Corporate dining program provider Dinova has launched a concierge service to help companies plan private dining events, the company announced.
The Dine Assist service links companies with a dedicated event specialist who is experienced in working with restaurant venues, including ensuring specific needs are met, such as equipment set-up and special menus, Dinova CEO Alison Quinn told BTN. "Our role is to connect the meeting planner with the restaurant and assist them with the process of negotiating the product."
The service taps Dinova's network of more than 21,000 restaurants largely in the United States, whittled down to those that are appropriate for private dining events as well as some event locations, such as dining and entertainment chain Dave & Buster's, Quinn said. Meeting organizers are introduced to a list of venues that meet their criteria and, after selecting a venue, handle booking and final contracting directly from there.
Dine Assist follows the same revenue model as Dinova's general service, which currently reports more than 500 corporate customers, including more than half of the companies in BTN's Corporate Travel 100. Dinova customers do not pay a fee for the service and receive a rebate on what they spend, of which Dinova receives a portion.
Dinova is launching the program as it follows data showing that business travel is returning even though employees are not necessarily returning to the office, Quinn said. Data from Kastle Systems, which tracks key card access to office buildings in major U.S. markets, has been reporting office occupancy levels around 44 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels, she said.
Business dining, however, has recovered more strongly, according to Dinova's Business Dining Index, which measures current such sales against the same period in 2019. The index grew from 82 percent in the first quarter of this year to 84 percent in the second quarter, and it is projected to reach 89 percent in the third quarter, according to Dinova. For the full year of 2021, the index was at 73 percent, and it was 53 percent in 2020.
Small businesses have fully recovered to spending levels beyond 2019, while larger companies are averaging in the mid-70 percentage range, the index indicates.
At the same time, companies might not have the same staff to plan events as demand returns, which provides an opening for Dine Assist, Quinn said. Dinova also has put together a guide in anticipation of a busy upcoming holiday season, highlighting venues well-equipped to handle holiday parties, she said.
"Meetings are coming back with quite a vengeance, and there is a shortage of meeting planners happening now, so Dinova can help companies find a quality, business-grade venue to host a private dining event," Quinn said. "Restaurants are the new business meeting place, versus the office, so we see it as a great opportunity and a way to serve our restaurant partners as well as corporations."