Hospitality loyalty programmes drive customer retention, which can help organisations generate revenue, increase referrals and achieve overall growth. And in the current climate, it’s becoming increasingly clear that loyalty schemes are becoming more and more popular amongst cost-conscious customers prioritising value.

The majority of loyalty schemes have a base programme which converts customer spend into currency or rewards. However, a lot of schemes are missing out on key engagement by not utilising ad-hoc rewards.

What are ad-hoc rewards?

Ad-hoc rewards sit on top of the base programme to provide further value for customers. They’re great for encouraging new customers into the loyalty scheme, as well as increasing footfall in quieter periods.

Let’s take a look at an example:

Base programme: Convert £ spend to points (e.g. £1 spent = 1 point)
When the customer gains enough points, they are given something for free e.g. 100 points = free starter, 200 points = free main.

This is a great way to encourage customers to spend more! However, it doesn’t appeal to all audiences and as a standalone offering isn’t that powerful.

Zonal’s Customer Success team have recommended some ad-hoc rewards you can incorporate into your current loyalty scheme to increase customer spend and drive repeat visits.

1. Registration rewards

Example: £5 Currency for enrolling into the loyalty scheme. This is applied to the customer’s loyalty account the following day after registration

Registration rewards are extremely effective for motivating sign-ups. It can be set up so the customer doesn’t receive the reward until the following day, meaning they will need to return within the defined expiry period to redeem it. From our experience, offering a cash incentive has been the most successful tactic in getting customers to sign up to a loyalty programme. This works best when it is offered for a limited time.

2. % off food on specific days

Example 1: Offering 25% off all food products, all day on a Monday, throughout March

This reward is designed to increase footfall on quieter days. Additionally, the reward is advertised as a limited time offer so that customers are encouraged to visit the business sooner than they may have intended. Using discounts as well as points within a loyalty scheme helps reach a wider audience.

Example 2: In January 25% off Food Monday – Wednesday

A % off food reward should vary on days and % amount between months/seasons. Additionally, it’s advised that it doesn’t run at all times, so it is seen as “surprise and delight”.

3. The classic Birthday reward

Example: A “free glass of Fizz” for a customer’s birthday. Available 14 days prior and post the birth date

Making a customer feel special on their birthday, encouraging them to visit the business over a competitor that otherwise does not offer an incentive. What’s more, including this within an extended timeframe around their birthday can entice them in to your venue for an extra visit – even if they did choose to go elsewhere on the day itself.

4. Products for reduced price on specific days/times

Example: £5 cocktail Fridays. Only available Friday 4pm – 7pm on selected cocktails

​​​This offer can be used to target a specific audience. This example is targeting after-work drinkers who may normally visit competitors.

5. Why these ad-hoc rewards should be exclusively for loyalty customers only

All the above rewards should only be available to those who are part of your loyalty scheme. This is to give them a sense of feeling valued and encourages the “Regulars” mind set. Additionally, your loyalty scheme captures personal details. This data is extremely valuable, it allows businesses to strategically target customers and understand spending habits. By using a birthday reward, for example, date of birth needs to be captured so provides insight into the business’s age demographics, helping you to build a more and more detailed picture of who is visiting your business as guests engage with your promotions – and the effectiveness only increases when integrated with a CRM, such as Airship.

Find out more about Zonal’s Loyalty solutions

There are many more rewards that can be used to personalise and make your loyalty scheme more engaging. Get in touch with us today to find out how our technology can help you drive loyalty and increase guest spend in your business!

If you’re already an existing user of Zonal’s Loyalty platform, you can start making use of this functionality immediately! Simply get in touch with your Account Manager to find out more.

The end of 2024 saw the first-ever joint session of Tourism Ministers in Azerbaijan, where The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance launched its groundbreaking list of universal sustainability KPIs for the world’s hospitality industry.

