Whether you're a restaurant, pub, or bar, you want to ensure that you're providing an exceptional experience for your customers and maximising your sales potential. You may be wondering how to market your business effectively, create appealing offers and promotions, or manage staffing and inventory levels during busy periods.
Well don't worry, we've got you covered! In this article, we'll share some valuable insights and tips to help you plan for bank holidays and ensure you have a profitable season. By implementing these strategies, you'll be well-prepared to make the most of the bank holiday season and boost your business's bottom line.
When are the bank holidays in 2023
To make the most of the bank holiday season and attract customers to your hospitality business, it's important to know when these coveted days occur.
While the year begins with New Year's Day, the UK's bank holiday season truly kicks off in the spring. Easter weekend falls on April 7th and 10th, with the Early May bank holiday following on May 1st.
May is especially busy with a bonus bank holiday on May 8th to celebrate King Charles III's coronation, as well as the spring bank holiday on May 29th.
Northern Ireland has its own unique bank holiday on July 12th for the Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen's Day) and then joins England and Wales in celebrating the summer bank holiday on August 28th.
Scotland celebrates its summer bank holiday earlier on August 7th and also has a holiday on November 30th for St. Andrew's Day.
The year ends with a bang as all countries in the UK celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day on December 25th and 26th.
Knowing when these bank holidays occur and planning accordingly is essential for maximising revenue and creating successful promotions and events for your hospitality business.
How to attract people to your venue on the bank holiday weekend
1. Create and promote a special offer
A bank holiday is a great opportunity for hospitality businesses to attract customers and boost their revenue. To make the most of these special days, it's important to be creative and offer something unique to your customers. Creating a special offer or limited-time deal can not only generate excitement but also increase your profit margins on low-cost, high-demand products.
Ideas for bank holiday offers:
- Customised food and drinks. The Easter weekend and other bank holidays provide a perfect opportunity to showcase your culinary skills and create themed dishes or drinks that customers will love. For example, you could design a special menu around Easter favourites like lamb, hot cross buns and chocolate, or create a floral-themed cocktail or afternoon tea for the May Day bank holiday.
- Bottomless brunch. Bank holidays often mean a break from the usual routine, and customers may be looking for something special to do with their extra free time. A bottomless brunch is a popular option that can be offered at quieter times of the day to help fill the restaurant. To keep costs under control, be sure to set clear boundaries around timing and what is included in the deal.
- Family packages. With schools and workplaces closed, bank holidays are a great opportunity to target families with special offers. For example, consider offering a sharing roast platter on Sundays or Mondays, or run a ‘kids eat free’ promotion when at least two adults dine. This can help attract families looking for good value and a place to spend time together.
2. What are your best features
Like you, your competitors will be hoping to capitalise on the event, so ensure customers choose you, not them. Take a look around your business to identify your best features and use them to your advantage.
If the weather is forecast to be dry, highlight the fact you have a kids play area in your beer garden. If the outlook isn’t so good, remind customers you’ve got board games available to play by a cosy fire.
These features don’t have to be big ones. Your business could simply be situated in the same area as a bank holiday event or perhaps you allow dogs into your restaurant or pub and have treats available for pampered pooches. If so, simply communicate these things to your customers in advance so they know they have somewhere to eat after the event, or can spend the bank holiday with their four-legged friends too.
3. Use social media
Get the message out that you’ll be open to a wide audience and use social media to promote your special offers and create a buzz around your restaurant or pub in the run-up to – and during – the bank holiday weekend. According to the Access Hospitality Tech Shift Report, 60% of regular restaurant-goers said they look online for menus, photos and reviews before visiting a venue, so take lots of photos of your food and drink and create eye-catching assets to convince your followers to visit you.
Take advantage of a social scheduling tool like Acteol CRM to post regularly over the weekend and help maintain momentum while you and your staff are focused elsewhere. Remind your followers to like and share your posts to reach a wider audience.
4. Collect data
Don't miss out on the opportunity to collect valuable data from the bank holidaymakers who visit your business. Whether they're new customers or regulars, gathering data on your hospitality CRM system can help you retarget them for future visits and potentially increase their average spend per visit.
By segmenting the data, if your CRM system allows it, such as Acteol, you can gain insights into bank holiday behavior, including peak times, popular dishes, and the types of guests who choose to dine or drink with you. This information can help you plan ahead for the next bank holiday.
Make sure that all digital touchpoints, such as online reservations, WiFi, and order-at-table systems, are set up to collect contact details, and don't forget to ask for consent to contact customers with marketing materials in the future.
5. Email existing customers
One of the easiest ways to attract custom over the bank holiday is to contact the customers already on your database. Email marketing is simple to activate and can produce 174% more conversions than social media according to Campaign Monitor.
Think about the content and how it might convince the receiver to book your restaurant or pub. As well as outlining all your plans for the bank holiday weekend, offer them a reward for their loyalty such as a free drink or dessert with a reservation that will also incentivise the reader to book.
The effectiveness of your email marketing campaign also depends on timing. Ensure that you communicate your offer to your existing customers ahead of time, bank holiday-related search term volumes tend to increase ahead of the date on Google. According to search trends data, people typically start searching for information about bank holidays around one to two weeks before the holiday date. This is especially true for the Easter and May bank holidays, which tend to see a significant increase in search volumes.
6. Update business hours and info
In this digital age it’s highly like that the majority will be heading online to plan their bank holiday activity, so make sure all information they find about your business is up-to-date.
Businesses often change opening hours over a bank holiday, so potential customers will be seeking clarification around these for your restaurant or pub. Updating your hours, or simply communicating that it’s business as usual will help avoid confusion and disappointment.
Ensure all digital touchpoints are updated with relevant information, including your website, Google Business listing and social channels. Bear in mind that 89% of dining research is done by mobile before visiting a restaurant according to Think with Google so make sure your website is mobile optimised and these pages are updated too.
7. Optimise the booking experience
The point of booking marks the start of a customer’s journey, so use this opportunity to make a great first impression and also quell any potential fears that you’ll be too busy to provide good service.
Personalise the experience for your guests so they know you care. Ask here about any dietary requirements within their party to reassure them you take this seriously and if they have any special requests for their visit.
You could offer to take pre-orders so they have a guarantee their favourite dish will be available and help build excitement ahead of their business. Incentivise them to do so by offering a free item, or a discount for all pre-orders. It is also beneficial for the business as the kitchen knows what they have to prepare and when, taking stress off the team and providing a better experience for customers during their visit.
Ready to start planning?
In this article we’ve looked at some of the ways businesses can maximise their revenue during bank holidays. As well as the great tips in this article, there’s even more help available in our Bank Holiday Planning Guide – packed with expert advice on everything from managing inventory to scheduling your staff. With the right preparation, bank holidays can be a huge success for your business, so check out the link below to get your guide now.