How to increase Christmas bookings at your venue

Photo: The Gourmandiser

Christmas is the most profitable time of the year for venues, so ensuring you get your share of bookings should be a priority. A well-thought-out strategy will help you fill your restaurant over the festive period. Starting your campaign early and being proactive will not only help you feel more in control but will also allow you to increase the visibility of your offering and capitalise on the occasion. 

Whilst it may be prudent to use some of your marketing budget on adverts (social, PPC, print), time invested in free and low-cost marketing activities will pay dividends. You don’t need a huge budget, allocating 5% of your projected sales revenue should allow you to invest in digital marketing as well as in your venue.

Guests are looking for authentic and unique experiences so make sure your brand and USP’s shine in your campaign. Highlight your great chefs and well-crafted menu, the friendly team and cosy venue. Shout about your festive cocktail menu and extravagant Instagramable decorations. All of this will add to your venue’s appeal and set you apart from the competition. 

Start early 

I know, Christmas gets earlier every year however, to get ahead of the game, you should aim to start your Christmas campaign towards the end of August. Plan your strategy and campaign so you can just press go as people return to work after the Summer holidays. If you haven’t started early, start now.

Offer festive set menus 

Many guests will be looking for a fixed-price set menu of two and three courses that offer good value. Create an attractive package that is competitively priced and perhaps includes a welcome drink or a Christmas gift that adds value to the customer at a low cost to you. Drinks packages work well as an upsell and allow corporate bookers to budget and remove concerns about escalating costs once the fizz starts to flow on the day! For more casual street food concepts, alternatives like a pizza and beer buffet or tacos and cocktail packages can offer an attractive alternative to the traditional set menu.

Photograph and video content 

Guests eat (and book) with their eyes so creating a bank of stunning content to use across all your channels is key to capturing potential guests' attention. Invest the time and budget in photographing some or all of your Christmas menu well in advance. The shot list should include images and video of key dishes shot at different angles, drinks and cocktails, a decorated venue and action shots of “guests” enjoying themselves. Behind-the-scenes and meal prep content can work well too.

Create a Christmas booking page 

All marketing channels lead to your website so an attractive page dedicated to promoting your Christmas offering is essential. Include the menus, great images, availability and other key information. Not only will this reduce in-person enquiries and save you time, but also ensures you don’t lose potential bookings to a competitor.  Make it easy to access all the information - your online presence is where most new customers will form their initial impressions of you, and you want them to be good.  Using keywords related to Christmas parties on the dedicated page will boost your visibility in search engines.

The Beyond the Booking Hospitality Report reveals that 54% of those surveyed preferred to make reservations through a restaurant's website, with only 13% opting to call. So, investing in a booking system like Design My Night or Opentable will convert more visitors to reservations. A contact form for group bookings is also an option, just ensure you respond promptly to avoid them looking elsewhere. A booking system will also keep you organised and on top of group bookings. Some systems take deposits and manage payments too. 

The Botanist is a good example of how to market Christmas on your website.  

Email list 

If you don’t have an email list, start one today! (I cover this here). Selling to a warm audience is much easier than to people who have never heard of you. Create an early bird offer if guests book in November and create a series of automated emails that lure them in and clinch the deal.

Photo: The Gourmandiser

Socials 

Getting seen via organic posts is growing increasingly challenging across social media platforms. Reels tend to get a higher reach than a standard post, so it’s worth investing time in creating engaging content that can be used in a variety of formats. Facebook and Instagram paid advertising are also an incredibly powerful marketing tool which allows you to target key customers in your location based on their likes and behaviours, as well as providing the option to retarget people who have already visited your website. According to Google, combining retargeting ads with the other advertising you already do can help you increase your sales by 50%. 

Table talkers and venue posters 

A key element of your Christmas Campaign will be delivered in your venue using table talkers and posters. Engage already loyal customers using a combination of high-quality photos from your Christmas dishes along with the menu and a QR code for more info. You can also include a flyer with the bill . These can be easily created in-house using a service like Canva.  

Review the impact of your activity 

The quiet period in January will allow you to take some time to assess the success of your Christmas campaign and identify the most effective activities whilst the data is still fresh in your mind. Metrics to review include website traffic, did it increase? And the source of the traffic, was it from Facebook or Instagram, was it from the newsletter?. Using services like Meta Business Suite to review engagement stats on social media can be helpful and steer your strategy for future campaigns.

Sound like a lot of work? It can be, especially if marketing is not your bag and you want to focus on the operation of your restaurant. Utilising an affordable freelance service like The Gourmandiser will save you time and money and increase your bookings and revenue.  

If you would like to chat about how I could support you in the run-up to the Christmas period, please get in touch.