Is Lunch the New Dinner?
According to research carried out by Venue Search London, a free venue finding service, more companies are opting for Christmas lunches in 2018 with 21% of companies now holding Christmas lunches instead of dinners.
So why is this? Are companies becoming more conscious of holding events within their staff’s own time and feel that company events should be held in company time? Or is it cost? Do they feel that they will get a better deal at lunchtime? Whatever the reason for the increase in lunches, it is certainly an interesting phenomenon but hopefully not one that will see the death of the traditional evening Christmas party. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without the annual boozy bash…. with the sneaked kiss under the mistletoe, the dance off to the hits of Grease and the final knees up to New York New York! Ah, the good times!
Back to reality! The report also shows that Thursdays and Fridays remain the most popular nights for parties, accounting for 69% of the total market, and that the average party numbers are likely to increase in 2018, with 30% of respondees indicating a likely increase in guests.
It also revealed that venue finders and event agencies are the biggest sector as event bookers. 45% of the total surveyed event spend was booked through venue finders and event agencies, representing an 11% increase.
We can also see that the Christmas budget is being increased with the average spend per head rising by 2% in 2017 to £86.44 + VAT, with the proportion of buyers spending over £100 +VAT per guest rising from 28% to 32% in 2017.
At Church House Westminster we are ready for another successful Christmas offering with three amazing Christmas packages, which have been carefully created to suit a range of parties. With the new trend for an increasing number of companies opting for lunches, we have introduced our Christmas Lunch Package from £75.00 pp.
For more information on our Christmas offerings, please contact: Church House Westminster, Dean’s Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ. Tel: 020 7390 1590. [email protected] / www.churchhouseconf.co.uk A charity rate is available.