Halloween is one of those holidays that you either love or you hate. Regardless, it is coming up and if you plan to have some sort of a property celebration, then you need to start planning NOW! If your hotel is located near any special Halloween events (spook houses, haunted hayrides, ghost walks, etc.) make sure you have a list available at the front desk with directions, pricing, etc.
If you allow your employees to dress in costume, make sure you set the guidelines now so that they choose something appropriate for the business environment.
You may want to plan a “movie night” in your common space or breakfast room. You can either make it “horror” or “comedic” but if you are going to do something, make sure you plan it well, let your guests know what is going on, and then go for it.
There are many options for movies –
- Hotel Transylvania
- The Shining
- Halloween (I, II or III)
- It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
- Scream (I, II, etc.)
- The Haunting
- Young Frankenstein
- The Monster Squad
- Night of the Living Dead
- Creep Show
- Rocky Horror Show
I am sure you can come up with your own list of favorites so choose/reserve wisely and don’t wait until the last moment only to find that your movie is not available. Be VERY conscious of the movie’s rating and avoid movies with too graphic content. You may want to run a couple of different movies at different times, starting with kids movies, comedy, and then horror. (You may not charge for these events! Please be conscious of copyright infringement laws when promoting your event.)
Snacks can vary from bowls of Halloween candy, to caramel apples, to anything made with pumpkin. This will based on what type of budget you might have in mind.
You might even want to make a week long activity of “painting/decorating pumpkins” (not carving as that is a bit too dangerous). Of course, you’d have to get mini pumpkins, arts and crafts supplies, etc. Award a “winner” with a prize and display all the pumpkins in the hotel.
Happy haunting!
Linda