Turn Up the Heat! 11 Steps to Prepare Your Hospitality Business for the Summer Rush

1. Update Your Liquor License. Beverages are no longer the cherry-on-top when it comes to restaurant sales. Drinks now represent a larger piece of the pie for restaurant sales. According to data from the National Restaurant Assocation, 70% of consumers would choose a place to eat based on beverage options. Before the summer holidays hit, make sure your liquor license is updated, and make sure you know what your license allows you to do. Apply as soon as possible when seeking a special license (required for events or other one-time activities) or outdoor service license. Get your questions answered now through the MRLA Legal Center and talk to legal experts with years of experience in Michigan liquor law.  
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2. Get Ready-to-Go for Cocktails-to Go. With cocktails-to-go now a permanent – and profitable - addition to a summer menu, restaurants and any business with a liquor license have an opportunity to raise sales right alongside the temperatures. Make sure your restaurant is ready and your employees are trained to serve carryout drinks of all kinds. According to Mark Burzych, of Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes, liquor licensees should figure out what specific drinks and containers they are allowed to sell or use under their license. Read here to find out the need-to-know about cocktails-to-go.  
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3. Jumpstart Summer Hiring with Early and Clear Job Postings. With the influx of summer visitors, restaurant owners and hotel operators also need an influx of summer workers. However, in recent history, hotels and restaurants have suffered from a serious workforce shortage, making the seasonal hiring process that much harder. Get started as early as possible, posting your openings on social media, websites, LinkedIn, and the hospitality-specific MRLA Job Board. But where your post is only as impactful as how you post. To create job postings that pop, from the front desk to housekeeping, incorporate key words effectively into your copy, be clear about compensation, underscore your business’ culture, and don’t be humble about your awesome perks. Make your jobs even more appealing with extra benefits, such as the Hotel Employee Rate, which offers your hotel staff exclusive discounts on lodging all around the world. Read more tips on creating successful job posts here.  
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4. Map Out Local Events and Headliners. More than ever, travelers are planning vacations around sensational experiences, opting to spend money on memory-making instead of luxury mementos. Younger travelers are especially gravitating towards experiences and events, with big-ticket concerts like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour filling hotels for miles around. But you don’t have to be a traditional “destination” hotel to still cash in. Know what’s happening in your area, such as festivals, concerts, sports games, special tours, and county fairs. 
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5. Bridge the Workforce Gaps with Technology. With two-thirds of hotels across the country still reporting themselves as understaffed, it’s likely that your hospitality business is facing the hectic summer season with fewer team members than usual. While nothing replaces the human aspects of hospitality, there are ways to incorporate technology into your daily operations to ensure convenient, memorable experiences for guests. Use AI to help improve operations and control data, leverage your mobile app to boost sales, upgrade your payment processing system for streamlined interactions, consider contact-less check-ins, utilize high-tech tools for the hiring process, and more. Get inspiration from the American Hotel  & Lodging Association's 2023 in-depth report on AI for Hospitality.  

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6. Brace for Heatwaves. Make sure you beat the heat before it beats your business. 90-degree days can be brutal for guests, but imagine flipping burgers, washing dishes in steaming sinks, and smoking barbeque on a scorcher. Take care of your employees and tune up your air conditioner, plan on hydration breaks and stock up on water bottles. Don’t forget to check your fridge as well, because heat is a food safety issue too: with soaring temperatures, it becomes that much harder to maintain the temperatures of cold-stored foods. Here’s a list of temperatures necessary to cool certain foods.  
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7. Take Steps to Participate in Social Zones. Dreamed up during the pandemic as a way for restaurants and other businesses to expand their capacity when indoors was off-limits, social zones are special downtown areas where people can buy a beer at your store and then enjoy it on the sidewalk. However, to create a social district, there are several steps, and it requires successful collaboration with fellow business owners, city commissioners, law enforcement, chambers of commerce, and other community leaders, as well as the special approval of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. Kelly Allen of Adkinson, Need, Allen & Rentrop PLLC has the details about the process of creating a social zone.  
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8. Stay Up-to-Date on Travel Trends. Take time to research travel habits in the summer of 2024. Keep your eye on social media for viral culinary hits. Explore what it means to travel for wellness and sustainability, but also get a good grasp on how much travelers are expecting to budget, what they’re willing to splurge or save on, and how long they’re looking to stay so that you’re offering what your guests are looking for.  
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9. Certify Your Staff with ServSafe. When school lets out and summer hits in full force, you don’t have time to take a break and take care of your certification. Check off allergen training, alcohol safety, food manager certifications, and more while we’re still dealing with April showers and the May flowers are still ahead. With classes held all over the state, the MRLA offers ServSafe courses at a 20% discount to members, saving you money and saving you time when you need it the most.  
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10. Update Your Website. Do you have old information on your website? Do you have new specials that haven’t made it up there or summer-themed getaway packages that haven’t been promoted? Now is the time to take inventory of your website, which functions as a first-impression, front-door access to your business, and make sure it shows the latest-and-greatest of your restaurant or hotel. 
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11. Plan Special Summer Deals & Packages. Provide themed discounts, perks, bonus points, packages, and rewards for summer tourists to incentivize business for your hotel or restaurant. For resorts, consider bundling experiences on the golf course, spa, or dining facilities with long-term stays. Restaurants can revamp their seasonal menus, with new specials, local ingredients, and summery cocktails because according to a National Restaurant Association report, beverages are key to ringing up sales. Hotels can add discounts to multiple stays, offer extra bonus points to loyalty program users, or incorporate dining credits to stays. To make your offering stand out even more, connect your special experience to a timely event, or local piece of culture.  ​

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