Restaurant holiday marketingthat borrows the big dates

Why a bar that isn't Irish can own St Patrick's

St Patrick's Day is not really about where a place comes from. Most of the people out that weekend are not looking for an authentic pub; they are looking for somewhere fun with friends, a drink in hand and a table they can actually get. The Irish pubs fill first and fastest, which leaves a crowd of guests looking for the next good option.

That is the opening a New York restaurant and bar used when it took in $94K over the three days of St Patrick's Day weekend, March 17 to 19, without being Irish at all. What it needed was a plan: a clear reason to choose it, promotion that started well ahead and a team ready for the crowd. The result is on our case studies page with its receipt.

Holidays worth borrowing, by kind of restaurant

Almost every restaurant has a date it could borrow. Start with the guests you already have and ask where they go that weekend. These pairings come up again and again:

• A sports bar or brewery: St Patrick's Day, the big game, Halloween weekend and the night before Thanksgiving.
• A taqueria or Latin kitchen: Cinco de Mayo, of course, but also the big game, when platters travel well.
• A brunch spot or cafe: Mother's Day, Easter Sunday and the first warm weekend of spring.
• A steakhouse or fine dining room: Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and December office parties.
• A cocktail bar: Halloween weekend, New Year's Eve and a signature drink for each season.

Tickets, deposits or reservations: choosing how to sell

How you sell a holiday shapes who comes and how predictable the night is. Tickets suit a set menu or a party with a fixed start: the guest pays ahead, you know the headcount and no-shows cost you nothing. Deposits suit big tables on busy days, like a Mother's Day brunch for twelve, because they hold the seat without forcing a set price.

Plain reservations suit days when you serve the normal menu and want the room full in seatings. And many borrowed holidays are walk-in nights, where the job is to be the place people already planned to go. Pick the one that matches the offer, and put the cancellation terms on the page in plain words.

The promotion calendar, counted back from the date

Holiday guests decide earlier than everyday guests, and the biggest dates decide earliest of all. Count back from the date and give each stretch one job:

• Six to eight weeks out: write the offer, set the price, build the page and open sales.
• Four to six weeks out: start ads to people nearby with last year's footage or a fresh shoot.
• Two to four weeks out: show the ads more often, email and text past guests, post twice a week.
• The final week: count what is left, push the last seats, and switch to a waitlist when full.
• The week after: thank guests, invite them back on a weeknight and save the best clips.

Seasons are dates too: what our own beer garden does

Not every big moment is a holiday. Our own beer garden in New York treats its seasons as dates of their own: the garden strung with lights and red ornaments for winter, the flower wall dressed for Halloween, the lounge decorated for the December office party season. Each season gets its own look, its own photos and its own page.

It has 11 seasonal festival pages live today. Each page can be found on its own in search and sent to guests in an ad or a text when its season comes around. Our search work builds the same kind of page for the restaurants we work with.

When a holiday is a walk-in night

Some of the best borrowed holidays are not booked at all. The night before Thanksgiving, Halloween weekend and much of St Patrick's Day are walk-in nights, when people decide where to go that week or that evening. The job is not to sell seats; it is to be the place people already have in mind.

Plan those nights differently. Run the ads closer to the date and show them more often in the final days. Post stories that afternoon showing the room filling up. Put extra staff at the door and the bar, and keep a short list of fast dishes. Our Instagram ads page covers the reels and stories side.

The kitchen plan decides the reviews

A packed holiday is only a win if the night goes well, because the reviews from your busiest weekend are the ones people read for the rest of the year. Shorten the menu to dishes the kitchen can send fast and well at full volume. Stagger seatings so the line never backs up all at once.

Schedule extra hands at the door and the bar before you need them, and brief the team on the offer, the timing and what to say when a guest asks about the next event. The ticket count tells you how much to prep, which is one more reason to sell ahead where you can.

Keep holiday guests after the lights come down

Many of the people in the room on a borrowed holiday have never been to your restaurant before. That is the whole point, and the opportunity. Collect contact details when they buy or book, and within a week invite them back for an ordinary weeknight with a reason to come, such as the dish they loved or a weekly offer.

Office party season works the same way. A company that held its holiday party with you knows your food and your room. Add them to your list for catering and next year's party, and if you have a room to rent, our private events guide covers how to book it for the season.