Getting ready for the Christmas booking rush: a checklist for independents

A plain checklist for the festive season: your hours from Christmas Eve to Hogmanay, party bookings and deposits, a festive cancellation policy, booking online, reminders, the December rota, gift cards as last-minute presents, and planning January now.

If the first Christmas party enquiries haven't reached you yet, they will soon. December is the month most independents can least afford to get wrong, and most of the work that makes it go well happens now, in October and November, while there's still time to think.

This checklist runs from the big decisions to the small ones. Work down it in one sitting with a coffee and you'll have a plan by the end.

A checklist card titled "Your Christmas checklist" with eight ticked lines: dates and hours, party rules, festive cancellation policy, booking online, reminders, the December rota, gift cards and a plan for January

Settle your dates and hours first

Everything else hangs off this, so decide each day before you take a single festive booking. This year:

• Christmas Eve is Thursday 24 December. A normal service, open late or close early?
• Christmas Day is a Friday. Lunch only, two sittings, or closed?
• Boxing Day is a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. Decide both days.
• Hogmanay is a Thursday and New Year's Day a Friday. In Scotland, 2 January falls on a Saturday, so the extra bank holiday moves to Monday 4 January.

Once you've decided, write the hours down in one place and copy them everywhere a guest might look: your website, your booking page, your social profiles, your Google profile and a sign on the door. Wrong hours in just one of those places is how guests end up at a locked door on Boxing Day.

While you're at it, pick the day your Christmas bookings open, and tell people. A date to look forward to ("Christmas bookings open 1 November at 10:00") does more than a quiet "now taking bookings".

Decide how you'll handle parties

Large groups make December, and they're also where it goes wrong. Before the first enquiry, agree:

• The biggest party you'll take online. Above that, ask people to phone or email so you can talk it through.
• Set menu or full menu. A set menu is easier on the kitchen and easier to price per head.
• Whether to take a deposit, and how much. If you're unsure, our guide to taking booking deposits walks through it.
• A pre-order deadline. Collecting choices a week or two ahead turns a hectic service into a prep list.
• One organiser per party. One person who confirms numbers, collects choices and pays the balance.

Write your festive cancellation policy now

Your normal policy may not fit December. A table for two cancelled the day before can often be refilled; a table for twelve on the Friday before Christmas usually can't. Many venues ask for more notice on festive party bookings, and say plainly what happens to a deposit when numbers drop.

Whatever you choose, put it where people see it before they book, and again in their confirmation. Our guide to writing a no-show and cancellation policy has wording you can adapt.

Make booking easy online

Plenty of people plan their Christmas evenings at home, long after you've closed. If the only way to book is to phone during service, some of them will book somewhere else.

Check that a "Book a table" button sits near the top of your website and on every social profile, and that it opens a real booking page, not a contact form. If it doesn't, how to take bookings on your own website covers your options. Add a short line about your festive menu and party rules to the booking page, so guests know before they pick a time.

Reminders and no-shows

Busy weeks bring more forgotten bookings. A reminder a day or two before helps, and asking guests to confirm they're still coming helps more: it gives anyone whose plans have changed an easy way to tell you.

For big parties, a phone call a few days before is still the best check. Keep a short list of people who wanted a date that's full, so a cancelled table has somewhere to go.

Staffing and rotas

• Ask for holiday requests now, and set a date after which December requests are closed.
• Publish the December rota early, ideally by the end of November, so your team can plan their own Christmas.
• Staff to your bookings. Look at the covers already booked for each day before you finalise shifts.
• Share out Christmas Day and Hogmanay fairly, and say how you decided.
• Train seasonal staff before the rush, not on the night.

Gift cards as last-minute presents

A gift card is the present people remember on 23 December. Make sure guests can buy one online at any hour, that it arrives by email, and that your team knows how to sell one at the venue. A card by the door and a line in your emails both help. If you're new to selling them, introducing gift cards is a good place to start.

A timeline from late October to January: set dates and hours, open Christmas bookings, publish party rules, publish the December rota, confirm party numbers and pre-orders, last gift card sales on Christmas Eve, then a quieter January plan

Plan January now

January is quiet for most independents, and planning it in October is far easier than in the middle of it. Decide whether you'll close for a few days to rest or refresh, and block those dates now so nobody can book them. Think about a January reason to visit, like a new menu or a regulars' night, and expect some of December's gift cards to come back in the new year.

If you use ResoFlow

• Special dates gives Christmas Day, Boxing Day or Hogmanay its own hours, or closes it, on every plan. Its Bank holidays list suggests the dates for your region, and a date can open for booking at a set day and time. See What's different about Christmas Day?
• Booking reminders can Ask customers to confirm they're still coming, on every plan. See Which confirmations and reminders do customers get?
• The Rota shows the covers booked in each day's heading, with Complete or the Team product. See How do I build the rota?
• Gift card buyers can choose delivery On a date, so a card arrives on Christmas morning. See How do I sell gift cards?

Using ResoFlow? Ask Rezo from your dashboard, or email [email protected].