I love it when companies create unique reasons to stay in front of their customers. Today, Hard Rock Hotel San Diego did just that. They hosted a "Drive By Karaoke" for local customers. We were invited to "drive by" the front of the hotel between 11 am - 1 pm on October 14th to pick up a custom chef prepared lunch and then drive away. If it were just about scooping up a quick lunch, I would have declined and settled for the meal prep goodness in my fridge.
However, since the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego team is so creative, I was curious what they had up their sleeves. I loaded up my husband and puppy, drove 20 minutes into the city & down to the hotel. I am glad we did because the hotel blew us away with their style and creativity.
As we approached the front driveway of the hotel, music was blaring. There was a stage, guitars and a frenzy of magnetic activity (click for arrival experience video). We were greeted by Sheila & Amy with blow up microphones, hand sanitizer and a custom Hard Rock Hotel picnic blanket.
The hotel featured it's Mediterranean Bento Box which was handcrafted by the chef for Covid safe banquets. Bento boxes are a big trend right now for conferences during Covid. However, I have not seen a bento box quite like this.
Inside the box was a roasted airline chicken breast, some sort of delightful potato, hummus, olive tapenade, pita, green salad, a sharp cheese with a micro herb and the cutest little chocolate cupcake. This is an example of the food and beverage experience we will have when hosting a meeting at Hard Rock. I happen to have a couple programs there next year so I was thrilled to see it live, and in person. Also, I am now able to share it with my customers who are far away and unable to hop in their car for a quick Drive By Karaoke.
We took two bento boxes, snapped a pic with Sheila and headed home. When we got home, we popped open our Hard Rock Bento Boxes and devoured the lunches. The food was absolutely delicious. It's so hard to create banquet catering that is restaurant quality, and they nailed it from the presentation to taste to portion size.
They even used Bamboo packaging and utensils which helps with the ole carbon footprint.
I am glad it was so much more than a quick boxed lunch drive by, and happy we took the time to do it. This small gesture to engage with customers, even if it's just for a couple moments makes such an impact. It keeps their product in front of us while we're waiting for them to be able to host meetings again. It is also is an excellent reminder of the fun and creative approach this particular hotel takes when curating conferences.
I will definitely be sharing with my customers that have booked the hotel for the future years and with potential customers curious about bento boxes and cool unique properties that "get it."
For more information on how to redesign your next meeting or conference, track me down at mgraziano@hpnglobal.com.
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