Budget restraints curb notorious lavish events

Traditionally-lavish events in the Middle East are today being “toned down” because of budget restrictions, industry experts have claimed.

At Al Faisaliah Hotel, A Rosewood Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, director of sales and marketing Khaled Al-Idrissi has noted a trend for thinking more economically regarding events.

“Some of our weddings are not as lavish as they once were; people will choose a toned-down theme which is more economically viable,” he said.

“Some events will even be put on in the hotel without a budget for further decorations — but our Prince Sultan Grand Hall and the Al Omsiat Ballroom are both fully furnished, so this does not affect the overall success of the event.

“Despite the current economic climate, all of our guests who are hosting large scale events remain extremely satisfied and we do everything we can to stretch budgets as far as they can go,” added Al-Idrissi.

D’Events managing director Lucy d’Abo added that “bigger budgets don’t always equal a bigger success”, saying it was up to organisers to ensure tighter budgets did not “hinder an event”.

“This may mean re-considering the number of people attending, the format for the event, the content and the venue,” she said.

According to d’Abo, the success of an event should be measured against a tailor-made ROI outline, developed by the client and the agency together prior to work commencing on the project.

“This allows both parties to be very clear about their expectations and what the benchmarks for success should be,” she said.

According to Jaya Java, director of full-service events agency Artaaj, “budgets may be down — but client expectations are definitely up”.

“Lately, the briefs we have received are quite ambitious with regards to the budget allocations,” she noted. “But if we want the business, it’s our challenge to try and deliver our proposals — and eventually a stunning event — within the budget.”

But Salt & Pepper managing director Philip Westphal said today’s clients could be over-ambitious regarding how far a budget would stretch.

“If they want to have a big stage with lots of technical equipment and the budget is just not there, then I would rather say no because it’s not only the client’s reputation on the line, it’s ours as well,” he noted.

“We would never take on an event then make sacrifices because of the cost. If we don’t feel we can bring the Salt & Pepper standard to the event, then we would rather not execute it.”

However Westphal added that, as well as tighter budgets, the market was also seeing lower product prices.

“At the end of the day, everyone felt the crunch, so suppliers had to reduce their prices as well,” he pointed out.