It is Valentine’s Day, and if you have still not planned anything for your significant other, Prakriti Roy looks into some of the innovative ways in which people are celebrating the day of love this year round
A cozy romantic date for two, a long drive, a weekend getaway, something more elaborate like a ride on a private luxury jet, or just the good old dinner and a movie. What is your plan for this Valentine’s DayIJ
It is estimated that at least Rs 15 billion is spent on the festivities surrounding this special and romantic holiday. This, of course, includes travelling, eating out, services as well as gifts. To make each V-Day special, everyone tries to plan the best possible date for their loved one and it is the perfect time for many companies to cash in on this opportunity by offering an array of V-Day specials.
nearbuy, a well-known online platform for buying coupons and getting discounts carried out an entire survey and then formulated their various offers. Their survey reveals a lot of interesting trends around V-Day — 40 per cent Indians are willing to fork out an average of Rs 3,000 to buy their spouse a V-Day gift. Majority of respondents (56 per cent) prefer buying offers online to save. Just about 10 per cent would go over the Rs 5,000 bracket to impress their valentine. Interestingly enough, what stresses out 47 per cent couples is the planning drill, followed by recognition of their gift (25 per cent), budget constraints (16 per cent) and lastly, the task of finding a date itself (13 per cent).
Online shopping website, shoppirate.in, also conducted a survey that revealed that men usually tend to spend more than women on gifts and people start planning their dates only a couple of weeks before February 14. Holiday IQ revealed that he planning period has come down from 20 days to eight days in 2016 for hotels and other accommodations options respectively. Cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad reveal an increase of 50 per cent in last minute bookings, collectively.
To help their customers make the most of this holiday, online lingerie portal Zivame has come up with something called the Gentlemen’s Guide to lingerie. This is especially for men who want to buy their partners lingerie but have absolutely no idea where to start off. Richa Kar, CEO & founder, Zivame says, “Shopping for lingerie together is an extremely sensual experience that brings couples closer and fosters a special bond between them, more so on a day like Valentine’s Day. We’re moving away from the clichéd red lingerie, and tapping into the different personality traits that define women as sexy.”
One can take the hint that some companies are giving you through their special V-Day offers and opt for a different experience for this year. For instance, to provide their clients with something very different, service provider UrbanClap has come up with an offer called ‘Save The Date’. Saher Shodhan, PR head, UrbanClap, explains it: “So this offer is for those who want the complete romantic experience at home on V-Day. For the price of Rs 4,999, we will send over an interior decorator to do up the date room. There will also be a chef who will cook for the couple. And, of course, live musicians to complete the romantic dinner!” They have also tied-up with the Bombay Shaving Company wherein the women, who are usually not the ones giving gifts, can book a luxurious shaving and facial massage experience for their partners at home. At Rs 799, one will be given a professional shave and facial massage on February 13 and 14.
A lot of people this year are even thinking of getting services like a couples’ massage. nearbuy has a few offers for this like Ammara Spa at Hauz Khas Village (Rs 2,499 per couple) or Keraleeyam Ayurvedic Spa at 100 Feet Road, Delhi (priced at Rs 2,111 per couple).
Men generally love their cars. So a lot of car rental companies have come up with special discounts to provide women with the perfect gift for their partners, a long drive in a fine luxury car. For instance Myles is giving a 14 per cent discount on their entire fleet of 38 models and 30 per cent discount on their SUVs and luxury cars. “long drives are always a part of V-Day celebrations. That’s why we came up with this special offer. This year, the festival is falling on a Sunday; we are also getting a lot of bookings for longer durations for the entire weekend and for outstation trips. The offers are valid for the entire month of February,” says Sakshi Vij, founder-CEO, Myles. Ecorentacar.com also has V-Day weekend offers on their limousine fleet, a discount of 20 per cent. On their luxury cars (Mercedes, BMW and Audi), there is a discount of 20 per cent for overnight bookings.
“Since V-Day is on a weekend this year, we are offering a one night stay if they hire the car for overnight and visit Agra or Jaipur,” says Aditya loomba, MD, Ecorentacar.com.
This year’s Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday, many couple have opted for romantic weekend getaways to indulge in some offbeat activities. A survey by Holiday IQ reveals some of the creative ways in which people are celebrating — gorging on meen moilee on a houseboat in Kerala; skiing and paragliding in Solang Valley, Manali; romantic ride on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Ooty; savouring coffee at Coorg; glacier trekking in Sonamarg and bakery hopping in Srinagar.