Snowball Effect: How To Maximise Hospitality Sales In Winter
With a powdering of ice on your venue’s façade, and a shiver running through your guests, it’s easy to think that winter is bad for hospitality. But far from it – this is the time we want to be cared for more than ever. A clever business will adapt, becoming an oasis of warmth and indulgence until the sleet melts from the treetops for another year.
It’s a chance for your best bits to pick up a snowball effect, collecting great ideas as the months slouch by. What might they be, though? We’ve taken the lead here, and have isolated some tips for making a hospitality business fit for winter…
Draw up a delicious seasonal menu
Through November to February, people want a seasonal palette – there’s no getting away from it. Most of the time, this doesn’t have to be taken for a tricky, expensive collection of food and drink. Amazing soup is enough; ditto a cinnamon-spiced latte, or mulled wine for late nights by a fire.
Re-jig your menu to push the winter-themed selections i.e. anything that’s hot, nourishing or delectably sweet. Some creative signage will give the whole campaign a fresh feel.
Add festive promotions for Christmas and New Year
It’s strange when we consider how much people like to party in the cold. Yet a sensational Christmas promotion (say, lunch with a live band, and a small token gift for large table bookings) will infuse your business with the joy of anticipation.
The same is true of the New Year. You can dip a toe into strange cocktail menus, launching wilder concepts than usual to capitalise on the ‘anything goes’ philosophy. Perhaps run a quiz or weeks-long competition on things that’ve happened over the last 12 months, with a prize or special discount for the winner.
Make steps towards a delivery service
This may only apply to restaurants, but it’s an awesome strategy to show that you’re flexible with a customer’s preference to stay in their own home. Reward their appetite for your brand by introducing a ‘winter-only’ delivery option i.e. selections on meals and drinks that can arrive on any local doorstep, for a fee.
Even on a modest basis, with one or two drivers, it’s enough to mark you apart from competitors who can’t bend to domestic comforts.
Give your outdoor areas a winter makeover
Some hospitality owners think that outdoor spaces are a lost cause until March or April. That, however, is selling them far too short. Customers will flock to your garden, terrace, patio etc. if it’s beautiful and cosy through the season.
Dress the walls in fairy lights. Install heaters (linked to a backup generator) around conversational hotspots. And preserve dry heads with a commercial parasol, such as the Eclipse unit or a series of Café canopies above the table layout. They’ll ensure guests can shrug off the winds, hail and snow, staying in the epicentre of your business until closing time.
Our Instashade catalogue can furnish these aims for any season, come rain, sleet or shine. Take our tips with you as the hospitality sector readies for a chill in the air, even when plenty of heated interest is coming your way…
