As London and Londoners brace themselves for the tube strikes, Open Table has been examining the impact of the recent strikes – and what we can expect this time.
Affecting countless hospitality businesses
Mike Xenakis, Managing Director at OpenTable comments,
“London’s thriving restaurant trade forms an essential component of the capital’s economy, employing thousands in the hospitality industry and proving a significant draw for the tourist trade. From unique data gathered on the last two Tube strikes, we at OpenTable have analyzed the impact they have had on the industry, affecting countless restaurant businesses, small and large, across the city.
20% decrease in bookings
What we have seen is two-fold. The cancellation rate on the two Thursdays of the strikes sits at about 10% higher than we would normally expect. But the biggest impact we have seen is the decrease in actual booking numbers on both strike days, which were more than 20% below what we would expect on a Thursday evening in 2015.
“This will have undoubtedly had a significant financial knock-on effect for the entire industry and it will be interesting to see if these trends continue to be replicated with further strikes to come. Once the strikes were over, we saw restaurant reservation levels return to normal.”
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