Brisk New Year business for outside caterers
by David Kelleher
More and more people are opting to stay at home on New Year's Eve, according to outside caterers who have been inundated with orders. Contacted by The Malta Business Weekly, caterers said the number of queries and orders was much higher than in previous years especially over the Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve period.
"We have had so many bookings for this week that we had to refuse certain orders. We could not keep up with the demand," a Valletta caterer said.
Another well-known establishment said that the majority of clients made bookings for small groups between 20 and 40 people.
"The majority are family parties with not more than 40 guests. The number of bookings for these parties has increased considerably this year and we feel that this is indicative that people are not going out on New Year's eve," the Sliema caterer said.
Other caterers also agreed that more people were opting to stay at home and invite a few friends round rather than go out to celebrate. This theory is also strengthened by the fact that bookings at restaurants and hotels over the Christmas/New Year period have been on the low side.
"The problem this year is that the Millennium celebrations have pushed prices up to the extent that people cannot afford to pay Lm30 per head. It would be easier to organise a party at home and spend say Lm200 and have 30 people over paying Lm7 each," a party-goer organising his own party at home told The Malta Business Weekly.
"It stands to reason that it is going to be so much cheaper," he added.
Although outside caterers are more than happy with the situation, establishment owners in Paceville and other localities are far from smiling.
Bookings for New Year's Eve have picked up slightly but they are far from what they were last year. One major factor has been the marked increase in prices from around Lm15 per head to Lm40, as a result of added expenses to make the event much more attractive.
Party-goers may be grumbling that the prices are high, yet on the other hand it is not all their fault. Sources close to the industry told The Malta Business Weekly that DJs have demanded between Lm700 and Lm1,000 for their services tomorrow night. The usual fee ranges between Lm50 on a poor night to Lm150. Certain musicians are asking for Lm300 per performance. Dancers and even staff are also asking for increases.
Contacted yesterday, the President of the GRTU's Hospitality and Leisure division, Philip Fenech, said that bookings are picking up slowly.
"Bookings have improved over the past couple of days which is a good sign. However, there are very few owners who said they have a full house already. Others are saying they are doing relatively well, while some are really worried," Mr Fenech said.
"There are so many private functions being organised that it is inevitable that the usual places of entertainment will be affected. However, we are confident that a last minute rush will alleviate the problem," he added.
A number of well-known establishments will not be opening tomorrow because they calculated they would not break even. One in particular has drastically reduced prices in order to attract bookings. Despite a huge advertising campaign the response was pathetic.
"I believe we will have the same scenario we had on Christmas Eve with most bookings made a day or two before," Mr Fenech said.
He also called on party-goers not to leave everything till the last minute but to be at their favourite establishment well before midnight.
"If people go a bit earlier they will be able to settle down on time for the rollover celebrations. It will also reduce the possibility of a mad rush at midnight," he added.
Following the success of the ring-road system introduced in Paceville on Christmas Eve in order to ease the traffic flow in and out of the night-life Mecca, the same system will be used tomorrow night.
The main entrance to Paceville, Elia Zammit Street, will be closed for traffic at certain times and traffic will be diverted through St George's Road by the cinemas towards the casino and Hilton area.
Entrance to the centre of Paceville can be accessed from Paceville Avenue.
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