December Is Booked In October

Second Saturday of December. The phone does not stop, the floor is two entertainers short, and two regulars are turned away at the door.

It happened last year too. Everyone knew December would be busy.

⚠️ The rush comes in December. Whether you can handle it is decided in October.

The short version

• In October, pull last December's numbers
• Ask your regulars about their year-end plans during November visits
• Collect time-off requests for late December before October ends
• Set holiday pricing and hours early in November and announce them
• The goal: nothing left to decide in December

One — pull last December

Bookings per day
The busiest day and hour
Guests turned away (if anyone noted them)
Entertainers on the floor each night

⇒ Which nights you were short, and by how many, tells you what to prepare this year.

⚠️ If you have no numbers from last December, record this December properly. You will want them next October.

Two — take regulars first

During November visits:
"Are you planning to come in over the holidays? Which night?"

⇒ With regulars booked early, you stop turning them away on the busiest nights — the most expensive mistake of the season.

⚠️ Take early bookings from regulars only. Opening early booking to everyone mostly increases late cancellations.

Three — collect time off early

In October: ask for time-off requests covering mid-December to early January
⇒ by November you know which nights are short
⇒ you have time to hire, borrow, or cut hours

⚠️ Ask in December and the clashes cannot be filled. Everyone has already made plans.

Four — pricing, days and hours

Will holiday pricing change? (Not changing is also a decision)
Which days are you closed?
Will you open longer on peak nights?

⇒ Decide, then announce early in November — on your site, your socials, and directly to regulars.

⚠️ Raise prices only with notice. A guest who finds out at the table is the most common argument of the season.

Five — the money side

December takings are high, but so are outgoings
Payouts, rent and suppliers land at the same time
Banks and suppliers slow down over the new year

⇒ List every December and early-January payment date in October. Check nothing falls due when you cannot pay it.

The calendar

October  …pull last December / collect time-off requests
November …ask regulars / set and announce pricing and hours / staff up
December …run the plan / record turn-aways for next year

The numbers to keep

One   bookings per day in December
Two   guests turned away, and on which nights
Three entertainers on the floor per night
Four  average spend per guest, before and after any holiday pricing

⚠️ Two only exists if someone writes it down. It is the single most useful number for next year.

A sheet for the office

────────────────────────────────────
  Year-end

  October …last December's numbers / time-off requests
  November …ask regulars / announce pricing + hours
  December …record every turn-away (for next year)

  Nothing left to decide in December
────────────────────────────────────

Common objections

"We always manage somehow"

⇒ Count the turn-aways. The nights you managed were the nights guests went home.

"October is too early"

⚠️ Hiring and swapping shifts take a month or more to settle. October is just in time.

"Early bookings get cancelled"

⇒ That is why you only take them from regulars.

"Raising prices will drive people away"

⇒ Keeping prices is also a valid decision. If you raise them, announce first.

This week

One   pull bookings per day for last December
Two   send out the time-off request for late December
Three set a date to decide holiday pricing and hours
Four  list December and early-January payment dates
Five  decide how turn-aways will be recorded this year

Doing it by hand, or on a screen

Pulling last December out of old paper sheets is the part that usually doesn't happen.

By hand …counting last year's booking sheets and receipts day by day
On screen …bookings and who was on shift recorded per day

⇒ tasteck records bookings and entertainers' shifts by day, so last December's daily bookings and staffing can be read from the records.

⚠️ Guests you turned away never become bookings, so they are not in any booking record. Someone has to note them separately.

Wrapping up

• December is decided in October
• Pull last December's numbers first
• Book regulars early, in November
• Collect time-off requests in October
• Announce pricing and hours early in November
• Record every turn-away for next year

The venue with nothing left to decide in December is the calmest one in December.