Restaurants have seen Valentine’s Day bookings plummet over the past two years.
A survey released this week by online reservation service OpenTable found less than half of British Columbians have dined out on or around February 14 since 2019. In 2020 it was only ten per cent.
So, what will happen this year?
“So many people now use restaurants in a different way. Instead of going to a restaurant, (a lot of people have been reluctant, not so much now, to go to a restaurant), they’ll order at home. And they’ll have their Valentine’s dinner catered at home from a restaurant," explained Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
“Which has really made changes from the point of view of menu options, alcohol to go. So the patterns have changed forever. Valentine’s Day, as someone said to me yesterday, is not that big a deal anymore in the restaurant industry."
Tostenson said there are still big occasions when people prefer dining out, like Christmas parties and Mother’s Day.
He adds that there will be people booking tables on Valentine’s Day, but he doesn’t think there will be the line-ups to get in for casual dining like in the past.
As for vaccine passport requirements, which are being eliminated in some provinces, Tostensons suspects they will be around for a while longer in B.C.
“I think that you'll see Dr. Henry doing initially is opening up groups. So, in the case of Kelowna, going back to capacity in hockey games. The Vancouver Canucks, weddings, those sorts of celebrations and expanding the social networks.
“They’ll probably do it in restaurants as well too. Right now we’re restricted to six people at a table. That might come off, but I think it will be a gradual reduction in B.C. And my sense is, that’s what people want.”
Tostenson adds that the labour shortage continues to be a major concern for the industry but he’s hopeful, that as pandemic travel restrictions lift, more skilled workers will start flowing back into Canada, and the Okanagan, under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