Focusing on CO2 emissions, water and energy usage and waste management, the first wave of KPIs emphasised transparent and consistent methods of reporting for businesses to assess their performances.

The initiative is part of the COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism, which set out to emphasise the importance of action within the hospitality industry to help tackle the global climate crisis while retaining economic sustainability.

The KPIs aim to drive consumers to make more sustainable travel choices and help hospitality businesses create positive change for the environment.

So, what does this mean for our customers? And how can we work together to make significant steps towards a sustainable future for the industry?

At Zonal Hotel Solutions, we are truly committed to helping our customers achieve the targets set out for them by organisations such as The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance. Here, we discuss how our integrations and products can help hoteliers reach their sustainability goals.

Zonal’s Environmental Integrations

The hospitality sector accounts for up to 15% of UK greenhouse gases, and with growing concern amongst guests about sustainability, it’s never been more important for businesses to uphold their environmental promises. In fact, the latest findings by YouGov show that 64% of British consumers are willing to pay up to 10% more for sustainable foods and drinks and Visit Britain reports that 58% of people want to stay in accommodation with green awards and environmentally friendly practices.

Zonal’s host of environmental integrations are designed to boost your tech stack, and help your hotel go green.

Net Zero Now

Net Zero Now helps hospitality businesses reach the carbon emissions KPI set out by the alliance, with automated carbon accounting, tailored emissions reduction plans and a trusted Certification Mark.

The software automatically generates reports for all relevant disclosures and provides clear strategies for businesses on how to cut their emissions, while enhancing their brand reputation and building trust with green-conscious customers.

Play It Green

It’s been found that 81% of consumers believe companies should help to improve the environment, so Play It Green supports hospitality businesses to actively demonstrate positive change.

This integration offers diners in your hotel’s restaurant the chance to rebalance the carbon impact of their meals and gift to charity whilst paying their bill. Each automatically added (but non-fixed) £1 plants two trees and regifts 10p to charity. Play it Green also provides staff training on sustainable culture within the workplace and educational articles for hotels and restaurants.

GiftTrees

With our Gift Trees integration, it costs you nothing to help offset the environmental impact of meals from your hotel and help lift people out of extreme poverty. Diners in your hotel’s restaurants can opt into a small fee of £1.23 on their final bill to help provide farming families with food, income, access to education, clothing, medicine, and safe homes.

GiftTrees is seamlessly integrated with Zonal’s EPoS, allowing hoteliers to easily boost their societal impact and benefit the environment through investment in agroforestry systems.

Zero Carbon Forum

By helping businesses to drill down into their specific brand, site, supplier or ingredient-level emissions on a granular level, Zero Carbon Forum provides industry benchmarks to help each individual team member recognise the carbon impact of their daily practices whilst working at your hotel.

Through easily accessible and detailed data reports, this integration helps hospitality businesses identify the depth of their carbon footprint and put actionable processes into place to cut emissions and financial losses.

Waste Management

Restaurants and hotels lose a huge £2.6 billion to 1 million tonnes of food waste each year in the UK, 75% of which could be avoided. The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance has calculated that 18% of all world food waste is created by the hospitality industry, citing it as a ‘priority’ within its recent KPIs.

To enable hoteliers to tackle this, Zonal’s Purchase-to-Pay system alerts kitchen staff when stock is running low and gives real-time recommendations for re-ordering and menu planning based on individual requirements and guest behaviour.

The software automatically sends an order to suppliers for fulfilment, saving chefs precious time and streamlining kitchen operations. This process significantly reduces food waste and over-ordering, greatly cutting costs and helping the environment.

As we move into 2025, it’s evident that sustainability must be at the forefront of every hotelier’s business plan. With help from Zonal’s comprehensive suite of technology, hitting sustainability KPIs will become more accessible, streamlined and comprehensive than ever.

To read more about the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism, visit: https://sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/universal-sustainability-kpis-cop29/.

