Hotels in Fife working round clock to reschedule wedding bookings

A number of local venues have been busy rescheduling bookings, transferring deposits or even giving refunds if new dates are no longer suitable.Dennis O’Connell, owner of The Strathearn Hotel in Kirkcaldy, said he would be delighted to help in any way he can.

“The last thing anyone needs at this stage is extra stress or worries by losing their wedding booking,” he said.

“All of our couples have been contacted and every one was offered an alternative date with absolutely no penalties. We also gave them the option of cancelling if they could get an alternative location for their date.

“To our delight, not one took us up on the offer.”

He continued: “I have been in the hotel business for a long time and we have always tried to help our customers wherever we can. It’s not always about trying to maximise profitability. It’s about looking after our customers. If you do that well, they should hopefully come back.

“So when the coronavirus occurred and we were told to close, we didn’t think twice about re-arranging dates and it never occurred to us to charge customers for doing so. Organising a wedding is stressful enough for couple so we were never going to add to that.”

Sarah and Doug Philip own Oswald House Hotel in Kirkcaldy – formerly Dunnikier House Hotel – after buying it over two years ago.

Sarah said: “We have already extended the same support to all our couples for 2020, not just April/May, which has been well received given it’s one of the most important days of their lives.

“Having planned a wedding myself, as well as having the privilege to be part of so many others, I appreciate the enormous effort couples put into their wedding day. Not only is it very costly, but it’s also the excitement behind the planning, all the little personal details unique to each couple, and having all your closest friends and family under one roof which makes it one of the best days.

“Some couples have been waiting up to two years for this day, so my heart goes out to them and we’ll ensure everything is perfect when it does go ahead. We have ensured that all our couples are able to postpone their date to one of their choosing either this year or next. For any other couples who have been let down by their venue or have to compromise on something, we would be more than happy to help in any way we can.”

She added: “A lot of our couples are opting to have their wedding in the summer of 2021 because of how uncertain the current circumstances are, but it’ll be lovely having a few autumnal weddings this year. ”

Jason Borthwick, owner of the Burntisland Sands Hotel, said he has also been offering couples free date changes: “We have a lovely local couple booked for a wedding at the end of May that we’ll more than likely have to move and they will be able to pick another date at no extra cost.

“I absolutely feel a duty of care to all our customers with booked events, especially the important ones like weddings and funerals.

“It is good to think that once this is all over there will be bookings and events lined up that we lost during this period.”

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Joa Bell, guest relations at the Kingswood Hotel in Burntisland, said: “After the government announcement last week when we decided to close the hotel, we got in touch with, and have been working closely with, all of couples with weddings booked with us from the end of March to the end of July.

“They have all postponed their weddings, apart from two couples who are still considering their options.

“And 100 per cent of all deposits have been transferred to their new date and we have not made any additional charge to reschedule the bookings.

“Wedding guests who have booked accommodation have either had their deposits transferred or fully refunded if they are no longer able to attend due to the date changes. All suppliers have been equally sympathetic, moving the booking without additional charge.”

She continued: “We sympathise with the couples and have tried to ensure that all arrangements for postponement have been handled as quickly and as stress-free as possible.

“When it is safe to do so, and with our amazing team, we look forward to reopening with the same passion for hospitality and service for which we are renowned.

“We’re very much aware that it has been absolutely devastating for many couples who have had to postpone their wedding at such short notice.”Joa said: “The majority of weddings which were booked from the end of March to the end of July have either postponed to later in the year or into 2021, which is understandable due to the current uncertainty.

“We were so relieved that we were able to accommodate everyone.“This does of course have a knock-on effect and means that we now have less availability for 2021.

“No doubt this will be the case for many venues which may be worrying for couples who were planning to get married next year, but had not yet booked their venue.”

Joa added: “We are pleased that we have bookings from autumn 2020, which will enable us to offer our loyal team continued job security when we are able to re-open.”

Meanwhile, Nicholas Russell, owner and managing director of Balbirnie House Hotel in Markinch, said the hotel’s special events department have been working remotely to provide prospective new wedding clients with virtual tours and digital face-to-face meetings.

Mr Russell said: “As of June, we have 163 weddings booked in the 12 months ahead.

“We are working with all clients on a one-week rolling basis, with a two-plus calendar months advance timeline, to re-schedule wedding dates, as required.“We are offering a new date for couples who may need to reschedule, free of charge.

“This has literally been the moving of a hospitality mountain, and I take this opportunity to congratulate our special events planning team, and clients alike.”

He added: “All capabilities we have are now deployed to seeing everything maintained in an ongoing holding pattern, so everything can hit the ground running when we know we can prepare to re-open.”