Fewer tourists, a long winter: how to fill your bar with local guests

A record year on the Croatian coast, a dip at home. Citing an RTL Híradó report, 444 writes that 834,000 Hungarians holidayed in Croatia by the end of September. That is an all-time high and roughly 12% more than last year. Meanwhile the number of tourists in Hungary fell by 7% year on year. According to the article, the main reason is the strong forint: for many, the Croatian coast turned out cheaper than Lake Balaton.

The article also quotes the Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, which says the drop in business is already putting a brake on price rises at home. For venue owners the message cuts both ways. There is less room to raise prices, and more competition for every guest.

If you run a bar or pub in Budapest, Szeged, Debrecen or Pécs, the harder half of the year starts now. The summer and autumn tourist trade is over. Winter is carried by locals, students and company groups. Below is a practical winter plan: what to set up now so that January is solid too, not just December.

Why winter is a different game

A tourist comes once. A local can come every week. In winter that difference matters more than ever:

• Your crowd changes. Passers-through are replaced by people who live, work and study nearby. Map searches don't bring them in. Habit does, plus a reason to come.

• The calendar is busy but uneven. St Martin's Day (11 November, a big young-wine and goose occasion in Hungary), Advent (from 29 November in 2026), company year-end parties, New Year's Eve, and then a quieter January with exam season.

• Students run on their own clock. The semester ends in December, exams run through January and classes restart in February. If this autumn's first-years are your regulars by December, you can count on them in spring too. That includes international students on English-language programmes.

So the winter strategy has two parts: carry as much of the December peak as you can into the quiet weeks, and turn local guests into regulars.

5 steps for the winter off-season

1. Build a winter events calendar and sell it in advance

An event gives guests a reason to come tonight rather than "some time". Put the calendar together now, at the end of October, for early November to mid-February: a St Martin's young-wine night, mulled-wine Thursdays in Advent, quiz nights, match screenings, a post-exams party in January.

Sell in advance wherever you can. A 40-seat quiz night with a 2,000 HUF ticket that includes a drink brings in 80,000 HUF up front. You also know exactly how many people and how much staff to plan for. If tickets and the bar run on one system, there is no queue at the door either.

2. Christmas gift credit that brings guests back in January

Christmas shopping is a chance for your regulars to bring you new guests. Prepaid gift credit or a voucher works twice. The money arrives in December, and the person who receives it comes in to spend it in January, when things are quieter anyway.

Example: if 50 guests each buy 10,000 HUF of gift credit in December, that is 500,000 HUF in advance. If each recipient spends another 3,000 HUF on top when redeeming, your January takings grow by a further 150,000 HUF. You also reach people who have never been to your place.

A simple offer that brings the buyer back too: "Buy 10,000 HUF of gift credit and get a 1,000 HUF bonus on your own balance."

3. Company and group bookings with a prepaid budget

In December, company parties and groups of friends place the biggest orders. The risks are late cancellations and arguments over an open tab. It works better when the organiser prepays a drinks budget, for example 25 people × 8,000 HUF = 200,000 HUF, which the team spends during the evening.

Agree a few rules up front:

• at least a 50% deposit when booking, with the rest paid as the budget is topped up,

• what happens when the budget runs out (guests pay their own way, or the organiser tops up),

• any unused budget can be spent until the end of January. That gives the team another reason to come back in the quiet weeks.

4. End-of-semester challenges for students

In university towns students are the most regular guests, but the crowd turns over every semester. Instead of a flat student discount, set challenges that only returning guests can complete:

• "5 visits by 15 December and your 6th drink is on us",

• "double points on weekdays between 2 and 6 pm during exam season",

• team challenges between dorm rooms or year groups.

You fill quiet hours and learn who your returning student guests are, so you can reach them again when the new semester starts in February. In exam season, a pub that is quiet during the day can also be a good study spot if there is wifi, sockets and coffee.

5. Talk to your own guests, don't just pay for ads

In winter your own channel is worth more than paid ads. Anyone who visited twice in the last 60 days only needs a short message about your St Martin's night. Someone who came regularly in autumn but hasn't been in for a month gets a personal offer ("we miss you, your next drink comes with a free mulled wine"). Three groups are enough:

• regulars: event alerts, pre-booking, first access to popular nights,

• lapsing guests (no visit for 30–60 days): a targeted win-back offer,

• new guests after a first visit: an invitation to the next event.

Which numbers to watch

A winter plan only works if you can see what is happening. Check three numbers every week:

• returning guests (how many came at least twice in the last 30 days),

• revenue received in advance (tickets, top-ups, company budgets),

• unredeemed credit (gift credit and unused budgets), which is part of your January takings that you can already see in December.

If returning guests drop in November, there is still time to win them back with a targeted offer before the December peak.

How Cheers helps

You don't need a separate ticketing tool, loyalty card and newsletter for all this. Cheers puts event ticketing, prepaid credit with a bonus, a gamified loyalty programme with challenges and tiers, QR ordering and targeted messages to your guests on one platform. The reports show who your returning guests are and who has dropped off. The guest app is available in English and several other languages, so international students can use it easily. The system is NTAK-compatible and GDPR-compliant, with local support in Hungary.

The Core plan starts at 4,990 HUF per location per month (plus a per-order transaction fee). On Loyalty+, there is no per-user (MAU) fee for the first 6 months. Start now and that covers the whole winter season and the start of the spring semester.

Summary

With fewer tourists and a strong forint, this winter is about local guests. Don't wait for the December rush. Plan ahead with an events calendar, advance ticket sales, gift credit and prepaid company budgets. That way part of December's trade stays with you into January, and students and locals become regulars.

Want to see how this would work in your bar? Request a demo at partner.cheers.hu and ask about the Loyalty+ offer with no MAU fee for the first 6 months.