Bookings increase
In terms of partygoer numbers, at least, things are looking up. The Concerto Group said it had sold 8,950 covers at their shared night parties at the time of going to press, up from 8,000 in 2010. Exclusive night sales were eight per cent up on last year across the group too.
Impulse Events was also up, with 30 per cent more parties sold than last year at the time of going to press. Managing director Simon Mitchell told Event the 350-capacity Grand Hall sold notably better than last year: "The Mondays and Tuesdays weren’t sold last year, whereas we’ve sold them all this year," he said. "People will take a less popular date at a lower price, which is how we’ve managed to sell them."
The good news spreads further than the capital, with Best Parties Ever, which held Christmas parties in 17 sites across the UK, reporting an increase of 34 per cent in bookings this year for parties at new venues.
Quantum Leap Events is set to welcome 70,000 guests to its four party sites this Christmas, seeing a 40 per cent increase in attendees in Milton Keynes, a 15 per cent increase at Willows Farm in St Albans and a 10 per cent boost at Battersea Evolution. Its new site at Manchester’s Eventcity sold just under 10,000 covers and is predicted to double in size next year. "We will certainly be up on profit. Considering where we all believe we are when we watch the news, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the business level we’ve achieved," says managing director Greg Lawson.
Prudent partying
Scaled-back recession budgets are still in evidence, as the market continues to adapt to light wallets say Event’s festive party insiders. Some venues are offering ‘no frills’ party packages specifically for spend-conscious customers. "People are looking to get as much value as possible because these are internal rather than client events," says The Recipe director David Wolanski.
The Concerto Group, has introduced variable pricing strategies, lighter catering options and limited drinks packages in response. "People haven’t been upgrading their parties and they haven’t often been going for the champagne," reveals its marketing manager Sam Gill. "The important thing is to keep them coming – if they upgrade that’s lovely but frankly we just want them to party," he adds.
Leaving it till the last minute
Customers are continuing to leave it till late in the year to book their parties, with both Quantum Leap and Seasoned Events seeing some of their latest ever bookings this year. "The market has changed hugely over the past three years. We are still taking bookings for Christmas now in December, which is just unheard of," says Quantum’s Lawson. "A few years ago, all of the selling would have been done by the first week in October for sites out of London. Now it’s really slipped back."
However, some early bird bookers are starting to return, eager to secure the best dates. Venue-finding site Venue Reservations reported Christmas enquires made up 41 per cent of all those they received in August, compared to just 25 per cent in the same month in 2010. "We did see a bit of a return to people booking early, in January, when we haven’t had that for the last couple of years. I’ve got people I’m talking to now to get the best dates for next year," says Mitchell.
Turkey’s not taboo
Traditional Christmas grub may have been off the menu for the past few years, but turkey is back in vogue this year according to our insiders. Seasoned Events managing director Colin Sayers says he has seen a "significant increase" in people opting for traditional favourites with a modern twist. "Whilst contemporary food is still what people are asking for, the more traditional Christmas favourites are coming back into the fold."
Caterer The Recipe has developed a bowl food version of a Christmas dinner; a ballotine of turkey stuffed with apricot stuffing. "Over the past few years traditional Christmas has been a taboo: people said they didn’t want turkey. But now people are happier to have Christmas food," says founder David Wolanski. The biggest concern though is that there is enough to go round. "These are internal events rather than client facing events, so a lot of it is to do with making sure companies are doing due diligence and everyone’s getting fed while they are drinking heavily," adds Wolanski.