Weddings - Hotel Banquet Cancellation

So...we're engaged.

*throw confetti*

Picture taken from Pininterest


In fact, it's already "old" news. We were looking for an ideal banquet venue for the past few months, much to the annoyance of the bf. He didn't quite understand why couples have to spend so much on throwing a banquet dinner (why must it be a hotel? why not just a chinese restaurant?) just to let friends and relatives whom you are not even close to, know that you are officially married. So we have to seek a compromise. We have decided not to go for the most atas hotel (No W, no Capella, no Ritz Carlton, no Mandarin Oriental or what have you). Besides, we didn't want to invite people for the sake of meeting the minimum number of tables to book the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. After spending a few months looking at a few hotels, we short-listed a few which satisfy my criteria of having a high ceiling so that it doesn't induce claustrophobia.

In March, the media reported that CASE (see here) is seeking guidelines on hotel wedding packages. Naturally, when we talked to the hoteliers, we asked them about it and we were usually told that their contracts are very fair and cancellation fees are to prevent people from making multiple bookings and only choosing one at the last minute. 

But charging couples 100% of the wedding package even when they cancel 8 months in advance?! 

In April, we actually signed an authorisation form with one hotel for their wedding banquet package deposit because we were not able to attend their wedding showcase. We were not in Singapore and we didn't even negotiate for a better deal. A few weeks later, the hotel emailed us the contract and my bf actually brought up about fairer contract terms for cancellation and we were told that their sales team cannot amend the contract terms without involving their legal team. All they could do is to include a paragraph that they would allow us to change the date of our wedding dinner, subject to availability, on compassionate grounds. No cancellation allowed. 

But seriously, who will actually take the trouble to book wedding venues, only to cancel it? Couples usually cancel wedding banquets because of compatibility issues that cropped up during the wedding planning process. Nobody wants to cancel such a major event for fun. Yet, at the same time, hotels usually encourage couples to book hotel venues early. As early as 1.5years ahead, especially if you are keen on having your wedding banquet on auspicious dates which also fall on weekends. Conclusion is, book early but if you have to cancel later, too bad for you! You want a better deal? Then book 2-3 months before your actual wedding day. Because you can only pick the "leftover" dates and hotels usually are more accommodating towards your needs and sometimes offer better packages. But who wants to leave such things to the last minute, unless it's a shotgun wedding? :(

Anyway, going back to our hotel banquet venue... We signed the pre-booking form, but we couldn't agree on the contract terms, especially when I found out from several friends that they too had their wedding at the same hotel, and they were all offered a complimentary 2nd night stay because they asked for it. I paid the deposit, but haven't sign the contract because contract are usually mailed to you a few weeks after you paid the deposit. I asked for the complimentary 2nd night stay and were given lame excuses that they couldn't offer me the same term because my friends and I were given different packages (liars!! I checked, and they ARE THE SAME! Their price per table was even lower since it was held a year before). Anyway we exchanged several emails with their catering director and when we finally met her in person, we were told that the complimentary 2nd night stay cannot be extended towards us because we chose a "hot" date and in fact they have several couples asking for the same date that we "pre-booked". We were told that the hotel has the best wedding package deal in Orchard and they are in fact quite popular. If we can opt for dates during the Qing Ming period or during the Lunar 7th Month, they will be willing to give us the 2nd night stay. I was mad furious because the catering director was so "yaya papaya". Told me that they had to reject couples who were looking at the same date as us. I think what I did next stun her. 

I told her, we were given the contract after paying the deposit. We signed the form before their wedding showcase without knowing we can negotiate for better deal on that day and since there are SO MANY couples wanting the same date, I told her she will not be making a loss if they reject us as potential clients and just save herself some trouble by giving the ballroom to another couple. JUST RETURN ME MY DEPOSIT. She was a little dumbfounded but acted composed and said she would do so but she wanted to give us time to consider before making that decision. Later that night, her assistant called and said they would give us the 2nd night stay if we trade in another complimentary thing in the package for it. My bf and I thought that the conversation we had with the catering director already left a bitter aftertaste and we can't be sure of their service standard given how arrogant their catering director acted. We decided to just quickly get back our MONEY!!! 

Sure this hotel has one of the better deals among all the hotels in the Orchard belt, but their service leaves a lot to be desired. We signed a wedding dinner package with another hotel one month later with much better service. But again, their contract terms cannot be changed for legal reasons. We were told that they would have to engage another lawyer to draw up another legal policy if they were to alter their contract terms. So to conclude, it's really not up to couples to negotiate for fairer terms as advised by CASE. Singapore Hotel Association or some minister has to step in to fight for fairer terms for consumers like us.