The FIFA World Cup this year is being held in Qatar. Normally this tournament is held in the summer, outside our normal football season, but Qatar at that time of year is simply too hot. Instead, we have our first winter World Cup, coinciding with the run-up to Christmas.In this post we’re going to share some ideas on how Memsec7 can help you make the most of the opportunities this presents.

Timed Promotions

A popular way of encouraging customers to watch games in your venue is to offer cheaper pints or other drinks during games. Here’s a list of the games England and Wales will be playing in the group stage. They’re grouped together in Group B, with the top 2 from each group progressing to the last 16.

Monday 21st November

K.O. 13:00 GMT – England vs Iran

K.O. 19:00 GMT – USA vs Wales

Friday 25th November

K.O. 13:00 GMT -Wales vs Iran

K.O. 19:00 GMT – England vs USA

Tuesday 29th November

K.O. 19:00 GMT – Wales vs England

Saturday 3rd December

K.O. 15:00 GMT – Winner Group A vs Runner Up Group B

Sunday 4th December

K.O. 19:00 GMT – Winner Group B vs Runner Up Group A

If you want to put on an offer just for those times you can do so now, using the Promotions feature of Memsec7. When you add a new promotion, you’ll see this screen;

Set the master date range at the top then click on ‘Specific Dates’. Here you can enter the dates above, and the promtion will then only apply during those dates.

 

Manage Space

One potential downside to a winter World Cup is that customers won’t be quite so keen to watch matches outside your venue in the beer garden or terrace. With this being an already busier time of year, you may need to manage space inside so that you can keep both the football fans and the ordinary diners/drinkers happy. Booking tables could be the solution here. Memsec7 offers an optional Restaurant Bookings module that lets you configure different types of session for different times and areas. You can have bookings on-site and online, and you can set different durations for the different types of booking. You can even take deposits with your bookings, helping to reduce no-shows. Call us if you’d like to know more.

 

Online Ordering

While people are watching football, they may be less inclined to queue at the bar for their next drink in case they miss a goal. With online ordering built into Memsec7 you can offer them table service so that they keep spending without missing a kick. You can even link this to an online payment facility so that they pay on ordering, helping speed up service and reducing cash management requirements. Click here for more info.

 

Controversial though it may be in many ways, the Qatar World Cup is going to be a big event for the hospitality industry, and with Memsec7 you can really make the most of it.