationery, and can be anything from a flower to a bird, to a non-representational graphical element. They may reflect the location of the wedding, the wedding theme, or one of the bride & groom’s favorite things.
- Donations to Charity and Doing Good Through Your Wedding
From tsunamis to hurricanes to earthquakes, the world has been hit hard. Because people are donating to these causes, arts groups and other charities are seeing deep decreases in donations that they count on. People want to use their weddings to give back.
- Long Tables (and Square) Create Instant Drama
Use it to your advantage! Save on space, add more capacity.
- Wine Collections, Pairings and Awesome Signature drinks
Wine is a major focus in 2008 – pair for your client, offer to pour their own collection with a corkage fee (offer to decant as well).
Signature drinks - 6 flavor bellini bar with fruit purees (peach, pomegranate) and fresh herbs (mint lavender, fresh flowers).
- Late Night Snacks
Guests need a little "pick-me-up" as the night goes on...! Gourmet popcorn served in brown paper cups, after dinner cheese boards, mini burgers (sliders), tray passed sweets like cheesecake lollipops, mini ice cream sandwiches, mini root beer floats, and warm chocolate chip cookies with milk shots - make it fun and whimsical!
Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you and will assist in turning leads into sales!
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"You don't close a sale, you open a relationship if you want to build
a long-term, successful enterprise."
- Patricia Fripp
Training, Certification and Speaker Programs
For more information on the online Beverly Clark Hospitality Certification Program as well as live training, seminars and on-property consultation services please visit: BeverlyClarkTraining.com
Looking for a guest speaker for your next sales or industry meeting? View information here >>> Guest Speaker Information
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Maximizing Your Success
We have all heard the term "Space Maximization" in sales discussions. Most software programs in our industry provide something equivalent to a "space maximization report" that can be a very useful tool in maximizing space and revenues when used effectively.
The concept of space maximization provides you the opportunity to evaluate how well you are utilizing your products, service or time related to your business in relation to the revenue you are producing from that product, service or time. For example, if your business is a location or venue, you need to determine which rooms are being booked more frequently and which rooms need to be utilized more often. Evaluating your space maximization will show what percentage of the maximum allowable time a room is booked. It makes it very easy to then pin point which rooms have the lowest percentages, and are not being maximized.
Once the areas of opportunity have been identified, it is then a matter of determining all the possible type events that would be suited for that particular size room. For example, if you see that a conference room which accommodates 20-25 people is only at 30% occupancy for lunch, then we can determine that we could possibly target events such as small business meetings, bridal and baby showers, children’s birthday parties, sales training seminars, etc. Targeted marketing programs can focus on this time period to increase this type of booking.
The second vital factor when maximizing space is maximizing revenue at the same time. If we are booking our ballroom 95% of the time, but are not booking appropriate size quality events in the space, then we are not maximizing our revenues. Appropriate food & beverage minimums should be in place at all times. We must ensure that by booking the appropriate room minimums, it will get us to the goal of achieving our desired financial result. If you cannot possibly reach your financial goals in a given time period with the minimums and pricing currently in place, then you must evaluate your minimums and pricing. Sometimes it is just a matter of raising prices and leaving minimums alone which will give you that extra revenue needed to make plan. Be cautious when establishing your minimums so that you do not intimidate anyone early in the sales process. Sky high minimums can scare prospects away, especially in this economic environment.
The last factor is the seasonality of our business, and how minimums and pricing should vary at certain times of year. The holiday season is definitely a time for higher prices. Goods and services typically cost more at this time of year, and if we do not increase prices to cover these costs, we are decreasing our profit margin at the most profitable time of year.
The constant theme to space and revenue maximization is to "book smart", allocate the correct amount of time to each event, place events in appropriate size rooms and be competitive in pricing and policy. Then, watch your revenues soar!
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"A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm."
- Charles Schwab
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Kendall-Jackson Cultivates Sustainable Farming Practices
"If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you"
-Jess Jackson
We are all becoming increasingly aware of the words "organic", "green" and "sustainable". The "green movement" has now hit the hospitality industry, and we are hearing more and more stories of event hosts requesting "green" events. It is important to know your role in our new "green world" and how aspects (or all!) of your business can contribute to this growing market.
The wine industry has been focusing on these practices long before it hit the "trend list". By aligning yourself with vendor partners who create and contribute to "green practices", you also have a new way to market yourself and the products and services you provide. Read on about Kendall Jackson’s incredible philosophy and commitment to the earth...
Over the past 25 years, founder Jess Jackson and his family have acquired some of the most desirable and dramatic vineyard land in California. More than half of Kendall-Jackson’s 12,000 acres of estate vineyards are located on mountains, ridges, hillsides, ridges and benches in cool regions within close proximity to the Pacific coastline. These estate vineyards are the backbone of Kendall-Jackson wines.
