New OpenTable Data Shows Late Night Dinner on the Rise; Wednesdays and Thursdays Emerge as Trending Dining Days

Rhea-AI Summary

OpenTable has relaunched its State of the Industry dashboard, incorporating new datasets from its global network of 55,000 restaurants. Key findings from March 2023 include:

• Late-night dining increases: Dining at 8 PM and 9 PM rose significantly, particularly on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Wednesdays and Thursdays are trending: These days saw a rise in dining across various hours, with notable increases in lunchtime participation.
• Year-over-Year stability: Seated diners in March 2023 saw a slight 4% decrease YoY, contrasting with increases in January and February.

34% of diners reported dining out less to save money, a drop from 40%. Despite economic challenges, CEO Debby Soo expressed optimism about continued dining interest as warmer weather approaches.

Positive

• Late-night dining surged, particularly on Mondays and Thursdays, suggesting increased consumer interest.
• The popularity of Wednesdays and Thursdays for dining indicates emerging trends in consumer behavior.

Negative

• Seated diners decreased by 4% year-over-year in March 2023, potentially indicating a downturn in the market.

 OpenTable's relaunched State of the Industry dashboard features new data sets including dining times by day of week and inflation vs. change in U.S. check averages

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, relaunched its State of the Industry dashboard. The site features new dining data from OpenTable's global network of 55,000 restaurants and millions of diners to shed light on dining demand and trends.

Latest intel from OpenTable's State of the Industry 2.0:

• Late-night dining gets a boost: In March 2023, dining at 8pm and 9pm saw gains nearly every day MoM, with the largest increases on Mondays (8pm up 9%, 9pm up 18%), Wednesdays (8pm up 15%, 9pm up 23%) and Thursdays (8pm up 18%, 9pm up 24%).
• Wednesdays and Thursdays emerge as trending dining days: In March 2023, dining on Wednesdays and Thursdays saw increases in popularity every hour from 8am – 11pm MoM, with some of the largest increases during lunch hours. For example, on Wednesdays, dining at 12 pm was up 10% and 1pm was up 13%, while on Thursdays dining at 12pm was up 11% and 1pm was up 17%.
• Dining demand remains (relatively) steady YoY: Seated diners in the U.S. in March 2023 decreased slightly by 4% YoY, while in January and February 2023, dining was up 21% and 2%, respectively.

From OpenTable's Quarterly Dining Survey:

• 34% of those surveyed said they're dining out less often to save money vs. 40% in Q1, according to OpenTable's Q2 Diner survey of over 10,000 diners.* In addition, 33% of those surveyed are dining out more than they did six months ago.

"Despite economic headwinds, people are choosing to dine out. We are seeing boosts in late night dining – likely spurred by seasonality and factors like warmer weather and longer daylight – and are optimistic for continued dining interest as we head into spring and summer," said Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable.

About State of the Industry 2.0
OpenTable launched its State of the Industry site in March 2020 to help illustrate how the pandemic was impacting restaurants globally, and quickly became a go-to resource for restaurateurs, analysts, government agencies and journalists. The dashboard has been updated with new methodology and data, including:

• Dining times by day of week: Shows dining time variances by day of the week, providing YoY and MoM views, respectively showing longer term and emerging trends.
• Inflation vs. change in U.S. check averages: Using data from the U.S. Inflation Index, the dashboard now provides a comparative view against the YoY change in average check size. Since May 2022, inflation has outpaced the average increase in U.S. check size.
• Change in Seated Diners by Month: Provides a monthly view on dining demand by country, state and city.
• OpenTable Quarterly Diner Survey highlights: OpenTable surveys thousands of U.S. diners quarterly on hot topics including restaurant spending and holiday plans and tracks trends over time. Highlights are now available on the dashboard.

To learn more visit: opentable.com/state-of-industry.

*OpenTable surveyed over 10,000 diners in the U.S. between March 26 – March 29, 2023.

About OpenTable
OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), connects more than 1.5 billion people with restaurants every year. Powering hospitality at more than 55,000 restaurants, bars, wineries, and other venues globally, OpenTable drives reservations, experiences, payments, guest insights and operations, enabling restaurants to run their most successful business yet.

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SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.

FAQ

What are the latest trends in dining according to OpenTable's Q2 survey?

OpenTable's Q2 survey indicates an increase in late-night dining and a rise in popularity for Wednesdays and Thursdays.

How significant was the change in seated diners for March 2023?

In March 2023, seated diners in the U.S. decreased by 4% year-over-year.

What percentage of diners are dining out less to save money?

34% of diners reported that they are dining out less often to save money.

What does the State of the Industry dashboard report for the dining sector?

The dashboard provides insights on dining times, inflation versus check averages, and changes in seated diners.

When was the State of the Industry dashboard launched?

The State of the Industry dashboard was initially launched in March 2020.