Village halls are a valuable asset to many communities, providing a space for a wide range of activities, from playgroups to weddings. However, many village halls struggle to attract bookings. Here are 10 things village halls can do to increase the number of people booking their spaces:
- Integrate a booking system with your website. Integrating a booking system can be technically difficult and costly, but they make it easier for bookers to access your venue. The exception to this rule though is Haveaspot. Haveaspot is a free online booking system that makes it easy for people to book your venue. It’s also easy to use and manage, even for small volunteer teams.
- Keep your venues website up to date. Make sure your venue’s website is up to date with the latest availability and pricing information. This will make it easy for people to find your venue and book it.
- Optimize your website for search engines. This can be difficult for venues that don’t have the technical resources to do this. Haveaspot will automatically optimize your listing on its platform for search engines, so that more people can find your venue when they’re searching online.
- Use social media to promote your venue. Share your venue on social media and encourage people to follow you. This will help you reach a wider audience and attract more bookings.
- Make it easy for people to contact you. Provide clear contact information on your listing page and make sure someone is available to answer emails and phone calls.
- Be responsive to bookings. When someone books your venue, be sure to confirm the booking and send them all the necessary information. This will help to ensure a smooth booking process.
- Offer discounts and promotions. Consider offering discounts and promotions to attract new customers. This could include things like early bird discounts, group discounts, or discounts for bookings made online.
- Host events and workshops. Hosting events and workshops is a great way to raise awareness of your venue and attract new customers. You could host a playgroup, a fitness class, or a community meeting.
- Partner with local businesses. Partner with local businesses to promote your venue. This could include offering discounts to customers of partner businesses or co-hosting events.
- Get involved in the community. Get involved in the community and let people know about your venue. This could include attending community events, sponsoring local teams, or donating your space to local charities.
By following these tips, you can increase the number of bookings for your village hall and make it a more valuable asset to your community.
Why using a free booking system like Haveaspot is much more effective for Village Halls and Community Spaces:
- It’s easy to keep your listing page up to date. With Haveaspot, you can easily update your availability and pricing information. This means that your listing will always be up to date, which will make it easier for people to find your venue and book it.
- It’s easier for bookers to find your venue through search. Haveaspot is optimized for search engines, so that more people can find your venue when they’re searching online.
- Haveaspot’s marketing engine works to drive your social media. Haveaspot automatically shares your listing on social media, so that you can reach a wider audience.
- Haveaspot makes it easier to communicate with bookers. With Haveaspot, you can easily send messages to bookers and answer their questions. This will help to ensure a smooth booking process.
- Being able to book and pay online removes barriers to booking village halls. Many people prefer to book and pay online, so being able to do this will make it easier for people to book your venue.
- A listing page on Haveaspot is potentially more effective than a village halls website can ever be. This is because Haveaspot is better optimized for SEO and marketing, and it’s easier to run as no technical expertise are needed to run it.
If you’re looking to increase the number of bookings for your village hall, I highly recommend using a free booking system like Haveaspot. It’s a great way to make it easier for people to find your venue, book it, and communicate with you.