Interest in the UK hospitality industry has risen as it recorded a 267% increase in venue booking requests from April to July according to data from event booking platform, VenueScanner. However, only 2% of these enquiries were for meeting rooms.
The data, based on a sample of 2,221 venue booking requests, reveals that London is driving the recovery with 31% of bookings coming from the greater London area.
The recovery is also driven by an increased demand for private events as 89% of all 2,221 enquiries came from consumers directly, with just 11% coming from businesses. This is in stark contrast to data from the same period in 2019 where 47% of bookings came from private events, while 53% were from businesses.
The data revealed that 19% of enquiries were for garden and outdoor space, 13% for restaurants and 7% for hotels, while just 2% were for meeting rooms. More than 600 enquiries were for birthday parties and 500 enquiries were for wedding receptions.
Custard top tip: As families and friends are now able to socialise together in more formal settings and can celebrate all their missed occasions, the demand for private events is expected to continue to increase. This is a great opportunity for hotels and venues to showcase their private dining and event facilities and options. Ensure your website, Google My Business profile, social media channels and venue listings are updated with relevant private events messaging and packages to generate more consumer bookings during this lull in business enquiries.
To find out how Custard can support your business meetings and events strategy, contact our team.
