London, 27 August 2020 – Throughout September OpenTable and Mastercard will be celebrating Dine Local, a month-long homage to dining out, with more than 200 restaurants offering special offers, set menus and added value offerings to diners across the UK and Ireland.
As part of this, Mastercard and OpenTable have also teamed up to surprise and delight lucky diners at 30 restaurants in 30 days across the UK and Ireland with the chance to eat and drink for free* in one of the participating Dine Local restaurants. Every evening during September, Mastercard will treat diners, who are in the right place at the right time, with a Priceless Surprise by paying their bill including food and soft drinks at one of the restaurants taking part in the wider Dine Local campaign.
The UK’s dining industry has experienced a hard few months and whilst diners are showing confidence in eating out again, the Dine Local campaign has been initiated to encourage people to continue to dine out and support their local restaurants and community going forward.
Additionally, as part of the campaign restaurants across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin will offer limited-time, great-value specials to showcase their menus and attract diners. Restaurants get the chance to reconnect with their loyal clientele while attracting new diners to take part in an uplifting local initiative, and diners have a unique opportunity to try out neighbourhood gems while supporting local restaurants. Visit www.opentable.co.uk/restaurantweek to discover the Dine Local restaurants taking part and the special menus available.
The first Priceless Surprise will take place in Hertfordshire on 1st September, before moving to London then across the country to bring truly Priceless moments to diners. OpenTable asks diners to book and support the Dine Local restaurants during the month of September to enjoy great special offers and menus, and be in with a chance to have their bill picked up by MasterCard and OpenTable.
Angela Altvater, Marketing Director, OpenTable EMEA commented “We are pleased to see that the restaurant sector in the UK is slowly recovering. It is clear that many people really missed the experience of dining out at a restaurant over the past few months. As a partner to the industry, it is particularly important for us to help the restaurant community get back on their feet and to get diners excited about dining out again and rediscover old and new favourites in their local area.”
Janne Karppinen, Head of Retail at Mastercard commented on the campaign. “It is great to see people back in restaurants and eating out safely with friends and families. 2020 has been a hard year so we’re pleased to work with OpenTable to bring moments of joy and excitement to customers. We have extended the offer not only to Mastercard customers, but to everyone who is in the restaurant at the right place on the right night – a truly Priceless Surprise.”
All the signs show that people in the UK are eager to get out to dine again. In a recent survey1 conducted by OpenTable, 65% of Brits answered that the thing they were most excited about restaurants reopening was eating delicious food. 94% of those surveyed stated that the support of local restaurants is important to them and 62% said they planned to eat out more or at least as often as before the lockdown
Notes to editors
*Alcoholic drinks are not included
1Source: OpenTable Survey on Dining out after lockdown. 32,000 people in the United Kingdom of different age, sex and geographical origin in the UK participated in the survey. The survey was sent out through the OpenTable email newsletter. Data collection took place between June 24th and July 2nd 2020 through an e-survey on Survey Monkey.
About OpenTable:
OpenTable, part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), powers reservations for the hospitality industry. OpenTable’s software seats more than 1 billion people per year and helps more than 60,000 restaurants, bars, wineries and other venues attract guests, manage capacity, improve operations and maximize revenue.
About Mastercard:
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.