SINGAPORE: Holding a wedding banquet at a hotel could get more expensive.
Some hospitality venues said they will be marking up prices by up to 10 per cent to cope with steep inflation and the rising costs of labour and raw materials such as ingredients.
Despite the higher price, the demand for wedding banquets remains strong. Couples choosing to have wedding banquets at hotels are pushing up demand for ballrooms since COVID-19 social restrictions were eased in the middle of this year.
STRONG DEMAND FOR HOTEL BALLROOMS
Some hotels told CNA that bookings have jumped by at least 30 per cent since COVID-19 measures were relaxed.
One Farrer Hotel said it was almost 70 per cent booked during weekends for weddings for most of next year. Some venues are also seeing enquiries for wedding banquets in 2024.
There has been pent-up demand for the past two years due to the COVID-19 situation, said Parkroyal on Beach Road’s marketing communication manager Linda Huh.
“Now that the rules have been relaxed, everyone’s starting to want to book a venue immediately.”
But there is also a trend of couples choosing smaller banquet halls for more intimate weddings. This is especially so for young couples who want to save on costs.
Ms Huh said: “So before, we had around up to 300 wedding guests, but we have gone down by maybe 30 per cent to 50 to 100 guests.”
However, even catering to a smaller room of guests is still a challenge for some venues.
HOTEL SCENE FACES LABOUR SHORTAGE
This comes as the hospitality industry faces a manpower shortage, with some hotels struggling to attract talent to meet the surging demand for wedding banquets.
Manpower has always been an issue for the hospitality industry, said Ms Charlene Hendricks, acting director of catering sales at ONE15 Marina Club. “And post-pandemic, it’s got a little bit harder.
“We’ve had about 10 to 20 per cent of our staff leave the industry and they have not come back. So with the increase in the number of weddings and events in general, we do and we are continuously finding people to fill up our slots.”
Labour shortage is just one of the factors driving up wedding banquet prices, with hotels looking to pass on the costs to people who book a banquet hall.
Meanwhile, some venues are finding ways to fill the gap. Pan Pacific Singapore has been training its staff to improve their level of service.
“We are always giving training in order to boost up the efficiency,” said Mr Luke Li, sales and marketing director at Pan Pacific Singapore. “We are also actively recruiting new team members and we are keeping an open mind in terms of recruitment.
“Those who are from other industries and have no hotel experience, but are interested in joining our hotel, we do take them into the team with adequate training and ensure that they are performing in their roles.”
