new delhi new years eve is usually the biggest night for the food and beverage industry with major celebrity shows lined up across the city this year though delhi will not see any performance by bigticket actors topnotch djs or music bands packages offered are also smaller than that of last year at many places after a slight lull post demonetisation both restaurants and party crowd are betting on valueformoney offers than splurgewhile celebrities usually charge a premium for their performance restaurateurs have no option but to pass on the cost to diners unsure of public sentiment many pubs and hotels toi spoke to were not willing to risk such a major investment this timeumang tewari of big fish ventures which runs more than 10 popular restaurants across the city said things may have improved drastically in the past few days but the business especially for new years eve is still down by 1015 rather than spending on a celebrity artiste and passing on that cost to people tewari decided to keep entry rates low and offer a better food and beverage experienceartistes need to be booked in advance and it is a major investment we were not sure of the mood and response so we decided to focus on better food and beverage options and let people enjoy without paying extra he reasoned this seems to be a trend at most of the restaurants across the city where the package deals are actually 10 less than last years chargesrestaurateur sahil gupta who runs popular joints tabula beach arriba and hungry monkey said his direct bookings were not affected while various online platforms that offered him regular business have not been able to offer any business for the december 31 night we received a great response from people coming and booking directly with us ironically online services that offered decent businesses till last year have not been able to deliver the same he explainedwith competitive pricing diners usually have the upper hand sahil said he had no option but to come up with innovative offers at his restaurants arriba and tabulaanother restaurateur who didnt wish to be named said a majority of bookings were usually complete postchristmas this time though he is still entertaining queries as only one fourth of his passes have been sold i never had to waited till december 31 for a sellout new years eve he saidthe reasons for this lull are not purely demonetisation traffic problems and early closing of bars and cafes are the other factors affecting the business joy singh of raasta who has recently opened his restaurant in mumbai said establishments can apply for a day licence there and stay open till late on december 31 places usually shut postmidnight in delhi people feel it is better to celebrate with their friends at their homes or farmhouses than take the hassle of venturing out and calling off their celebrations early he addedparking and traffic are other major problems that people want to