by Abby Henson | 5 Mar, 2018 | Blog, Sales Figures
Analysis of over 100 organisations using S4Labour showed positive sales growth for the majority of operators last month.
Bad weather hit late-month revenues
Our latest research into revenues at operators across all sectors of hospitality revealed an average increase in sales of 0.2% on February 2017 levels.
This was primarily driven by wet-led businesses, which enjoyed on average a 4.8% uplift across their sites. Food-focused venues typically experienced a tougher month, seeing on average a 0.6% fall in sales. The restaurant and casual dining sectors were particularly badly hit by the severe weather that arrived towards the end of the month, with many sites struggling with cancellations and delivery logistics, and some closing outright. The Castle Inn in Spofforth, North Yorkshire, part of out own Malvern Inns brand, saw temperatures 13 degrees colder than last year on the final day of the month and food sales 60% down as a result.
As well as identifying and reducing overstaffing, S4Labour helps its users drive increased sales by highlighting times when front of house and kitchen teams are likely to be stretched too thin. This allows managers to write optimal rotas, ensuring sales opportunities are not missed and service levels remain high, leading to increased sales both in the short term and longer term through valuable repeat custom.
by Abby Henson | 14 Feb, 2018 | Blog, Press & News
2018 has already seen a number of superb multi-site operators begin using our industry-leading S4Labour workforce management and HR software.
Increasingly, business leaders are recognising the value our systems bring them to reduce costs, increase sales and service levels, and improve processes, and are eager to come on board.
Butcombe’s Hatchet Inn – Bristol’s oldest pub, dating to 1606
Our newest clients include Butcombe Brewery‘s 24-strong managed estate in the South West of Engand and the McManus Pub Company, who manage twelve sites in and around Northampton.
Family-run McManus have a superb local reputation, fully justified by their venues which range from picturesque village locals to elegant urban night-spots. They join us having been impressed with S4Labour’s functionality and customer service compared to their previous supllier.
Butcombe, who won a gold medal at September’s World Awards, take the same ethos of market-leading quality into their pub operation. They have recently embarked on ambitious plans to quadruple the size of their pub operation, a project we relish the opportunity to support.
Joining them as S4Labour users are two smaller, but nonetheless very impressive London-based brands. Good Egg Restaurants serve wholesome Jewish-inspired cuisine alongside craft beer and cocktails, and implemented S4Labour concurrently to opening their second site, recognising their need for the clear multi-site reporting and insight it brings.
Flight Club are at the forefront of the experiential hospitality movement, offering a traditional pub pastime – darts – in sleek, modern surroundings, accompanied by an eclectic food and drink offer ideal for sharing. Unsurprisingly, they are expanding quickly and are in the process of adding their third UK site. They immediately appreciated S4Labour’s intuitive interface and clear visibility of trading patterns across their at times complex operation, leading to labour spend savings.
It is a pleasure to work with such impressive operators, and thoroughly enjoy supporting businesses from all sectors of UK hospitality. We are keenly looking forward to working with all S4Labour customers, old and new, to drive long term success in 2018 and beyond.
by Abby Henson | 9 Feb, 2018 | Blog, Press & News
Hospitality venues can look forward to Valentine’s Day as an opportunity for increased footfall and boosted sales. However, Valentine’s Day isn’t always a day that managers love. Here’s our advice on how to make this year’s event a success.
Boost Sales
Valentine’s Day is a great way for operators to drive increased sales. Being a special occasion, food menus should be specially made for the day. Create one-off dishes and consider adding more expensive ingredients to menu items that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to serve. Bubbles must be on the menu, obviously displayed to the customer, and possibly part of a promotional offer. Ensure that you offer a range of sparkling wine, from accessible prosecco to high-end champagne. This will allow you to quench the thirst of your guests’ cork-popping desires, whilst not pricing them out of the experience.
Don’t be afraid to over-do the site atmosphere – guests will want something special. Dim the lights, ensure tables have lit candles, play appropriate music, and don’t shy away from clichéd rose petals.
As customers will be willing to spend the extra cash on Valentine’s Day, you should make sure that they receive the highest level of service on the night. This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday, so it’s important to staff appropriately for the increase in sales. You may have to rota members of your team on for the Wednesday night which may go against their usual working hours. Aim to try and get tables filled via prior reservation so that you can deploy the correct number of front and back of house staff to deliver the best level of service.
See how S4Labour can help you to rota the right staff numbers on to deliver great customer service and not over-staff during busy periods.
