KUALA LUMPUR, 20 September 2019 — In the recent Hitchbird 2019 Wedding Awards, 5-star luxury hotel, St. Regis Langkawi emerged as the proud winner of Best Destination Wedding Venue in Malaysia ! Highly commendable by judges is Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa in Penang and a favourite among couples is The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort on Redang Island, Terengganu. Congratulations to the winners!
In the span of a month, over 30,000 votes were cast by couples across the globe , selected judges, and the Hitchbird team, to determine the best wedding venues in Southeast Asia.
Looking specifically at Malaysia, the wedding industry is a lucrative one and is reported to rake in up to RM7billion a year, according to The Malaysian Reserve . It is a known fact that the average cost of weddings has shot up over the years, partly due to the rise of social media and changing wedding trends. The Asean Post justifies this by reporting that an average of RM50K to RM200K is being spent on weddings in Malaysia!
One of the most essential aspects of any hospitality business is its service. In fact, a quick survey conducted by Hitchbird revealed that prompt responses, pricing, and quality of those responses, are some of the top things that couples look into when deciding on wedding venues.
Co-founder of Hitchbird, Hoi Cheung, shared: “ It’s not just about how beautiful a wedding venue is. The service level matters a lot as well.” This is why the Hitchbird team spends a lot of time on the ground, making site inspections in different countries, to analyse things like ease of transportation and staff competency, he added.
The last thing a couple needs is a disaster wedding due to substandard service to guests and disorganisation, which can lead to delays in the ceremony and arrival of food.
These awards are therefore a chance for couples to get insights on venues that offer high standards of service and facilities. Cheung said: “These awards are also an opportunity for couples to discover wedding venues that they probably never heard of. There are so many venues in Southeast Asia run by good management that are a bit under the radar. They deserve a shoutout and that’s what these awards are for.”
For unbiased results, equal weightage was given to the votes from the public, judges, and the Hitchbird team. The award judges were selected based on their experience in the wedding industry at their respective locations. The full list of judges can be viewed in a separate document.
Judging criteria include the following:
● Accessibility
● Transportation
● Location
● Hotel amenities
● Hotel service & hospitality
● Accommodation standards
● Quality of wedding packages
● Quality of wedding spaces
● Quality of food & beverage
● Competence of wedding planning team
● Value for money
● Overall experience
With a goal to recognise the top destination wedding venues all across Southeast Asia, the awards serve as a badge of honour and prestige that will elevate any vendor’s reputation amongst their peers.
What do winners get? Apart from the prestige, winners will walk away with a FREE upgrade to Hitchbird’s Concierge plan (premium marketing plan) and marketing collaterals worth up to USD 10,000!
Other than Malaysia, vendors from other Southeast Asian countries were also part of the list of nominees to make up a total of 5,000 nominees. Full list of winners can be viewed in a separate document.
For more information about the awards, click here. Alternatively, you can read this article or watch the winners’ announcement video.