Hotels are mostly associated with the tourism industry. Therefore, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everyone was talking about how hard tourism and hotels have been hit economically. However, the challenges being faced by the events and wedding industry have not been getting as much attention.
Recently, wedding planners and venue operators have received a number of inquiries overnight from couples looking to increase the number of guests they can invite to their weddings.
While these operators would be more than happy to accommodate these requests, some are still in the process of figuring out the logistics of separating guests and implementing staggered timings in order to observe safe social distancing measures.
The Singaporean Health Ministry recently announced that up to 100 unique attendees, including the wedding couple but excluding vendors and service providers, would be allowed to attend receptions from 3 October onwards. This is up from the previous limit of 50. However, guests will have to be split into zones of 50, or split by staggered timings to observe safety measures.
With the relaxed restrictions, some couples are hoping to expand their guest lists for their wedding ceremonies.
The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts received more than 30 inquiries from couples to increase the number of guests for their weddings since the announcement, said its general manager Cavaliere Giovanni Viterale.
Arches & Co., a wedding planning company, have also said that four out of five of their clients who have weddings planned for the coming month have also expressed interest in inviting more guests.
“However, they are also concerned if their venues will be able to accommodate such rules, given the safe distancing measures in place and staggered timings,” said Michelle Lau, founder of Arches & Co.
“But for new inquiries, most are looking at the second half of next year, and they are hopeful that the guest limits will continue to increase.”
Hotels and venue operators are looking at ways to increase capacity limits while ensuring safe distancing measures remain in place.
However, some couples have decided to go with a smaller reception, despite the increase in capacity; citing safety concerns.
