Christmas and New Year's Eve: the month the phone stops keeping up

Early December, Friday night, the room full. The phone rings during service and nobody can pick it up. On WhatsApp there is a group of twelve who want dinner on the 23rd and ask three questions: the menu, the price per head, whether you take a deposit. The answer arrives two days later, and by then they have booked somewhere else.

Peak season is not a month of ordinary bookings

Requests cluster around a few dates: Christmas lunch, Christmas Eve, company dinners, New Year's Eve. Groups are bigger, questions are longer and planning starts weeks ahead. The team is the same, but the messages all arrive in the same hours. And, as we have seen, a good share arrives outside opening hours.

Where tables get lost in November and December

Large groupsThey ask for more information before deciding and pick whoever answers first. A group of twelve is the costliest to lose.

Repeated questionsMenu, price, allergens, children, parking. Each answer is quick, but together they fill the whole week.

Sold-out datesStill taking requests for a full night, or advertising a date that no longer exists, leads to overbooking and apologies.

No-shows on full datesOn a sold-out night, a table that does not turn up costs more and there is nobody left to fill it.

What to prepare in November

Menu and price in writingOne ready answer with the menu, the price per head and what is included. It is what repeats the most.

Group rulesFrom how many people, whether there is a deposit, and by when to confirm. Decided beforehand, and the same for everyone.

Capacity per sittingHow many seats there are in each service, not just how many tables. That is what stops you accepting more than fits.

Confirmation before the dateAn automatic message two days ahead, with the option to cancel in one reply.

Waiting listFor the full dates. If someone cancels, the slot gets sold again instead of sitting empty.

Deposits: when they make sense

For most of the year, a deposit puts customers off. In peak season, for large groups and set menus, the maths changes: the table that does not show is dearer and the date cannot be recovered. It makes sense to keep deposits for those cases and leave small tables with confirmation only.

Frequently asked questions

When should I open Christmas bookings?

As soon as the menu and the group rules are set. Whoever announces late gets every request at once, with fewer dates left, and has to answer them all at the same time.

Is it worth asking for a deposit on Christmas bookings?

For large groups and set menus, usually yes: a table that does not show costs more and the date cannot be recovered. For small tables, an automatic confirmation is usually enough.

Can you answer everything on WhatsApp without losing the personal touch?

You can for the repetitive part: menu, price, hours, availability. Special requests, serious allergies or bespoke events go to a person.

Where that leaves you

Count how many Christmas and New Year's Eve requests you received last year, and how many you answered after 24 hours. That is the number November is for changing.

November to prepare, December with bookings in order.

Studiminds Reception answers booking requests on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and email, confirms every table and alerts your waiting list when a slot opens.

See Reception running

Written by the Studiminds team · LinkedIn