Well Said – A Destination Save the Date

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While  finalizing dates and permits with Zion National Park, the hubby and I are beginning work on our Renewal Save the Date.  A booklet style seemed immediately necessary since we are of course trying to entice family and friends to travel to Utah the weekend after Mother’s Day next year, therefor a good amount of information needs to be included.

Zion is perfectly situated within short (relatively speaking) traveling distance of some other desireable locations such as Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon National Parks.  We wish to give our prospective guests all the information needed to easily plan an exciting getaway.

For any destination event the goal is to essentially woo your guests into the travel experience.  Think about it – even though your destination is fabulous and your family and friends love you…travel is exspensive, time consuming and potentially complicated.  As the host of the destination event it is your task to  offer solid, reliable and thorough information to ensure your invitee list is excited to travel for you.

So here is a simple list of items you should consider including with your destination Save the Date:

1.  A reliable travel contact. This could of course be a travel agent or a family member with time to spare who is prepared to receive calls and answer questions.  In my opinion a travel agent is the best choice.  In our save the date booklet we are even mentioning our travel agent Dee, how much we trust her from past experience and her contact info and event reference code.

2.  Recommended airlines, travel routes, destination airports and car rentals establishments. If you have the means to provide a discount coupon of some kind for a rental car, definitely include!

3. A detailed map.  This is especially important as some of your guests may want to plan a personal vacation around your event.      Most of our guests will be arriving in Las Vegas so a detail map to include surrounding areas like this will be helpful.

4.  A mission statement. Okay so I know this sounds cheesy but we are including a simple story to explaining why we chose Zion.  I wanted to give our guests a little touch of romantic inspiration…

“Zion is one of our most favorite places on earth.  First visiting on a Cross Country adventure in 2003 the gorgeous weather, awe inspiring landscapes and mellow environment instantly drew us in.  Traveling out west, specifically to Zion, has changed our lives and opened our hearts to all this nation has to offer – now we would like to share this experience with you.”

5. Suggested Lodging. This detail is fairly straightforward but keep in mind your guests’ budgets.  Suggest lodging. Also, whenever possible choose establishments you have experienced personally.

6. Surrounding Areas and Recommended activites. Most of your guests who decide to travel for you are unfamiliar with the area and will welcome your suggestions.   Try to place yourself in their minds…If you were traveling to a new place what type of info would you spend time gathering.  Okay so go ahead and do the legwork for your guests.  We are describing the top 4 attractions surrrounding Vegas and Zion including travel time, pertinent websites and personal antecdotes and experiences from each place.