Christmas and December is crucial to the hospitality sector, and you can see that from the stats alone (see Pubs in Numbers p33) – more than 400 million pints are sunk in December, more than double the amount in an average month.
Christmas really is the chance for the pub industry to shine, both in showing customers a good time, but also in making some money.
Lean months
Of course, the cynics would point to the fact that the sector needs to make that money to see it through the lean months of January and February and, to a certain extent, there’s truth there. Additionally, the uncertainty looming over Brexit and the financial predicament it could cause, means many forecasters are predicting potentially challenging times ahead.
So, it’s never been more important to ensure you’re making the most of the Christmas period, with early indications suggesting consumers are in the mood to party, whatever the new year might bring.
But while you’re putting the finishing touches to your festive plans, I would urge you all to be thinking about the months following Christmas.
Brexit aside, while January is always a difficult month for pubs, we need to work harder to try and address that problem, rather than simply saying “ah, that’s just the way it is” let’s push ourselves to try and reverse that situation.
Thinking outside the box
Think about your offers, think about what you can do differently that will bring people back to your pubs despite the festive hangover.
Think about our Try January initiative – now in it’s third year. Get the customers back into your pub to try new things and create exciting temptations for them. We’ll be looking at how to tackle that in future issues, but for now, hopefully we’ve given some inspiration for the season ahead.