Measure what comes back through the door
Most venues know how busy last Saturday was. Few know how many guests came back because of something they did. Here’s how to measure it.
Insights
Bring guests back on the nights you need them.
Research and practical ideas on repeat visits, quiet periods and what really brings guests back through the door.
Phones at the table: why shared beats solo
Research shows phones on the table make a meal out less enjoyable. The answer isn’t a ban: it’s shared play instead of solo scrolling.
Occupied time feels shorter. What that means for your tables.
A 1985 study of queues explains why the wait for food can make or break an evening, and why giving guests something to do changes how the whole visit feels.
Dwell time: when a longer stay pays, and when it doesn’t
Guests are staying longer in pubs, but longer visits don’t automatically mean more profit. Here’s how to make quiet-night stays pay.
Why blanket discounts don’t fill quiet nights
A discount anyone can use, any time, mostly rewards guests who’d have come anyway. Targeted offers do the job a blanket promo can’t.
January is tough. It’s also predictable.
Hospitality sales dip every January, for reasons that are easy to see coming. That makes it the easiest quiet period to plan for, starting in December.
Keep the kids happy and the whole family comes back
For parents, a meal out lives or dies on how the children cope with the wait. Venues that make that part easy earn the next family visit.
What a returning guest is really worth
Winning a new guest is expensive and uncertain. Bringing back one who already likes you is cheaper, and the research on why goes back more than thirty years.