Your ultimate guide to managing Family Weekend
Family Weekend is a cornerstone event on college campuses — bringing together families, fostering community, and showcasing the student experience.
But behind the scenes, managing a seamless Family Weekend takes months of careful planning. From promotion and registration to check-in and execution, higher ed professionals juggle numerous tasks to ensure a memorable event.
Thankfully, tools like CampusESP for Event Management can make this process smoother and more efficient, reducing the burden on staff while boosting family engagement.
Read on for advice on how to approach each phase — and how CampusESP can help.
1. Promote Family Weekend: Drive excitement and registrations
A successful Family Weekend starts with early and consistent promotion. Families need plenty of notice to arrange travel and accommodations.
Tips for promotion success
Start early: Send “Save the Date” reminders 3-6 months in advance.
Use multiple channels: Email, text, and social media posts ensure broad reach.
Highlight the value: Emphasize opportunities for families to connect, engage with faculty, and experience campus life. And, yes, don’t forget all the details about the probable football game. Families — especially those experiencing a Family Weekend for the first time — want to understand what the event truly encompasses before committing to attend.
How CampusESP helps
With CampusESP, you can easily promote Family Weekend using the channels your families trust and know. Provide families with personalized emails and SMS alerts that resonate with their interests. Boost engagement further by targeting ads and emails based on registration status.
Success story: In 2023, Ole Miss sold out Family Weekend in just one hour with a single email through CampusESP — achieving a 64% open rate and reaching over 30,000 parents. Read how they did it!
2. Manage registration and attendee details: Simplify the process
Handling registration manually or with disjointed or outdated technology can be overwhelming — especially when managing hundreds (or thousands!) of family RSVPs. From tracking payments to dietary preferences to T-shirt sizes, keeping everything organized is a full-time job.
Tips for seamless registration
Offer online registration: Use a simple, user-friendly platform where families already are.
Collect key information early: Ask for attendee details, special accommodations, and event preferences during registration.
Send confirmations and reminders: Keep families informed about their registration status and event details.
How CampusESP helps
With CampusESP’s built-in Event Management features, your registration form is easily accessible to families in a space they already know and love. Flexible form builders allow you gather all the info you need, and with eCommerce support, forms can also include the option to purchase priced tickets, swag, and other add-ons.
The win for you: By replacing spreadsheets with a centralized platform that delivers easier data tracking and reporting — and that enriches your parent database — you free up your time to craft a more personalized experience.
Success Story: Georgia Tech revamped their Family Weekend registration process using CampusESP, resulting a 45% jump in ticket revenue and a much smoother experience from the team managing everything from swag orders to activity selections. Learn more about their process improvements and wins here.
3. Check-in and day-of operations: Ensure a smooth start
First impressions set the tone for the weekend. Families arriving on campus expect a seamless check-in process — and long lines or confusion can put a damper on their experience.
Tips for smooth check-in
Pre-print badges and materials: Speed up the process by having materials ready to go.
Multiple check-In stations: Avoid bottlenecks by distributing check-in locations.
Go digital with QR codes: Do away with pages of spreadsheets and highlighters and speed up the process.
How CampusESP helps
With CampusESP’s mobile-friendly check-in system, attendees simply scan a QR code — or your team can quickly look them up by name — dramatically reducing wait times and getting families to the fun faster. Walk-ins? Easily registered on the spot. Need to track and distribute event tickets, T-shirt orders, or parking passes? Who needs what is all at your fingertips.
Spend less time on logistics and more time enhancing customer service, so families can focus on making memories.
Success Story: When University of Cincinnati used CampusESP for Family Weekend check-in, wait times dropped by over 90%, making the check-in process seamless and enjoyable for families. Read about UC’s experience — or watch a fun video showing how it worked — here.
CampusESP: Your ultimate partner for Family Weekend success
CampusESP for Event Management is your all-in-one sidekick to promote, plan, and pull off an amazing Family Weekend.
Engage families effectively with tailored promotions.
Streamline registration and attendee tracking with automated processes.
Ensure smooth check-in that leaves families impressed from the start.
Family Weekend is one of your biggest events of the year — let CampusESP help make it a success! 🎉
