Dear wedding clients,
We are absolutely delighted to send you our brand new 2022 wedding literature, please find the link below.
https://anyflip.com/yipog/ekpy/
Since the first Lockdown in March 2020 our Special Events wedding planning team have managed all ongoing circumstances via what is now a quite incredible 31 evolved phases of Policy, doing our absolute best for every single wedding client. As we are sure you can appreciate, couples with intended wedding dates have found themselves unexpectedly immersed in very significant and emotional challenges. In some circumstances we have seen clients change dates five times, but in nearly every single circumstance, dates have remained booked at Balbirnie House. Ongoing Policy updates are available via our website.
In repeating what I said with this letter last year, I can certainly say that the ongoing work from those in our wedding planning department, has been the single most profound effort in Hospitality, that I have ever seen at Balbirnie House, since I started here back in 1992.
On behalf of our entire brigade, our heartfelt thanks to every single client who has postponed bookings, and continued to hold dates. Due to so many of our clients postponing and holding dates, the 2022 calendar year now looks like it will be our busiest year in history for weddings.
As part of the ongoing Brexit challenges for hospitality, many of our industry colleagues are truly struggling to find staff, some by remote location even to the point where they have needed to close. Thankfully, we were able to promote from within, and Rebecca Harper took on the role as Balbirnie’s Talent and Culture Manager. We are surrounded by a significant local population, and throughout 2021 we have completely re-built our hotel brigade, to the position whereby we are completely fully staffed.
We have also made considerable investments into improving, streamlining and digitalising our entire recruitment, on-boarding and training systems. As I am always keen to point out to all prospective new wedding clients who I can personally have the pleasure of welcoming to Balbirnie, the past is the past, accumulated awards are historic, and we can only ever be judged on how well we can deliver today. That’s why these new investments are made, it’s simply our desire to be able to collectively deliver our absolute best warmth of welcome of Scotland hospitality for you and your guests.
And talking of awards, history in the making, we’re incredibly honoured, and so very humbled to have been asked to represent Scotland once again within Haute Grandeur global awards, new accolade received in 2021, ‘Best Wedding Hotel’, and that’s in the category best-in-world at global level. This is now Balbirnie’s fifth global hospitality award.
This Scottish hotel has been named the best in the world | The Scotsman
Due to recent works completed with multiple bedroom and bathroom refurbishments, it’s fair to say that the house itself is currently presented to its best level in history. Additionally, earlier this year we invested circa £250,000 across the span of our four kitchens. Fire Suppression systems have been installed in all kitchens, very obviously increasing the safeguarding of Balbirnie House itself, as a Category A Listed 1777 national treasure.
As is always the case each year, and as per all previous literature and all client contracts, our company directors require to consider the generalities of pricing each year, across our span of national inflation, rises in national wage levels, and increases across our entire network of 45 suppliers. This year the entire hospitality sector is also contending with many unprecedented financial challenges arising specifically from the combination of Brexit and the global pandemic. For further reference, see links to articles below.
The entire hospitality sector is certainly experiencing supply chain issues, and pricing increases which are significantly beyond normality. Utility energy costs are also increasing. And fundamentally, national minimum / national living wage levels are set to increase in April 2022, in a band broadly speaking applicable to Balbirnie House mostly at between 6.6% and 9.8%, meaning therefore that hospitality supervisory roles pro rata will also increase as well.
With complete focus from our management team, and despite facing all these ongoing truly remarkable price increases, we are still nevertheless creatively able to deliver pricing beneath the inflation levels which are now being defined across the span of hospitality.
Some of the stepped pricing increases we have experienced over the last 18 months have been quite staggering. Whilst we do reserve the right to need to increase pricing for any menu item at any time, this is something which we have never ever needed to do. We very much hope that as we progress into the next new financial year on 1st May 2022, that we will be able to similarly maintain all pricing for the following 12 months for which all new wedding literature is applicable.
Please also note, given the success of the 2020 summer May to September Evening Buffet BBQ season, we have maintained that pricing further, to endeavour to make this aspect even more popular in 2022.
In 2021 Balbirnie became the first hotel to deliver a complete professionally-photographed online banqueting compendium. https://anyflip.com/dpgfn/rsvm/
Please
bear with us, we are now scheduling to update this with all of our brand new
menus. We will of course let you know when this goes live.
Our wedding literature has now grown to circa 25,000 words, noted this is before we even embark on our client-specific journey.
Well, bring on the celebrations, and we cannot wait to welcome you to Balbirnie House for your wedding day.
With our kindest regards, and all best wishes for the future,
Nicholas Russell
MD / owner – Balbirnie House
UK hospitality sector struggling under 18% inflation rate | Scottish Financial News
Highland hotels forced to shut due to lack of staff post-Brexit | The National
https://www.thecaterer.com/news/hospitality-price-rises-inflation-kate-nicholls-ukhospitality
