You may be relieved that the holidays are over, but now is the best time to set yourself up for a successful holiday season in 2018! Typically, the month of December is the highest grossing financial period of the year, so you want to take advantage of every opportunity. Below are seven ideas to help you create a program for private holiday parties that you can start selling right now.

1.  Schedule Two Turns

Create specific reservation times for private parties, so you can guarantee two turns per lunch or dinner service periods. For instance, schedule a 5:30pm event that must end by 7:30pm, and then a second reservation at 8:00pm. To help manage the flow of guests during the turn, direct them to a separate reception area to begin their party. Add hors d'oeuvres and cocktails to increase the banquet check average.

2.  Re-Book Parties from Last Year

Contact customers who just celebrated with you to see if they'd like to re-book for this year. Often companies and families like to create a tradition of celebrating at the same location from year to year. Confirming a date early in the year also takes the pressure off of the event planner. They are able to reserve a prime date, and they don't have to worry about running out of venue selections closer to the holidays.

3.  Create Menu Packages

Creating a set of holiday-themed menu packages for the season offers many benefits. For the customer, they make the ordering process fun and easy. For the venue, they ensure a higher check average to maximize revenue and they help streamline kitchen and service operations. Service needs to be very efficient when trying to turn a room without compromising the guests' experience.

4.  Include Decorations

Providing beautiful room decorations and re-usable centerpieces for private dining events adds value from the event planner's viewpoint. The host wants to select a festive venue for their guests, but don't want to use money from their party budget on décor. Re-usable centerpieces also help expedite the room turns because you don't have to coordinate floral deliveries or compete with guests trying to decorate. There are many fun ideas such as wreaths with hurricane lamps, ceramic gingerbread houses or decorative bowls filled with sparkling ornaments.

5.  Sell Gifts and a Game To Distribute Them

Another way to increase the banquet check average is to sell and wrap gifts that can be given to guests at the party. Gifts with your venue's logo can also increase brand awareness. Gift exchanges are notorious for extending the end time of an event. To alleviate this problem, invent a fun game with easy directions that can be played in a short amount of time.

6.  Offer Thanksgiving Dinners To Go

Many hotels, restaurants and clubs offer Thanksgiving dinners to go. This can be a cost effective way to increase revenue during November, which is typically a slower month. Recipes should be tested, so accurate cooking, warming and serving instructions can be provided. If possible, enable your guests to order online to increase awareness and add convenience.

7.  Host a New Year's Eve Party

A New Year's Eve party is often an excellent way to top off event sales on the last day of the year. Guests expect to a pay premium price, so throw a party they'll not soon forget. Of course, your vendors will be charging premium prices too. Try to develop partners that you can book every year at guaranteed rates.

Those are a just few ideas to help you create a holiday program that will help you maximize event sales and profits for the end of this year. If successful, you may want to try using some of these concepts to add revenue during other busy seasons. To help manage all of the many private events you'll be booking, you're going to need an excellent event sales and catering software program. We've got just the one … ReServe Cloud. For more information, go to www.reserveinteractive.com and click on Demo.

About ReServe Interactive

ReServe Interactive specializes in Sales & Catering, Event Management, Dining Reservations and Table Management software for the hospitality industry and has been helping customers optimize their operations since 1998. ReServe Interactive software is used by more than 20,000 users across 14 markets nationwide including restaurants, catering companies, sports arenas and stadiums, entertainment centers, golf and private clubs, cultural institutions, convention centers, hotels and resorts, universities, wineries and more. The company is located in Livermore, California. To learn more, visit www.reserveinteractive.com.

Beth Goodell
Chief Marketing Officer
9254566700
ReServe Interactive

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