Alongside regular restaurant operations, private events are a great way to make money. Private events can have great profit margins, increasing overall revenue, and are especially helpful in reaching off-peak season profit goals.
Hosting private events is also an effective way to increase brand reach and find new loyal, long-term customers, and it might not be as challenging as you think!
To introduce a private events program to your restaurant, follow these simple but effective private event management tips.
Outline All Event Spaces
The first step to any private events program is defining which spaces within your restaurant can be utilized for events. Your restaurant is typically already set up to host events. It’s got dinning spaces, a kitchen, bathrooms, etc. However, not all restaurant spaces are fit for all types of events.
Examine your restaurant’s floor plan and determine which spaces can be utilized for events business. Most dinning spaces, whether inside or outside, and especially those that can be sectioned off, can be part of the event outline.
Knowing what options are available to clients also makes the event planning process much simpler.
Once you know what event space you have available, create a floor plan and add it to your event details page for customers to see.
Create Event Packages
The next step in introducing private events to your restaurant is defining your private event packages. Creating pre-set packages will help you manage the first few events, especially as a newbie.
Common event packages include:
- Business dinner events
- Birthday parties
- Private dining for big and small groups
- Corporate gatherings like corporate retreats
- Beer, wine, or food tastings
- Wedding or family gatherings
As you gain more confidence, you can allow guests to inquire about custom private events.
Next, list the available event spaces. For example, you may offer an outdoor patio or indoor private dinning room.
The event capacity should also be clearly stated. If you can accommodate groups, especially large ones, it could be a great advantage.
Lastly, clearly list menu options. Prospective attendees should be able to choose from a variety of menu options. Guests should also be given the chance to notify you of dietary restrictions for the group. Use this guide to price your event menu.
Partner With Local Businesses
Partner with local businesses for exclusive prices. Local businesses, especially hospitality in a slightly different niche, can be a great advantage.
Case in point: breweries. You can partner with breweries for events and get discounted prices for showcasing their beer brand at your bar.
Building mutually beneficial relationships with local businesses is also an effective way of establishing yourself long-term.
Utilize Your Restaurant Website
Every restaurant business should have a website. The website should showcase your regular restaurant menu, business hours, and all other business details.
Add the event details to your website too. The website should make it clear that people can book an event date at your restaurant. The booking process should also be simple.
Furthermore, the event booking page should contain any additional information – like the event packages and event spaces – alongside contact information.
Utilize Event Management Software
Keeping track of all the events you’re hosting without dedicated software is time-consuming, stressful and ultimately not effective in growing your business. There are many tools that might seem like they'd work well enough (email, spreadsheets, Google calendar) but as you continue to grow your business, the inefficiencies in these systems will drag you down.
For example, if you're using a form on your website that sends you an email, chances are those emails are going into a black hole, where it's hard for you to find them and respond quickly (the faster you respond the faster they'll book!) causing you to lose leads.
Studies show that the ideal response time is within 1-2 hours after getting a lead. That's pretty hard to achieve if you're only able to respond to leads when you're back at your desk hours (or even days) later. Using an event management software like Perfect Venue lets you to know when you get a new lead and sends the guest a customizable automatic reply immediately.
Additionally, if you're using spreadsheets and a Google calendar, you're constantly updating event details in multiple places. With Perfect Venue, your event info flows from the event inquiry to the proposal, calendar and BEOs automatically, so you never have to worry about information not being synced everywhere, potentially causing issues like the dreaded double booking.
We could go on and on about the importance of using a dedicated event management tool to grow your business, but what if you're just getting started and barely have any events? Perfect Venue has multiple pricing tiers starting as low as $79/mo making it easier to start off with a tool that can grow with you rather than having to implement one when you're further along, and busier!
Event management software allows you to automate and streamline the entire booking process, increasing the number of events you can win as well as manage. This gives you time to focus on the event sales side, rather than just the event management side. So, utilize event management software to manage your events calendar and event bookings and you'll be off to the races in no time.
Conclusion
Private events are an awesome way to increase revenue, keep your restaurant busy during slow months and to introduce new people to your brand. However, introducing a private events program can be difficult if you’ve never undertaken any sort of event planning or management before.
Use this guide to start the event management process. Outline available event spaces, create event packages, utilize website space, partner with local businesses, and take advantage of event management software. These steps are perfect for soft launching your private events program and jumpstarting event sales.
Increase event sales further by partnering with Perfect Venue today. Perfect Venue event management software will help you save time, manage your event calendar, and increase revenue. Try it free today!
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