Wet weather dampens spirits for some F&B businesses as year-end festivities enter full swing

SINGAPORE: Rain or shine, the numerous restaurants and bars on Sentosa’s Siloso Beach are open for business.

Food and beverage outlets along the stretch usually see more visitors during the year-end peak holiday season, especially with group bookings for personal and business events such as Christmas parties or corporate dinners.

But wet weather in recent weeks has been a downer for these businesses.

Rumours Beach Club, for instance, has seen up to half its customers cancel reservations during persistent periods of rain.

The usually busy establishment, which can accommodate about 500 people outdoors, specialises in serving Indonesian Jimbaran cuisine.

“For us at the beachfront … everybody is much more in anticipation of weather issues,” said operations director Stefano Alvin Manafe.

“We are trying our best to accommodate (customers) and provide shelter as much as possible.”

Most of its premises are outdoors, including three swimming pools. The club erects portable tents to provide temporary relief for patrons when it pours.

It is also looking to build more permanent shelters for its diners to supplement its indoor seating of about 100.

Mr Manafe added that it is difficult to manage manpower as weather predictions can be inaccurate.

The club reduces staffing by about 20 per cent during rainy days, but has to scramble for reinforcements in the form of part-timers when the sun unexpectedly emerges again.

On the bright side, he said Sentosa helps in increasing footfall by organising activities to attract visitors, such as music events and the ongoing GrillFest – a street culinary experience that ends this Sunday (Dec 8).

INDOOR F&B AFFECTED TOO

Some dining establishments located indoors have not been spared from the wet weather either.

At Indonesian restaurant Pondok Jawa Timur, the number of walk-in diners dropped by about 15 per cent, while delivery orders are down 30 per cent this rainy season.

The eatery in Far East Plaza – a standalone mall along the Orchard shopping belt – said the mall’s location without sheltered walkways to MRT stations means customers are less inclined to visit when it pours.

Delivery riders are also less willing to pick up orders on rainy days, incurring longer delivery time and higher costs for customers, it added.

Co-owner Jefferson Tandanu said the restaurant is exploring ways to keep costs down, including sourcing cheaper ingredients.

“Maybe we try to get lower cost items … but (with) the same quality. Like chicken suppliers – we try to ask for bulk discounts. We try to ensure that our products are cost effective, but (at the same time) value to customers,” he said.

UNLIKELY TO DAMPEN BUSINESS: ASSOCIATION

An association representing the F&B industry is optimistic the wet weather will not dampen year-end festivities.

In fact, the cooler weather may even encourage people to head out to shop and dine, said Mr Wei Chan, honorary secretary of the Restaurant Association of Singapore. 

"(Many businesses) are having Christmas promotions and discounts for the festive periods, so that should hype up (the crowd) a little bit. And it's all year-end, right? People are more willing to spend,” he added.

He suggested that F&B businesses can work with corporate events and service platforms, and offer rainy day discounts and other incentives to entice customers.  

He expects festive promotions to last all the way to Chinese New Year in end-January.

While Mr Chan also acknowledged that eateries with alfresco dining areas are more likely to be impacted by adverse weather, he said establishments should have contingencies in place by now.

“Every year-end is a foul weather period. This is not new to the industry. Businesses have long been dealing with this matter … they would have built their own models around it,” he said.