Affected by the epidemic, spring wedding shows in major hotels have been cancelled or postponed, and wedding banquet orders in the first half of the year have been very few. As an important source of income for Gao Xing Hotel, the hotel currently launches an online wedding show, hoping to increase the wedding order in 2020. The industry believes that after the epidemic, the hotel wedding banquet market will be very popular, and online wedding shows will help increase the popularity of the hotel market.
Spring wedding shows and wedding banquet orders mostly cancelled or postponed
Last week, Xu Xiaofeng, who was selling wedding banquets in a hotel in Beijing, worked with colleagues from the public relations department and catering department for five days. "We are going to participate in a wedding fair on the cloud. In addition to preparing materials and discount packages, we also have to Participate in the live broadcast-no one has any experience and was specially trained. "This time in previous years was the busiest time for Xu Xiaofeng." In March, the hotel will work with wedding companies, wedding dresses, jewelry brands, etc. to create a magnificent and grand There are many guests and customers participating in the wedding show. "In fact, the hotel had already begun preparations for the spring wedding show before the Spring Festival. Xu Xiaofeng remembered that the general manager finally finalized the plan of the public relations department. They planned to return to work after the festival and start. Advance.
Every March and April after the Spring Festival is the hotel's wedding season. Luxury hotels like the Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood, Bulgari, and Wangfu Peninsula will host one to four wedding shows each year, while international hotel groups such as Marriott, Intercontinental, and Shangri-La will organize their branded hotels to participate in various regions Wedding fairs, "Generally there will be a dozen or twenty hotels participating collectively, and sometimes the group will even contract the entire exhibition area." Xu Xiaofeng said, "Whether it is a wedding show or a wedding fair, there will be orders on the spot, but more For the sake of promotion, the hotel ’s own wedding show customer base is more precise, and the traffic of the wedding fair is greater. "
However, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the spring wedding shows and wedding fairs that were originally scheduled to be held were cancelled or postponed; and wedding orders originally scheduled for the period from the Spring Festival to May Day were also cancelled or postponed. Xu Xiaofeng said that after the Spring Festival, for a period of time, she would receive more than a dozen calls every day, all about consulting the cancellation of the wedding banquet. "Although May, June, September, and October are the golden season of weddings every year, there are many wedding banquets on weekends or good days in other months." Xu Xiaofeng said, "In February alone, we cancelled Three orders, two delays, and three on the sidelines. "In her opinion, the wedding banquet in the first half of the year was basically ignored. At present, the earliest hotel order is in June.
The wedding banquet market is an important source of profit for Gaoxing Hotels
For Gao Xing Hotel, the income of wedding banquets has become more and more important in recent years. A hotel veteran said, "The wedding banquet market has always been a very important source of profits for high-star hotels, especially those hotels with banquet halls over 1,000 square meters. Wedding banquet revenue can account for more than 30% of hotel revenue, and some even exceed room revenue. "Take Beijing as an example. Generally, the banquet hall of a hotel is about 500 square meters, and can accommodate 20 tables. Some hotels have a banquet hall of 1000-1500 square meters, which can receive large wedding banquets of 30-50 tables. The Beijing News reporter learned that the average cost of a wedding banquet at the Beijing High Star Hotel is about 5,000 yuan per table, while luxury brand hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel spend about 8,000 to 12,000 yuan per table. The scale ranges from 10 to 50 tables. "A five-star hotel earns about 60,000 to 200,000 yuan per wedding banquet, and can normally receive 100 to 150 shows a year."
In the first half of this year, the hotel's wedding banquet income dropped sharply, except for a few sporadic events in January, which was basically zero. According to Xu Xiaofeng, due to the impact of the epidemic, wedding banquets originally scheduled for February to April will generally be postponed, but if customers insist on cancelling, all deposits will be returned. "A customer booked a wedding banquet in early March and called to cancel after the Spring Festival. I advised him to delay it until the second half of the year. He said that his wife should have a baby at that time."