Help your staff to be best prepared for the night. They need to be looking their best and working their hardest to deliver memorable customer service. Make sure that they have manageable table areas, don’t rush their customers, and upsell as much as they can. Guests will be more likely to tip generously on Valentine’s Day and this can be a great incentive for your staff to be on top-form.
Despite the apparent opportunity for increased revenues, Valentine’s Day can be a tough date for some operators. For many it proves to be hard work for not a lot of return. Seating tables of two can limit the numbers of covers that most restaurants can serve in a night, especially if your site has fixed, larger tables. Because of this, it’s important that reservations are staggered so that guests aren’t rushed, but still optimising covers.
Take a Different Approach
Know your market, don’t feel obliged to put on a dining experience if that’s not what you specialise in and if it’s not what your customers are looking for. There are two big-ticket Champions League football matches being played on Valentine’s Day this year, Porto v Liverpool and Real Madrid v PSG. With many pubs marketing a Valentine’s Day themed evening, publicans may find big profits from marketing themselves as a destination away from the schmoozing and a home for exciting football and great beer.
If you’re worried about not standing out this Valentine’s Day, then give something different a try. Hosting a special event could boost footfall in your site and leave lasting memories with your customers. A speed-dating event on Valentine’s Day could be an exciting and different way to spend the 14th February for those who otherwise wouldn’t partake in the festivities.
S4Labour’s event tool is a great way to ensure that you have the right people, in the right place, at the right time to deliver great customer service and not running the risk of over-staffing.
With hospitality sites being ideal destinations for couples on Valentine’s Day, it is important that you market yourselves well. Social media campaigns and promotional offers will be sure to help you get numbers through the door and drive sales, whether you plan to offer nothing but romance, or an alternative evening’s entertainment.
by Abby Henson | 5 Feb, 2018 | Blog, Press & News
By working intimately with some of hospitality’s biggest and best operators, we are able to gain valuable insight into the industry’s trading conditions and trends.
Taking data from over 100 organisations who use our S4Labour labour management software, our new research, which has been featured in the Morning Advertiser, has revealed that Christmas Day is an increasingly significant contributor to operators’ revenues. The research, considering venues across a full range of industry sectors, found that like-for-like sales on Christmas Day 2017 were up on average 21.2% on 2016 in food-led sites. Wet-led operators saw on average a 15.4% increase.
Reports published by two of the pub sector’s biggest firms support our findings. Marston’s and Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) both enjoyed like-for-like increased sales of 5.9% across their 1,550 and 1,780 respective sites. Marston’s saw Christmas Day sales in excess of £4 million for the first time, while M&B served over 225,000 meals on the day.
Our analysis also revealed that sites that opened on Christmas Day were in an overall minority. 35.5% of wet-led venues opened for business, while 51.5% of food-led sites welcomed customers. This represents a slight decrease on 2016, when Christmas Day fell on a Sunday.
Catton Hospitality director Richard Hartley commented on the findings, “We have recently spoken to many customers who enjoyed very healthy sales on Christmas Day. We anticipate this will continue next year, and the opportunities for operators are apparent.”
by Abby Henson | 19 Jan, 2018 | Blog, Press & News
January brings a sharp decline in sales across hospitality, and optimising sales revenue is a hot topic once again.
Our recent analysis found that certain industry sectors have suffered as much as a 60% drop in sales this month compared to December trading. If businesses are to thrive at this barren time of year, upping customers’ spend per head is an important strategy. Here are our top tips for upselling for managers and their teams.
Cross-selling and the ‘Rule of 25’
True upselling, convincing a buyer to purchase a completely different, more expensive item, is rare in hospitality. A customer asking for a sandwich is unlikely to take kindly to being asked to buy a steak instead. Cross-selling, the addition of extra items to complement a main order, is a far more effective approach. The sandwich customer is far more likely to be receptive to the suggestion of adding a portion of chips or a coffee to their meal. A useful guide to staff, the ‘Rule of 25’ is a sales principle that suggests that items offered for upsale should add around 25% total value to the order.
Focus on High-Yield Items
The most effective upselling offers items that yield high profits for minimum labour time. Extra chips or sweet potato fries and additional soft drinks are prime examples of this. While coffee is a high-yield item, depending on your style of coffee machine, it can be time-consuming and labour intensive to serve. Team members should be careful to only upsell coffee at appropriate times. Taking three extra minutes to make the perfect flat white with a queue three deep at the bar is not going to do any favours for your bottom line or customer experience.
