Christmas is a magical time of year, but also a busy one – especially where the hospitality industry is concerned. And with staff shortages increasing ahead of the festive season, it’s more important than ever that your business prepares itself as soon as possible. Here are some of the chief considerations when it comes to being ready for the hectic Christmas period.
The Menu and Drinks List
The very first thing you should be thinking about is your offering. Do you have a niche you intend to fill this festive period? What kind of menu will you put together, and what kind of customer experience do you intend to cultivate?
If you’re a drinks-led venue, think about the kind of beverages you’ll be selling and the produce you’ll need, and put together a stock order list to suit. This might include spirits and syrups for festive cocktails, and ingredients for mulled wines or ciders.
As for food-led venues, meet with your head chef to discuss what the menu for the Christmas period will look like. If it’s drawn up far in advance, you can place an order for ingredients and be sure to get them before demand really starts to rise.
The Decorations
Next, you need to think about how to transform your space for the holidays. Draw up some basic design ideas: will you be installing a Christmas tree? Will you need to re-arrange your furniture, or introduce additional seating to cope with demand? What about bar and reception areas? Your decoration considerations should go beyond hanging tinsel, and take into consideration your USP as a venue.
The Marketing Approach
Next, you should pay close attention to how you’ll market your business ahead of the festive season. Your natural footfall will increase, but cannot be relied upon in isolation. Create adverts for your winter offering in the form of posters with branded designs, with information about your new Christmas menus and events. You should also utilise social media heavily, with regular posts about your upcoming offers and specials.
The Staff
Lastly, you will need to make provisions with regard to your staffing. The Christmas rush is real, and without hiring additional bodies to cope with demand you may find your service suffering, your existing staff tiring and your custom waning. As such, it is important that you get the Christmas recruitment drive under way as soon as possible. That way, you’ll be well placed to source and train employees about your venue and your offering before the festive fun begins in earnest.