The Beijing News reporter learned from major hotels in Beijing that wedding deposits generally range from 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. If cancellation is non-refundable, even if it exceeds the prescribed time, a certain fee will be charged for the extension. However, affected by the epidemic, regardless of whether the wedding banquet was cancelled or delayed in the first quarter, most hotels all refunded the deposit. However, when the reporter called several hotels, the wedding banquet sales staff would remind that if the wedding banquet is scheduled after May, if it cannot be held due to the epidemic situation, free delay can be arranged according to the current hotel policy, but it cannot be cancelled.
Wedding show shifts to "cloud", Wuhu hotel deals over 2.5 million yuan a day
Generally speaking, hotel wedding banquets need to be booked 2 to 3 months in advance, and wedding banquets on some hot days may even be half a year to a year in advance. Therefore, the wedding show and wedding fair held in March and April are mainly for the promotion and pre-sale of spring and summer. However, due to the epidemic situation, all wedding shows in domestic hotels this year could not be held as scheduled.
Some hotels choose to change to a more private static wedding show. According to the relevant staff of Rosewood Beijing, they plan to hold a static wedding show from April 10th to 20th. Guests will make a one-to-one reservation to visit the wedding venue, build styles and try on wedding dresses. "This will ensure the safety of guests and colleagues and provide guests with personalized service."
But more hotels are trying to launch Yunshang wedding show or online wedding banquet promotion, hoping to drive the growth of hotel wedding business in the second half of the year. For example, the Hilton Group and a professional planning company have jointly launched an online wedding class to teach newcomers to make-up bridal makeup through live broadcasts, try on Chinese and Western dresses online, and see the construction of wedding scenes in AR. A person in charge of Crowne Plaza Beijing New Yunnan said that the hotel can host a total of seven wedding venues, the largest of which is 1,400 square meters. "At present, we are participating in online wedding fairs with more than ten hotels in Beijing. Offering a very good wedding package is about 20% off the usual price. "
In addition, a reporter from the Beijing News learned from InterContinental Hotels Group that many hotels in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Sichuan also participated in online wedding fairs. For example, 16 hotels in Sichuan were set up in Chengdu ’s first online wedding fair. There are special sessions, through the real-time docking of the wedding banquet specialists, the establishment of a social media community where the newcomers and the hotel communicate in time, KOL live broadcast, Intercontinental chef chef brand ambassador Lin Shuwei help out, etc., introduce hotel venues to new people online, and launch various wedding banquet packages . According to reports, the Wuhu Huayi Hotel launched an online wedding show jointly launched by multiple brands. Through the live-sharing mode of Douyin and sharing with WeChat groups, the day of the launch will bring 78 transactions and more than 2.5 million yuan for each merchant. Amount.
An industry insider said that online wedding shows are still being explored as a new wedding marketing model, and not every hotel's instant booking performance is very good. However, in his opinion, the main purpose of the online wedding show is to promote the hotel wedding banquet brand, to avoid the loss of intended customers and increase the popularity of the hotel market. "As far as I know, many hotels are now fully booked for the weekends in September and October." He believes that after the epidemic, especially the "Golden Nine, Silver and Ten", the hotel wedding market will definitely rebound. "Some hotels have Business parties have reserved dates, not all wedding banquets. "
The industry reminds that if consumers have a wedding plan this year, they can pay attention to the online pre-sale and live broadcast sales of various hotels. At present, the discount is greater, and some also send luxury wedding rooms. Some hotels that include venue fees are also on sale. The venue fee is waived during the event. It should be noted that the wedding banquet reservations in September and October are relatively tight, and you should consult and arrange as soon as possible. If you are booking a wedding banquet in May and June, it is best to negotiate with the hotel in advance, including whether it can be postponed or cancelled for free to avoid disputes.
Beijing News reporter Qu Tingyi