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7 Things Every Hospitality Venue Should Be Doing Now (Or Risk Losing Christmas Bookings)

August 27, 2026

Roughly a 4 minute read by Emma

While your customers are enjoying this year’s extended summer, the most successful hospitality venues are already thinking about Christmas. September is the sweet spot for capturing group bookings, so if you’re waiting for mince pies to feel appropriate before you start marketing, you’re already behind. Here’s exactly what to get sorted.

1. Lock in your dates, offers and pricing

Before you market anything, you need concrete details.

• Confirm party nights and event dates
• Finalise festive opening hours, menu pricing and party / drinks package options
• Decide on any early-bird incentives for pre-December bookings
• Set your deposit and cancellation policy clearly, in writing

Nothing puts a booking on ice faster than a “get in touch for details”. Have the answers ready before they ask.

2. Get your festive menu photographed and written up

Your Christmas menu is doing a lot of selling on its own, but only if people can see and read it properly.

• Book a photography session for festive dishes and venue styling
• Write menu copy that sounds like a meal, not a list of ingredients
• Prepare a downloadable or web-friendly menu version for enquiries
• Think beyond dinner shots: capturing festive drinks, group dining, gift vouchers, Christmas decorations and private dining spaces will give you weeks of content

This is the kind of groundwork that makes December marketing naturally merry instead of rushed.

3. Update your website before the traffic arrives

Search interest for “Christmas parties / dinner near me” and similar terms starts climbing from late September.

• Add or update a dedicated Christmas page
• Make sure enquiry forms and booking links actually work
• Optimise that page for local search terms e.g: Christmas party [town]

Give search engines and your customers something useful to find. 

4. Build your content calendar now, not in November

Begin with subtle reminders, you don’t need your socials to turn into Winter Wonderland in September.

• Map out social content for September through December
• Plan a mix: menu reveals, behind-the-scenes team prep, countdown posts, customer testimonials, introduce your Christmas experience
• Schedule a “bookings open” launch moment

Plan it and start getting it into customers’ consciousness now.

5. Sort your signage 

Not every booking starts online. Passing footfall and regulars need reminding with a seasonal nudge too.

• Order window displays, boards and table talkers
• Your front-of-house team can be one of your best marketing channels so make sure staff know the offer inside out. (What’s being promoted, when bookings open, what’s included in each package, deadlines and terms).
• Get signage up early enough that it’s doing work through October and November, not just December

A great offer only works if people actually see it, so make sure your venue is promoting it just as loudly in person as it is online.

6. Don’t forget your Nice List

Email your existing database; your past customers are your warmest Christmas leads. 

• Send a “Christmas is open for booking” email to your existing list
• Segment your database where possible: previous Christmas bookers (Fancy doing it all again?), regular customers (Christmas has arrived at [venue]), gift buyers (Give them something they’ll actually use)
• Give your list first access or an early-bird incentive
• Schedule follow up emails as Christmas bookings often need a few festive reminders

Your database is full of customers who’ve previously said yes to you, a well-timed email is often all it takes to get customers to say yes again.

7. Set your paid social budget, before the competition does

Ad costs for hospitality searches climb sharply as December approaches.

• Set aside a paid social budget starting in September or early October
• Target people actively searching for party venues, not just your existing followers
• Use eye-catching creative to cut through 
• Review and adjust weekly

The best time to plan your Christmas ads is now; before everyone else starts bidding for attention.

Get Started

Every item on this list takes minutes, not months. What actually matters is when you do them, and September beats November every single time.

Print this off, stick it on the office wall, and tick things off as you go. Come December, you’ll be the venue turning people away.

Want an extra pair of hands? We love a chat, get in touch and let’s get your Christmas marketing sorted, with a little Elf magic.