The holiday season is often busy for restaurants. Successfully navigating this period requires a little planning and careful execution. 

You are crafting a special menu, optimize staff schedules, and create a festive atmosphere. Do your customers know your restaurant is open? Did you promote your special menu or event? Have they ordered or booked a table in advance? There are several actions that can help you thrive.

🎄Adjust the restaurant schedule
 To make sure your guests know when to come in during the holidays, check and update your restaurant opening hours. If you decide to close the restaurant for some days or keep some of the services running for a specific period of time, consider pausing the restaurant services and communicating this to food clients by adding an important announcement to your website or posting on your social media profiles.
It is also important to update the opening hours not only in your account and on the restaurant website, but also on the on the Google Business profile or social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and on platforms such as TripAdvisor, Yelp. Just run a Google search for your restaurant name and city and see where else there’s a profile. 

 🎄Take table reservations automatically
Encourage reservations to avoid spending time answering the phone. Instead, enable the table reservation in the restaurant admin panel and easily manage incoming guests. 

 🎄Enable additional services 
Optimize your pickup and delivery services to cater to food clients who prefer dining at home. Consider a special holiday menu for takeout or introducing festive packaging.

🎄Manage and train staff 
Adjust current shifts to accommodate the expected increase in food clients, and ensure the staff know the holiday menu and how to handle large crowds.

🎄Customize décor and ambiance
Enhance the restaurant’s ambiance with holiday decorations. This can include festive lighting, table settings and music to create a warm and inviting environment. Take a picture and share it on your social media or add a holiday image gallery to your website. 

🎄 Plan a special menu 
Develop a holiday-themed menu that includes seasonal ingredients and festive dishes. Bring festive desserts at the forefront of your menu to make it more attractive for food clients. Make sure they travel well when delivered to clients or picked up. Spread the news online and offline (posters at your location, add flyers in the food bag weeks in advance). 

🎄 Promote your restaurant and its menu 
Launch targeted holiday promotions and marketing campaigns. For food clients who have not ordered online before, encourage them to do so with a first buy promo campaign. If, however, your restaurant’s food clients have not ordered in a long time from you, now it’s a good time to remind them what great offers you have and the special menu you have in store for them. 
You can also use social media to promote holiday specials, events and even the new décor you have set up for your guests.
Consider also offering fixed price options for easier service management and to attract larger groups.
And don’t forget your staff – you can create for them promotions with coupons to offer special discounts for their families.  

🎄 Plan ahead to efficiently manage your inventory
Stock up on essential ingredients, beverages and supplies in anticipation of higher demand. Coordinate with suppliers to ensure timely delivery during the busy season.

***
As the holiday season approaches, preparation and execution are key for boosting sales and securing customer satisfaction. Take pictures, this will help you connect with your guests and online visitors and keep your online presence engaging throughout the season.