Competition for dinner reservations is high in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day — in fact, it’s the most popular reservation day of the year globally on OpenTable (1). On average, dinner reservations on the network for that day go up a whopping 500 percent (2).
To help you gear up for the big day — whether that’s a cozy rendezvous with your S.O. or a Galentine’s meal — we’ve scoured OpenTable data to pull together last year’s top V-day dining trends. Here’s what we’ve learned about our global diner behaviors.
In the U.S.
- Fifty-five percent of millennials say their ideal gift for Valentine’s Day is an “experience.” (3)
- On average, an estimated 70 reservations are booked every minute on OpenTable leading up to Valentine’s Day. (4)
- Eighteen percent of people think going out for Valentine’s Day is cheesy. (5)
- Twenty percent of you are likely to request a table with a view on Valentine’s Day. (6)
- Bookings for upscale dinner reservations on OpenTable spike 228 percent on Valentine’s Day. (7)
- Fifteen percent of OpenTable diners wait until Valentine’s Day to book their table for Valentine’s Day. (8)
- Sixty-three percent of people prefer to make a reservation at a restaurant with a prix fixe menu. (9)
- Forty-two percent of people say they would give their pet a Valentine’s Day gift. (10)
- Italian is one of the most popular cuisines on Valentine’s Day on OpenTable. (11)
In Canada
- Steakhouses are the most popular type of restaurant for dinner reservations on Valentine’s Day in Canada. (12)
In the U.S. & Canada
- Seven p.m. is the most popular time for Valentine’s Day dinner reservations booked through OpenTable. (13)
- Most OpenTable diners book their Valentine’s Day dinner reservations an average of 10 days out. (14)
In Australia
- The most popular reservation time for Valentine’s Day in Australia is 6:30 p.m., for reservations booked through OpenTable. (15)
- Most Australian OpenTable diners made Valentine’s Day reservations nine days in advance. (16)
- On average, in Australia, an estimated 74 reservations are booked every hour on OpenTable leading up to Valentine’s Day. (17)
OpenTable’s Methodology:
- According to global OpenTable seated reservation data from the last three years.
- Compared to the average percentage increase in OpenTable global bookings on Valentine’s Day to the number of reservations for the same day of the year, from 2017 to 2019.
- Survey results of over 300 respondents in the US aged 23-38
- Applying the total number of Valentine’s Day bookings made through OpenTable for the US from 2/1/2019 to 2/14/2019, averaged over daily and hourly increments.
- Survey results of over 1,000 respondents in the US aged 23-75
- Survey results of over 1,000 respondents in the US aged 23-75
- Compared to the average number of OpenTable seated online reservations for restaurants with average prices of $50 or more per entree made the three preceding Thursdays in 2019.
- Based on OpenTable online, seated reservations in the US from 2019.
- Survey results of over 1,000 respondents in the US aged 23-75
- Survey results of over 1,000 respondents in the US aged 23-75
- Based on OpenTable seated reservations in the US from 2019
- On average, based on OpenTable seated online reservations data from 2019.
- Based on OpenTable online, seated reservations for the past three years in the US and Canada.
- Based on seated online reservations for the US and Canada for 2019.
- Based on seated online OpenTable reservations for the past three years.
- On average, based on OpenTable data from 2019.
- Applying the total number of Valentine’s Day bookings made through OpenTable for Australia from 2/1/2019 to 2/14/2019, averaged over daily and hourly increments.
