INDIANAPOLIS — 2024 is already shaping up into a blockbuster year for tourism in Indianapolis.
From the NBA All-Star Game tipping off next week, to the path of totality for the solar eclipse this Spring, to Olympic trials, the 108th Running of the Indy 500 and a pop star named Taylor Swift is coming to town -- people who work in hospitality are setting the stage to welcome massive crowds of fans and guests alike.
"It's a big economic boom for the city and that effects short term rentals, that affects hotels, that effects our restaurants, nightlife, attractions," said Visit Indy's Morgan Snyder. "Indianapolis is known as a city that, we might host a game but here it is so much more than a game."
Snyder says the city has the leverage what we do best, and prepare to welcome large crowds. Part of Visit Indy's job is to attract events and visitors who will spend money at our local businesses and spend their outside dollars.
She adds that Hoosier hospitality has to be a the forefront of what we do here.
"We say Hoosier hospitality is not a catch phrase, it's in our DNA," said Snyder. "So we need visitors to feel that, because that is the piece that really keeps visitors coming back again and again. When you think about your own travel experiences, sometimes you often think about people you met along the way, the places you stayed even more than the event itself."
She says in addition to hotels, events spaces, restaurants and attractions — short-term rentals play a big role in Indy's pitch to land these events.
"So short term rentals, it's a really important piece of the puzzle to visitor experience and to a visitor package," said Snyder.
She says thematic short-term rentals can factor into a high-quality guest experience. And for guests coming to Indy in 2024, looking for the full Indianapolis experience, they may want to look no further than a rental in the Geist community with Indy 500 flair.
"So this home is called Victory Lane on Hampton," said Steph Weber. "2024 is the year to be here, and if you've never experienced Indy, I'm telling everyone like, this is the year to come visit our city and check it out."
Weber is the CEO of The Weber Co., which is a branding, design and marketing company for short-term rental owners.
She and her design partner, Katie Elliot of Koti Design Co. were hired by a local couple to do a complete re-design of this Geist home with the excitement of the Indianapolis 500.
Weber grew up going to the race with her family and recalls her favorite race day as a 500 Festival Princess. So she was up for the challenge of turning an ordinary home into a memorable short-term rentals for families visiting Indianapolis.
"We are in the business of creating epic, destination properties with incredible guest experiences," says Weber.
Weber says those photos on booking sites are an important piece of the puzzle in increasing occupancy for rentals. She says guests are looking for rooms that stand out as they imagine themselves in the space before booking.
"They're already telling themselves the story of what they are going to experience at your home," said Weber. "So we wanted to create those WOW moments throughout the property."
One way to bring the WOW moments to life, are the murals throughout the home. For that project, Weber partnered with local artist Erin Feldmeyer.
Feldmeyer is a full time photographer and content creator who also shares Weber's love of race day.
"I'm born and raised a Hoosier," said Feldmeyer. "Race day has always been something that's in my blood."
Feldmeyer shows off the mural in the living room of the IMS Pagoda packed with cheering fans as the IndyCars zoom past the yard of bricks.
"With the painting that's behind me, we really went into the ambiance of the crowd and the cheering and the fast cars," said Feldmeyer.
As a content creator and photographer, in addition to working as a muralist, she understands the importance of these special spaces for photos and memory-making.
"Everybody loves an "insta-grammable" moment," said Feldmeyer. "And I think that ya know, anybody who comes to this house will find little nooks and crannies to be able to post cute content, not only on their social media, but also to create memories here with friends and family"
In addition to a thematic, memorable short-term rental, part of the guest experience has to do with the hospitality of the host or hostess.
"Come into this industry from a place of wanting to be the hostess with the mostest," said Weber. "It's so much further than just having a beautiful home. It's how are you communicating with your guests, how are you educating them on what is in the area for them to be able to do."
Visit Indy also is available to assist people in hospitality and service industries on this. They provide an online or in-person course called Super Service. They are essentially giving hosts the handbook to the city.
"We want to ensure that the people that are at the forefront, front-facing to our visitors are armed with information, stats about Indianapolis, and ways to bring Hoosier hospitality to the visitor experience," said Synder.
Weber and her husband also own and run a co-hosting business called Hosted by the Webers. The came up with this idea from their love of hosting friends and family.
Now they manage more than 15 properties in the Indianapolis area. She says they know the important role that these properties play for the visitor experience, but they also prioritize the neighbors who live in these communities.
"We also want to make sure that we are doing right by all of the neighbors who have lived in these various different neighborhoods all over the city of Indy for a long time," said Weber. "So we make sure to introduce ourselves and let them know who we are and that kind of thing."
Weber says she hosts educational training sessions on her Facebook group for other short-term rental owners on best practices in the industry.
She says she works to educate other hosts on hospitality and how to elevate their rentals, plus she works to educate visitors on local businesses and attractions in the area.
For more on Visit Indy's Super Service program, visit https://www.superservicetraining.com/
If you want to learn more about The Weber Co. and Hosted by the Webers, you can find them at https://www.theweberco.com/.
