1) Prepaid meal passes
Last summer, HuHot Mongolian Grill revamped its traditional summer gift card promotion and launched the HuHot Grill Pass. During the month of July, guests could purchase the Grill Pass for 5, 11 or 25 entrees, and the pass was redeemable through the end of the year. Since the guests had prepaid for their entrees, they were more likely to buy additional items like appetizers and desserts when they came in. In fact, the restaurant found that pass purchasers spent 80% more than the cost of the Grill Pass during the redemption period. Because of the initial expense, these passes keep guests coming back again and again.