Raise the Holiday Spirit: Festive Marketing for Restaurants and Bars

Tom Perera
3 days ago
5 min read

Poorvi Kar, Senior Marketing Executive

Raise the Holiday Spirit: Festive Marketing for Restaurants and Bars

The Business Case for a Strategic Festive Season

As the holiday season approaches, restaurants and bars face an incredible opportunity to maximise revenue, but only if they plan and execute strategically.

With competition heating up and customers increasingly looking for personalised, memorable experiences, restaurants, bars and hospitality players in general must go beyond traditional offers. The key to standing out is executing a data-driven strategy that incorporates targeted marketing, smart pricing, effective loyalty programmes and seamless digital integration.

In this article, we’ll break down the core elements of a successful festive marketing strategy for restaurants and bars, providing actionable insights and high‑level business tips that will help you not only boost bookings but also enhance customer lifetime value.

Setting the Strategic Foundations: Plan for Profit

The first step in any successful festive marketing campaign for bars and restaurants is a clear business strategy that goes beyond the short-term increase in footfall. Operators must align their seasonal marketing objectives with business goals i.e., maximising profit per cover, increasing group bookings, improving repeat visits, and ensuring high-margin sales during peak festive periods.

Data-Driven Forecasting & Pricing

Start with data: use your existing CRM systems, POS data, and previous years’ performance to forecast expected bookings. Don’t just guess how much demand you’ll have, understand it based on historical data and recent trends.

Analyse Your Peak Days: Identify when your restaurant or bar traditionally sees the highest traffic (i.e., Fridays before Christmas, Christmas Eve, Boxing Day). Use this data to strategically price your holiday offerings.
Price for Profit: Consider implementing dynamic pricing during the festive season, where prices fluctuate based on demand (for example, charging a premium for tables on New Year’s Eve or high-demand weekends). Dynamic pricing has been proven to increase margins during high-demand periods. (1)
Offer Tiered Packages: Create set menu packages at different price points e.g., a 2-course package at £30, a 3-course option at £40. Not only does this help with profit maximisation, but it also encourages upselling and simplifies the booking process.

Targeted Early Bird & Corporate Promotions

Holiday promotions are not all about filling last-minute tables. A proactive early-bird strategy can help fill your venue in advance and reduce the stress of last-minute rushes:

Use early-bird discounts for reservations made before a specific date (e.g., 10% off for all bookings before December 1st).
Market your venue for corporate holiday parties, offering pre-set menus, private bookings, and gift card incentives to encourage early bookings.

With group bookings for Christmas parties and corporate events expected to increase by 38% for 2024, targeting corporate clients early on is a smart move. (2)

Optimising the Guest Experience: Crafting Memorable Moments

The guest experience is a critical factor during the festive period. It’s not enough to simply offer a discount or promote a festive menu, you need to create experiences that customers will want to share and return for.

Immersive, Themed Experiences

Experiential marketing for bars and restaurants has become a key driver of success in 2025. Guests want themed experiences that reflect the holiday spirit while tying back to your brand identity. Here are key considerations:

Themed Menus and Special Events: Go beyond traditional “Christmas dinner” to include creative twists. For example, offer a “12 Cocktails of Christmas” campaign or create festive tasting menus that feature local, seasonal ingredients. This aligns with consumer trends showing that 60% of UK diners value unique, Instagrammable moments in dining. (3)
Engagement with Technology: Use digital elements like AR menus, interactive screens, or QR codes linking to behind-the-scenes content. According to Diageo, 2025 will see an uptick in tech integration across bars and restaurants. (4)
Collaborate with Influencers: Consider partnering with local influencers to host exclusive holiday parties or pop-up experiences. This will amplify the reach of your festive promotions. Leverage user-generated content by encouraging guests to tag your venue in their holiday photos and stories. Remember that bigger is not always better, micro influencers when used strategically can offer better ROI than macro ones.

Consistency in Service Quality

Guests expect consistent service quality during the festive season. With staffing shortages becoming a challenge, it’s vital to invest in training for your team and ensure they are well-equipped to handle the increased traffic. According to recent reports, 40% of restaurants face staffing challenges during peak seasons. (5)

Maximising Sales with Gift Cards and Loyalty Programs

One of the easiest ways to extend festive sales into the new year is through gift card promotions. Restaurants and bars that utilise holiday gift cards see higher customer retention and loyalty long after the festive period ends.

Gift Card Strategies for Christmas

Gift cards are high-margin, easy to promote, and offer a long‑term return. Consider the following strategies:

Offer bonus cards: For example, “Buy £100 in gift cards, get an additional £20 for free” to encourage larger gift card purchases. (6)
Run a ‘gift card sale’ event: Promote this heavily in the lead-up to Christmas. Gift cards should be marketed as the perfect gift and a way to lock in future visits.

Restaurant Loyalty Marketing for Retention

Loyalty programs are critical not only during the festive period but throughout the year. During Christmas, your loyalty program should reward customers for festive visits and encourage post‑holiday engagement.

Create seasonal loyalty bonuses: For example, guests who visit in December could earn double points for every meal, which can be redeemed in the new year. This helps drive January traffic.
Promote rewards that go beyond food: Offer exclusive access to post‑holiday events, cocktail masterclasses, or private tastings as part of the loyalty program.

Measuring Success and Optimising ROI

Tracking the success of your festive marketing campaign is essential. Here are key metrics to monitor:

Booking Rates and Footfall: Compare early season bookings to previous years, especially for mid-week bookings.
Average Spend Per Head: Track whether your upselling strategies (e.g., higher-margin drinks or set menus) are working.
Gift Card Redemption Rates: Monitor how well your gift card promotions are performing and how many customers return in January.
Social Media Engagement: Track the reach, engagement, and conversions from your social media campaigns.

Turning Festive Guests into Year-Round Regulars

The festive period is a valuable time for bars and restaurants, but it’s also a fleeting one. To maximise ROI, ensure you plan well in advance, target the right audiences, and optimise both your in-venue experience and digital promotions.

Once the holiday rush settles, don’t forget that January and February can be lean months for hospitality. This is where a strategic approach to post-Christmas loyalty and off-peak campaigns comes into play. If you’re ready to keep the momentum going into the new year, check out our next article on making the most of the quiet period in hospitality.

Want to take your bar’s marketing strategy to the next level? Read our blog or Contact us to discover how our team can help you grow your online presence, increase bookings, and build a brand that stands out.