Hoteliers in the Providence/Warwick area are offering customized getaway packages for travelers with a variety of different tastes.
The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau previously developed a getaway package for people coming to the area that included one or two nights’ accommodations, vouchers to attractions and dining and shopping discounts. The package was standard and the only variable was the price of the hotel selected.
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“What became apparent was that hotels were probably better at understanding what their clients wanted than we were,” said George Donnelly, vice president of marketing at the visitors bureau.
More than 50 area hotels have developed everything from historical getaways to girlfriends’ weekends, including activities and dining with hotel stays.
“What’s happened in America is ‘one size’ fits nobody,” said Donnelly. “Those packages were no longer addressing what people really wanted to do.”
Dan Peterson, general manager of the Providence Marriott and chairman of the visitors bureau’s marketing committee, said the Marriott employs a specialist for getaway planning.
The specialist calls guests before they arrive to make arrangements fitting their specific needs – for example, tickets to a show at the Providence Performing Arts Center, dinner reservations, historical walking tours or transportation.
The biggest-selling package at the Marriott is the shopping package, which can include trips to Thayer Street or Providence Place.
“What we do is we have exclusivity,” Peterson said. “With their room key, they can get discounts at restaurants and shops, which is a real advantage.”
Another popular getaway package is the girlfriends’ getaway, which can include everything from dining and dancing to spa treatments and shopping.
“We were actually one of the pioneers locally with the packages,” Peterson said. “We’ve been working on it for the last few years, but it’s come on really strong in the last year.”
The key to a successful getaway package is to ensure it’s a value-added package, Peterson said. By bundling hotel stays, transportation and activities, the hotels can provide a better value than if the customer tried to buy each option on their own.
The bureau’s chief function in these revamped getaway packages, Donnelly said, is to simply market them.
When bureau officials made the change, they weren’t sure certain hotels would respond with their own packages.
“We were amazed to get 50 getaway packages,” Donnelly said. “The real story is we used to have just one package that fit nobody, and now we have 50 that meet everyone’s needs.”
Ultimately, the revamped getaway packages will mean more room nights and economic wealth for Providence, Donnelly said.
The packages went online at www.ProvidenceNightandDay.com on Sept. 30. There are seven main getaway categories: arts and culture, culinary, family fun, girlfriends’ getaway, history, romance and seasonal.
