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Online restaurant bookings surge

17th February 2009, 10:59am

The recession did little to dampen romantic spirits over the weekend as figures show that online restaurant bookings for Valentine's Day were up 300% on last year, as people continue to dine out.

Statistics captured by Livebookings – whose network includes more than 17,000 restaurants and 500 booking partners – showed that in just 12 months online bookings have rocketed.

Aside from the 14th February, January was the month of promotions, with restaurateurs becoming more aware that they had to work harder to keep their customers coming.

Restaurants continue to offer their 2-4-1 deals and discounts to pull in the punters.

Livebookings' chief operating officer, David Norris, reassures that for the Valentine's Day diner it's not necessarily about cheap and cheerful: "Bookings came through thick and fast. Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year so restaurateurs experienced a huge boost to bookings throughout the weekend, with increased activity on Friday night, Saturday lunch and Sunday too.

"The good news is that the increase was not just in response to promotions, but also for a la carte menus. This is a great sign that shows that restaurants have an opportunity to redeem some of the poor trade seen towards the end of 2008."


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