ESDlife Announces Survey Results of Cash Gift of Wedding Banquet Survey 2009

Sep , 16 2009

2009 Cash Gift Index of Wedding Banquet: $800 for Hotel and $500 for Restaurant
“Close Friendship” means 40% more Colleague pays least

[Hong Kong – 16 September 2009] ESDlife, Hong Kong’s No.1 Wedding Information Medium, has conducted an independent online survey “Cash Gift of Wedding Banquet Survey 2009” in end-July. 3,696 respondents were interviewed via the Wedding Channel of ESDlife (wedding.esdlife.com). The research revealed the current trend of cash gift for wedding banquet, aiming to understand the behavior of giveaway and set-up a cash gift index for Hong Kong people. It also served as a tool for wedding couples to estimate their expense in wedding banquet.

2009 Cash Gift Index of Wedding Banquet: $800 for Hotel & $500 for Restaurant, a Difference of 60%

According to ESDlife Cash Gift for Wedding Banquet Survey 2009, the medians of cash gift were HK$800 and HK$500 for wedding banquet in hotel and restaurant respectively, with a difference of 60%, while the averages were $795 and $563 respectively (Please refer to Table 1). “According to the Census and Statistics Department, 47,331 wedding couples registered in Hong Kong last year. Obviously, many local people were invited to attend various wedding banquets of relatives, friends and colleagues,” said Ms Desiree Lam, Content Manager of ESDlife and a wedding expert. “As a result, ESDlife has initiated the Cash Gift Index for Hong Kong people to estimate their expense in attending wedding banquets. And it certainly helps wedding couples to evaluate the amount of cash gift received and their economic status, when they consider the venue, menu and no. of tables for wedding banquets.” added Ms Lam.

Friendship with Couple is the Core Decision Factor Close Friendship means 40% More!

80% of respondents regarded “Friendship with Couple” as the most critical factor to judge the amount of cash gift of wedding banquet, followed by personal economic status (14%) and venue of wedding banquet (6%). Cash gift for couples with “Close Friendship” and “Average Friendship” averaged at HK$856 and HK$605 respectively, with a difference of HK$251 (42%) (Please refer to Table 2). It was also shown in the survey that no matter the wedding banquet was held in hotel or restaurant; respondents were willing to spend at least 40% more in cash gift for couple with close friendship (Please refer to Table 3).

Colleague Pays Least 16% Less than Relatives

The “relationship” between wedding couple and guest also affected the amount of cash gift. For “Relatives”, respondents were willing to pay HK$805 on average. “Friends” and “Colleagues” followed, averaged at HK$713 and HK$673 respectively. As indicated, colleague paid least in attending wedding banquet, with 16% less than relatives (Please refer to Table 3).

Smart planning in wedding banquet helps making money?!

By multiplying “average of cash gift“ (Please refer to Table 1) and “no. of guests per table” (i.e. 12 guests), the break-even points for wedding banquet in hotel and restaurant were HK$9,540 and HK$6,756 respectively, excluding the cash gift from absented guests. In other words, if the total expense per table (including beverage, service charge, etc.) is less than the respective break-even point, there is a high chance for wedding couple to record a surplus in wedding banquet.

Advice from Wedding Expert: Don’t Regard Cash Gift as Wedding Income!

“In traditional Chinese wedding culture, cash gift represents the blessings from the guest to the couple. Hence couples should not pre-set any expectations towards the amount of cash gift, or regard it as an income or even a way to make money,” said Ms Desiree Lam, Content Manager of ESDlife and a wedding expert. “Alternatively, I suggest wedding couples to well-plan their expense based on their capability, i.e. a detailed estimation on cash gift by evaluating the ratio & friendship of invited friends and relatives. Hence they can easily estimate the expense on wedding banquet after settling the food, beverage and other service charges,” added Ms Lam. To avoid any misunderstanding and conflict in the most treasured moment of your life, wedding couples should discuss openly with their families on cash gift arrangement.

The Brand-New wedding.esdlife.com Introduces Cash Gift Calculator

Fully-integrated with Web 2.0 concept, the brand-new wedding.esdlife.com is launched to offer an interactive platform for wedding couples. It keeps congregating the largest online wedding community in Hong Kong to share and discuss wedding preparation progress via blogs, photos, forum, etc. The revamped interface can help users to quickly identify the latest market trends, as well as sharing from other wedding couples. Furthermore, the brand-new content arrangement highlights the information that wedding couples are mostly interested, i.e. gowns, banquets, pre-wedding photos and wedding preparation, showcasing around 10,000 photos of wedding products and services. Real wedding interviews with celebrities, daily wedding news and jetso news are also strengthened to reinforce wedding.ESDlife as the No.1 Wedding Information Medium in Hong Kong.

wedding.ESDlife has also introduced “Cash Gift Calculator” for wedding couples. User can simply enter the type of venue (hotel/ restaurant), number of tables (colleagues, friends and relatives) and the cost per table to estimate their cash gift income and expense in wedding banquet. For details, please visit http://wedding.esdlife.com/articles/hotel-wedding-banquet/calculator/

Appendix

Table 1: 2009 Cash Gift Index of Wedding Banquet