Stocking fillers at The Charles Lamb and cupcake deal at Paperino's
The hospitality industry may be about providing food, drink, accommodation and service, but sometimes you have to go the extra mile to pull customers in. If you’re stuck for ideas on how to make your business more appealing take a look at what others are doing for inspiration.
Stocking fillers
The enterprising Charles Lamb pub in Islington is offering a selection of homemade food-related goodies to its customers to buy as stocking fillers. Gifts range from jars of onion and marsala marmalade (£3) to bottles of Charles Lamb Sloe Gin (£9.50) and Charles Lamb Figgy Pudding (£7.50). The pub is also selling a limited edition run of prints created and signed by artist Nick Botting for £150 each (£200 framed).
Cupcake craze
Glasgow’s Italian restaurant chain Paperino’s is feeding the city’s current craze for cupcakes by teaming up with Michelle Livingstone at Eat Cupcakes who has produced a range of hand-decorated cakes for them. After receiving a ‘growing number’ of requests from customers for the delicacy, the city’s three branches are selling Livingstone’s- cupcakes for £1.95, or with a tea, or coffee to go for £3. Diners can also take advantage of the afternoon tea deal of a cupcake and tea, or coffee for £3.50 between 2.30pm and 5pm.
VAT freeze
QHotels , owner and operator of 21 hotels in the UK, will be keeping its VAT rates on food and drink at 15 per cent until the end of April 2010 despite the Chancellor’s confirmation that they will be reverting back to 17.5 per cent in January. The hotel group said it had taken the decision to freeze prices on two ‘key elements’ of its offering to give them a competitive advantage and help ‘ease customers toward recovery’.
January sales
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has launched a range of winter breaks packages giving guests up to 50 per cent off of leisure stays taken between 26 December and 8 March 2010 that are booked before December 30. The hotel group is also giving guests who book their break during the Boxing Day weekend the chance to win one of five one-week holidays in Spain.
Send promotional business ideas to share with the rest of the industry to arjf@ovtubfcvgnyvgl.pb.hx .
