COVID-19 Resurgence
Dining Out for Company Gatherings Abandoned
Polarized Atmosphere in the Food Service Market
# A, who works at an IT company in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, recently canceled the year-end team dinner. Although all four team members had completed their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and with the phased return to normal life (With COVID) underway, they had reserved a Korean BBQ restaurant near the office for a year-end party, but ultimately decided to cancel due to the recent alarming surge in confirmed cases.
# B, a housewife living in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, had her eye on a hotel buffet in Jung-gu, a family dining spot she had avoided for over two years, and called to make a reservation, only to be told that it was fully booked. She had no choice but to put her name on the waiting list and is preparing a home party as a backup plan.
On the 1st, as the daily number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 5,000 for the first time ever, signaling a serious resurgence, the year-end dining market is showing a polarized atmosphere. While restaurants in office-dense areas, which seemed to be bustling again under With COVID conditions, are receiving cancellation calls, hotel buffets and fine dining establishments are struggling with fully booked dates and long waiting lists.
◆Luxury Hotels Fully Booked with Waiting Lists
Major hotel buffets in Seoul are all on waiting lists for key dates this month, including Christmas and year-end. The situations at Lotte Hotel Seoul’s La Seine, The Parkview at The Shilla Seoul, and Aria at The Westin Chosun Seoul are all similar. A hotel official said, "We even get inquiries asking if seats can be arranged through acquaintances working at the hotel," adding, "Not only Christmas and year-end, but weekdays are also fully booked except for cancellations." Another hotel representative also said, "Waiting lists are long on major dates, making it difficult to secure reservations on desired dates," and added, "This is quite different from the room situation, which is still mainly operated for domestic customers and has limitations in reversing the atmosphere."
These buffets have temporarily raised prices for the December peak season. La Seine increased its dinner buffet price from 129,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW per adult this month. From December 24 to 26, the price is 159,000 KRW. The Parkview’s price also rose from 129,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW this month, and will be further increased to 159,000 KRW from the 13th through the year-end. Aria’s price changed from 135,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW on weekdays and 150,000 KRW on weekends this month. Hotels explained that buffet prices were temporarily raised to offer a variety of special menus during the busy year-end gathering season.
◆Despite High Prices, Hotel Dining Popular; Polarization Deepens
Industry insiders believe that after holding back for so long, the arrival of With COVID has created a mindset where people no longer want to delay hotel dining, combined with the perception that hotel restaurants are relatively less crowded and strictly manage quarantine measures, leading to even waiting lists despite high prices. Most of these buffets are operating at about 80% of their usual seating capacity. While purchasing desire and spending power are sufficient, the ongoing COVID-19 situation, with repeated resurgences over two years, has caused polarization in the dining market.
High-priced 'Gala Dinners' from hotel brands are also selling well. The collaborative dinner between Plaza Hotel’s Dowon and Juok, priced at 380,000 KRW per meal, is nearly fully booked with only a few seats left. The collaboration lunch and dinner between Michael by Haevichi and Millieu, operated by Haevichi Hotel & Resort, also show high reservation rates. Analysts say this is due to the appeal of experiencing collaboration courses by famous chefs from each restaurant, which are not usually available, and the willingness to open wallets for special meals with special people during the year-end season.
An official from the dining industry said, "Restaurants, which seemed to be breathing easier with With COVID, are worried again about the possibility of strengthened social distancing," adding, "Year-end is one of the busiest seasons of the year, and we can only hope that the variant virus does not trigger another phase."
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