10 ideas for a restaurant to increase revenue at Christmas and year-end

Below we share a few ideas we have used in our own restaurants that have helped us increase Christmas and year-end revenue by 200% more than sales usually grow during that season.

1 – Company events.

Offer your restaurant to companies so they can hold their year-end events or parties. Put together a special package for the occasion that includes everything: food, desserts, drinks, activities, raffles among employees, and so on.

Busy bosses will appreciate that everything is included, and they will hire the service without a doubt.

2 – Gift card for dinners or lunches.

Christmas is for giving: some people give gifts all season long because they are carried along by the holiday spirit, and others do it because they feel obligated 😀 — and you should make the most of both cases.

Let people buy a gift card equivalent to a dinner or lunch for any friend or family member, so the recipient can enjoy it with their family or partner.

When the recipients arrive, do not forget to apply loyalty techniques so they keep coming back to your restaurant.

We covered this topic in the article How to build customer loyalty in a restaurant? A practical explanation from real life.

3 – Open the day after the holidays.

December 25 and January 1 are spectacular dates for restaurants. Do not stay home to rest. If you have to give your team a day off, make it the 24th and the 31st; sales tend to be lower on those two days because people are busy with their own preparations.

If your restaurant is not in a shopping mall, it is better to open the day after the holidays.

4 – Run a special raffle among the guests who visit you in December.

Announce on Facebook, on Twitter, and other channels that you will hold a drawing among all the guests who spend money at your restaurant on those dates.

You will create a decisive reason that finally convinces the people who were already planning to visit your restaurant, and you will attract those who are undecided.

5 – Special discounts during the last two weeks of December.

A special discount will increase the number of guests. Make sure it is attractive enough to bring in many new guests who can later become regulars.

You already know that increasing the number of regulars is key to increasing your restaurant's revenue, as we mentioned in the article A strategy to keep guests coming back to your restaurant.

6 – End-of-year student farewell parties.

Finishing school is a big event in the lives of young people who are about to start college; they know that many of them will not see each other again, so holding farewell parties is almost mandatory.

Offer student farewell service at your restaurant following the company events model, but adapted to a young crowd.

In the end, this strategy helps you bring in guests in groups, as we mentioned in the article Bringing in guests in groups to increase a restaurant's revenue and sales.

7 – Turkey preparation for households.

You have kitchens, you have ovens, and so on. A good share of people want to eat turkey but do not have the time to prepare it.

Offer the service and you will see how you bring in extra money during the season.

8 – Make the most of the kids' school break

Promote activities for children inside the restaurant: drawing contests, clowns, children's entertainers, face painting, games, and so on.

Remember that a good share of them are on vacation, and if you focus on the kids, many families will not hesitate to visit your restaurant, especially knowing that they can eat in peace thanks to the children's activities you have prepared.

9 – Give a toy to your guests' children

With the purchase of a certain kids' menu item, offer a toy that is nice but also inexpensive.

This technique is widely used by large chains and it certainly works very well.

As for the parents, do not forget to apply techniques that increase the sale per table. We covered this topic in the article How to increase revenue per table in your restaurant, and do not hesitate to take the opportunity to increase restaurant revenue with drinks. We covered this topic in the article Increase your restaurant's sales with the psychological effect of drinks.

10 – Be part of social campaigns

Actively taking part in any social movement (food for people living on the street, toy drives for children from low-income families, and so on) is truly effective advertising. Committing to a cause and showing your commitment to society is often a captivating element that motivates people to eat at your restaurant. You make your restaurant "likable" to people, and that turns into more sales.

Do not hesitate to put some of these ideas into practice; we assure you that you will see excellent results.

Important note: Do not forget how important it is to change your advertising; during this season it is TRULY key. We covered this topic in the article Attracting guests to your restaurant with changing advertising.