The boom in wellness travel has been undeniable in recent years, as tourists seek more downtime than party time and look to use their time away to rest and unwind from the growing pressures of modern life.

Part of this lean towards well-being is a growing interest in sleep and its fundamental role in our health; with a good night’s sleep moving higher and higher up the list of traveller’s priorities. In fact, 43% of UK holidaymakers want to improve their sleep while staying away from home.

With 80% of hotel guests struggling to catch Z’s during stays, hotels worldwide are tapping into the growing trend of ‘Sleep Tourism’, offering hyper-personalised experiences to improve guest’s sleep based on their individual preferences.

So, how can your hotel tap into this trend?

With Zonal’s marketing suite, hotels can tempt their guests pre-stay with luxurious sleep experiences and offer premium, personalised sleep aids such as quality mattresses, pillow menus and sound-proof rooms.

By building custom audiences, hoteliers can use data collected from various sources to deliver more effective, targeted marketing to guests likely to be interested in their wellness offerings. This valuable insight also provides opportunities for hoteliers to upsell other relevant experiences such as spa treatments, gym programmes and healthy F&B options.

Hyper-personalisation to deliver outstanding experiences

This hyper-personalisation enables hoteliers to identify guests with specialist sleep requirements, enabling them to provide outstanding service for guests by going the extra mile. Special sleep-focused touches could include meditation recordings, relaxing bath salts, heated blankets, white noise, sleep masks and herbal teas in rooms. These sleep-enhancers will keep guests happy and well-rested, whilst helping to boost those important repeat bookings.

Zonal’s multi-channel marketing suite can gather valuable information from guests post stay, enabling hoteliers to gauge how well their sleep strategies worked and make tweaks for the future.

In today’s fast-paced world, sleep seems more elusive than ever and with over 38% of Brits claiming not to get enough quality sleep to function well, it has never been more of a priority for rest-seeking travellers. Together with fitness and healthy food, sleep is set to be a top wellness travel trend in 2025 and beyond.

A good night’s sleep will be seen as an expected standard, not a luxury, as people embrace slowing down to prioritise their health. So, don’t ‘sleep’ on this trend, help your guests to feel rejuvenated with an active approach to great rest and feel the benefit of those extra bookings.

We would like to wish all of our Zonal Hotel Solutions customers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

We know the festive season is a busy one for the hospitality industry, and we’re sending our warmest wishes to you over the coming weeks. We hope the Christmas period runs smoothly for your team, and you can enjoy some of your own time to relax and recoup after the festive rush!

Thank you for choosing Zonal Hotel Solutions as your PMS provider; we are proud to be providing so many hotels with the tools to streamline their operations, save time, cut costs and deliver the best possible customer service.

It’s been an extremely busy year here at Zonal, with the launch of many new features and the unveiling of our rebrand at the Independent Hotel Show back in October. The transition to Zonal Hotel Solutions reflects our unified vision and mission to provide innovative, comprehensive, and customer-centric technology solutions for the hotel industry.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our customers for your incredible support throughout this journey.

Here’s to a successful 2025!

Have a great one,
The Zonal Team

It’s no surprise that hospitality and tourism in the UK have taken one of the biggest hits in recent years, with the Covid pandemic thwarting travel plans for millions. However, after three years of disruption, VisitBritain predicts that the spending will increase to £32.5bn this year, improving on UK travel-spend for the first time since 2019. The organisation has also predicted a 5% increase in spending from inbound tourism compared to 2023.

Adding to this positive outlook for UK hoteliers, a Confused.com survey found that 57% of UK travellers have chosen or considered a staycation since the cost-of-living crisis began, rather than venturing abroad, again contributing to the growing UK room occupancy rates.

Business travel

The UK is reported to have the fourth highest spend on business travel in the world and this market has seen the most significant improvements this year, with the World Travel & Tourism Council projecting a 6.2% increase, compared to pre-pandemic levels. As in-person meetings and working from the office slowly become the norm again, corporate travel is set to ramp up even further.

