Pubs fight shy of Xmas Day food, PMA survey reveals

With Christmas Day one of the key trading days of the year, 83% of pubs will be opening their doors to customers, with seven in 10 open for up to five hours. One in 12 pubs plan to trade for 10 hours or more.

However, for the majority the trading opportunity is purely drinks-led, with two thirds of pubs not serving food at all on Christmas Day.

Of those that will be serving roast turkey and Christmas pudding, the overwhelming majority (96%) offer a set-price menu for both adults and children, and will be serving an average of 56 covers throughout the day. One pub will be exceptionally busy, as it is hosting 200 customers for Christmas lunch.

Split by tenure, respondents from managed pubs were the most likely to serve food, followed by freeholders and lessees. Tenanted pubs were the least likely to offer food on Christmas Day.

At the time the survey closed (14 November), over a third of pubs serving food indicated they were already fully booked, and a further four in 10 said they were at more than half capacity.

Meal cost​

The survey asked licensees what they were charging per head for both adult and children’s meals. An analysis of responses found the average adult price for a two-course lunch was £21, rising to £42.60 for three courses and £51.60 for four courses. The top price charged by one pub for a four-course adult meal was £78. Seven in 10 pubs don’t include alcohol in their price, with most of the remainder including one drink.

Kids meals range from an average £14.50 for two courses up to £29 for four courses. The top price charged for a four-course children’s meal was £60. For the majority of pubs (71%), a child was classed as aged 12 years or under.

Turning to staffing costs, 38% of licensees said they don’t employ staff on Christmas Day. Of those that do, one third pay double time, with 6% paying triple time. One in seven pubs leave themselves open to Scrooge accusations by only paying their staff their regular hourly rate.

In terms of marketing their Christmas Day offer, word of mouth was cited as the top channel with 70% saying it was the most effective. This was followed by posters and info in pub (36%), pub website and social media (25%) and local press (5%).

Just 4% said they had musical entertainment booked for Christmas Day and Santa will only be making an appearance at 6% of pubs.

The online poll was completed by a self-selecting sample of 270 licensees.

View our survey infographic below​