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How The Alida Hotel Uses The Knot and WeddingWire to Connect with More Couples

By LaRhonda Sparrow

“The Knot and WeddingWire have been able to connect me with other vendors in the area and get me in front of the right couples at the right time.”

 

Background and Challenges

Ellie Tumlinson has always been passionate about weddings, but for the last three years, she has put that passion to work at The Alida Hotel. As the Director of Catering, she is responsible for working with the hotel’s chef to create delicious menus, train and supervise staff, and book events, like weddings, for the Savannah, GA establishment.

Before advertising with The Knot and WeddingWire, one of the main challenges Ellie faced in her efforts to increase wedding bookings was the hotel’s inconsistent exposure to couples. Savannah is a popular wedding destination, so while couples have a large number of venue options to choose from, venue operators may have to compete to get in front of them.

Additionally, Ellie needed help getting in front of the right leads at the right time. Frequently, she would be introduced to couples who had parties that were too large to accommodate, were incompatible budget-wise, or simply had conflicting event dates.

Ellie reached out to several advertising agencies to help with this problem, but she didn’t see much success in exposure or lead quality. But, once Ellie began advertising The Alida Hotel on The Knot and WeddingWire, everything changed.

 

Solution

Ellie ultimately decided to advertise with The Knot and WeddingWire because of their widespread recognition with couples and pros alike. 

“People who have never planned an event in their life know that they can go on those platforms and find quality venues and vendors that fit their budget.”

This decision paid off in a variety of ways. Here’s how they helped Ellie drive success for The Alida Hotel.

 

Lead Quality

With a Spotlight listing on WeddingWire and a Featured listing on The Knot, The Alida Hotel gets a lot of exposure when couples are looking for venues in the Savannah, GA area. And as she interacts with these increased leads, Ellie sees that they are a better fit for the hotel overall. Instead of frequently turning away couples who aren’t a great fit with what the hotel was able to accommodate, she’s now more consistently reaching people who are able to move forward in the booking process.

Additionally, the couples that are reaching out already trust that The Alida Hotel is a reputable business simply because it’s featured on highly recognizable sites. 

“When I get couples on WeddingWire or The Knot, they already have that trust based on the platform that they found us on. You’re not having to build that trust from scratch–you’re just building that relationship up.”

 

Reviews

Ellie is able to leverage the review collector tools featured on The Knot and WeddingWire to build more trust with potential couples as soon as they land on The Alida Hotel’s Storefronts. It’s also a great way to get recognition for the amazing work she and her team do as they host weddings and other events. 

“It is just such a boost to be able to get a review in and see your name or your team’s name. You’ve really changed somebody’s life and made their wedding as special as it could be.” 

 

Connecting with Other Pros

Lastly, Ellie was able to use The Knot and WeddingWire to connect with pros in her area to create a community and build relationships. This has helped her to not only grab the attention of her peers but of couples as well.

“I love being a part of The Knot and WeddingWire community because of the connections that you can make. I was at a WeddingPro conference in Orlando and met another vendor saying she had always wanted to plan a wedding in Savannah. We ended up staying in touch and we did a styled shoot at my venue. She brought in all these new vendors that I’ve never worked with, and she’d never worked in our venue before so it was really great to connect with new people and see new ideas in the same space I work in every day. We’re both really grateful that WeddingWire and The Knot were able to bring us together and create this new partnership.”

 

Pro Tip: Partner with other pros in your area to really build those relationships. Seeing pros working together is a big selling point for couples. So, whether it’s adding them to your suggested vendors’ section or doing a styled shoot together to build your portfolio, connecting with local pros is always a great idea.

 

Results

“I get probably about 75% of my leads from The Knot and WeddingWire,” Ellie reported, “and I think people know to trust [The Knot and WeddingWire] and are able to find the right venues and vendors that fit their size, budget, what their vision is, and everything in between.”

The Knot and WeddingWire have helped Ellie reach her goals of getting more exposure for The Alida Hotel. The robust tools allow her to track leads, which helps her to better tailor the messaging on the hotel’s Storefronts and website. She also uses The Knot and WeddingWire to find areas of her branding that both resonate with potential couples and need more of her attention to ensure that they’re perfectly representing The Alida Hotel.

 

About the Pro

Ellie Tumlinson is the Director of Catering at The Alida Hotel, a 4-star establishment located in Savannah Georgia. To learn more about The Alida Hotel, check out The Alida Hotel’s Storefronts on The Knot and WeddingWire, visit www.thealidahotel.com, and follow the hotel on Instagram @thealidahotel.

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Photo Credit: adriaticfoto // Shutterstock.com