What’s more, according to the latest Savills report, there has historically been ‘a close correlation between UK GDP, CFO confidence and regional hotel RevPAR’, meaning the projected economic growth in the UK will have an especially positive impact on corporate travel markets.

Hoteliers can anticipate this growth in business travel by ensuring their technology is up to scratch to maximise potential revenue.

Zonal’s booking software can help hoteliers manage meeting spaces, oversee F&B arrangements and coordinate group room bookings for corporate events. Hoteliers can ensure all bills are processed under a single guest or company, resulting in a slicker experience for businesses looking for excellent customer service.

The boom of ‘bleisure’ travel is set to be a top trend in 2025, with 74% of Brits travelling for business and leisure in one trip. This means that guests are looking for high-quality amenities to help them relax and unwind outside of their working hours. Hoteliers can upsell their spa, restaurant, gym and other facilities through effective and targeted communications using our marketing suite to further maximise profits.

Generation travel

Also leading the charge on the tourism revival is the Baby-Boomer generation. A 2024 report has found that leisure budgets have grown by 9% this year, primarily fuelled by over 50s, who also spend more on average per trip. In fact, Baby-Boomers make up a whooping 80% of all luxury travel and 99% take at least one leisure trip per year.

Hoteliers can capitalise on this with the use of ultra-personalised marketing, offers and packages aimed at the 50-60+ market and retirees. Remember, statistically, this age group are most likely to leave reviews and rely on other guests’ feedback to inform their decisions, so excellent service and guest experience is paramount. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews and book repeat stays with all-important personalised follow-up marketing communications.

Event-led travel

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour boosted London hotel bookings by a huge 173% this year and with Oasis set to pay 19 dates across the UK and Ireland next summer, some cities are already looking at over 73% occupancy for that period.

Yes, it’s clear that the return of huge music events post-covid will have a brilliant knock-on effect on the hotel industry.

With guests travelling from across the globe, it’s essential that hoteliers have easy-to-use booking software in place and full visibility on OTAs. Zonal’s PMS will ensure guests can book rooms easily and quickly for their music events and hoteliers are able to adjust rates based on these periods of high demand to maximise profits.

What’s more, Zonal’s PMS enables guests to upgrade their experience before arrival or at optimum points throughout their stay, with perfectly timed product and service alerts, discounts and offers. By offering guests personalised upsells, tailored to their preferences, hoteliers can boost their RevPAR by as much as 30%.

In summary

As the UK slowly edges its way towards financial recovery in 2025, investment in hotels is expected to grow and demand for travel is expected to strengthen even further. With the right technology in place, hotels can be ready for this period of expected growth and feel benefits of a more positive outlook for the hospitality industry.

2025 is just around the corner, and the hospitality industry is gearing up for a year of big financial changes.

October’s Budget will no doubt have an impact on hoteliers over the coming months; with both minimum wage and employer’s national insurance costs set to rise in April and business rate relief due to be reduced from 75% to 40%.

Alongside the usual winter dry spell as consumers penny pinch after Christmas and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, hotels will have to be savvier than ever to entice customers and keep rising costs down.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways to manage this uncertain economic climate, in particular, using technology to streamline your hotel’s operations and make significant time and cost savings.

Here, we explain how.

Boost direct bookings

2024 saw a huge change in the way people book their staycations, with mobile bookings overtaking desktop for the first time ever. With 51% of guests now booking hotels with their mobile phones, a fully optimised and responsive online booking system is essential for hoteliers to snap up those all-important direct bookings alongside OTAs to boost profits.

Zonal’s mobile-friendly, fully intuitive and customisable booking system is tailored to fit a hotel’s unique style and branding whilst working seamlessly regardless of the device a guest is making their booking from . Our portal allows guests to access all of their booking information including pre-orders and added extras to maximise profits even further, without taking commission.

