Love — and potential revenue! — is in the air.
Across 2023 and 2024, Aussies spent in total a ballpark of $400 to 450 million on Valentine’s Day. With a majority 70% of consumers planning to celebrate with a romantic meal, this year’s holiday is set to be one of your busiest days yet.
For restaurants, this means it’s time to woo guests and give them a reason to celebrate at your venue. Here are tips and marketing ideas to make a meal of Valentine’s Day.
1. Make Valentine's Day an extended event
When V-day tables get booked out as quickly as in late January, it’s a good idea to stretch out the celebrations so everyone gets a chance to enjoy it. Consider adding off peak happy hours, after dinner drinks, or alternative times for the big romantic meal to your roster.
On top of increasing covers, you’ll also be helping those who work service hours — hospitality workers for starters! — feel included.
PS. The 14th falls on a Friday this year, which makes it perfect for a weekend long event.
2. Create a Valentine's themed menu
Guests are ready to splurge for the special occasion, giving you an opportunity to create one-time menus and unique dishes to jazz up the experience.
For instance, Pasadena in Sydney is pairing luxe caviar topped scallops with red velvet lettuce and yellow fin tuna, finished with decadent strawberries with cream in their Valentine’s Day course menu.
That said, experimenting excessively for a high turnover service can come with risks as your team hasn’t had time to get familiar with cook times or plating. Keep the new menu simple, and consider featuring your most loved dishes with a special presentation.
3. Use upsells as a special surprise
Let guests leverage pre-orders to add a little excitement to their meal. It’s always nice to be able to arrange a special surprise for their date, whether it’s a bottle of champagne waiting at the table or a slice of cake with a customised message.
Upsells as an option at the point of booking not only make it easier for you to capture additional revenue, it also reduces the chance of a no-show.
4. Promote bookings with a dedicated link
Too often, restaurants send customer emails promoting a specific occasion, only to bring them to a general reservation widget. Even if you’ve captured a guest’s interest, the undesirable experience could cause them to abandon the booking and ultimately hurt your conversion rates.
With Now Book It, you can create dedicated event bookings that come with a unique reservation URL. Include this link in your emails and social media marketing so guests can access your Valentine’s Day booking easily.
5. Give regulars a personal touch
When guests’ inboxes and social media feeds are filled with Valentine’s Day promotions and deals, it takes a little extra effort for your venue to stand out.
Dig into your customer data to segment your audience and send personalised messages that stray away from the run of the mill email blast.
Tell regulars that there’s a (love)seat saved “just for you and your date.” or give them early access to book your best spots.
6. Make it an inclusive Valentine's
It’s the season for love, and that goes for all diners!
Market your Valentine’s event to be extra inclusive — Galentine’s and Palentine’s are all the rage these days. Even better, organise something fun and interactive just for those who are single and ready to mingle such as all girls’ karaoke night or speed dating dinner dates.
This gives your restaurant an edge in appealing to those who might be feeling left out of the festivities, plus it allows you to boost revenue with a wider audience.
7. Seal the deal for new diners
When over 60% of return visits at restaurants are driven by great experiences, the little things can go a long way. Since occasions like this may encourage new diners to try your restaurant, it’s a strategic time to impress them with service that goes above and beyond.
Surprise and delight guests with a gift, which can come in many forms:
- Leave diners a box of sweet treats from a partner bakery
- Welcome guests with complimentary glass of wine for two
- Send the happy couple off with a discounted gift card to return for a second date
8. Win guests over after the event
After a successful Valentine’s Day event, the best thing to do is to review the books. Dig into the data to learn more about customers who dined with you, making a note of new guests and repeat visits. Now Book It’s integrated events management software can help with sending automated thank you emails after dining, and you can also use the information to create marketing campaigns to encourage future bookings.
Make celebrating love an easy affair with Now Book It’s all-in-one reservation system. Book a demo to learn more.
