Operations On a slightly different note
We all know that working in hospitality isn’t always glamorous. In fact, it often involves dealing with challenging situations and unruly guests. But here’s the thing: these experiences, while sometimes frustrating, can also be incredibly enlightening and even entertaining. That’s why we’re asking you to share your most memorable anecdotes with us. From outrageous guest behaviour to rooms left in chaos, we want to hear it all. But why, you might ask? Well, we’re putting together a ‘Good Guest Guide’ that uses these outrageous tales to highlight the good side of hospitality. The message behind this initiative is a positive one. We want to show that working in hospitality is no easy feat and that it requires skill, patience and resilience. We want to highlight the hard work and team effort that makes hospitality such a rewarding career. By sharing these stories, we hope to not only entertain but also to promote courteous guest behaviour. So, if you have any standout incidents you’d like to share, please email us at
hospa@hospa.org with ‘Good Guests / Bad Guests’ in the subject line. Don’t worry, we can keep it anonymous if you prefer. We’ll be able to share more details as this project progresses, but in the meantime, we look forward to hearing your stories.
Over the past few years, we have witnessed a decline in wedding bookings and venue reservations. Our white paper wasn’t focused on weddings, but if you speak to hotels and other hospitality venues on a regular basis, you’ll find there’s a common experience that wedding bookings are down. But it’s not just anecdotal evidence, again, the stats back this up. Venue Performance’s benchmarking stats highlight that wedding bookings are in steady decline as are the number of guests in attendance. So, what is the cause here?
Of course, the cost of living is playing a large
factor. With everything getting more and more expensive, the budget for weddings is a big expense that people are reluctant to engage in. Economic uncertainty means people will opt for smaller celebrations or postpone it – potentially indefinitely. The pandemic is still having an impact here, too.
Post-pandemic there was a surge in wedding bookings as people took advantage of lifted restrictions to tie the knot. Now though, the boom has died down – and we’re into a curious phase where relationships that would traditionally be in the prime stage for a proposal are behind. Serious dating was tough during Covid – and there’s now a gap in the number of established couples who are ripe for a wedding. But is this a temporary lull or the signs of a broader malaise?
Social trends and attitudes towards marriage and relationships are changing, and this may also be contributing to this decline. Millennials and Gen Zs, in particular, are redefining traditional concepts of marriage, opting for more intimate and unconventional celebrations over large, extravagant weddings – or indeed not getting married at all. This shift in preferences has, naturally, led to a decrease in demand for traditional wedding venues and services. Of course, though, while the decline in wedding bookings presents challenges for the hospitality industry, it also opens up opportunities for innovation and adaptation – something our brilliant sector is so adept at. Hospitality businesses can explore new ways to attract couples, such as offering more flexible wedding packages, promoting smaller, more intimate celebrations, and embracing new trends in wedding styles and themes. Change breeds innovation and, with conferences, meetings and banquets picking up the wedding revenue slack, I’m sure we’ll see wedding offerings adapt too to ensure continued viability. At HOSPA, we’ll be looking to explore the decline in weddings in more detail in the coming months. ●
Conference revenue remains as a steady stream.
18 Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
Bogoshipda/
Shutterstock.com
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