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SINGAPORE – While Covid-19 may have damaged the food and beverage business last year, restaurants enjoyed a burst of activity in December, with more bookings made compared to a year ago, before the pandemic hit.
Food and beverage players said it reflects a recovery in consumer confidence and is likely the result of Covid-19 affecting year-end plans, including travel.
This also comes as the first weekend of phase three of Singapore’s reopening allowed people to eat out in larger groups of up to eight instead of five previously. The third phase began on December 28.
The actual impact on sales is not yet clear as official figures for December are not yet available. But online food-booking site Chope Singapore said reservations made on its platform jumped 41 percent last month from a year earlier.
It follows a trend that the site began to see from September to the end of the year in which 2020 bookings began to exceed 2019 bookings. Bookings also increased 36% on average from September to December.
Chope’s general manager, Miss Jean Wee, said this happened at a time when people were looking forward to the end of the year festivities.
“The fourth quarter tends to be an active quarter for us, and this year was no different, particularly with the return of consumer confidence and increased demand after the circuit breaker,” said Miss Wee, referring to the circuit period of two months that started in early April.
Eateries explained that Covid-19 travel sidewalks could have led some customers to book restaurants.
Si Chuan Dou Hua restaurant, bar and events director Linda Loke said 70 percent of her restaurants were full last month.
“Bookings in 2020 seem to be faster than previous ones and bookings have been made earlier. This is probably due to the fact that people will not travel as much,” he said.
Ricky Ng, owner of Blue Lotus Chinese Eating House and Opio Kitchen and Bar, said his restaurants received more bookings for the year-end period compared to 2019.
He believes it was likely due to fewer New Year’s Eve activities during the pandemic, prompting more people to choose to celebrate in restaurants.
Due to bad times for F&B, some restaurants are also doing more promotions, which could have propped up the business.
While the latest government figures show that food and beverage service sales increased 5.6 percent in October compared to September, October sales were still down 23.5 percent from the previous year.
Andrew Tjioe, Chairman and CEO of Tung Lok Group, which owns Asian and Western restaurants, said that in the past, Chinese restaurants didn’t make much effort to promote Christmas business, “as we thought customers would prefer to dine at Western restaurants. . or hotels “.
But last year, his Chinese restaurants launched Christmas and New Year menus due to the crisis in the midst of the pandemic and he was surprised that the acceptance rate was so high.
“Last year, we received a lot of cancellations when Covid-19 was new. Sentiments are different now due to safe distancing measures and Singaporeans are more familiar with Covid-19,” he added.
Still, Wei Chan, the honorary secretary of the Singapore Restaurant Association, said restaurants can appear crowded because with secure management measures still in place during phase three, F&B companies are not operating at full capacity for customers. who dine on the premises.
Measures, such as having a distance of 1 m between groups of diners, mean that restaurants cannot accept more customers at their facilities than before the pandemic, which can also make it difficult for walk-ins to get a seat. This may also partly explain why more people are able to make reservations, the restaurants said.
With more diners arriving, restaurants are also taking steps to provide a safe and enjoyable experience.
Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts installed sneeze guards in open kitchens to prevent contamination and frequently disinfects high-touch points, such as countertops, tables and chairs, with hospital-grade disinfectant.
The restaurant also increased its workforce by 30 percent to serve more diners.
The year-end increase could also have an effect in early 2021.
Miss Wee de Chope said the first quarter of the year tends to be slower in terms of bookings, barring the peaks around Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.
“However, with leisure travel restricted for now, consumers are looking for places to indulge themselves, and food is one that can evoke travel, but also remains a meaningful way to connect even in tough times,” he said .
For now, some restaurants are already taking reservations for the Chinese New Year.
Si Chuan Dou Hua said that 70 percent of his restaurants were full by the Chinese New Year in February.
Goodwood Park Hotel said its Min Jiang restaurants in the hotel and in Dempsey are almost full on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Reservations also arrive quickly for the first two days of the Chinese New Year, February 12 and 13.
Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts is 90% full on February 11 and reserved at 50% for the remainder of the holiday period.
For 38-year-old private rental driver Adrian Ang, not being able to travel abroad meant his family celebrated his father’s 70th birthday here at a restaurant to “have a great, good meal together.”
He booked a dinner for eight with his family at a Si Chuan Dou Hua restaurant on December 29.
“As it is a birthday celebration, I waited for Singapore to enter phase three so I could have eight people at the table,” he said.
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