An Independent Hotelier’s Guide to Easy Group Bookings

Filling multiple rooms on a single reservation, group bookings are a cost-effective way to boost occupancy, especially during quieter periods. These guests often require more than just a place to stay, including catering services, meeting spaces, and additional amenities, making group reservations a lucrative opportunity for lodging operators.

Group bookings were traditionally the territory of large hotel brands and conference centers, but times are changing. Event planners, like travelers in general, favor unique, authentic local experiences and the venues that can provide them. With the right amenities and technology, independent lodging operations are perfectly positioned to capture and manage group bookings. Here’s how.

Provide Spaces and Amenities for Groups

You don’t need a banquet hall or a conference room to appeal to groups, but you will need space for people to gather. Focus on creatively utilizing the spaces you already have.

Reimagine Existing Areas: Could a rarely used office serve as a meeting room? Could a guest room be converted into a multi-purpose space? Spaces can also serve different purposes depending on the time of day. For instance, your bar could be reinvented as a co-working hub during business hours.
Outdoor Options: Spacious lawns and gardens can be magical settings for weddings or other private events. Enhance the experience with simple touches like canopies, fairy lights, or lawn games.
Dedicated Communal Spaces: Ensure your lobby or lounge invites guests to mingle. These communal spaces can be especially appealing to group customers seeking an ambient vibe. Small upgrades like cozy seating or coffee stations make a big difference. If your property has an on-site restaurant, consider reserving sections for group events or even renting it out entirely for private functions.

When it comes to amenities, make sure you offer everything a group needs to make their stay and/or event as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Go Beyond Basics: In addition to staples like strong WiFi, breakfast, and tea and coffee, provide audio-visual equipment, seating, catering services, photography services, laundry service, etc., as needed.
Partner with Local Vendors: If resources are tight, establish relationships with local suppliers to contract such services for your customers’ convenience.

The more you take care of so that the client doesn’t have to, the more likely they’ll book your property!

Pro tip: Ensure spaces and amenities are inclusive by making public areas wheelchair accessible and providing dietary accommodations for events, for example.

A hotel lawn set with tables and chairs for an early evening event. — *Outdoor spaces can make the perfect event settings (depending on the weather!)*

Offer Group Rates and Packages

In addition to standard room discounts and corporate rates, you can maximize revenue with creative offerings such as:

Tiered discounts for larger groups (based on a minimum number of guests) and extended stays (based on a minimum number of nights).
Package deals that include amenities like catering, AV equipment, or meeting room hire.
Customized offerings based on the group type. For example, corporate groups may value meeting spaces and loyalty perks, while leisure groups might prioritize activities or family-friendly amenities. Be receptive to the needs and feedback of your clients to provide the perfect package.

An adaptable property management system (PMS) like WebRezPro allows you to be flexible for your clients to provide an offer they can’t say no to. For example, you can allow guests to choose from a selection of add-ons during the booking process. You can also create separate booking and cancellation policies for group rates and packages that differ from your standard policies.

Promote Your Group-friendly Property

Once you’ve perfected your offerings, make sure the world knows your property is a great choice for group bookings!

Dedicate a page on your website to group and event bookings, highlighting your unique spaces, services, and packages.
Use email marketing to reach past corporate and leisure guests.
List your property on online event directories and engage with local business associations.
Don’t underestimate the power of social media. Share photos of past group events at your property to inspire and attract potential clients.

A smiling hotel agent ready to greet event guests with a tablet device in hand. — *WebRezPro’s group folios allow you to book and manage group bookings with ease—from anywhere!*

Simplify Group Bookings with the Right Software

While group bookings can be complex, managing them doesn’t have to be. From room blocks and reservations to invoicing and group check-in/check-out, WebRezPro’s group folios have everything covered.

This convenient feature allows you to manage all reservations, guest requests and preferences, charges, and payments from a single folio. Group folios also provide a central point of control for tracking contract status and deposits, setting up room blocks and rates, overseeing rooming lists, and processing group check-ins and check-outs.

Reserved Allocations: The ability to set up room and rate allocations directly from the group folio makes managing room blocks easy—from booking the group rate to tracking room pickup to setting release dates for unsold room allocations.
Online Bookings: Make it easier for your staff (and guests) by allowing group customers to book themselves in through your website with a password-protected rate and secure payment options. When a guest makes a booking online, it’s automatically posted to the group folio. You can even allow group organizers to view group folio information online, including room pickup, payments, charges, and amount owing.
Centralized Reservation Management: All reservations within a group are kept in one place, making it easy for staff to find the right booking. New reservations can be added to the group by staff directly from the group folio, which also allows you to book multiple rooms at once and add existing reservations to the group. (And don’t forget, online group bookings are automatically added to the applicable group folio too.) As reservations are added and edited, both room pickup and the rooming list are automatically updated.
Group Check-in/Check-out: Streamline the arrival and departure process for groups who show up and leave en masse (such as tour groups)—and simplify rooming list management—by editing multiple reservations at once, including status (confirmed / checked in / checked out, etc.) and room assignment.
Group Invoicing and Payments: A seamless billing experience is key to winning loyal guests and staff. Easily allocate charges and payments to individual reservations or a master invoice for maximum flexibility. The group folio automatically tracks the balance as a whole and on individual reservations, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. And with an integrated payment gateway, payments are processed directly from the group folio itself.
Easy Group Communications: Clear communication is important for establishing a relationship with your guests and providing an enjoyable stay that brings them back again. WebRezPro’s customizable group email templates can be created for all stages of the customer journey, including booking confirmations and modifications, check-in and check-out messaging, and post-stay feedback requests.

Track and Refine Group Business

Understanding group booking trends at your property is key to growth. Use customized booking and sales reports to monitor revenue, lead times, and upsell opportunities.

For advanced event planning and tracking, WebRezPro integrates seamlessly with Tripleseat, a leading group sales and catering management platform. This partnership allows lodging operators to combine Tripleseat’s event sales, planning, and analysis tools with WebRezPro’s robust PMS features, creating a powerful solution for managing group bookings and gaining deep insight into event group business.

Ready to Welcome More Groups?

Group bookings are making a comeback, and unique, independent properties like yours are in demand. Ensure your property is ready to capture this market with appealing spaces and amenities, tailored packages, and the right tools to manage group bookings effortlessly.

Editor’s note: This post was last updated in February 2025.