Hotel revenue management

Staying ahead of the competition is key to maximising profits, so being able to anticipate demand for rooms and adjust rates accordingly will be essential for hoteliers in 2025.

Whether it’s a summer heatwave, a highly anticipated music event or a festival in the local area, with Zonal’s revenue management tools, hoteliers can ensure rooms and rates are adjusted appropriately to boost RevPAR.

For in-depth analysis of costs, our real-time reporting software can efficiently analyse past years’ performances to help accurately forecast sales, enabling hotel management to spend or cut costs accordingly throughout the year.

Reduce F&B costs

It’s well-known that food waste is a persistent problem within the hospitality industry, with restaurants and hotels reportedly spending a whopping £2.6 billion on food waste each year.

To enable hoteliers to tackle this, Zonal’s Purchase-to-Pay system alerts kitchen staff when stock is running low and gives real-time recommendations for re-ordering based on individual requirements, saving chefs precious time and streamlining kitchen operations. This process significantly reduces food waste and over-ordering, cutting costs and with an added bonus point for sustainability.

With costs rising across the board, our menu management tool can help you develop accurately costed menus and identify where potential savings could be made – whether it’s tweaking a recipe or exploring alternative suppliers.

Marketing

Getting the word out there to new and existing customers is essential for hoteliers to attract new trade and encourage repeat bookings. However, marketing collateral such as flyers and brochures can be costly and overlooked by large proportions of your target market – no one wants to receive a ‘one-size-fits-all’ marketing email anymore.

It’s been found that customers are 80% more likely to buy from businesses that offer personalised experiences. With this in mind, hyper-personalised emails, tailored to each individual’s experiences and interests, will help hotels develop deeper connections with customers past and present.

Using Zonal’s PMS, hoteliers can send targeted communications to guests to upsell services and extras pre-stay, gain valuable reviews and promote offers to encourage instant bookings.

In summary, despite the rocky forecast that has been predicted for the hospitality industry over the coming months, there is hope for a successful year ahead. Hotel occupancy has reached pre-covid levels for the first time this year and with a little help from a reliable, affordable and powerful PMS, hoteliers can make cuts where necessary, whilst still providing the best possible experience for their guests.

Hospitality loyalty programmes are booming – with big names such as Wagamama and Leon both recently launching their own schemes. Operators are increasingly adopting diverse methods to cultivate customer loyalty, leading to creative and engaging experiences for their customers. As part of our Loyalty Collective, where we gather top industry names to discuss all things loyalty in an open and honest conversation, we spoke with some of the industry’s top operators to explore various loyalty schemes they are implementing.

Gusto: Subscription-Based Membership

In March this year, Gusto become the UK’s first casual dining brand to launch a subscription-based membership programme. The Gusto Platinum Club is £65 a year or £6 monthly, and members receive 40% off food from Sunday-Thursday for themselves and up to three guests. Members also receive a complimentary bottle of Prosecco to take home upon sign-up and exclusive invites to menu launches.

This model not only rewards loyal customers but also encourages dining out during quieter days of the week.

And how is this working out for Gusto? Well, Kat Schofield, Marketing Director at Gusto, told us that the subscription model is boding well. Since launching, they’re seeing frequency of visits double, along with a noticeable increase in upsells. Kat says that customers are opting for nicer bottles of wine, or going for two rounds of cocktails, all thanks to the 40% discount off food.

Flat Iron: The Carcass Club

Flat Iron has taken a unique approach with its Carcass Club, which is a series of exclusive one-off events that highlight rare types/cuts of beef.
For £20 per person, attendees receive a delicious meal that includes a special steak, beef dripping chips, sauce, a glass of wine, and Flat Iron’s signature popcorn and Tahitian vanilla ice cream. This event is walk-in only and operates on a first-come, first-served basis, adding an element of excitement and exclusivity.

