Dear, has the hotel got back on our wedding dates?

The big fat traditional Indian wedding is growing more spectacular, thanks to an increasing number of the country's rich rewriting the rules. And the one to enjoy the bigger piece of the pie is the hospitality sector, be it a peak season or lean.

While there are likes of recently-held high-profile weddings such as Bollywood actor Salman Khan's sister Arpita's estimated Rs 2-crore bash at Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad or London-based Hinduja scion Sanjay's estimated Rs 100-crore gala at Jagmandir Island Palace on Lake Pichola (owned by Historic Resort Hotels – a chain of heritage palace-hotels and resorts), not everyone needs to shell out a fortune to get married at an upscale or luxury hotel venue.

Some of the properties which are also seeing a windfall from the growing wedding clientele include Fort Jadhavgadh and Orchid Mumbai by the owner of Kamat Hotels, properties from The Lalit Suri Hospitality group such as The Lalit Golf and Spa Resort Goa, The Lalit Resort and Spa Bekal, The Lalit Laxmivilas Palace Udaipur and The Lalit Temple View Khajuraho. Even Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and Sofitel Mumbai by the French hospitality chain Accor are also catching up with those looking for grand ceremonies.

According to Ravindra Kumar, general manager, corporate food & beverage, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, "Indian weddings are turning out to be a huge market segment that has been encouraged by the spending powers of high net worth individuals who are growing in numbers. Even during economic downturns, weddings remain a stable business as it is once-in-a-lifetime event."

He said that currently the Indian wedding industry is over Rs 1 lakh crore and is growing at 25 to 30 per cent annually. Of this, the hospitality industry is estimated to be enjoying a share of around Rs 8,000-10,000 crore.
Vishal Kamat, promoter, Kamat Hotels, said, "This has always been an important market. But with weddings becoming more extravagant and Bollywood-like, these are no more simple affairs."

According to an industry expert, this is one segment that does not have any peak or lean season and gets bookings almost round the year. "Weddings are huge affairs and an important segment for the industry. Depending on the destinations such as Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala, Mumbai and even Delhi, weddings can contribute to as much as 30-40% of the businesses for some properties," the expert said.

However, Nikhil Dhodapkar, regional director sales & marketing – Accor India, feels the segment is yet to mature. "The industry is still at a nascent stage. But we at Accor create great wedding experiences for our guests, be it destination weddings, or otherwise," he said.

While wedding can be just a one-day event for some, it can stretch to 2-3 days or even more for others, starting with engagement, mehndi, sangeet, cocktail and bachelor's party till the ultimate D-day.

Kumar of The Lalit Hotels, too, pointed out that a property, on an average, gets booked for 2-3 days per wedding.

Weddings also make for a better exposure of "hotel brands" with a large number of guests in attendance on a given day. It has a higher visibility than any corporate event and there are add-on incomes coming from decorations, flower requirements, gifts for 'baraatis', etc. The hotels also offer pre/post-wedding packages, including those for visitors. For example, The Lalit Resort & Spa Bekal has a grooming package encapsulating weight loss, detoxification and rejuvenation for brides-to-be.

"The wedding segment has contributed largely to the group in terms of value addition and overall revenue. To meet the growing demand of high-end catering, The Lalit even launched a separate vertical called 'The Lalit Food Truck Company', which caters to venues other than the group's hotels," Kumar said.

The group has 11 operational properties across India offering wedding destinations ranging from resorts with private beaches, regal weddings with sprawling gardens and city hotels.

But, how expensive a wedding event can be? "It varies from hotel to hotel, based on the requirements of the guests and families. While some look for banqueting and food & beverage arrangements, some want the hotel to be the event-managers," he points out.