This year, unlock the full potential of the holidays for your restaurant. Learn how to create unforgettable customer experiences during peak holiday periods with these effective operational strategies.

The Restaurant Playbook for Profitable Holiday Experiences

This year, unlock the full potential of the holidays for your restaurant. Learn how to create unforgettable customer experiences during peak holiday periods with these effective operational strategies. 
 
Download the playbook and establish your restaurant as a go-to this year.

glasses with orange wine and roasted poultry in the background

Get the guide

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

Gated Content

In Tock’s recent webinar, &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhtuMF-WDvg&amp;t=7s">Mastering the Holidays</a>,&#8221; our expert panelists share insights to make this season your most successful yet. 
<h3>1. Experiment with innovative offerings this holiday season.</h3>
During this time of year, people want to create memories around the holidays and are willing to spend to get them. “Guests want to feel indulgent. That is kind of the expectation around the holidays—they want to feel special,” explains Tock hospitality manager Elan Palmitessa. 
Now is the time to get creative and think outside the box. Whether offering a menu with high-end ingredients like truffles or caviar or pouring vintage wines and premium spirits to enhance your dinner service, you have room to play. 
That said, not every experiment will strike gold—and that’s okay. Sophie Brochu, senior copywriter at Tock and business owner at <a href="https://www.exploretock.com/brochusfamilytradition">Brochu&#8217;s Family Tradition</a> in Savannah, GA, advocates for honing in on your strengths. “You don&#8217;t have to be everything to everyone. You can choose what you&#8217;re good at and not try to do every single thing with every single holiday. It takes an amount of confidence and restraint to be able to say no—and that&#8217;s okay, too.”
<h3>2. Provide your special offerings throughout the season instead of just the major holidays.</h3>
Thanksgiving and Christmas are the main acts, but why limit your business to just two blockbuster occasions? According to senior account manager Melissa Maciejewski, restaurants that earn substantially during the holidays offer holiday-themed menus, upgrades, and experiences throughout the season.
 “The businesses with the most traffic and revenue on Tock offered ongoing experiences from the end of November through the first week of January. People are primed to celebrate and spend money, so definitely think big during the season because guests are ready for it,” said Maciejewski. 
We’ve got some ideas to get you started:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Run a weeknight Friendsgiving menu for the month of November.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Host a Feast of the Seven Fishes. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Add luxe upgrades to everyday offerings like caviar and champagne with fried chicken. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Curate cocktail or wine kits as to-go packages.  </li>
</ul>
<h3>3. Incorporate deposits to cover your bottom line and help your staff.</h3>
No-shows impact everything from your bottom line to the overall vibe in your restaurant. Maciejewski knows firsthand that no-shows hit you where it hurts—revenue and staff morale.  “You put in all of this time and effort to crafting a beautiful holiday experience, make sure that the people who said they would join you will be there,” she advises.
Tock’s prepayment feature is proven to reduce no-shows, helping to keep guests on the hook for their reservations. With deposits, you can safeguard your revenue even if a cancellation occurs. By minimizing no-shows, you can keep your restaurant buzzing with holiday cheer, ensuring your team is met with appreciative guests.
Nervous about implementing deposits? Don’t be. Studies show that even requesting a deposit of a nominal amount, like $10, significantly reduces no-shows.
<h3>4. Utilize every inch of your restaurant to set up unique, revenue-driving experiences.</h3>
Have a private dining space? Deck it out with festive gear—think lights, tinsel, and wreaths—and invite big groups to celebrate. At the bar, pop champagne and whip up cocktails paired with holiday appetizers for the after-work crowd. And, if your business has a patio, go all out with igloo dining—fire up the heaters and serve a curated menu of food, desserts, and hot cocoa to keep everyone warm and toasty. 
Each of these dining experiences can vary in pricing to cater to various guests, from luxury seekers to happy hour revelers. Tock&#8217;s <a href="https://tock.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/19144577993876-Seating-Options-in-Availability-Planning">seating options</a> lets your guest handpick their preferred experience.
<h3>5. Put a bow on top of what already sells.</h3>
We’re here to assure you that you don&#8217;t need to reinvent the wheel during the holidays. Palmetiessa noted that restaurants with a retail element easily repackaged items for a special Christmas kit available for pick-up on Tock. Meanwhile, Brochu is capitalizing on the success of her restaurant’s happy hour promotion, dubbed “Sour Hour,” which offers pickled goods and drinks exclusive to the bar, and weaving it into their New Year’s Eve celebration.
When it comes to crafting an entirely new dining experience or tweaking an existing offering, the choice depends on what aligns best with your restaurant&#8217;s goals.
<h3>6. Consider scaling back to prevent additional stress on your staff.</h3>
The holidays, while celebratory, can add a mountain of <a href="https://www.exploretock.com/join/resources/7-srategies-to-combine-business-excellence-with-restaurant-staff-well-being/">stress upon your employees</a>. Brochu emphasizes the value of limited, exclusive offerings. “It’s okay to do things in small quantities. If your offering runs out, great. Selling out means there is high demand and a bit of exclusivity. Not everyone has to get it that year, but maybe they remember for next year and get in early.”
Maciejeweski echoes that organizing intimate gatherings works wonders for both staff and guests and helps to generate buzz all its own. “I&#8217;ve worked at a few restaurants that have done very exclusive holiday experiences where there are only 20 seats,” she adds. “It creates so much buzz, and it’s a great marketing opportunity.” 
<h3>7. Strategically market your experiences with guest data.</h3>
If you’re a Tock customer, our dashboard is the only tool you need in your marketing toolbelt. It provides access to valuable insights, from your busiest months to the type of guests who have stopped in down to what experiences performed well (and not so well) last season. Palmitessa recommends diving into your data leading up to the holiday to see what hits the bullseye with your audience. “You can go through your guest visit counts, even look down to the granular level to see how many people visit per experience, to see what might appeal to them most,” she says. 
Tock goes the extra mile to arm our customers with marketing resources, like the option to tag experiences with <a href="https://tock.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360061065272-Adding-a-Campaign-Tag-">campaign tags</a> (for example: “Thanksgiving” or “Christmas”). These automatically create holiday collection pages prominently featured on the home page. What&#8217;s more, Tock keeps potential diners in the loop with weekly newsletters highlighting the latest events and buzz in your area.
For an added touch of hospitality, consider personalized outreach to your regulars alongside promotional reminders via social media and email.
<h3>8. It’s not too late to start planning. </h3>
There&#8217;s still a window of opportunity to iron out your offerings, and now is the time to get on it. With Tock, you can set up and remove your dining experiences with the push of a button. For Brochu, it&#8217;s all about being agile and making every moment count: “If something is selling, you&#8217;ve got time to get ready. And if it&#8217;s not, you can change the game plan.”

