Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day and other holidays provide opportunities to make the most of special days by offering creative specials.
Valentine’s Day is once again upon us. This is perhaps one of the biggest opportunities of the year to gain revenue on a holiday. It is the holiday of romance — a holiday of bestowing nice gifts and fancy dinners on your Valentine. It presents an opportunity to have a sell-out night on a Tuesday.
There are so many ways to get creative with this and other holidays. Limo companies from coast-to-coast are pairing up with restaurants, florists and other vendors to provide “add-ons” to a limousine ride. From boxes of chocolates to heart-shaped balloons and fancy dinners, people are willing to part with their cash to shower their date with niceties. If you do it right, every single product, service or dinner you provide should increase your profit by marking up. People love paying one price and getting a lot of things for the single price.
For the fifth year in a row, we are pairing with a local restaurant to include dinner for two and the ride to and from the restaurant all for the price of $165. This includes a gratuity for the food server and the chauffeur. People can book with the restaurant or they can book with us and in the end we balance out who owes who what. The price includes an entrée, soup or salad, appetizer platter and dessert along with a soft drink. We are already sold out. It can be complicated to run an event like this because different people eat at different paces, but since all of our vehicles eventually end up at the restaurant, this is where we stage the cars and there is always a car ready to depart.
The next opportunity is right around the corner. St. Patrick’s Day offers the opportunity to provide a safe ride to and from a local Irish pub. While not as easy to sell as Valentine’s Day, something as simple as balloons, beads and a pitcher of green beer on arrival will usually do the trick. If you have more than one Irish pub in your community, consider running a circuit and charging per person to travel from one venue to another during the night. The opportunities are limited only by your imagination.
Jim Luff, LCT contributing editor
Print | posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 5:45 PM