More people are deciding to celebrate the New Year in pubs and restaurants, rather than going out and partying the last few hours of 2024 away.
Statistics have revealed that restaurant bookings for during the midnight countdown have seen a year-on-year rise, with the likes of Sexy Fish, The Ivy and Hard Rock Café amongst those hosting all-out celebrations for the start of 2025 in Manchester.
Online booking platform OpenTable has reported a 17 per cent increase in New Year’s Eve bookings compared to last year. The company says that, after Mother’s Day, it is now one of the most popular days to eat out.
The platform currently has more than 195 restaurant experiences for tonight listed on its website across Greater Manchester. There have been more than 40 bookings for tables at Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat, on King Street, today alone. 20 Stories, Riva Blu, KITTEN, Almost Famous and Zouk have also proved to be popular on the website for last-minute bookings.
In a separate survey of 2,000 people, music licence company PPL PRS found that 42% of respondents planned on going out to celebrate rather than staying at home this year. One in seven (13%) said they would be going to a pub or bar tonight. But one in nine, also said they aimed to limit their spending to just £30 on the night.
Dukes 92, Courts Club, Thomas Street, The Black Friar, The Oast House, and Three Little Words, which is attached to the The Spirit of Manchester Distillery in Deansgate, are just some of the pubs and bars putting on events for tonight. With a number of outdoor events cancelled across the country due to bad weather, it is likely more people will end up opting for the pub as midnight inches closer.
Only a tenth (10%) said they would be ringing in the new year at a nightclub. That being said, events at venues like The White Hotel, Amber’s and The Warehouse Project, which features takeovers from Defected and Glitterbox, have still been in big demand.
PPL PRS has suggested that tonight could bring a £505m boost to the sector. With more than 40% of survey respondents saying they are set to go out tonight, it could be seen as a bit of welcome relief for many of the pubs, clubs and venues across the country following a difficult year.
In October, Rachel Reeves unveiled a Budget that would include a 6.7 per cent hike to the National Living Wage and an increase to the minimum wage for 18 to 20 year olds. Alongside resulting in rising taxes, the Budget also included an increase on alcohol duty rates from February.
Nick de Sousa, owner of popular Chorlton restaurant, The Lead Station and Tariff and Dale in the Northern Quarter, previously told the M.E.N of the Budget said: “Coupled with everything that’s gone on in the wider economy it means that hospitality, which is very labour heavy, it’s really difficult.
“This isn’t going to help anyone, it is very difficult, it’s not just us that will feel the pain, it’s making life exceptionally difficult for independent operators.”
He added: “I think that the general public have been frightened by what might be coming down the road. I hope that we have a strong festive trading period but how quickly this budget impacts the wider economy is the determining factor.
“Really we need people to be confident to come out and eat and drink. It’s difficult to be optimistic, but I just hope the economy will grow and we can get people out eating and drinking.”
It was recently also reported that more than 60 hospitality venues across Greater Manchester, including Simon Rimmer's Greens, PLY, and Black Dog Ballroom, had closed this year.
