How Can Restaurants Boost Christmas Bookings? | Festive Season Guide

The festive season is a hotly anticipated period in the hospitality calendar, thanks to the influx of customers that it can bring.  

From the third week of November, the sector enters a seven-week festive sprint that can be the most important financial period of the year, with 69% of venues taking significantly more revenue during this time. A positive figure, right? 

Yet while 8 in 10 restaurants agree that the festive season is a busier time compared to a normal trading period, a similar proportion (79%) still want to be busier.  

So, ResDiary spoke to venue operators across the UK and Ireland to gain insight into how hospitality businesses can make this happen – resulting in our festive report: ‘Beyond the Booking: The Festive Season Unwrapped’.

What's inside our Festive Season Guide?

• Key stats from UK & Ireland restaurants, bars and venues (like why August is your golden month for Christmas bookings)
• A month-by-month checklist to keep you on track from January to December
• Tips on early-bird offers, menu planning, and table management
• Real data showing how early prep = more bookings and less stress 
  
  

The festive season in numbers

Why this guide can help restaurants boost Christmas bookings

ResDiary’s Beyond the Booking: Festive Season Unwrapped report is your go-to-guide for boosting Christmas bookings and turning the festive season into your most profitable period.  

By analysing insights from hospitality operators across the UK and Ireland, our guide reveals exactly what separates the fully booked venues from the underprepared. 

Here’s what the numbers say: 

• 82% of venues that start planning before August take significantly more revenue during the festive season.
• Only 18% of early planners say they’re never fully booked, compared to 34% of all venues.
• 89% of restaurants that spend over £1,000 on festive advertising are fully booked by September.
• 75% of restaurants require deposits during the festive season to reduce no-shows, and that jumps to 95% among the highest earners. 

But it’s not just about increasing Christmas bookings. The report shows that 64% of venues see customers spending more during the festive period, and 82% sell more vouchers - a huge opportunity to boost revenue and encourage return visits in January.  

With this knowledge, you can turn insights into action.  

And our guide is full of valuable actions to take, including when to launch your campaign to generate the most reservations, how to use pre-orders and set menus, when table management systems are essential for handling the festive rush, and how to reduce staff stress while simultaneously improving guest experience. 

Download the full Festive Season Guide 

Ready to turn insights into action? Download ‘Beyond the Booking: The Festive Season Unwrapped’ now and gain access to exclusive statistics, actionable strategies, and expert analysis tailored to today’s hospitality industry. 

If you would like further support with any of the tools recommended within the report, our team are here to guide you, so don't hesitate to book a demo and chat to us.

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