Looking for a way to enhance your guest experience? Consider themed events that hit on all five senses, not only to get customers excited and engaged but also to boost sales.
Sarah Finlayson, national director of catering and special events for Sodexo Leisure Services, finds inspiration from new exhibits at her clients’ locations (often museums, zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens). For example, for the opening of the Elephant House at the Smithsonian National Zoo, Finlayson created an event with a Southeast Asian- and Indian-inspired menu—items included banh mi sliders, seared tuna with pickled Asian slaw, spicy red curry pork and Thai veggie skewers—and décor (think bright and lively colors, rich textures and lush floral). “Guests felt transported to the other side of the globe,” she says.
Likewise, Damian Monticello, corporate hospitality services manager for Florida Blue, in Jacksonville, creates themed events to correspond with heritage celebrations, current company initiatives and to build excitement for future events. For example, Florida Blue hosted a special reading program for children themed around Dr. Seuss—there was a “Green Eggs and Ham” menu, with items like baskets full of eggs, ham, spinach and cheese, and melon platters.
Mike Caulfield, executive chef at the Dorothy Love Apartments, in Sydney, Ohio, offers themed events to give residents a change of pace from their daily routine. Caulfield has hosted events like ’50s nights, Halloween parties and Hawaiian luaus. “For the luau, we transformed the dining room into a Hawaiian paradise getaway filled with colorful décor, flowers, luminaries, leis and sand,” he says. Island music played, the staff wore grass skirts and a relevant menu of piña coladas and traditional Hawaiian dishes was served.
The process
When it comes to themed parties, make sure you hit all five senses, Finlayson suggests. Consider these steps:
- Plan ahead. “Themed events may need to be planned as much as a year in advance,” cautions Tom Lapp, director of same store sales at Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services.
- Pick a theme. Lapp created Residential Dining Culinary Events, which promotes world cuisines, holidays and social celebrations through customized menus inspired by changes in the seasons. Like Lapp, you can look at countries, holidays and social celebrations (think Earth Day) for inspiration. For example, for the winter season, Chartwells put on a Winterfest themed event complete with ice carvings, Olympic discussion tables, winter sports raffles, snowflake decorations and hearty dishes of venison stew and poutine alongside hot cocoa and mini white desserts.
- Meet with clients, customers and your staff to determine goals and visions for the event and create a solid understanding of the purpose, says Tracy Reese, conference center operations manager for Sodexo at Florida Blue.
- Set a budget. To cut costs, ensure expenditures can work across multiple operations.
- Determine decorations by thinking of items that remind people of or represent the theme, says Maggie McGee, retail and catering manager at Virginia Mason Medical Center, in Seattle, who finds inspiration at craft stores. “See what decorations you can find and then let those guide your theme.”
- Research, develop and test relevant recipes. Ensure the menu stays true to the theme so attendees can make the connection, Reese says.
- Consider how music and entertainment can play a role, Finlayson adds.
- Create signage to promote the event, Lapp says. Traditional marketing and promotional materials include posters, POS, tri-panel table tents, counter toppers, content for digital screens and social media. Adds McGee: Make sure you promote far enough in advance so guests have something to look forward to.
A word to the wise: Go all in, Finlayson says. “When a thematic event doesn’t work, it’s typically done halfway, so think of ways to extend an event to the guests before they ever arrive, through the invitations or engagement, all the way to when they go home at the end of the evening with a tasty takeaway.”