DesignMyNight, part of Access Hospitality, has launched a brand new platform to showcase and support the best in online events and deliveries taking place across the UK during COVID-19.
Restaurants, bars, pubs, nightclubs and cinemas were asked to shut their doors in March to tackle the global pandemic, authorised only to open on a takeaway basis. This has resulted in Wagestream reporting a 98% slowdown in the UK’s hospitality industry at the beginning of April. With many businesses facing severe cash flow problems and the possibility of closure, DesignMyNight has witnessed a sharp pivot in operators fighting back, offering delivery where possible and moving their events online.
Known as the go-to for tickets to unique events, and a reliable source to book tables for the country’s best bars, restaurants and pubs, DesignMyNight is regarded as the UK’s largest discovery website, bringing in over 3.5 million monthly users. In light of COVID-19 it has created a brand new platform called DeliverMyNight to support the hospitality industry during COVID-19 and satisfy the rise in online events and deliverable food and drink hampers.
Deliverable cocktails was an area that was left relatively untouched by leading and independent bars until the global pandemic struck at the start of 2020. DesignMyNight has recorded a huge spike in the service since the end of March, resulting in over 100 UK bars now bottling their drinks, dispatching them either nationwide or locally. Sebastian Lyall, the owner of immersive hospitality group Lollipop, was one of the first to jump on the cocktail delivery pivot, commenting that “we are all drinking at home nowadays so why not continue doing that and also support a small business which needs your love and care”. The bar-quality cocktails that the team make at their base in Chelsea come with all the garnishes you’d expect to see in their bars, and they can be shipped anywhere in the UK for as little as £39.99. Other award-winning bars include Heads & Tails, Callooh Callay and Three Sheets, to name a few.
DesignMyNight has also witnessed a 310% increase in hampers and deliverable DIY food kits since lockdown commenced, which is another initiative that restaurants are leaning on during this difficult time. Jimmy Garcia, who is responsible for some of the capital’s best winter and summer pop-ups, is now delivering DIY Sunday roast hampers in London alongside ‘Isolation Party Packs’ that include ingredients, alongside rentable fondue kits and pizza ovens. Other names getting involved in hampers and DIY kits include Honest Burgers, The Cheese Bar and Burger & Beyond.
Online events and experiences that people can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes have also seen a 13,000% surge on DesignMyNight. West End Musical, who have a monthly sell-out brunch across secret London locations, are now live streaming performances from West End stars. Smith & Sinclair, who are purveyors of alcoholic candy for adults, now have a virtual mixology workshop headed by company Founder, Emile Sinclair. This comes with a kit containing a cocktail shaker, alongside unique ingredients to use during the class, all dispatched before the online event. Another innovative initiative was launched in April by Inventive Productions. Responsible for the world-famous BYOB experience Alcotraz, the events team have brought a Prohibition-inspired cocktail event to people’s homes via delivery and pre-recorded messages from actors that can be accessed online.
The hospitality industry is thinking on its feet like never before, bringing a whole new wave of delivery and online event options into focus. Organisers and owners are operating in creative ways to stay functional, and if the numbers are anything to go by, they are also building something that could last long after lockdown is over.
For more information on DeliverMyNight and how to get involved or any questions on the above, please contact Leighanne Bent on leighanne@designmynight.com
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For immediate release: Tuesday 21st April 2020
For Further information: Leighanne Bent, leighanne@designmynight.
Or Kate Hempsall, katehempsallpr@outlook.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
About DesignMyNight:
Founded in 2010 by two University friends, DesignMyNight has taken off and become one of the UK’s most loved discovery and booking resources, bringing in over 3.5 million monthly users. DesignMyNight is also a leading B2B software provider; Collins is a booking and enquiry management solution for the bar, pub and casual dining market and processed over 40 million bookings over 6,000 clients in 2019, DesignMyNight also has a ticketing platform Tonic, selling tickets to every must-go event in the UK cities over £22 million worth of tickets a year. DesignMyNight was acquired by The Access Group in November 2017, which is one of the UK’s leading providers of software to the best and fastest growing mid-market businesses.