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How to max out your venue at Christmas time

Halloween is over, and once you’ve put your costume away, thrown out the gradually rotting pumpkins, and eaten all the trick or treat sweets, it is inevitable that your mind turns to… Christmas. To say that there’s a lot of pressure on Christmas this year would be an understatement. I think it’s fair to say that we were all starved of a bit of festive spirit last year, so now everybody is looking forward to making up for lost time.

There’s so much you can do to make sure you don’t miss the Christmas rush this year. There are so many opportunities to boost your profits, and make sure that your venue is doing everything in its power to get people into the Christmas mood. Let’s look through a couple of the best ways you can max out on Christmas this year.

Remember Christmas parties aren’t just for the evening

Over the last few years, going out has shifted from being purely a night-time activity to happening in the day too! The arrival of the ‘bottomless brunch’ has meant that people are willing to spend big money going out during daylight hours. This is great for your business because it means footfall remains consistent throughout the day, instead of the usual 9pm peak. This is perfect for Christmas time because it means that you can host champagne brunch or a bottomless festive afternoon tea, as well as the usual is likely to go just as well as the roast turkey dinner parties.

Use data effectively

Christmas is a remarkably busy period. In practice, this often means that venues forget about the final changes in the last-minute rush to the finish line. However, it’s these minute details that can make or break your festive period. Most venues have a database, but often forget about it at this time of year. Your database contains your failsafe secret weapon to increase revenue at this time of year. By targeting specific demographics, personalising your marketing content, or simply pushing more email content that reminds your previous customers about your festive packages, you can increase your pre-2022 revenue.

Reward, not discount

Since the pandemic, the public have been made more conscious of the impact of their spending. Consumers are now more likely to shop at independent retailers rather than chains, more aware of the welfare and needs of hospitality staff, and more willing to spend more to help keep the economy afloat. You can capitalise on this by subtly changing for nature of your exclusive offers and deals over the festive season. Rather than give your customers heavy discounts on your food, drinks, and products, why not offer them points instead? Not only will it increase your profits, but it will also encourage brand loyalty that will keep you going well into the New Year.

Here at Booked it, we can help you manage the run up to Christmas without ending up run off your feet. Not only can our booking system assist you in hosting more ‘bottomless brunches’ over the course of the day and well into the evening, but it can also help you collect data that will help you to understand your customers better, and finesse the fine details of your marketing strategies. Our loyalty scheme will also help to engender a sense of customer loyalty without making your business model untenable with happy hours, free drinks, and deals on food packages.