February 2011
What does Valentines Day mean to your business?
Dave More, Head Chef, Musa
Valentine’s Day normally means fewer overall covers if it falls on a Friday or Saturday because it is all tables of two but this year, because it is a Monday when we would normally be closed, it is an extra trading day when we are guaranteed to be full.
It allows us to indulge our creativity with ‘sexy’ food like oysters and nice chocolate mousses and desserts to share.
We will also tailor our music on the night to suit the atmosphere, perhaps a classical pianist. It is one of the few times of the year when people will go out and buy Champagne for a table of two. Champagne normally gets sold on tables of eight to 12 at backslapping dos.
It is very rarely on a Monday you will get the opportunity to sell a couple of cases of
Champagne.
 Gary Atkinson, Director, Carmelite Hotel
We always look forward to Valentine’s as it is a completely different mix to any other time of the year.
As Valentine’s falls on Monday there are four days and a variety of ways to treat that special person in your life. Some prefer an intimate dinner date, others a party, and popular options are afternoon tea and couples pampering each other in a luxury suite or room.
Our ‘Naughty and Nice’ package adds some excitement with good clean sexy fun including welcome cocktails, Lush bath and play products, champagne, feather boas and other items to wow your partner. Alternatively, we also have ‘Romance’ and ‘Sugar and Spice’ packages which include champagne, roses and dipping marshmallows..
This year we have a special Valentines Dinner Menu on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings and on the Monday we are having a six course dinner and wine served in our library with a wine expert to talk through our selections.
 Malcolm, MacNeil, Managing Partner, Ishoka
Valentine’s Day adds a little bit of sparkle in what can be an otherwise dull month. Christmas and New Year celebrations have been forgotten and a visit to the salon to be pampered before a romantic night out is the perfect winter pick me up! As a salon we promote Valentines Day through our Gift Packages – the perfect Valentines Gift for men and women and our team encourage their clients to book in for a pampering treat before the big day.
On Valentines Day the salon is always busier – this year it’s on Monday and we have bookings for blow dries, hair ups and feel good beauty treatments such as eyelashes and Geleration Nails. Women (and men) are very focused on their appearance and being well groomed for a special occasion is very important.
 Ryan Manson, General Manager, Union Square
The importance of Valentine’s Day was made clear last year when Saturday February 13 was the busiest day of the month with the Union Square jewellery stores and card shops, in particular, attracting considerable trade. We fully expect the same impact this year as people shop for gifts for their loved ones and for some that means a visit to the travel agent. It is clear that quite a lot of the Valentine’s Day shopping is fairly last minute
We also have a good leisure offering and on Valentine’s Day itself the restaurants and cinema will be extremely busy.
Union Square is obviously a naturally romantic location because since we opened there have been three marriage proposals that we are aware of, including one in a jewellers.
|