Darren Smith, Head of Operations at Flat Iron, said that by offering a slightly elevated experience, Flat Iron are cultivating customer loyalty without relying on a cut and paste offer. This approach makes each visit feel special and effectively showcases and promotes a particular restaurant.

Cosy: The Penny Club

At Cosy, loyalty takes on a tangible form with their Penny Club. Customers receive a physical coin that grants them access to a special offer: 2-for-1 house cocktails from Tuesday to Saturday. Membership is by invitation only, creating a sense of exclusivity. Customers share their name and favourite cocktail, which is recorded in a physical book at the cocktail bar, enhancing the personal touch of the experience.

Rosie Lewis-Marsh, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Consultant for Yummy Collection, emphasises the importance of having a compelling story behind loyalty programmes, rather than simply offering free points. She observes that the younger generation, who have always accessed music online through platforms like Spotify, are now rediscovering CDs and vinyl records. Rosie says that people crave something tangible and want to feel connected, like being part of a club, and this approach to loyalty schemes can create that club-like atmosphere, making customers feel truly involved.

These innovative loyalty schemes illustrate how hospitality operators are thinking outside the box to engage customers and foster lasting relationships. By offering unique experiences and personalised rewards, they are not just retaining customers but creating a community that keeps returning for more.

October saw a monumental change in the way hospitality workers get paid as the new Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act came into effect on 1^st October (2024).

The new law will ensure that workers receive 100% of their tips from cash, cards and added service charges. Government officials say that this change will give back over £200 million to staff, placing workers ‘at the heart of the economy.’

So, what do hoteliers need to know about this ground-breaking new law?

1. Building trust

Research shows that over 80% of tips were made via card in 2021, with customers not aware of whether their tip would be paid to their server or not.

Tipping transparency will help to build trust between guests and hotels, with customers now understanding that hard-earned tips will be taken home by staff members.

Likewise, customers will start reaping the benefits through an improved guest experience as staff are more encouraged and motivated as they start to feel the financial benefit tipping brings.

2. The code of practice

Before the 1^st of October, all tips made on credit or debit cards or the discretionary service charges on bills could be legally kept by the hotelier. Now, the new act states that all tips are to be passed on to staff without deductions. However, the accompanying code of practice states that tips do not need to be equally distributed between staff if there is a valid reason.

Despite this, it is recommended that management discuss a fair policy with their team and come to a rational agreement on how tips are distributed. This may consider hours worked, job role (housekeeping, waiting and bar staff, kitchen staff etc), or position (manager or junior), however, it is essential that hoteliers’ distribution of tips is seen as fair and not discriminatory.

If a hotelier uses a Tronc to distribute tips, the management must ensure this nominated person follows the code of conduct set out and agreed by all employees.

3. Be aware of legal implications

The Allocation of Tips Act states that if an employer violates the law, employees will be able to bring a claim to an employment tribunal, with costs estimated up to £5,000.

If a worker believes they are being unfairly treated when it comes to tips, the tipping code of conduct is discriminatory or that they are owed more tips than what is allocated to them, their claim will hold up in court.

4. The start of more change for employers

The King’s Speech in July discussed the new Labour Government’s radical changes to employment law, as it begins to deliver its ‘new deal for working people’ over the next four years. This tipping law is the start of an overhaul to workers’ rights, which is set to include the Employment Rights Bill that was introduced in parliament on 10^th October to ‘make work pay’ and introduce fairer rights for workers in the UK.

With Labour’s drastic plans in action, hoteliers must be vigilant to the changes over the coming months and years to remain compliant. Hoteliers will likely be affected by changes to laws regarding unfair dismissal, zero-hour contracts, sick pay, gender equality, flexible working and more.

In summary, if hotels are compliant and have solid, fair tipping conduct in place, this new legislation will empower workers and level the playing field for hospitality businesses.

As staff members feel more appreciated and see the financial benefits of their hard work, the service on offer at hotels will also improve, further enhancing the customer experience and therefore, boosting revenue.