Premium lagers are a prime candidate for upselling
Premiumisation
Although footfall fell at many hospitality sites in 2017, particularly wet-led pubs, average spend per head increased by three percent. This suggests a market where customers are increasingly keen to spend a little extra on high-quality products – ideal for upselling. A fruitful technique is suggesting premium brands when a customer doesn’t specify. A vague request for a ‘lager’ or ‘glass of red wine’ should be seen as an invitation to offer higher priced options in the category. Faced with a clear and positive suggestion, the customer is likely to agree.
Eyeline is the Buy Line
Studies into point of sale advertising reveal a significant increase in demand for items given a more prominent position on the bar, or displayed clearly on posters or television screens. It sounds overly simple, but if you want customers to buy more expensive items, simply letting them know they are available has been shown to boost demand by a third. For smaller operators who don’t receive centrally prepared marketing materials, creating effective adverts has never been easier. Templates and free design software are easily accessible online.
Communicate and Incentivise
With upselling, as with most aspects of running a business, the better managers communicate with their staff, the better the results will be. Team members should be furnished with clear information on which items they are expected to upsell and when. It can be a great idea to incentivise your team by offering a reward to the employee with the most successful upsells in a given period, though desire to win should never come to the detriment of customer service!
Think Long-Term
Maximising immediate sales and profits is typically good for business, but shrewd operators know that driving long-term profitability through repeat custom is a superior goal. Well executed, upselling can form part of a tasteful, personal service style that will deliver special experiences, keeping customers visiting your site time and again. Poorly or inappropriately delivered, it can come across as pushy and harm your chances of winning repeat custom. It’s important to know your audience when upselling, and lifetime custom should be prioritised over a quick sale.
Effective upselling is much easier to deliver when staffing levels are optimised. By tying labour demand to sales forecasts and analysing recent and historic trading patterns, S4Labour facilitates this. Call 01295 267400 to find out more, or book a demonstration today.
by Abby Henson | 15 Jan, 2018 | Blog, Press & News
2018 is now two weeks old. January, typically the hospitality industry’s quietest month, is half gone, and the impact to sales for many venues has been dramatic.
| Trading Style |
Trend from Dec (Nov) |
| Late Night |
-60.8% (-28.2%) |
| Hotels |
-40.6% (-21.1%) |
| Food-Led Pubs |
-35.5% (-9.9%) |
| Restaurants |
-32.8% (-14.7%) |
| Wet-Led Pubs |
-32.4% (-21.3%) |
Taking data from our S4Labour software, we analysed trading patterns across hundreds of sites and saw a sharp decline in revenue this month.
Sites across all industry sectors have experienced a significant fall in sales between December’s average trading (excluding the week containing Christmas Day) and January to date.
Venues specialising in late night trade have seen the greatest drop, with total revenues falling by 60.8%. Perhaps surprisingly given the ongoing pressure the sector faces, wet-led pubs suffered the smallest decrease in sales, faring marginally better than restaurants and food-oriented pub operations, though still experiencing a 32.4% decline.
December’s festive season guarantees increased footfall and revenue for the vast majority of hospitality sites. This means the decline of sales into a barren January is particularly pronounced, but analysis of January trade against November’s average also reveals a stark fall.
Again, late night operators were the worst hit, seeing a 28.2% reduction against November’s levels. Wet-led pubs and hotels also experienced a decline of over 20%, while restaurants and food-led pubs saw declines of 14.7% and 9.9% respectively.
Empty tables are now a familiar sight for many
This data highlights how difficult trading in the early months of the year can be for all hospitality operators, and without truly effective management, many businesses fail.
A critical way to mitigate reduced sales is through effective labour scheduling. Labour is typically the largest expense to any operator, so a reduction here can be key to ensuring overall business health against a backdrop of reduced sales.
Through analysing hourly sales data and upcoming sales forecasts, S4Labour allows managers to identify times when they are likely to be overstaffed, and can therefore reduce their labour spend without compromising service levels.
It also allows its users to recognise periods of understaffing, which will be associated with costly missed sales opportunities and a compromised customer experience. Correcting these will drive valuable repeat custom and promote long-term success.
Many S4Labour clients save in excess of £10,000 per site every year, which can be instrumental in ensuring sites continue to thrive through bleak early-year sales.
Click here to find out how much your business could save with S4Labour? Or get in touch today to request a full demonstration.
