Christmas party bookings down 1% year-on-year, new Dojo data reveals
New data from payments technology company Dojo shows Christmas festive hospitality bookings are down 1% year-on-year, with the economic backdrop seemingly impacting discretionary spend during the festive period.
The new data is based on Dojo Bookings data across hospitality venues in the UK, and records bookings made in the run-up to Christmas in December, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve bookings made before 1st December.
Christmas Day bookings are up 4% year-on-year, with Manchester, Glasgow and Bolton seeing spikes, while London bookings on 25th December are down 8%. Meanwhile the week of the 8th December is the most popular for Christmas parties, with 34% of bookings taking place then.
Christmas Day bookings cluster in major cities, but London sees decline
Christmas Day bookings in Worcester (+35%), Manchester (+36%) and Bolton (+22%) have significantly increased since this time last year, with Bristol (-48%), Barnsley (-47%) and London (-8%) seeing booking numbers declining.
New Year’s Eve bookings slump year-on-year
New Year’s Eve bookings are up 1%, with customers potentially leaving plans to see in 2026 later this year – with London (-7%), Edinburgh (-46%) and Birmingham (-23%) seeing major declines. The same is reflected with large-scale bookings, parties of 10 or more, which have also flat-lined year-on-year. Bookings at 7pm – which is typically the peak time for New Year’s Eve bookings, are up a modest 14% year-on-year, while 1pm bookings have seen a 20% increase.
Charlie Ashworth, Head of Insights at Dojo said: “While a reduction in Christmas party bookings indicates further choppy roads ahead for hospitality businesses, there is still the potential that many have left bookings late as we get closer to Christmas.
“The hospitality businesses that succeed this season will be the ones ready to respond quickly to this potential late demand. Reliable systems, flexible staffing and payment technology that works without interruption will be ever more essential when customers either book last minute or walk in.”
