The results of Venue Search London’s recently published 2019 London Christmas Party Survey reveal that 99% of those holding Christmas Parties in London last year are likely to book parties in the 2019 season.

The survey of over 300 corporate buyers covered the party choices of over 39,000 guests in the 2018 season, with the average spend per guest showing a healthy year-on-year increase of 4%, to £92.51 + VAT.

The full findings from the 2018 season and key trends in buyers intentions for this year were revealed at last week’s London Christmas Party Show’s seminar seriers, sponsored by Event Industry News. The Showat Plaisterers’ Hall, saw a 7% year-on-year increase in attendance, further evidence of the strength of this seasonal events market. 

Other key trends and findings include:

  • 63% of parties are now held at restaurants, bars and clubs (up from 56% in 2016), with a reduction in those choosing a more formal seated meal from 60% to 52%. Both of these point towards the ongoing trend to more informal seasonal celebrations.
  • Thursdays and Fridays remain the most popular nights for Office Christmas parties in London, which now account for 73% of the total market.  There is also an increasing trend towards lunchtime events, now representing 22% of the total Christmas events market.
  • Corporate buyers using free Venue Finding companies to help them find the best venues on their preferred dates is showing a dramatic increase, with 35% planning to use their services to book their London Christmas Parties in 2019, (up from 12% in 2018).

The full survey results are available for free download here.

Commenting on the results, Venue Search London’s MD, Rosalind Shelley was encouraged by the results. “Despite recent economic and political uncertainty, the company Christmas Party continues to be a resilient date in business calenders, reflecting its ongoing value as a motivational tool and an opportunity to thank hard-working staff at the end of each calendar year. Having just launched our Summer events survey, we aim to benchmarck the London Conference Venues market with our final 2019 buyer survey later this year.”

Adam Parry
Author: Adam Parry

Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.