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The sun may still be shining but with 56% of guests we surveyed stating that they book their Christmas parties in September, for operators, it’s time to get in the Christmas spirit.
Christmas is the busiest, most lucrative time of year for the hospitality industry and so to provide operators with some additional insight into what guests expect when it comes to booking their Christmas party, HGEM have undertaken some research.
According to our panel of over 400 guests, 56% book their Christmas party at least 3 months in advance and expect the call to take 2-5 minutes. This emphasises the importance for teams to be trained well in advance of the festive season to ensure they are ready to answer questions efficiently and professionally to maximise bookings.
We all know that first impressions count so in addition to getting your team ready for Christmas calls your website and venue needs to clearly promote your Christmas offering. 75% of guests we surveyed specifically look for Christmas adverts and menus when researching venues, with 50% revealing that they would actually leave a website if they couldn’t see a Christmas menu, rather than call to enquire. So being prepared certainly is essential to secure those early bookings.
When it comes to making a booking, an unfriendly tone was rated as the most off-putting factor. There can be a lot of pressure on those people who have been tasked with booking the Christmas party, trying to find the perfect venue, at the right price that will suit all dietary requirements can be very stressful and so being able to speak to an informed friendly team member could make all the difference between securing the booking and losing it.
81% of guests we surveyed expect to be asked to pay a deposit to secure their booking as standard, so operators should not worry that this will put people off booking and instead focus on using the call to provide detailed and engaging information about their Christmas offering.
To ensure your team members are fully prepared to maximise this year’s Christmas bookings, HGEM are offering recorded Christmas call assessments now. By using mystery guests to call your venue and enquire about a Christmas booking, we can measure and monitor how your team perform.
With this insight into team members’ performance, we can pin-point areas for improvement and what action needs to take place to ensure your team converts these calls in to bookings.
To enquire please give us a call on 01225 470999 or email enquiries@hgem.com.
