Festive cheer for Singapore’s F&B scene as reservations roll in earlier than last year

DESPITE year-end outbound travel, December remains the season to be jolly for Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) scene, with hotels and restaurants seeing earlier bookings than last year.

Seats for the Christmas and New Year season are being filled sooner. As at mid-December, many players are at or approaching full capacity for the festive period.

Demand for Hilton Singapore Orchard’s buffet restaurant Estate has improved year on year (yoy), said hotel manager Linda Reddy, who attributed this to fewer locals prioritising revenge travel.

Dinner bookings have been at 85 per cent capacity for December overall, and from Dec 18, “multiple dates leading up to Christmas” are at full capacity.

This year saw “an earlier surge in demand” with key festive dates fully booked nearly a month beforehand, in contrast to last year when some reservations were made just two days prior.

There was “heightened interest” even before the festive offerings were announced, Reddy added.

Similarly, F&B bookings for Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) started coming in the final week of November.

Bookings have been “much more front-loaded”, compared to last year when bookings “came in steadily throughout December, with a peak mid-month”, said a spokesperson.

Many of PPHG’s restaurants are “nearing full capacity” in December, at more than 90 per cent booked.

Jacqueline Poey, general manager at Sofitel Singapore City Centre, believes in-person dining demand has rebounded to pre-Covid levels.

Despite an expectation of slightly lower visitor numbers this year than in 2019, and a greater interest in outbound travel, people are still willing to spend during the holiday season, she said.

Racines at Sofitel is fully booked on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and approaching full capacity for the rest of December.

Most bookings were made in November. This year, more reservations came in during the first two weeks of that month, “with the restaurant filling up faster, an indication of more guests making their merrymaking plans earlier”, said Poey.

In contrast, Sky22 at Courtyard by Marriott Singapore Novena is “still open for booking”, as it opened just in time for celebrations on Dec 18 after renovations, said John Chye, the hotel’s F&B director. But bookings are already “picking up well”, with the restaurant close to 70 per cent booked for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Demand is similar to that of last year, as bookings “typically flow in more steadily towards mid-December as guests firm up their festive plans”, he added. Sky22 should reach full capacity as the festive period draws closer, Chye added.

At OUE Restaurants Group’s HighHouse and Nova, demand “is just as good as last year”, said general manager Wayne Lee.

Bookings at rooftop bar Nova have been “very consistent” across December, with New Year’s Eve fully booked.

At HighHouse, a restaurant by day and nightlife spot by night, dinner bookings “have been picking up in the last two weeks”, while general admission tickets for its parties are selling fast. Overall, it is about 70 per cent full, and Lee expects walk-in guests to fill the remainder.

No travel-led gloom

While Singapore-based diners continue to make up the bulk of bookings, F&B establishments also see healthy demand from tourists.

The rise in inbound tourism has contributed significantly to demand at Sky22, which is seeing a “more balanced demand” between locals and tourists this year.

“While some local guests may be on holiday during this time, the influx of tourists indulging in festive dinners has helped sustain strong demand,” its spokesperson said.

Emmanuel Stroobant, chef-owner of French fine dining restaurant Saint Pierre, said: “While many Singaporeans are travelling in December, we are still seeing a steady flow of tourists visiting Singapore during this period.”

By mid-November, all tables were fully booked for Christmas Eve dinner, with reservations made as early as October. For New Year’s Eve dinner, the final slot was filled in mid-December.

For Christmas Eve, about 70 per cent of reservations are from locals, down from 75 per cent in 2023. For New Year’s Eve, around 60 per cent of bookings are from locals, up from 50 per cent.

While both nights were also fully booked last year, overall demand this December is much stronger, said Stroobant.

He noted a 200 per cent increase in bookings for the entire restaurant – primarily for company dinners and celebrations – as well as larger groups of four, six and more.

“On certain days, we are operating at near full capacity,” he said.

Racines – located in the central business district – has also seen a rise in corporate lunches for Christmas and year-end celebrations.

In general, Sky22 has seen a rise in business lunches and company gatherings on weekdays, likely due to the shift away from work-from-home arrangements, said the Courtyard by Marriott spokesperson.

He expects a similar uptick in corporate dinners during the festive season.

OUE Restaurants Group has also seen more corporate dining.

“We’ve had an average of one corporate buyout a day since the start of October,” said Lee.

Seasonal splurge

Some F&B players noted stronger spending by diners, not just corporates.

For HighHouse and Nova, table spend by regular diners has increased by about 10 per cent compared to last December.

Hilton’s Reddy has noticed “a consistent and upward trend in spending power”, with guests spending more this Christmas season compared to both regular days and last year’s season.

Though its festive buffet prices have gone up slightly yoy, there is “a more substantial number of reservations”.

She believes this is due to Estate’s positioning as a top buffet destination providing “exceptional value for money”.

PPHG also noted that guests are “placing greater emphasis on value”.

At Saint Pierre, both diners and corporates seem more financially cautious.

“Spending power remains high among our upper-middle to high-income customers, who tend not to cut back when it comes to celebrating festive occasions like Christmas and New Year,” said Stroobant.

But he added: “Diners are definitely not splurging in the same way as before Covid.”

Pre-Covid, the restaurant hosted corporate events every other day in December. But companies have since tightened their purse strings.

Companies were more cautious in spending on corporate entertainment last year, and some “are scaling back even more this year”, the chef-owner said.

“In view of that, we have kept the prices of our festive menus the same as in 2023, despite rising manpower and operational costs.”

A time for takeaway?

Saint Pierre, which has been offering festive takeaways for over 20 years, recorded a 35 per cent jump in takeaway orders this year, largely led by regular customers.

Stroobant highlighted a growing demand for at-home dining this year, which prompted the restaurant to launch a luxury modern kaiseki catering service in August, designed for private gatherings.

The service “has been especially popular during the festive season, when people prefer to entertain family and friends without the hassle of cooking”, he said.

Sofitel’s Poey, however, has seen a shift in favour of dining out over stay-home celebrations, at least for the festive season.

Courtyard by Marriott’s spokesperson concurred: “There is still an obvious shift in guest preferences, with a greater focus on quality dining experiences and fewer orders for takeaways than in the past.”