Why Repeat Guests Are Important to Any Business

It might seem obvious why returning guests are good for any business — any customers are good for business, right? But there’s actually much more value that comes from people who are willing to come back to your bar or restaurant again and again. 

First things first, it’s probably helpful to define what’s meant by ‘repeat guest.’ Is this a regular who visits your establishment daily? Or simply someone who returns more than once? A repeat guest is somebody who returns often enough and enjoys your space to a point that you see them with some regularity. Depending on the venue, that might mean every day, or it might mean twice a month. 

At a bar, for example, repeat guests might be people who come in every day for a beer, who feel comfortable and at home enough to choose to spend their money with you. These repeat guests are super important because they can set the bottom line of what you’re making every day. If you have several guests like that, in the bar world in particular, that’s money you can count on. 

I used to work the happy hour shift at a spot downtown and I would get the same group of guys in every day. We were a staple for them, a place where they could gather and feel good, and as repeat customers, they were extremely important to the business. 

In fine dining or more formal restaurant settings, repeat guests are more likely people who will be in once a month. Those are guests who, if you've impressed them and made a really good impression on them, are not only coming back to dine, but doing so much more. Because a repeat guest is the ultimate marketing tool for any business; they're telling their friends, they're bringing their family, they're coming to you for all of the special occasions in life. 

Similar to places with memberships, like the Ned or Soho House, where people pay to be there and have access to the space every single day, repeat customers can really be the bread and butter of a lot of different restaurants and bars. 

Connecting with Customers

Before reservation systems were set up, it was really up to your bartenders and staff to recognize people and cultivate those relationships with returning guests. Greeting them and remembering what they’ve ordered before can make a solid connection with customers and set you apart from other places. Those small gestures — remembering their name, remembering the beer they like — are enough to make people feel special, and that is key.

Now Resy, OpenTable, and other platforms have made it really easy to do this. When I ran a private members club out in Montauk, one of my biggest tasks was teaching my staff to use the reservation system to write notes about guests. I had one woman who was allergic to red pepper and every time she came in, my staff knew that she was allergic to red pepper, so we never served her any dish that had it. That's the next level of service that's going to bring people back to you, and those are the special little things that you can do to make sure any guest will return.

These platforms make notes accessible to everybody on staff where it used to just live in your head before. And it’s made it much easier, beyond allergies, to keep track of people’s preferences. I had a member who only liked to drink a specific bottle of wine, so I would make sure that wine was there for them when they arrived. That’s one bigger gesture, but even something as simple as giving a returning guest a little splash of sparkling wine on the house can also feel special and can make all the difference in how a guest feels when they leave. 

Setting Boundaries and Maintaining Professionalism

One of the biggest mistakes operators can make with repeat guests is the impulse to give too many free things. At the end of the day, customers are paying money to be there, so it’s important to keep that veil up and not get overly friendly. For regular guests who get a little too comfortable, it’s important to manage those expectations. (Of course you’re going to buy Joe’s last round if he’s had four, but you’re not necessarily going to give a regular something free every time they’re in.) Opt instead for those smaller touches of hospitality over too many free things.

Protecting privacy is also important when it comes to repeat guests. From celebrities to regulars who might require some discretion, maintaining professionalism and respecting boundaries should be top of mind. Adept staff know when to socialize and when to leave people to their drink or meal. This isn’t always so straightforward once you’ve established a connection with a guest, but it’s important to remember you’re still dealing with customers and providing them a service.