The nights are drawing in which can only mean one thing; the festive season is almost upon us and hotels are heading into one of the busiest periods of the year.

By escaping the cooking, hosting, tidying and washing up at home, guests look to hotels as havens of relaxation, allowing them to escape the stresses that Christmas can bring. Of course, this expectation comes with many pressures for the hospitality industry, with professionals striving to provide the best possible service whilst creating a magical experience that guests will remember.

Here, we give our top tips on how to prepare your staff for this busy period, ease some of the pressure by streamlining your services and deliver a wonderful stay for your guests.

1. Speed up your check-in / check-out

With more guests than usual, and most arriving and departing at the same time, front desk operations need to be slick to keep guests happy over Christmas.  Arrival at your hotel should mean instant relaxation for your guests as they begin their Christmas break, and many will want to get to their rooms swiftly, giving them more time to soak up the festivities!

Zonal Hotel Solutions’ convenient online check-in / out uses smartphones to enable guests to register and pay, which is especially important during peak arrival and departure times. This, together with access to digital room keys, frees up more time for staff to spread the festive cheer and provide an excellent service.

Encouraging guests to make the most of these digital functions, will enhance their stay and reduce queues at your front desk. Additionally, you can use our PMS to keep on top of any specific Christmas requests such as gifts, food or drinks in rooms and any special guest requirements, to make ordering and payment processing as quick as possible.

2. Get your marketing in check

Build excitement and anticipation for guests with engaging and attractive emails in the run-up to their stay; a great opportunity to upsell table reservations, special drinks or gift packages for their Christmas or New Year’s trip.

Why not create some extra magic by theming your hotel’s festive offering? Glitz and glam, traditional Christmas, ski chalet chic or winter wonderland for example – and tie it in across marketing emails, collateral, menus and decorations for a targeted and coherent approach.

Use emails to follow up with guests’ post-stay, to gain valuable reviews, whilst offering deals and discounts for 2025 to encourage those all-important repeat bookings.

3. Seasonal staffing

Avoid staff burnout and manage your team’s workload by hiring additional seasonal staff for housekeeping, waiting, bar and front of house, to accommodate guests during the busiest periods.

Create a staff rota well in advance and manage expectations of the quality of work expected from your team throughout December. Remember your staff members may be stretched more than usual and missing out on family gatherings to work, so make them feel appreciated and ensure support is available – a personal thank you can go a long way!

Boost morale with staff perks and discounts, create a fun and friendly working environment and organise a team Christmas party for after the festive rush – a happy team will deliver the best possible customer service.

4. Festive feasting

Food is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated things about Christmas, so preparation is key when it comes to delivering the most special meals of the year.

Zonal Hotel Solutions’ PMS easily integrates with Zonal’s technology ecosystem helping front- and back-of-house operations save time and money to maximise profits.

Our kitchen management system helps staff to keep on top of their food inventory and our recipe management tool will ensure that reviews and customer feedback can be used to tweak dishes and make constant improvements to your F&B offering.

Our real-time restaurant availability and table reservations module will further boost F&B revenue, by allowing guests to instantly view and reserve tables, streamlining their experience to make their stay even easier and more relaxing. What’s more, it remembers guests’ dietary requirements and specialist needs for every meal throughout their stay, creating a personalised experience for every person.

5. Offer Gift Vouchers

The festive season is the perfect time to boost bookings and create memorable experiences at your hotel. By offering gift vouchers, it’s a smart way to attract new guest bookings while showcasing your hotel.

Don’t miss your opportunity to turn Christmas shoppers into future guests!

While Christmas packages are a brilliant way to fill rooms and boost profits, guests expect the very best when it comes to the most wonderful time of the year, putting pressure on your hotel’s staff and resources. But with creativity, teamwork and some excellent software, your hotel can deliver on its promises, create magical experiences and keep guests coming back to stay year-on-year.