Hotel Comedy Club Night Can Boost Revenue
With the current down turn in the economy many hotels are scrambling to find new ways to generate revenue . One option that works well is to turn the empty bar or banquet room into a comedy club for the night. With a little effort you can be the comedy club in town and attract new local customers to your hotel.
Laughter may very well be the best medicine for people facing difficult times and help the properties bottom line. Historically comedy clubs and other live entertainment venues have thrived in difficult economic times. In the 80’s during the gas shortages and recession the comedy clubs boomed. While we are in uncertain times this may be the case during our current economic downturn. Many comedy clubs are doing very well and most comedy concerts are selling out.
This may offer a great opportunity to capitalize on the current situation. You can become
the comedy club in your community and offer people a break from the bad news of the day.
It is not difficult to prepare a banquet room or lounge for a comedy show but some things are required for a successful event. The room should hold 100 to 300 people with good seating and tables. Small cocktail tables are best but a banquet style set up will work fine. You want the audience to be seated as close to each other as possible, laughter is contagious. A stage or riser is necessary to give the audience a good line of sight. Some stage lighting is also required to get the full effect of the show and to help give the room a show biz feel. The number one thing required for a good comedy show is a good sound system. The greatest act in the world will fail if the audience can’t hear them. If you don’t have this equipment it can be rented or some agents may have it. Many radio stations will have it for their live remotes and they may want to partner up with you for the event.
The next thing you will need is to draw a crowd in the seats. Many comics claim to have large fallowing but most do not. The venue will have to draw a crowd because the acts will change each week. You must become known as the place for a great comedy show.
Provide a quality funny show with good acts and provide great service to improve your revenue. Watch the little details and the word of mouth will spread like wild fire and your room will do very well.
If you have an ongoing relationship with a radio station this can be a great way to get the word out. Most stations love to be a part of such an event and the DJ will often MC the event giving them exposure at a great venue. You should also use posters, direct mail and e-mail. News paper adds are an option and you will definitely want to send out a press release. Some of the booking agents or acts have publicists to do this for you. Many clubs will offer a discount admission and make the profit on the food and drinks. Most all comedy clubs have a two item minimum purchase and you should too.
With all that taken care of you need a good show that will make the audience want to come back for more. There are a number of booking agents including “Killer Comedy Online” that have extensive rosters of comics and specialty acts. In most cases you will be responsible for paying the agent and they in turn will pay the talent. You will also need to provide hotel rooms for the talent. It is good to use a booking agency that can put your room in as part of a tour to provide a multi night run for the acts. This will make it more profitable for the comics and will give you a better quality talent for the show.
The show should be 90 minutes long. It will be the local MC to get the people focused on the stage and keep the show moving. They will also do the announcements and thank any sponsors and plug your specials or any upcoming events. They will then bring up the feature act. The feature act should do 30 minutes and the headliner will do 50 minutes to an hour.
The person you have taking money at the door should also work as the crowd police and ask people that may be talking at a table to please be quite. Loud talking is very distracting and can ruin the show. The comics will usually take care of any heckling but if someone won’t be quiet they should be asked to leave. Your patron paid to see a professional show not someone in the audience that want s attention.
This kind of event has proven successful for decades and the market is wide open. It is necessary to do it right and get good talent. If you offer a good fun show and watch the small details your comedy night can provide substantial revenue for you, and offer your customer a welcome relief from the stress of every day life.