Hotel Buffet Prices Raised Twice Since Early Year
Some Hotels Increased Prices Twice This Year
"Reflecting Rising Food Material Costs"
Criticism Over Price Alignment
Hotel buffet prices have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the year. Some hotels have raised prices twice this year alone. While this is explained as an unavoidable measure reflecting rising food ingredient costs, there are also criticisms that it is a ‘price matching’ move among competing hotels timed to coincide with the explosive demand during the endemic (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases).
According to the hotel industry on the 19th, Constance, a luxury collection hotel and one of the most expensive hotel buffet restaurants in Korea, located at Josun Palace Seoul Gangnam, uniformly raised the dinner and weekend/holiday lunch prices for adults to 165,000 KRW from the 1st of this month. This represents an increase of up to 22.2%. Weekday lunch prices rose 16.0% from 125,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW.
The Westin Josun Seoul’s Aria raised its Friday and weekend/holiday dinner prices from 145,000 KRW to 150,000 KRW on the same day, a 3.4% increase. Aria had already raised buffet prices during this time slot from 135,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW by 7.4% in January. With two increases, the total price hike this year reached 11.1%. Walkerhill Hotel & Resort’s The Buffet also raised buffet prices twice this year. From the 1st of last month, weekend dinner prices increased from 131,000 KRW to 143,000 KRW. This came just over three months after the price rose from 122,000 KRW to 131,000 KRW at the beginning of the year. The total increase this year is about 17.2%.
Along with Aria, Seoul’s three major hotel buffets, The Parkview at Seoul Shilla Hotel and La Seine at Lotte Hotel Seoul, also raised prices simultaneously at the beginning of the year. The Parkview raised its adult dinner buffet price by 20.2% in February, from 129,000 KRW to 155,000 KRW. Weekday lunch prices rose from 119,000 KRW to 140,000 KRW, and weekend/holiday lunch prices increased from 122,000 KRW to 145,000 KRW. La Seine raised weekend and dinner buffet prices in January by 16.3%, from 129,000 KRW to 150,000 KRW for adults. Lunch prices increased by 28.6%, from 105,000 KRW to 135,000 KRW.
In addition, most major hotel buffets in Seoul, including Grand Kitchen at Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas and Seven Square at Plaza Hotel, have raised prices this year. The 63 Buffet Pavilion also raised its dinner price to 130,000 KRW this month.
Ten years ago in 2012, hotel buffet prices were close to 100,000 KRW, with a maximum of 99,000 KRW. Since then, prices have increased by about 5% annually on average, but this year’s increase rate has soared to as much as 28% (based on lunch prices). The hotel industry commonly agrees that price hikes are inevitable due to continuous rises in raw material costs. They also explain that menu revisions tailored to customer demands are being made alongside the price increases.
However, some voices criticize that certain hotels have raised prices significantly more than in previous years, and other hotels have followed suit within a few months, resulting in what appears to be a coordinated price matching among hotel buffets. A representative from the dining industry said, "Even during the severe COVID-19 period, hotel buffets were so popular that reservations were hard to get each season. Raising prices again to normalize them upward at the time of explosive demand coinciding with the endemic and peak season will be a burden for consumers."
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