It’s time for companies and businesses to start throwing holiday parties, and property management is no exception. Here’s how to throw a great holiday party for your property management owners.
The holidays are a great time to enjoy an evening with friends, family, and clients. It’s holiday party time, and property managers have an excellent opportunity to host a holiday party for their owners. If you’re a property manager, consider hosting a holiday party for your owners. You can build your relationship with them, but you can also encourage them to build community amongst themselves. When your owners can network, they can share tips and information to improve their businesses, build a community of landlords, and show new clients why they should love your business.
But throwing a holiday party is not a task that can be done without any forethought. Here’s how to throw the best possible holiday party for your owners as a property manager.
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Select a Theme for Your Holiday Party
People love a themed party. Whether your theme is winter wonderland, ringing in the new year, or tropical vacation, your guests will love dressing to a theme and enjoying food and drinks that fit it. Often, a playful, fun theme will cut down on the awkward feeling of a professional party and encourage guests to relax and enjoy themselves. Some party themes work perfectly to host again as a resident event at your rental properties; don’t be afraid to reuse a good idea.
Learn more: 10 Uniquely Fun Holiday Party Ideas (Your Residents Will Actually Attend)
However, not every environment is suitable for themed parties. Sometimes, a formal event is required. Much of this depends on the audience you’re catering to. If you typically cater to large, corporate owners, a more formal event might be necessary. If you mostly work for smaller owners, you may find that they would enjoy a less formal event. This is not a hard and fast rule, of course, as it depends largely on the owners themselves, but it is important to know your audience before you host.
Prepare Activities for Your Owners and Guests
Your owners typically won’t know one another exceptionally well, so activities such as gift-giving or activities that otherwise rely on relationships aren’t always ideal. Dinner, conversation, and some drinks are often plenty for a professional party. You may find that additional events, such as interactive activities, can elevate a party and bring the joy out of people.
If you choose to have a theme, you can select activities that suit the theme. For example, a directly holiday themed party might have cookie decorating or building gingerbread houses as an activity. Similarly, you can have casino or game-show-style games. Trivia can also get guests involved, especially if it is themed around a common interest. Pop culture is an easy topic to cover, especially if your guests largely belong to a similar age range.
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Book a Venue & Catering Early
Venue booking is one of the most important steps to host a holiday party. You need to book a venue as early as possible, since many venues fill up quickly, especially around the holiday season. The earlier the booking is made, the better. When booking, keep your guest list in mind. You don’t want to pack 200 guests into a venue made for half that number, but you also don’t want a small guest list to feel dwarfed by the size of the venue.
Try to ensure that the food you serve is high-quality and enjoyable, as many buffet-style dining experiences are known for being bland or disappointing. Include a dietary restrictions section on your RSVPs to accommodate any guests who have them, and communicate these restrictions to the caterers well in advance of the party.
What to Avoid at Your Holiday Party for Owners
Corporate parties often end up boring their guests because they miss what attendees are actually hoping for in a party. A few particular sticking points for many attendees are poor audio, repetitive music, and long, frustrating food lines. Ensure that your setups are streamlined, your food is adequate for the guests, and your activities are enjoyable enough to keep people laughing and smiling all night. One sure indicator that your party isn’t as fun as you’d hoped is a quiet room, or guests leaving early.
If this happens, don’t worry! Just keep it in mind for the next party you throw. Not every party is guaranteed to be a success, and not every host has perfect luck. Learn from any mistakes you make and use them to advance your party-planning skills for the future.
If you’re worried about impressing your owners, consider hiring a party planner. Party planners know exactly how to impress and please almost any crowd. Hiring a party planner can relieve much of the stress of planning and leave you to enjoy the event and connect with your clients on the event date.
Final Thoughts
Party planning is an excellent skill, and throwing a party for your owners can be a great way to network and get to know them outside of the services you perform. These events are an immensely useful resource for anyone looking to network, so property managers should always look into planning holiday parties.
