Part
01
of one
Part
01
What percentage of engaged couples set up accommodations for their wedding guests?
Hello! Thanks for your question about the percentage of engaged couples that set up accommodations for their wedding guests.
The most useful sources I found to answer your question are the websites for marketwired and prnewswire. The short version is that American couples are spending more than ever on weddings, and they are also inviting fewer guests. However, couples are mostly creating experiences, and these may or may not include accommodation. Only thirty-eight percent of couples provided hotel accommodations for their guests. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
THE AVERAGE SPENDING FOR WEDDINGS IS ON THE RISE
According to Brides magazine's annual survey, people are spending more on their weddings, about $28,000 on average. This is the highest in twenty years. Of all weddings in 2014, 16% were destination weddings. In 2016, 17% of all weddings were destination weddings. These weddings have less guests. In 2014, there were 102 guests, instead of 142, which is the average wedding count. In 2016, there were 91 guests, versus 145 for non-destination weddings. However, destination weddings treat their guests to extras like gift bags (60%), shuttle busses to the ceremony (36%), and planned activities after the wedding (34%). Also, 30% of couples provided hotel accommodations for guests in these type of weddings for 2014. Two years later, 38% of couples provided hotel accommodations. Weddings that last throughout a weekend or through multiple days, account for 18% of all weddings.
According to The Knot 2016 Real Weddings Study, the cost of weddings reached an all-time high at an average cost of $35,329. Also, the number of guests dropped. Couples are focusing more on guests' entertainment by incorporating photo booths (78%), games (18%), musical performances (12%) and fireworks (8%). Seventy-five percent of weddings have at least one signature element, which shows a trend toward personalization. An example of this can be a signature cocktail. The cost for wedding guest has gone up to $245, compared to $194 in 2009.
Although spending per guest has increased during the past few years, couples are mostly creating experiences, and these may or may not include accommodation. Web traffic for the top 3 room blocking sites, indicates that room accomodations may not be the primary concern for couples these days. According to the Alexa website, pageviews and daily time on these sites has gone down. The Kleinfeld hotel blocks' website has experienced a drop of 60% in the daily-time that people spend on this site. And its page-views per visitor have gone down by 35.71%. For Hiskipper, the daily-time on the site has gone up by 9%, but its daily page-views per visitor have gone down to 0.65%. For Jetaport, daily-time on the site has gone down by 24%, and page-views per visitor have gone up 30%.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, American couples are spending more than ever on weddings, and they are also inviting fewer guests. However, couples are mostly creating experiences, and these may or may not include accommodation. Only thirty-eight percent of couples provided hotel accommodations for their guests. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!