OYO’s Weddingz.in has witnessed close to 60 per cent of its pre-Covid demand coming back over the last one month. However, actual bookings would depend on the easing of government policies allowing a gradual increase in the pax size attending these events.

According to Sandeep Lodha, CEO, Weddingz.in , a number of marriages and events were slated during April-June were rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have not been cancelled as yet. People are waiting for some policy guidelines from the government before taking a final decision.

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“The events that were rescheduled earlier might get rescheduled further or cancelled depending on how things ease, moving forward, and how comfortable the guests are in terms of attending such events. While we have been witnessing 60 per cent of our pre-Covid demand in terms of enquiries, a lot of customers, however, are not booking as they are holding on to see what the government does in terms of policy,” Lodha told BusinessLine .

Weddingz.in had managed close to 25,000 events during the calendar year 2019. It would be difficult to ascertain the number of events the company would register this year since a number of customers who had rescheduled have still not gone away. However, it is expected to be lower than last year both in terms of number and the ticket size, he said.

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‘Wz Safe’ programme

The Indian wedding industry is estimated to be close to $50 billion and had been growing at 15-20 per cent on a year-on-year basis pre-Covid.

According to Lodha, the growth is expected to be muted this year as well as next year. But if the pandemic is brought under control in 2021, then the sector could start growing in 2022.

 

“Things are picking up, we are seeing some green shoots. Wedding pax size is slowly increasing and it will continue to go up, moving forward, but with all safety measures and protocols in place,” he said.

With a view to ensure the safety of hosts, guests and partners, Weddingz.in has rolled out the ‘Wz Safe’ programme under which it has implemented safety standards at over 1,250 venues in 50 cities across India. It has devised a check list to be implemented by its venue partners to ensure that hygiene, cleanliness, minimum-touch SOP (standard operating procedure), and safety precautions are followed across venues.

Destination wedding

Meanwhile, the company has registered an increased demand for destination wedding or resort weddings among consumers in the recent past.

“People who would have invited around 400 guests for their wedding are now permitted to invite only 100. With the reduction in guest list there is some savings that is happening. Now some customers are looking to take a resort in a city or move to a nearby destination for their wedding,” he said.

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