Corporate bookings, shorter festive lead-up boost CNY dining demand
But competition has become stiffer with more options for consumers, say operators
SINGAPORE’S restaurants and hotels are seeing strong Chinese New Year (CNY) dining demand this year, fuelled by corporate bookings and a shorter lead-up to the festive period.
Estate Restaurant at Hilton Singapore Orchard has seen a nearly 40 per cent increase in dining covers for its lunch and dinner buffets across the CNY Eve and the first four days of the festive period, compared with 2024.
A spokesperson said this could be due to a shorter period between Jan 1 and CNY, which falls on Jan 29 this year – two weeks earlier than in 2024. This “compressed the usual demand” into fewer days, boosting daily covers.
Much of Estate Restaurant’s CNY demand this year comes from corporate bookings, driven by companies holding events at the hotel and flying employees in, the spokesperson added.
As businesses “tend to celebrate in advance”, the restaurant has seen a 32 per cent increase in corporate dining covers in the three weeks leading up to CNY this year, compared with 2024.
The Singapore Expo has also experienced higher demand for corporate packages this festive period compared with last year, said Ng Sim Lim, vice-president of sales at Constellar, which manages the venue.
The Expo began offering banquet- and buffet-style CNY packages in 2023, after noticing a post-Covid rise in corporate dining inquiries for festive dates. These packages include elements such as lion dances and live cooking stations.
With reservations streaming in since December, The Expo’s slots across the first five days of the 15-day CNY period have been fully booked.
At Sofitel Singapore City Centre’s Racines Restaurant, CNY demand from corporates has “remained strong”, said Jacqueline Poey, the hotel’s general manager.
Reunion dinner slots have also been snapped up more quickly this year.
At Tung Lok Group, all reunion dinner slots across its restaurants have been taken up. Some restaurants were fully booked as early as three months in advance, earlier than in 2024, said Carolyn Tan, the group’s senior vice-president overseeing business development.
Similar to 2024, Peach Garden Group’s reunion dinner slots were fully booked three weeks before the eve of CNY, said managing director Darren Yew.
At Orchard Hotel Singapore’s Hua Ting Restaurant, many regulars secured reservations a year in advance, “immediately” after their reunion dinners in 2024, said Jacqueline Ho, the hotel’s general manager.
Overall bookings for Hua Ting across the CNY period have trended up by 5 to 10 per cent, compared with 2024.
More competition, cutting back
While demand is high this year, so is competition.
“The market now offers more CNY reunion options and new competitors, which have created greater choice for customers,” said Terence Wong, senior manager for marketing communications at family restaurant chain Dian Xiao Er.
Besides introducing new dishes for CNY set menus, the chain has expanded beyond dine-in offerings, launching retail sales of duck bak kwa in the lead-up to the festive period.
Wong noted that many restaurants began taking reunion dinner reservations as early as last October. Dian Xiao Er did so only from mid-December, but all its reunion dinner slots were fully booked in less than a month.
Slots at the chain’s newest Great World outlet – which opened on Dec 30 last year – were fully booked within two weeks.
In contrast, White Restaurant has seen a slower pace of bookings for CNY Eve this year. The restaurant chain’s CEO, Victor Tay, thinks this may be due to greater competition.
While the chain’s 6 pm reunion dinner slots are almost fully booked, reservations for its off-peak slots at 4.15 pm and 7.45 pm are down 30 per cent from 2024 levels. With more food and beverage brands in the market, diners now have more options for securing regular time slots for their reunion dinners, he said.
About 60 per cent of White Restaurant’s off-peak reunion dinner slots have been filled. Tay is hopeful that bookings will stream in at the last minute, with the chain offering a 10 to 15 per cent discount for these timings to attract more customers.
White Restaurant has also observed more families opting for its “mid-tier” menus this year, which cost 10 per cent less than its “higher-tier” menus.
Companies, too, seem to be prioritising value.
At Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant at Carlton Hotel Singapore, corporates appear to be “slightly more cautious” with their alcohol purchases this year, with more opting for bring-your-own-bottle arrangements, said Darren Ware, the hotel’s general manager.
Tung Lok Group already witnessed such shifts in spending last year, following the goods and services tax hike to 9 per cent, said Tan. In response, the group has created more CNY set menus this year, tailored to different corporate budgets.
As Dian Xiao Er’s Wong sees it, growing cost-consciousness “has driven more celebrations to accessible venues”. This has benefited the family restaurant chain, which had a 20 per cent jump in corporate inquiries for CNY gatherings this year.
Said Wong: “The economic climate has prompted companies to opt for more cost-effective options like us, rather than hosting their celebrations at higher-cost hotel restaurants.”
