With the continued improvement in the epidemiological indicators the wedding and events halls are abuzz with activity once again after the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic brought life to standstill for more than 18 months.
Since early yesterday morning, the owners of wedding and events halls were seen busy cleaning and renovating and replacing old furniture in the hope of making good their losses.
The owner of the “Al Ostoura” hall, Ali Al Noman, said, “As soon as the decision was issued to organize weddings and social events, “we and some of the owners of the halls began to replace the furniture, interior decoration and lighting. He stressed his keenness to provide the best and the latest during events.
He added, “We hope for good business to compensate for the loss we endured during the pandemic in the form of rents and salaries of workers.”
He expects the demand for reservations of wedding halls to be high, as evidenced by the fact that many event owners were trying to book for the New Year, and we refused because we do not want to take risks or get into problems before the approval of the Council of Ministers was issued.
As for prices, Al-Noman says this depends on the hospitality, catering and services companies that we deal with. If their prices are the same, the old prices will remain unchanged or increased.
The owner of one of the halls, Salem Al-Shammari, said he is happy with the decision of the Council of Ministers, which he called ‘long-awaited’ to declare the country ‘normal’ in the face of Corona pandemic and the desire of everyone to return to normal life, and to hold weddings and other functions (with caution) with family and friends.
Al-Shammari pointed out that the closure, which lasted for about a year and a half, cost the hall owners huge financial losses in terms of labor wages and rents for offices and stores, in addition to the damage to the furniture and air-conditioning units, electrical fitting and others which have to be replaced.
Officials in the hotel sector welcomed the cabinet’s decision to allow the holding of conferences, weddings and social events, provided that their attendance is limited to those who have been vaccination, stressing that this step will restore the sector’s spirit, especially since wedding and conference halls contribute about 40 percent of hotel revenues.
