The Festive Season Checklist for Aussie Hospitality Venues

Hospo in December is a beautiful kind of chaos. Rooms are fuller, the vibes are higher, and guests are out to celebrate.

It’s also the month where everything hits at once, big groups, last-minute bookings, takeaway orders flying out the door, someone splitting a bill eight ways, and your team trying to keep service smooth while the kitchen’s pumping. The venues that make the festive season look easy aren’t doing ten new things. They’re doing a few smart things early, then letting their systems (and their Oolio setup) do the heavy lifting. 

Here are some practical steps to get ahead, keep your team in sync and deliver great experiences over the coming busy months. 

1. Lock in festive menus and pricing early 

Your future self will thank you for getting this sorted now. Set your festive menus, pricing, and allergen tags before the rush hits. Think about Christmas specials, set menus for groups, kids’ options, vegetarian options and takeaway deals. Lots of Aussie venues keep things smooth by running a Christmas-themed menu from mid-December, then switching to a Boxing Day menu on the 26th so the kitchen isn’t juggling five versions mid-shift. 

How to do this the Oolio way 

• Schedule festive season menus: Build your festive menus in Oolio POS and your Online Store, and set them to go live automatically on specific dates: Christmas week, Boxing Day, NYE.  
• Allergens and dietary tags: With casual teams and rotating shifts, make it easier for staff to serve the guests, add details including recipes, notes, allergens and tags for all your menu items. So staff can simply long press a menu item and answer fast and guests stay safe.
• Create bundles and set menus: Create package items, such as Seafood Feast for 4, Set Menus or combos to speed up ordering and help your kitchen be better prepared.
• One-click updates everywhere: Oolio Order Manager lets you update menus across all channels in one go, Uber Eats, DoorDash, online store, QR code ordering, and in-store menus.

Quick win:  Finalise your festive menus and price lists, including allergens and notes, and schedule them to auto-run only on the days and times you want. That’s one less thing to think about when the rush hits. 

2. Let guests order the way they want 

Festive trade has its own rhythm. Guests order in waves, add rounds later, and big tables do big-table things, like suddenly needing three cocktail jugs.
When ordering feels easy for guests, everyone benefits: service stays easy for your team, and average spend usually lifts naturally. 

And here’s your power move: pre-orders.

Pre-orders are gold in December. When groups lock in set menus or platters ahead of time, you can prep better, roster smarter and stock with confidence, so you won’t have to guess ingredients or alternative options when dishes run out.

Do it the Oolio way

• QR ordering (dine-in):  Let guests top up drinks, add snacks or reorder coffees without waiting or interrupting their celebrations.
• Online ordering (takeaway/platters): Make sure you add festive platters and catering options to your online menus. With one click, guests can order quickly for pickup during the pre-Christmas rush.
• Pre-orders for groups/functions: Add pre-selected set menus or banquet options to your online ordering so groups can choose their meals ahead and the kitchen knows what’s coming.
• Upsell prompts: Enable automatic add-ons like desserts, sides or bottle upgrades to make it simple for your teams to upsell in the rush.
• Smart routing to kitchen/bar: Orders can flow straight to KDS or printers in the right prep station, reducing errors or delays. 

Quick win: Add festive platters and group menus to your online store this week to increase pre-ordering. The result is a well prepped kitchen who can easily deal with last minute changes, menu updates and the festive season.

3. Keep the floor moving and make regulars feel special 

Busy nights are a given in December and January. A simple table flow and quick table turnovers can make or break a shift. When walk-ins stack up, bookings sit back-to-back, and nobody’s sure what’s turning next, the festive vibe can quickly turn to chaos . 

How to do manage this the Oolio way 

• Table management and floor plans: Set up your floorplan so your team can see what’s free, booked, reserved or mid-service instantly. Explore integrations with tools like Sevenrooms or sign up for Oolio Waitlist to manage walk-ins and reservations with ease.
• Walk-in flow and less waiting times: Use table statuses to seat faster during peak times, and send updates to guests waiting in queues via SMS to keep wait times as short as possible. 
• Managing large groups: Handle big groups easily with simple tables moves and split payments.  
• Loyalty and member offers: Run and track festive perks like double points or member-only offers or updates through your POS. 

Quick win: Set up Waitlist and your floor plan to save time and improve the customer experience when the rush hits. Good systems don’t replace great staff; they protect them. The result is fast moving staff, smiling guests and an experience they can take with them. 

4. Use reporting to make December easier on everyone 

It’s easy to push reporting aside during the festive rush, but your data holds the key to making this December your best one yet. Every sale, every session, every round ordered tells a story and Oolio gives you the power to read it in real time.

Reporting isn’t an afterthought; it’s how great venues plan smarter, roster better, and sell more. When you take five minutes to review what’s really working, you gain hours back in smoother service, sharper prep, and fewer surprises.

Do it the Oolio way

• Sales by item/category/time: Spot your best sellers and busiest hours so you can prep and roster better.
• Year-on-year comparisons: Check last December vs this one for realistic targets and staffing plans.
• Discount tracking: See which offers are actually driving bookings and revenue and which are just costing your or reducing takings.
• Channel reporting: Compare dine-in, QR and online ordering revenue so you know where to lean in, so your staff can be prepared.
• Live dashboards during peak: Keep a real-time eye on spikes so you can adjust on the fly with the insights app on your phone to keep track of all your venues.

Quick win: Grab a wine, open your reports and check your best sellers, busiest days and pre orders. These insights will shape your next few weeks. 

Festive reporting checklist 

• Top 10 bestsellers (by volume and profit)
• Bottom 10 slow movers to cut or rethink
• Best festive bundles / platters to repeat

Peak trade

• Busiest days of the week
• Busiest hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Average table turn time during these peak 

• Promos that lifted bookings or spend
• Offers that didn’t land (so you don’t repeat them)
• Loyalty impact: when regulars showed up most 

• Revenue split by dine-in / QR / online ordering
• Takeaway promos and trends (volume and timing)
• Pre-order volume for group menus/platters
• Channel bottlenecks to fix early
• Reservations vs walk-ins 

• Most common payment types
• Split-bill frequency during peak
• Any friction points you can simplify now 

Tick these off, and you head into the festive season prepared, not reactive.  

Timeline: What to do when 

Now 

• Build festive menus and allergen tags in Oolio
• Schedule your Online Store menus, promos, and surcharges to auto-run
• Switch on QR and online ordering, and set up pre-order menus for groups and platter pickups
• Pull last year’s reports and run the checklist 

Mid-December 

• Review weekly performance in reporting
• Double-down on best items and best promos
• Push platters and group offers in your proven hot window 
• Watch pre-order trends to tighten prep and rostering
• Adjust rosters using real peak-hour data 

Big days (Christmas week, Boxing Day, NYE) 

• Let scheduled online menus and surcharges run automatically 
• Keep an eye on live dashboards and pre-order volume
• Focus the team on vibe and speed, not admin
• And after shift - take a moment with the crew. You all deserve it! 

Wrap-up 

A great festive season isn’t just about full rooms. It’s about keeping things smooth while you’re busy, so guests feel looked after and your team stays in control (and festive!). 

With a bit of planning now, and Oolio quietly handling the behind-the-scenes load (including pre-orders that help you prep like a pro), you’ll give your venue the best shot at a December that feels smooth, profitable, and genuinely enjoyable to run. 

Here’s to full tables, great energy, and a summer of celebrations done right.  

If you’d like a hand getting set up for peak season, reach out to your account manager, we’re here to help you keep things running smoothly this festive season.