Giving engaged couples the gift of travel—instead of blenders and gravy boats—is a rapidly rising trend. Since 2010, online honeymoon registry use have nearly tripled. Today, 29 percent of newlywed couples create one, according to The Knot 2019 Registry Study.
The upswing makes sense. Millennials prefer “experiences” over retail products as gifts, according to multiple reports. Plus, these days many more couples live together before marriage. Thus, they’ve already acquired all the requisite dishes, glassware and kitchen appliances.
“The honeymoon registry industry is definitely booming,” says James Earwicker, the newly named CEO of San Diego-based Honeymoon Wishes (a Mindgruve Ventures company). Earwicker is a former executive at Wells Fargo and Everbank, and was CEO of SanDiego.com.
In 2003, Honeymoon Wishes was the first service of its kind to launch in the market. Since its inception, the company has created memorable honeymoons for more than one million customers.
Honeymoon Wishes reinvented the wedding gift industry by focusing on providing online registries aimed at honeymoon-related gifts and experiences. It allows wedding guests to give things like flights, hotel stays and destination activities.
Using a Honeymoon Registry
How it works: Couples choose the options they are interested in receiving. Guests go online and choose what to give. Tey are charged a 7-percent service fee. Honeymoon registry etiquette calls for guests to pay the fee, though couples can, but rarely do, opt to absorb that fee.
Several competing honeymoon registry sites have sprung up over the past decade. Earwicker says Honeymoon Wishes differentiates itself from newer competition with both quality and quantity of industry partners.
The company is the exclusive registry provider for more than 300 travel suppliers—including Four Seasons, Hilton Hotels and Carnival Cruise Lines. Honeymoon Wishes also provides “white-glove” service for nearly 60,000 travel agents and wedding planners.
White-glove service means travel agents and wedding planners can oversee creation and management of a Honeymoon Wishes registry for their clients.
“I wish I’d had the option of using a honeymoon registry back when I got married,” Earwicker says. “It’s a very visual thing, and it’s very easy to set up and to use.”
Most couples offer a link to a honeymoon registry on their now de rigueur engagement website or blog page. Truth be told: Isn’t it more fun keeping track of gifts like Hawaiian resort stays and horseback-riding adventures than Salad Spinners and stainless-steel measuring cups? J&J
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