Tock's in-house hospitality experts share advice on how to balance innovative experiences with traditional offerings to drive revenue all season long.

Eight Restaurant Strategies for Holiday Success

The holidays are a prime time to unleash your boldest ideas. Discover how to turn a profit from every corner of your restaurant space and how to take care of your staff while providing excellent hospitality for your guests.

Article

Deck the Halls and Fill the Seats: Eight Restaurant Strategies for Holiday Success.

With its 22-year-long tradition of hosting memorable holiday events, Kalahari Resorts &amp; Conventions has always valued family gatherings. This vision requires a platform that offers flexibility and operational efficiency. Though they tried platforms like OpenTable in the past, they found they needed a platform that offered more integration, was cost-effective, and provided a better user experience.
<h3>Kalahari&#8217;s Challenge: Offering a seamless and trustworthy event ticketing experience.</h3>
When Kalahari Resorts &amp; Conventions began planning an ambitious Food and Wine Festival at their Texas property, they faced many challenges. While the goal was to sell tickets for a unique experience, they also had operational needs, such as:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Being able to track reservations effectively.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Providing a seamless buying experience.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Assuring their guests that the sale was from a genuine Kalahari source. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Tock&#8217;s Solution: An integrated ticketing and booking interface that allowed the resort to sell 66 holiday events across four locations simultaneously.</h3>
Tock’s virtual events storefront enabled Kalahari to offer Food and Wine Festival tickets seamlessly. The platform provided consumers with a straightforward purchase journey and dedicated event landing pages, ensuring swift conversions.
<h3>Kalahari&#8217;s Challenge: Meeting the annual demand for multiple events with custom seating plans. </h3>
As the popularity of their holiday event offerings grew, Kalahari sought flexibility in seating arrangements for their signature grand holiday buffets. Moreover, as they explored new event ideas, they required a platform that could effortlessly support various events, from large-scale buffets to micro-events.
<h3>Tock&#8217;s Solution: Customizable table management capabilities that led to 25,926 covers booked with a 1.62% no-show rate.</h3>
Tock&#8217;s platform provided much-needed seating flexibility, especially for grand holiday buffets. Each seating accommodates as many as 200 covers and multiple seatings throughout the day. Unlike other event management platforms, Tock offers a cost-effective fee structure, an added boon for Kalahari. Additionally, Tock&#8217;s versatility enabled Kalahari to diversify its offerings, such as selling parking passes and tickets to Halloween ‘Spooktacular’ celebrations.
<h3>Kalahari&#8217;s Challenge: Effectively tracking digital marketing and promotional efforts for events.</h3>
From a digital marketing perspective, the team at Kalahari was keen on gauging the effectiveness of their campaigns and wanted a direct way to drive potential attendees to specific event pages for faster conversions.
<h3>Tock&#8217;s Solution: A comprehensive suite of analytics at no additional cost.</h3>
Tock&#8217;s advanced tracking capabilities, including UTM tracking, allowed Kalahari to optimize ad spending and refine its campaigns. Directing attendees to specific Tock landing pages also ensured a quicker conversion rate, offering invaluable insights into their campaigns&#8217; efficacy.
With its multifaceted offerings, Tock proved to be an invaluable asset for Kalahari Resorts &amp; Conventions. Whether selling tickets to events, offering reservations for their Grand Buffet, optimizing marketing strategies, or ensuring seamless customer experiences, Tock&#8217;s solutions paved the way for operational excellence and memorable events at Kalahari.
Are you ready to increase your event revenue? Schedule a demo with a member of the Tock team.

Learn how Tock's advanced ticketing & booking system transformed Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, streamlining guest experiences and sales records.

How Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Drove Over 25K Covers Using Tock Reservation System

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions used Tock to improve their guest-facing ticketing experience and internal data management, leading to record-breaking sales for the business.

Business Type

Platform

Booking

Operations

Resources

The Restaurant Playbook for Profitable Holiday Experiences

Get the guide

In this guide, you’ll learn how to: