It's a Pandemic, and we have riots/protests going on everywhere. Hell, 1 FREAKING MILE from my house there was a protest of a Business because the owner said ONE SINGLE THING that people did not like, so they shared it across FB, and got people to organize a protest of his business. His Crab House is now temporarily closed...ALL 4 locations because of a single comment he made on facebook. He issued a video apology, but it was too little, and people criticised his apology. Protsts on Saturday closed all his locations down...and he will probably remain closed until this thing blows over.
Anyway, Inquiries are dead in the water practically. ...Even Taso is MIA here on the board probably because of the financial impact this whole thing is causing him trying to deal with it, and make ends meet.
My Advice....Wait all of this out. 2020 is a CRAPPY AWFUL YEAR for our entire industry. ...Also, with the way things are going, we are likely to be invaded by Aliens in July or August...2020 ain't over dealing out blows to everyone!
Wait it out, 2021 couples are going to be LATE BOOKERS because of the 2020 BS, and we may see a resurgence of strong business in 2022 assuming the world doesn't end, or lawlessness ensues and causes the country to go into a downward spiral from all the police officers retiring or calling it quits after all of the "Defunding" and demoralization of them as a whole takes place.
I didn't realize I was mentioned in this, but I'm not MIA because of any financial impact that I'm dealing with. I do have other sources of income from real estate/stocks, and that along with disaster relief and PUA I'm in the green. Not as much in the green... but in the green. I also took this time to take real estate classes to get my license during this downtime... not so much to change careers, but to have since I do buy properties, and might as well get some commission from it.
I'm more MIA because a bunch of the threads derailed lol, and in this particular case, I don't do weddingwire at all to offer any advice that wasn't mentioned... especially from a venues standpoint.
Inquiries are NOT dead though. I am averaging about 2-3 wedding inquiries a week. This week I've had 3 since Monday. Unfortunately, with many of the postponements, a number of dates are not available, which is discouraging. All other types of inquiries are dead though. Sweet 16 inquiries for me are maybe 1 or 2 a month. And another friend of mine who does 90% generic parties, did not get a single inquiry for 2.5 months. As Scott mentioned in his other post today, as things begin to open and signs of large gatherings come about, the more the inquiries pop up. In NJ outdoor gatherings are up to 100, and will be up to 500 by July 3rd. Some venues are setting up tents on their property. Indoor gatherings are at 50, however, most venues are not allowed to open at the moment so there's clarity trying to be given. DJ's are now getting inquiries for outdoor backyard parties, and one of my past clients contacted me today for a small backyard event at the end of this month that they're thinking of doing depending on if their friends are into it.
If events open up by August for me I'll be in great shape, as $120k of events are still on the books for 2020. 2021 is 50% booked, so we're actually on pace compared to other years, and don't see a huge impact financially for 2021. If we know of a definite vaccine by the fall (know... not have available), then I think inquiry rates will begin to normalize.
There's one big variable... jobs. Up until now, most of the jobs affected had been retail/dining/hospitality type jobs, not so much white collar jobs since they're working from home. If the economy doesn't continue to rebound fast, and starts impacting white collar jobs, then personally I may have some couples trying to downsize or postpone further to be able to pay for things. All of my couples are still working it seems like so the financial aspect hasn't impacted me, but others I'm sure are affected.