Long before it came into vogue, the Jackson family made a commitment to serve as stewards of the land. Barbara Banke, Jess Jackson’s wife and co-proprietor, is intimately involved in the company’s commitment to environmentally sensitive winemaking and farming.
To ensure that the next generation inherits a healthy future, the Kendall-Jackson estate vineyards are farmed using the latest in sustainable farming practices. Furthermore, only half of the property owned by the Jackson family is planted to vines; the remaining land is left unplanted to maintain open space and a natural balance on the land.
Below is an overview of Kendall-Jackson’s farming practices. A document similar to this one addressing our winemaking practices and ingredients in our wines can be found at: www.kj.com.
General Farming Practices
Sustainable agricultural practices are being implemented on our ranches and estate vineyards. We have developed an overall philosophy to "tread lightly on the land." We gain so much from our vineyards; these sustainability programs are designed to give back to the environment. Practices include:
- Employ solar-powered weather stations with wireless telemetry to relay data - benefiting water consumption and irrigation needs.
- Left wildlife corridors uninterrupted in our estate vineyards, allowing wildlife to travel to natural sources of water, shelter and food.
- Integrated Pest Management - cover crops attract beneficial insects to reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides while replenishing soils naturally with organic matter.
- Erected raptor roosts and nesting boxes in our vineyards - bringing the return of hawks, raptors and owls for natural rodent control.
- Collect rainwater through sheet flow reservoirs for water recharging.
- Drip irrigation to minimize water usage.
- Ban Methyl Bromide, Simazine, Karnex and Omite pesticides, among the first wineries to do so.
- Exercise natural farming solutions to keep water and the environment cleaner.
- Preserved 700 acres of Santa Barbara property for a Tiger Salamander Habitat - a signed agreement with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
- Re-introduced once indigenous Redwood, Madrone and Toyon trees to restore the natural habitat on ranches and seascapes.
- Planted 10,000 oak trees between 1996-2007; most came from the Kendall-Jackson Oak Tree Nursery.
- Harvest Douglas Fir seeds from our trees and donate to the California Seed Bank for reforestation programs.
- Certified Vinwood and Skylane wineries "Green Wineries" as part of the California-state sponsored program.
- Practice water conservation and recycling.
Other "Green" Practices
Kendall-Jackson has implemented a number of practices cited in the Wine Institute’s "Sustainability Code." Additional "Green" initiatives found in and around our wineries include:
- Packaging & Marketing Materials
Kendall-Jackson uses post-consumer recycled and recyclable papers in much of its marketing materials. All labels are attached to fully recyclable glass bottles using food-grade glue. Several Kendall-Jackson wines, including the popular Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, feature a fully-recyclable synthetic cork. Recyclable packaging materials include cardboard wine shippers, in-store promotional displays and all press materials. Efforts are underway to create post-consumer recycled wine labels that use soy-based inks.
- Winery Lighting
A move is underway to change out the lighting in our warehouses and wineries to a more energy efficient system fluorescent lighting. A detailed report will be made as this happens.
Kendall-Jackson has been recognized and awarded for their sustainable farming practices, including The White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation Award 2005, The United States Environmental Protection Agency Stratospheric Ozone Award 2002, and The California Water Environment Association "Industry of the Year" 2002 Award.
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Promotional Products
 Special Offer to Beverly Clark Hospitality Training Newsletter Readers
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Beverly's Wedding Planning Tools & Worksheets For Brides
Our Wedding Planning Tools & Worksheets provide you with helpful hints for your brides to stay organized when planning their wedding. Simply download the worksheets to email to brides. Your "time-crunched" brides will thank you!
Beverly's Tips >>>
Interactive Planner
The Interactive Budget Planner helps brides determine exactly how much to spend on each element of their wedding. Our Interactive Planning Calendar is designed to help brides figure out exactly what needs to be done and when it needs to be done for their wedding.
Interactive Budget Planner >>>
Interactive Planning Calendar >>>
 Beverly's Advertising Resources
Contact a Beverly Clark Representative about advertising on one of our websites. A strong internet marketing presence is a MUST today!
T | 800.933.3434 E | info@beverlyclarkenterprises.com
"Often greater risk is in postponement than in making a wrong decision."
- H.A. Hopf
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| People in the News! |
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Congratulations to our new Beverly Clark Certified Wedding Professionals:
Sara Seivert, Catering Director, Moon Valley Country Club, Phoenix, Arizona
Citlalli Gonzalez, Sales Coordinator, Le Meridien Cancun Resort & Spa, Cancun, Mexico
As well as gaining their certification, they now have the right to use a logo with their new designation on all marketing materials.
What Do You Want to See?
Send us your ideas for future newsletters and topics and we'll do our best to accommodate your request.
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