Working from home sees London karaoke bars enjoy rise in Sunday Fundays
Londoners are staving off the Sunday Blues with karaoke nights – taking advantage of an extra lie-in on work-from-home Monday mornings.
Charlie Elek, the managing director of Lucky Voice, a capital-focussed karaoke chain, told CityA.M. that a rise in hybrid working had “worked in our favour”.
The number of punters through the door at his Holborn site on a Sunday are up 401 per cent compared to pre-pandemic, with a 138 per cent increase in raucous singalongs at the chain’s Soho location.
Many office workers do not commute on Mondays or Fridays, even after the easing of Covid lockdowns.
The capital is the brand’s “real focus” as it eyes further venues, with up to three new sites planned in the next two years.
It was eyeing locations near corporate hubs, with demand for karaoke soaring since the pandemic, with punters eager to enjoy London as it roars back to life.
While consumers have been hit with historic levels of inflation, they are still heading to venues for birthday or hen parties. “Even in difficult times, [celebrations] are still important for them to do,” he said.
Lucky Voice has also seen Christmas bookings up around 25 per cent versus 2019, with office parties set to return with a bang.
Hospitality was disappointed by a lacklustre Christmas last year due to a Covid outbreak, with bosses keenly awaiting the industry’s “first proper Christmas since 2019.”