ROMANCE DIRECTORIES
Mary Bowling, Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc

WEDDINGS and HONEYMOONS
It‘s estimated that Americans spend about $80 billion per year on weddings and related services.  There are 2.4 million ceremonies annually and the price of a wedding averages $25,000.  Eighty percent of prospective brides do some of their wedding planning online.  Opportunities abound for those willing to offer a suite of services and patiently guide the couple through the process of “getting hitched”.  Packages can include everything from a bachelor party or rehearsal dinner through the ceremony to the honeymoon.  Destination weddings also provide an opportunity to host a vacation for the entire extended family.

Beverly Clark Websites
Beverly Clark claims to have the number one wedding planner worldwide and her products are retailed in over 10,000 stores.  Her three branded websites are attractive, informative, searchable and easy to navigate.

WeddingLocation is “the first stop for brides looking for the perfect place for their special day”.  This site, with a Google Page Rank of 5, comes up high in free searches in Yahoo and Google for most general “wedding location” terms.
Like most freshly launched websites, the newest partner site, HoneymoonLocation, has a zero page rank.   However, it is already coming up on the first page for such Google searches as “california honeymoon” and “michigan honeymoon”.

The third site in this online niche powerhouse is BeverlyClarkTravel, which specializes in booking romantic travel.

Listing prices for the Beverly Clark websites begin at about $1,200 and can include complete cross-media marketing for your wedding/honeymoon location.  One wedding could easily pay for adding these resources to your marketing quiver.

American Weddings comes up in first page position in many organic searches for “honeymoon” and “wedding” terms.  Along with information for brides, they offer listings for all types of wedding and honeymoon related services in an easily-searchable format.  Listings range from $50 to $100 per year.

One of Blizzard’s top recommended bed and breakfast directories, BBOnline, is well optimized for many terms in this category.  The Honeymoon and Anniversary Package area lists specials by state that innkeepers can update as needed.  If your inn is in BBOnline, be certain to take advantage of this valuable feature.  If you are not yet listed, check them out.  They have proven to be a great resource for many Blizzard Internet Marketing clients.

CountryWeddings comes up first for many “state+honeymoon” terms.  It’s an online magazine devoted to wedding and honeymoon planning with informational articles and a section on romantic travel destinations.  Email them at info@countryweddings.com for listing information.
  
ROMANTIC GETAWAYS

RomanticGetaways has a Google Page Rank of 5 and good organic positioning in Yahoo for many “romantic getaway” terms.  Listed are “romantic villas, vacation rentals, bed and breakfast inns, condos, guest ranches, lake houses and cabins”.  Expect a description with a photo and a link to your website for $240.  Romance packages can be listed, as well.

TripsforTwo, focuses on just that.  They include spa weekends, golf trips, fishing vacations, ski packages, etc., along with romantic getaways.  Listing prices start at $315 and the site is well-optimized for many “weekend getaway” terms.

VacationIdea ranks highly in Google searches for “romantic getaway” and “romantic weekend”, and in Yahoo for “romantic vacation”.  They present vacation options for beaches, spas, honeymoons and the like, and cover not just romantic vacations, but vacations of all kinds.  They have an informative format with dated articles written by travel editors about destinations, activities, travel news and attractions, as well as editors’ reviews, guest comments and travel tips.  Forbes Magazine gave VacationIdea a “Best of the Web Award” for 2004.  Many web browsers will find it a good first and last stop for travel information all around the globe.

Lovetrippers comes up high in Google searches for “romantic getaway” terms, as well as some honeymoon and wedding terms.  This is a one-stop source of information for those interested in honeymoon destinations, destination weddings, and romantic travel of all kinds. 
The searchable site is well organized and easy to navigate. They offer free basic listings which provide contact information and a 50 word description, but not a link to your website.  Premium listings can be had for a one-time fee of $95.  This includes website address (URL), e-mail and reservation page links, a 1,000 word description, a most romantic room feature, and information about your facilities for weddings.

VALENTINE’S DAY

Quite a few inns and hotels show up for “Valentine’s Day” terms in the paid ads for Overture and Google.  However, when I search for “valentine” specific terms in conjunction with “weekend”, “getaway”, “vacation”, etc, not many lodging properties appear in the free listings.  When I add a state or town name to the search phrase, even fewer appear in the top organic spots.  This presents a great opportunity for optimization for this niche.  Please keep in mind that it is taking several months to see the results of optimization, so you will need to publish your Valentine’s Specials well ahead of the holiday.

If you regularly fill all of your rooms for Valentine’s Day Weekend, your challenge is to find the price points where all of your rooms are filled at the highest possible rates.  Helpful software, like Blizzard’s Specials Program, allows innkeepers to maximize their marketing efforts by continually testing and refining their online pricing and packaging.
   
While not every lodging property is suitable for weddings, nearly all can market to honeymooners, anniversary celebrants and others seeking privacy and intimacy.  To attract these prospects, it is advisable to have one or more separate pages on your website devoted to this lucrative niche.  Be certain to offer packages.  These can vary from off-season discount specials to premium packages for in-demand weekends, like Valentine’s.  Include plenty of photos that elicit togetherness in attractive settings.  A couple looking to rekindle their relationship is not necessarily hunting for a bargain.  Instead, they tend to be attracted by luxurious amenities, such as a two-person Jacuzzi, an in-room fireplace, in-room massages, fluffy robes, bubble baths, champagne breakfast in bed and a late check out time.  If you can provide what they are looking for, you may reap the rewards each time they want to get away by themselves for a few days.

 

Categories: Travel Marketing.
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