Summer sales: 5 tips for sizzling restaurant revenue
Summer can be a fantastic time for the hospitality industry; especially if you’re a pub, restaurant or venue close to the UK’s tourist hot spots.
But what if you’re in a location that traditionally struggles in the August heat? As the cities empty out, it can be tough for some spots to drive sales when commuter traffic is down and their regulars have relocated to the coast.
Check out my top 5 tips below on how to make the most of the summer, and drive that much needed revenue ready for a great Autumn.
Host summer special events
Reasons to Visit might feel like spending money in a quiet time, but during the summer they’re more important than ever. Great summer events include special supper clubs, live music, weekend one-off brunches or themed nights.
If you’re a family-centric venue then think about events which focus around keeping little ones entertained; craft tables, children’s entertainers, activity workshops and music shows are all brilliant ways to give tired parents a well earned break during the summer- which means more money in your tills!
Top Tip: running an experience? Host it on Air Bnb experiences to drive the tourist trade. They will take a cut, but it could bring you in a whole new audience who could make you their favourite stop off spot during their holiday.
2. Have a seasonal set menu
August is a great way to trial a fresh, new menu and see which dishes could become a more regular feature of your current rotation. Offer a set menu to drive your off-peak times (lunchtimes are a great opportunity for this)- and experiment with the dishes to see what works.
Take a look at your competitors and make sure you’re competitively priced; yes, you have to make margins but you want to be appealing enough that you’re the first place people think of when they want to treat themselves to a nice lunch.
Want to be even more irresistible? Add a glass of champagne or a special cocktail onto your menu for less than £7 to really make the offer pop.
3. Automate, automate, automate!!!
I CANNOT stress this enough- booking automation will make or break you during the summer.
So many restaurant and pub bookings are made on a whim during the summer season- whether that’s because you’ve got a great beer garden and the sun has decided to come out, or it’s chucking it down (classic) and plans now need to change.
If you’re not taking bookings on the day, or you’re taking enquiries only then ultimately you will end up losing business- potential guests will go to your competitors purely because it’s convenient.
Make sure that you’re agile enough to take those last minute bookings and make the most of the season. Top tip: If you’re concerned about last minute bookings then have a small selection of tables with ‘reserved’ signs on them just incase.
4. Pivot to the right audience
There’s the ‘flogging the dead horse’ phrase we all know…and this could not apply more to hospitality in the summer months.
If you’re in a corporate-heavy part of town, August is not the month to double down on this audience: you can’t convert what’s not there.
Instead, this is a great time to experiment with different groups of people who might not have tried your brand before; think back from uni students, families and tourists.
The tourist market is notouriously hard to pin down, so consider a partnership with your local hotels, air bnb’s or even tourist information spots (having menus in different languages is always a bonus, too). For families, reach out to local mums groups on facebook; for students back from holidays make sure you’ve got a great happy hour offer, and for locals look into a loyalty scheme for one month only which drives repeat business for people close to you.
It’s also a great time to experiment with partnerships; some of my favourite hospitality partners to work with include Breeze Social, Thursday, Dusk and DrinksPass.
5. Pre-plan (don’t panic)
Ok soz, because this won’t be helpful if you’re actually reading this in the summer. But the fact is that for any sales campaign to work, it needs at least 6 weeks’ of lead time to make an impact.
If you’re looking for something to change your fortunes right now, then yes, depending on budget you’ll be able to move the needle a little bit. But for next year, make a note in your diary to get your summer planning sorted in April. This gives you plenty of time to organise menus, booking types, promotions, guest comms, partnerships…the list goes on.
Done right, the summer can really pay: but it shouldn’t ever be an afterthought.
Oh, and if you are reading this in Summer? It’s the perfect time to get your Autumn plans sorted.