How to capitalise on a winter World Cup

Frankie Neale • Aug 02, 2022

After the historic Lionesses Euro win, this could be the turning point for women’s football, with a lasting legacy to come from it. A record 87,000 watched the final in the stadium and another 17.5 million on TV, so there is clearly a huge appetite of support there. In fact, Chelsea, Tottenham & Liverpool are all bringing key women’s matches into the main home stadiums, to accommodate larger audiences, and the BBC have scheduled to show Chelsea’s first match of the season. With the women’s World Cup just next year, in July & August we will all want to make sure we’re supporting the Lionesses from the start, and capitalising on the support in our venues.


We will cover this in another article closer to the time, but first we turn our attention to the next big event in international football, Qatar 2022 – no pressure lads!


Qatar World Cup 2022


This tournament is falling in winter for the first time, bringing its own set of challenges with it. This means that an already busy time of festive drinks and parties is going to clash with matches – and hopefully if England men’s do as well and the Lionesses, you can expect packed out pubs for matches all the way up until the 18th December. How can you look to make sure you’re making the most of both the Christmas trade and the World Cup?


Block out big matches


If you’re expecting to be full for the big matches, plan ahead and block them out in your venue now, this means that you won’t accidentally take any big Christmas bookings that will clash. Our in-built booking system allows you to block book out your whole venue, or sections of it with one click, ensuring customers won’t be able to book online when you can’t accommodate them. Any good bookings system will also allow you to do this.


World Cup 2022 fixtures


Take deposits


With space at a premium this December, make sure you’re taking deposits from all bookings, whether they’re Christmas or footie bookings. Be clear with your cancellation policy, and when you will be keeping those deposits if parties reduce numbers or cancel last minute, ensuring that you won’t lose out or have empty tables.


Our in-built booking system allows you to easily email payment links to customers, making the whole process of taking a deposit super simple for you and them, as the money is allocated directly to the booking. Then when guests arrive you can pull up the booking on your pub EPOS system, and either refund the deposit, or switch it to a credit on a tab to be spent.


Also consider minimum spends across both footie bookings and parties – we’ve all had guests who might only have 1 pint across a whole midweek or afternoon match. When you could book out your tables 10 times over, you want to make sure you’re making the most from them.


Encourage early Christmas parties


The opening ceremony and first matches fall on the 21st November, so why not look to incentivise companies bringing their Christmas ahead of this date, perhaps offering a discount, or round of drinks to any parties held before the World Cup kicks off.


We’re obviously all keeping fingers & toes crossed that there isn’t going to be a winter resurgence of the dreaded C word again this year, but having Christmas parties spilling into November could mitigate against the sort of losses our industry felt over the past two years, when December parties were cancelled last minute.


Turkey burger and chips


Consider your menu


Most venues switch to a Christmas menu for the whole festive period – but on match days you might want a reduced menu, food that is quick and easy to make and deliver, but also easy to eat as it’s likely that not everyone will have a table if you’re busy. Plan ahead, and if you are going to be switching menus, make it clear what food is available on what days, the last thing you want is a booking turning up on a match night expecting Turkey and all the trimmings.


Having a reduced menu that is still Christmas themed (turkey and cranberry burgers, pigs in blankets on sharers etc.) will mean you’re using the same stock and not risking loads of wastage.


Utilise all your space


Don’t be afraid to make use of outside spaces to increase capacity. One of the things that the pandemic taught us, was that people are willing to meet outside, if you provide the right environment. If you’ve got shelter or heaters outside, and can set up a screen, you can increase your capacity and find a way to accommodate both your footie and festive customers.


Reduce queue times at the bar


Technology that has become common place in pubs and bars are apps allowing you to order and pay at your table. These will be popular during football matches, as customers don’t need to miss a minute of the action to place their orders. There was a huge influx of these during the pandemic, but the ones that have survived are those that are integrated with your EPOS system, meaning orders can’t get missed and stock and sales can be effectively tracked, as everything sits in one system and end of day report.


Check match timings


Due to the heat, match times will be later in Qatar, which is good news the for the UK, as even accounting for time differences, matches are still on at much more reasonable times. FIFA have confirmed matches will kick off at 10am, 1pm, 4pm & 7pm UK time. Check if you need any additional licences for 10am kick offs and apply in good time. The final rounds matches will kick off at 3pm & 7pm UK time, with a 3pm kick off for the final on Sunday 18th December.

 


With some careful consideration & planning, this could be a well-deserved bumper November and December for the pub & bar industry, with both the festive season and World Cup to capitalise on. Let’s just hope those Lions do as well as the Lionesses!

At Tabology we live and breathe hospitality - we even run our own pub! To find out more about our pub EPOS system, and how it could work in your venue, get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

TNS Catering using Tabology EPOS
by Frankie Neale 14 Mar, 2024
“It was also critical that our central head office team were able to maintain the systems across the country on a remote basis"
Barman pouring a pint of beer
by Frankie Neale 19 Feb, 2024
We look at some of the benefits of having a central view and management of your multi-site hospitality business
Free cocktail birthday marketing campaign eshot
by Frankie Neale 23 Nov, 2023
The key purpose of a loyalty scheme is to drive more visits to your venue and increase sales. Whilst a loyalty points scheme can achieve this on its own to some extent, the real potential lies in the data you hold on your loyalty members purchasing and spending habits.
Hospitality booking form on a mobile
by Frankie Neale 07 Nov, 2023
As bookings are making up a higher proportion of trade, being able to manage them efficiently without jumping from one system to another is increasingly important. We look at the many benefits that can be obtained from having a booking system that is fully integrated with your hospitality EPOS.
Show More
Share by: