Five Tips for Throwing a Successful Grand Opening Event
Events are a huge part of working in the public relations industry, especially in hospitality PR. At HSC, we are constantly planning events for clients and it’s crucial to stay organized. Grand Opening parties can be particularly stressful because they are often the first impression of a client to guests and media. Luckily we have planned many grand openings with successes under our belts, and are sharing our top five tips to ensure that your grand opening goes as planned:
1. Make sure RSVP’s are being tracked correctly.
It’s extremely important to make sure you have a good team or a very organized staff member tracking all RSVP’s. It’s very easy to lose track and for chaos ensue if the list has not been properly attended to.
2. Make sure the check in process is organized.
Making sure you have a smooth check-in process is essential. No guest wants to wait in line for very long, so make sure there is enough staff to streamline. There should also be a supervisor or security overseeing the event in case any “party crashers” courageously show up.
3. Hire a good photography team.
You’ll want to capture the grand opening for press and social media purposes, so make sure a good photography team is budgeted in. If there are notable VIPs attending, getting images of them will be important as well. A great photography team will also know to jot down guests’ names after they are photographed.
4. Have a detailed run of show.
The run of show will map out the entire event - the times certain things will happen and who from your team will be in charge of what. Everyone involved in the execution must thoroughly know the run of show.
5. Have a killer staff on-site.
The most important thing to keep in mind is guest satisfaction. Having great staff that can quickly think on their toes is always a key component to a successful event. Staff should also be able to gauge the guests’ levels of enjoyment and if the service is up to par.
