Let Your Cash Flow Grow! 5 Ways To Improve Your Seasonal Revenue

It’s that time of year again when your bookings are slowing down, which begs us to ask the question:

So this is Christmas, and what have you done?

Or more importantly, what are you going to do? If your profits aren’t what you expected, don’t fret – with robust management in place, you can create a solid strategy to keep your bottom line healthy. Whether you run festive city breaks, a luxurious spa, or a seasonal B&B, here’s 4 tips to help you improve your business’s cash flow.

If you experience an influx of guests over the Christmas period, make sure you are prepared. While some hoteliers are quick to adapt to trends, others struggle to meet the high tourist demands, as well as provide high-quality and personalised services. Does the festive season inundate you with last-minute bookings? If so, make sure to advertise short-stay rates to achieve full occupancy and have enough staff ready to cater them.

Following the Christmas period, you may suddenly see a dip in bookings. You can solve this simply and effectively by getting creative with some discounts, deals and group packages for over January and February. You may want to advertise these promos during the festive period to catch Christmas shoppers looking for weekends away with their loved ones.

Promos are also a great way to get more direct bookings. With Promo Manager, you can easily manage exclusive discounts and packages on your website.

With regards to putting the right systems in place, we cannot stress enough how important it is to go digital. If your competitors are doing it, and you’re slow off the mark, they’re going to have a massive advantage. For instance, customers that use eviivo to accept secure online payments, in their own currency, are more easily able to land upfront bookings with non-refundable rates.

Going digital gives you more control of your day-to-day finances by giving you better visibility over your cash flow.

Let’s face it, the hospitality sector is expensive business, especially during the festive season. Many overheads include staff payroll, utilities, and costs of food, drink and additional services you supply to guests. Payroll is the no. 1 challenge facing hotels’ bottom lines today. To mitigate this, use incentives to increase your staff efficiency, such as a quarterly competition that rewards the most productive members of staff in the run-up to Christmas. The more fun, the better – it’ll up morale so your guests get a feel for your team spirit.

Post-season, many businesses keep the conversation going with customers through social networking, e-mail newsletters and offering discounts for their next stay. A seasonal business is about creating lasting memories, so if you want to see customers returning next year, try building a personal relationship with them. Guest Manager enables you to automatically email guests before and after their stay to collect reviews, and to thank them for their visit. This is a great opportunity to add a personal touch.

Whether you’re looking to scale your hospitality business, or simply increase your bottom line, streamlining your business can have a huge impact. eviivo’s all-in-one booking software is the simplest way to manage your operating activities so you have time to focus on your bread and butter during the holidays, and ensure guests come back again and again.