Being a restaurant in a highly trafficked vacation area can be tricky - you need to grab the attention of brand new patrons every week. The customers you serve one day may not return to the city again for months or even years. Luckily there are a few tried and true methods for building a steady stream of new customers. The central theme to all of these strategies is to build relationships with other businesses in the area who provide a different service to the same demographic. This includes hotels, tour and activity operators, and transportation companies who all interact with your potential customers at different points in their vacation cycle.
Ever wonder why the Clear Sky Cafe in Clearwater is so packed? Besides having great food, they’ve partnered with all the local hotels to hand out 10% off cards when someone inevitably asks, “where should we go to breakfast?” It’s a virtuous cycle.
Start to think through what’s near your restaurant and what meal you are best positioned to serve. After you’ve nailed this down, you can start building partnerships. Tell the front desk at a nearby hotel, “whenever someone asks you the best place to grab lunch, send them my way.” It’s a virtuous cycle, as the hotel guest finds good food while the hotel staff is able to provide value. One caveat - we would think through discounting your services, as it may not be necessary to draw customers in if you a.) serve great food and b.) are within walking distance of the hotel.
Another idea for partnerships is to work with tour and activity operators in the area. These companies are usually at the core of a vacationer’s day. Vacationers need a place to eat before and after a dolphin cruise, windsurfing lesson, or paddle board session. Better yet, you could work with a tour and activity marketplace, like Bubba Booking, that aggregates all the great things to do in an area. This allows you to reap the benefits of working with multiple operators while engaging with one point of contact.
For example, when a tourist uses Bubba Booking they wake up to a text that says, “If you’re looking for a place to eat before your dolphin cruise at 10AM, head over to Tin Can Cafe. It’s only 3 miles from your activity.” A partnership with Bubba Booking is a great way to ensure a vacationer includes you in their plans for the day.
Bubba Booking is free to partner with, and they don’t ask you to offer any type of coupon or discounting. All they request is for partnering restaurants to promote their marketplace through brochures in their shop. If you’re interested in joining the Bubba Booking community and getting featured on the app fill out the form above or get in touch via email - kaitlyn@bubbabooking.com. We’d love to help you build a steady stream of new customers each week.
