Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Star-rated hotels in Shanghai are optimistic about this year's dinner market of the upcoming Christmas Eve, which falls on Friday, today's Oriented Morning Post reported.
About 80 percent of the dinners had been booked out before this week, with the prices averaging at about 1,000 yuan (US$121) per person, up 20 percent from the previous year. The lunch dinners sell between 180 yuan and 388 yuan each person, while the evening banquets soar to between 1,288 yuan and 1,888 yuan.
In addition to the delicious food, the evening banquets include entertainment shows and lucky draws.  The prizes have expanded from the traditional one-night stay at the luxury hotels to mobile phones, laptop computers, projectors and MP3 players.
Industry insiders attributed hotels' zeal for the Christmas dinner market to simple operations, low cost and large profit. Companies, rather than individual dinners, constitute the main force of the customer base, they noted.
Upbeat about the New Year market, hotels have revved up the preparations for the St. Valentine's Day celebration, with many having started selling the romantic dinners on February 14, according to the Oriental Morning Post report.  The reservations will go through mid-January.