Restaurant reservations increase, reveals State of the Industry data by OpenTable
As England enters stage two of the roadmap out of lockdown, OpenTable, the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations, is tracking seated diner numbers from online, phone and walk-in reservations, through its State of the Industry data insight.
With restaurants reopening terraces, gardens and outdoor spaces on Monday 12th April, the data revealed that on that day, reservations across the UK were approaching pre-COVID levels (down by only 21% compared to 2019 levels), with indoor dining yet to open.
This encouraging trend continued throughout the first week of opening, with UK wide figures showing that on average, seated diner numbers were only down by 38% over the first seven days compared to the same period in 2019.
Over the weekend (Friday 16th April – Sunday 18th April) , seated diner numbers were at -36% on Friday, -40% on Saturday and -38% on Sunday compared to the same period in 2019, as diners enjoyed much missed brunches, lunches and dinners on the first full weekend of opening outdoor spaces.
In Manchester the seated diner data told an even more encouraging story, as reservations on Monday were up 53% on 2019 levels and remained steady throughout the week, with a 10% increase on Tuesday 13th April. On average throughout the week, the restaurant reservations in Manchester were up 5% compared to 2019 levels.
Brett Newmark, owner of Ruby’s Soho, London said “It was incredible to see such a great response from the Soho dining crowd. Our reservations have been at full capacity all week. Soho had the most incredible energy and spirit. The street diners even had their own Mexican wave type chants that travelled through and around the Old Compton Street area. The energy was electric. It’s so great to see London back alive and kicking once again. We’re really hoping that Soho keeps buzzing away in the months ahead.”
Lucy Taylor, VP, EMEA, OpenTable comments: “It’s great to see this increase in figures after just the first week of hospitality reopening. It’s clear that consumers have really missed the experience of dining at their favourite restaurants whilst they have been closed. As our data continues to update, we anticipate an increase over the coming days and weeks as consumers continue to enjoy outdoor dining now restrictions have been eased.”
The State of the Industry data is updated daily and provides real-time insight into consumer’s dining habits and trends, showing seated diners across the globe from phone, online and walk-in reservations. OpenTable launched its State of the Industry site in March 2020 to illustrate how COVID-19 has been impacting restaurants around the globe. One year later, the data from restaurants on its platform continues to tell a powerful story as hospitality reopens and we continue on the roadmap out of lockdown.
