ALH Hotels has booked almost 95 percent of its Christmas Day capacity compared to 85 percent at the same time pre-pandemic in 2019 as families and friends prepare to return to the pub and commune.
“Aussies are really looking forward to getting together with friends and family this festive season after two years of disruptions,” ALH Hotels General Manager Operations Lukas McKay said.
ALH says it expects to serve up almost 500,000 oysters, 20 tonnes of ham, 25 tonnes of prawns and 500,000 plum puddings are expected to be served.
“We started to see strong demand for Christmas Day back in September, and we put these booking numbers down to the fact that people have a higher level of confidence in planning and booking in advance now than they have over the last two years,” he added.
Almost 42,000 guests have already booked Christmas Day lunches at the 251 hotels in the ALH fleet that will be hosting celebrations, and the hospitality business is expecting Christmas Day events to fully book out within the next week.
McKay says that pubs remove the stress of hosting while still being a special occasion. The Christmas Day menu differs from pub to pub, with many Queensland hotels serving seafood buffets while all NSW pubs are offering three-course-set menus with dishes including oysters, traditional turkey, bourbon glazed and pineapple baked leg ham and pavlova for dessert.
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