The Holiday season is right around the corner, companies are looking at budgets to determine what type of corporate event they can put together this year, friends are planning private dinners to gather, couples are looking to plan intimate wedding ceremonies before the end of the year, and families are already stressed out and booking up private event space to host their parties.
Typically during the holidays, how your business serves the community changes and this year is certainly no exception. Hours are extended to allow more foot traffic, there are more promotions for gift card sales, menus are updated to include heartier warm meals to fight off the winter cold, and your venue’s calendar has buyouts or private dining bookings for holiday events scheduled through the end of the year.
There are a lot of seasonal changes at your venue that should be shared with the general public, which means it’s time to update your EventUp listing along with your website and social accounts.
Did you know that 80% of consumers will use search to find information about nearby businesses? And nearly half of those visitors will use their mobile devices. Make it easier for customers and future guests to find the holiday-specific information they are looking for by having an updated EventUp venue listing.
Folks want to experience the holiday season in your venue - showcasing your venue in the holiday spirit through photos allows them to imagine how an event with you would feel - it’s an emotional trigger of comfort and happiness. Holiday photos can be from a holiday event last year, any holiday decor you have set up around the venue, or something a simple as your holiday menu or gift cards styled with lights and garland. Show off visually that you are in the holiday spirit and are open to helping create joy for your guests.
Make your space feel festive and help customers get in the holiday spirit, here are easy and affordable decoration ideas to use throughout the space if you need to take new photos.
Update your available days of the week and operating hours. Many restaurants and venues extend their hours of operation to meet the influx of holiday demands. Many venues will also shut down at least for a few days for the staff to be able to celebrate the holidays with their own families.
On your listing page under ‘Availability’, you should update the special hours for both the holiday season and any closures due to private events or planned shutdowns.
The holidays are the perfect time to incorporate a limited holiday-themed menu at your venue or update your current menu to complete holiday-themed options complete with drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts all inspired by the season’s ingredients crafted to keep you full and warm during the colder months of the year.
Within the description of your venue on your listing page, make sure to change out those menu links for the holiday seasonal food and drink menus that you are offering.
If your venue offers any sort of special or promotion for the upcoming holiday season make sure you update your about section with any holiday sales or promotions that you are running no matter how big or small. Do you offer any food or drink kits, online cooking classes, takeaway gift boxes, or desserts to-go? Plug those offerings and how to order them from your venue so even if someone isn’t planning an event, you can get them in the door as a customer. That gives you the opportunity to delight them, so in the future, when they do have an event to plan, they will think of you.
Gift card sales typically start to increase in November as they are an easy and often much-appreciated gift. If your venue is offering any sort of gift card deal such as a free $5 gift card for every $25 gift card purchase - create a new paragraph in your about section highlighting your gift card special. Your gift card promotion should be an entire marketing campaign across all of your platforms to generate as much revenue as you can during this period.
Everyone wants to visit the hot spots around town, Create an email or social media campaign encouraging happy guests to leave positive reviews by offering a free appetizer or dessert. Then add those positive reviews to your listing. More than 80% of people trust reviews online even if they don’t know the person who wrote the review. The more positive reviews you have, the more new people will want to become guests themselves.
Once you update your listing to be fully optimized for the upcoming Holiday season, you will want to promote your EventUp listing along with your unique specials and offerings across all of your social channels.
If you do not currently use an event management software like Tripleseat and need help managing and organizing all of your incoming event leads, you can add your EventUp listing link to your main venue website in order to collect all new leads, and fully take advantage of your EventUp portal.
Updating your listing shouldn’t just be on your holiday to-do list. It should be something you do regularly as your menu, venue, or offerings change throughout the years or seasons. Check out these resources to help your venue listing stand out on the EventUp powered by the Tripleseat venue directory.