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Delco Manor bookings rise; director seeks fee changes and new software to manage growth
Summary
Delco Manor director reported increased bookings and revenue, said new marketing partnerships and software have boosted reservations, and proposed fee-structure changes and revenue strategies, while council asked for a paid-vs-gratis bookings report for the FY26 budget workshop.
Delco Manor reported sharper booking activity and rising revenue during a Town of Blythewood FY25 budget workshop, and the Manor director asked council to consider fee-structure changes to protect high-value dates and capture more revenue.
Fred Laymon, director of Delco Manor, told council that Manor bookings increased sharply after the venue switched marketing providers and implemented Active (events management) software. Laymon said the Manor had 66 bookings in the Oct. 1–Sept. 30 fiscal year period he reviewed and that bookings and revenue through the mid‑February reporting window suggested about $250,000 in revenue by Sept. 30 if current trends continued. “We had 66 bookings through September... with 7 months to go, we roughly have $250,000 in revenue coming in,” Laymon said.
Laymon said the town had replaced WeddingWire/Knot with EverBridal and that EverBridal, together with the Active software deployment, had started producing direct-booking leads. He said EverBridal contracts cost about $1,100 per month and that the Manor’s Active software implementation was scheduled to go live around May 1, with mid‑April testing. Active will allow web-based booking, calendar visibility and ticketing for paid events, Laymon said.
Laymon also asked council to consider changes to Manor pricing and usage rules so the town can protect premium Saturday nights and raise revenue for in‑house programming (for example, a ticketed concert series at the amphitheater). “Anytime this is open, it’s like a perishable time. You lose money. I don’t like to see it open,” Laymon said, advocating targeted pricing for peak dates and revenue-generating in-house programs.
Councilmember Brock asked for a two-part report at the next budget workshop: a current fiscal-year breakdown of Manor bookings by paid versus gratis (government/board) use and a projected bookings report for July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026. Laymon agreed to provide that report and to return with fee-change proposals for council consideration.
Council discussed staff use of the Manor for town business and an annual $12,000 line that staff said had historically subsidized town usage; council signaled interest in reviewing whether that subsidy amount remains appropriate given Manor revenues. Laymon also said Delco Manor had increased staffing from two full-time employees and 10 part-time attendants to four full timers and five trained part-time attendants and that bookings growth had increased required staffing hours.
Council asked Laymon to present Manor fee proposals and the paid-vs-gratis bookings report at the March budget workshop focused on FY26 so council can decide whether to adjust the town subsidy for government uses and to protect revenue during peak dates.
