Menu planning for Christmas
Before your guests and the 80% of Irish people with New Year Resolutions in mind, go into the 'New Year, new me' mode, they will want to indulge and enjoy themselves during Christmas and delicious food is what will bring them through your door. Whether you put tradition or innovation first, what matters most is how good your Christmas menu plans are.
This won't be a surprise, but we encourage you to plan your Christmas menu as early as possible. Start brainstorming around March-April, have your initial menu drafted and its costs calculated around May-June (this is also the time to begin discussions with your suppliers), and spend July-August on refining your ideas, collecting all the allergen and nutrition details and informing your staff about what's cooking. This way, come September, you can have your final menu approved and your supplies ordered and delivered/scheduled. With guests starting to look at Christmas venues already in October (sometimes as early as August in Dublin!), it's time to start promoting your offerings and capturing those early bookers.
Inventory planning for Christmas
Stock and supply chain issues are increasingly affecting operators, so evaluating suppliers ahead of time and assessing the risk of supply issues can help to enhance the service your guests will receive. This might involve starting to market for Christmas bookings earlier than usual, thinking about alternative menus and assessing what produce is in demand vs what can be delivered. With all the pressure surrounding these circumstantial issues, it’s important to take the stress out of the functional operations that can be handled in the run-up.
Christmas rota planning
As the holiday season approaches, addressing staffing challenges takes centre stage for hospitality venues. The ongoing staffing crunch has already placed substantial strain on our dedicated hospitality workforce. Throughout the year, many businesses have found themselves compelled to trim operating hours or adjust their schedules and the ongoing ‘disconnect’ between supply and demand indicates that Irish employers who are looking to scale up for the Christmas season may struggle to fill the desire extra shifts or extended hours.
Again, planning ahead is key. Take a close look at your existing team composition, considering their skills and availability over the festive period to identify potential gaps. This proactive approach not only aids in maintaining team morale but also ensures you have the right people in place to deliver the best possible service to our cherished guests.
As well as driving recruitment to fill roles, it will be important to look at what else you can do to keep your venue running and support your teams. potentially allowing for a complete day of rest to rejuvenate teams and foster a healthy work-life balance.
And let's not forget the power of incentives. Drawing in new and temporary staff, as well as motivating your current team, can be achieved through thoughtful perks. Offering extra pay for public holidays, early Christmas compensation and engaging team-building activities – like dedicating an afternoon to sample the festive menu or throwing a heartwarming Christmas party – can uplift team spirits and create a vibrant atmosphere.
By putting your people first, you're not only crafting a well-prepared team for the festive rush, but you're also fostering an environment where each member feels valued and ready to deliver exceptional service.
Effective staff training for the Christmas rush
Another key area you will want to focus on in the run-up to the season is staff training. Where are your current teams up to? Are hygiene and compliance training up to date for all team members? Is your team’s allergens training up to date? With an estimated 3% of the Irish population having a food allergy, these are all important areas that will be critical to running a successful Christmas operation and can be tackled now rather than when your venue is busy.
You’ll also likely be using a range of temporary bar and restaurant staff to help fill shifts and manage the increased footfall. With recruitment still an ongoing challenge, you can make life a little easier for your GMs by developing an onboarding training programme for new and temporary team members that prioritises the most important areas of training.
Optimising Christmas bookings
Our friends at ResDiary report from across the water that there is a clear advantage for early planners: businesses who finalised their Christmas plans before August saw significantly more festive reservations, with nearly a quarter (24%) already fully booked by September. On the flip side, ResDairy also noticed, that despite Christmas being a busier period, a third (34%) of restaurants admit, that they are never fully booked. So, how can you make sure your venue is among those enjoying a fully booked festive season?
Reach the right guests with the right message
Your booking system, especially when integrated with a CRM system empowers you to make your Christmas marketing personal, reaching the right guests with the right message at the right time.
-
Target past bookers early - Our CRM experts have found that contacting previous bookers in the summer and as early as July can start to generate a healthy amount of bookings. Non-bookers are more likely to engage in Autumn with October being the sweet spot.
-
Personalise campaigns - Instead of wasting time and resources on generic campaigns, segment your audience and personalise your communications to increase your chances of converting interests into bookings.
-
Automate follow-ups - Setting up emails that can be automated off the back of known customers browsing your Christmas content online can help generate bookings throughout the upcoming months. For example, send a reminder to guests who viewed your Christmas menu but haven't booked yet.
Turn Wi-Fi into bookings
When guests log in to your Wi-FI, use the automatic redirect feature to send them directly to your Christmas homepage or run a short survey. Even a simple question like: “Are you ready for Christmas?” could help collect new data and convert interest into revenue - those who respond positively can be instantly segmented within your CRM and targeted with a personalised campaign showcasing your festive offerings or prebooking landing page.
Best CRM strategies for Christmas success
Outside of the tactics discussed above, our CRM experts strongly agree, that early planning, intact with the software, goes a long way.
Timing is everything
By December, it's hard to get standout, and the closer to Christmas, capturing attention becomes increasingly challenging. Open rates and click-through rates on standard Christmas emails tend to decline as the holiday approaches and "Christmas fatigue" sets in. While targeting customers based on their previous engagement can still yield last-minute bookings, generic mass emails at this point can lead to unsubscribes and complaints.
Embrace gamification
No one wants to decrease their customer database over the Christmas period so a couple of easy ways of helping engagement is through showcasing Christmas menus or gamification. A call to action enticing readers to view the menu, or even see behind the making of the menu can generate up to 65% of total clicks within emails. Gamification is becoming increasingly popular at Christmas time and can help maintain brand engagement while still driving sales.
It's also important to consider the religious sensitives around the festive season, so it may be worth considering whether you offer Christmas as an opt-out category in your preference centre or if you know your guests well, lean into their preferred celebrations, it’s not all about surviving 12 pubs of Christmas!
Enhancing loyalty programs for Christmas
To increase your chances of being fully booked or at least being closer by September and offer value to cost-conscious customers, make sure to leverage loyalty programs. With many people considering the impact of the cost of living crisis, it’s reported at least one in five Irish people are struggling, and generally spending less in the last months of the year, offering rewards, discounts or freebies, is one way to connect with those customers who are seeking value for their money.
Some common tactics include flash sales and early access, limited-edition holiday rewards, bonus rewards or festive tiers and challengers. But beyond including discounts on festive menus and complimentary drinks (or rewarding guests your other chosen way), you can use data from your CRM and loyalty program to send targeted offers and recommendations to members based on their preferences and past behaviour.
Ticketing strategies for holiday events
If you're hosting special events during Christmas or New Year's Eve, in addition to your booking system, you might want to introduce ticketing software. To maximise sales and make sure your operation is seamless, set up your ticketed events early. Get started by working on your ticketing site or customising the ticketing platform you're using. List your events, set up the terms and conditions, make it all look extra Christmassy to get your customers in the mood and promote your ticketed events in your communication.
Get ahead of Christmas planning
We know that preparing for the busiest time in hospitality calendars can be stressful, so hopefully, the tips outlined in this article will help you focus your efforts and approach the festive season with confidence.
We're here to support you every step of the way with our comprehensive suite of software solutions, from menu planning and inventory management to bookings, CRM, and staff training.
To learn more about Christmas planning, download our Ultimate Christmas Marketing Strategy Guide and make this Christmas your best yet.
