Why not dine out and give back this Christmas

Dining local to support local restaurants (photo: Shutterstock)Dining local to support local restaurants (photo: Shutterstock)
Dining local to support local restaurants (photo: Shutterstock)

Big support for dining out locally

As more hungry Brits venture out to dine in the run-up to Christmas OpenTable, the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations, is aiming to support local dining.

With 42 per cent of Brits more inclined to support local restaurants since the pandemic, OpenTable has joined forces with Mastercard to launch Dine Local 2021 this November and December.

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The campaign, running from November 1 to December 14, offers diners the opportunity to celebrate the festive season in style, give back to FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, and be in with a chance to receive a Priceless Surprise, all while continuing to support local restaurants.

Where do Brits dine?

Dine out and support your local eateries (photo: Shutterstock)Dine out and support your local eateries (photo: Shutterstock)
Dine out and support your local eateries (photo: Shutterstock)

When selecting somewhere to dine this festive season, new research by OpenTable shows that most Brits (35 per cent) are choosing to dine locally to support smaller and family-run restaurants.

For reasons of convenience (35 per cent), going to places they already know (31 per cent) and a desire to support neighbouring businesses (30 per cent), were highly cited reasons as to why diners prefer to eat locally.

Help

The OpenTable and Mastercard activation will roll out to diners over six-weeks with every booking made through OpenTable at one of the 150 Dine Local restaurants between November 1 and 14, 2021, and seated by the end of the year, Mastercard will donate £5 per seated diner to FareShare, in support of their mission to tackle food poverty in the UK.

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The bigger the booking party, the larger the contribution, ideal for the 30 per cent of diners who plan on having a big celebration with family and friends in a restaurant over this holiday season.

Surprises

Up until December 14, each day, at 3o restaurants, Mastercard and OpenTable will bring priceless surprises to lucky diners in the right place at the right time, with the chance to eat and drink for free in one of the participating Dine Local restaurants in Belfast, Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle.

With 43 per cent of diners expecting to eat out up to five times during the festive period, there are plenty of opportunities to be rewarded.

Senior director, EMEA, OpenTable, Scott Hudson, said: “Our data shows just how important eating local and giving back has become to diners.

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That’s why we are partnering with Mastercard to provide even more of an incentive for diners to go local this festive season and support FareShare’s work in helping to tackle food poverty in the UK.

Celebrate

Dine Local is a way for us to celebrate our local restaurants and demonstrate continued support for the hospitality industry.”VP Marketing and Communications UK&I, Mastercard, Agnes Woolrich, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with OpenTable on Dine Local 2021.

"At the heart of this campaign is joy. Diners can enjoy eating out in the knowledge they are making a difference to FareShare’s mission, and for the lucky ones, they will enjoy a Priceless Surprise as Mastercard covers their bill and supports restaurants who have weathered a very difficult 18-months.”

Lindsay Boswell of FareShare, said funds raised would help to redistribute food to more than 10,500 charities and added: “It’s humbling to know that diners are seeking to help people less fortunate than themselves following the events of the last 18-months.”

For further information on Dine Local 2021, visit: www.opentable.co.uk/DineLocal website.

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