Connor Simpson has a history working with vacation rentals and recently launched a marketplace, Weddings by Owner, where property owners can list their space as a wedding venue.
Have you ever thought about hosting a wedding at your vacation home? If you have, there couldn’t be a better time. The current wedding industry trends reflect well for small private owners to get their piece of the wedding market. More and more couples are looking for non-traditional venues to make their own. Read on to see if your place might be a good fit for a wedding.
Weddings are getting smaller
You might be thinking that your place is too small for a wedding, however, the average wedding attendance is going down. More couples are opting to only invite close family and friends. Couples are striving to provide a better guest experience for those that attend instead of a higher guest count. Increasingly weddings with just 20-50 guests are becoming more and more common. So don’t rule out your cozy back garden just yet, it may be the venue of a couple’s dreams.
The rise of DIY
Personalization is king. The reason many couples are choosing non-traditional wedding venues is that they’re less likely to be restricted in how they want to set up the space, what food they can serve and other wedding details. The DIY wedding trend is a reflection of this. Many couples view privately owned properties as more of a “blank state” to fully express themselves on their special day. Owners of private venues are often more likely to accommodate a couple’s unique vision that a standard wedding venue.
The use of technology
Previously advertising a wedding venue was difficult business as it is such a niche market. But with the rise of smartphones and “wedding specific” apps, more and more couples are planning their wedding remotely. This is good news for people looking to enter the wedding industry as the barrier to entry is at an all time low. One new website that has launched is an “airbnb” for wedding venues. Weddings by Owner, is an easy and free way for owners to list their space as a wedding venue. One of the site’s features that are beneficial for specifically to vacation rental owners is the ability to sync availability with an existing listing. Weddings by Owner also protects the property and wedding party with a $2 million insurance policy.
So if you’ve ever thought about listing your space as a wedding venue, there couldn’t be a better time. One major incentive for vacation rental owners to think about listing as a vacation rental is the premium price-tag that goes along with a wedding venue. Weddings by Owner states that owners have the potential to earn a week’s rent in a day renting as a wedding venue. Your vacation rental might be the out-of-the box, instagrammable space of a couple’s dreams.
