BarTalk

What are your plans for getting through the tough winter?

Alan Dreja

Royal Oak

Southampton

We were thinking about cutting costs by having fewer staff on and putting on less live music - but we don't want to roll over. We're going to put on cheaper student bands, which will hopefully get more students in. We're finding that this year's students don't go out much and stay in with cheap supermarket alcohol to avoid the smoking ban. It's certainly a problem, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Steve Haslam

Cutter Inn, Ely

Cambridgeshire

As always, our main priority will be to keep service and quality running at 100%. It can easily slip in the quieter months and it's something you've got to keep a close eye on. We'll keep staffing at a reasonable level so the customers don't lose out, but we will be keeping an eye on costs . We're also toying with the idea of introducing a dating game using the Nintendo Wii console.

Scott Murray

Bar Sport, Cannock

Staffordshire

We're a dedicated sports bar so this time of year is pretty good for us - I'm certainly looking forward to it. It's pretty much the peak of the football season and the rugby's starting, not just the Heineken Cup, but the Six Nations, too. There's also St Patrick's Day and St George's Day. If anything, the summer's a worse time of year for us here.

Nigel Anstead

White Horse

Bedford

Our mantra is bums on seats. If you put on events people will come - as long as you market them properly. Ask your customers to pay a cover charge for food and entertainment and make money with your drinks. We also contacted businesses that are busy in December and offered them bookings for late Christmas parties and we've received some large bookings for that too.