Taiwanese hotel and restaurant operator FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際) has signed a management contract with tea vendor Po Yuen Ji (寶元紀) to launch a new 100-table banquet facility in Taichung next year, unfazed by the current business freeze caused by the domestic COVID-19 outbreak.
FDC runs the Palais de Chine (君品酒店) near Taipei Railway Station, the Fleur de Chine Hotel (雲品溫泉酒店) overlooking Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou County and several independent banquet facilities.
As FDC is eyeing banquet facilities, which generate higher margins than restaurants, the upcoming venture would be its second after Taoyuan’s Royal Wedding (皇家薇庭).
Photo courtesy of FDC International Hotels Corp
The Taichung venue would be built on a plot of 1,674 ping (5533.9m2), which Po Yuen Ji acquired in June last year, FDC general manager David Ting (丁原偉) said in a statement.
The two businesses agreed to target high-end banquet needs in the hopes of attaining NT$100 million (US$3.6 million) in revenue per year, Ting said, adding that the goal can be reached by setting a price of NT$19,990 per table and a 10 percent service charge.
FDC is to begin accepting bookings for the venue from next month via its banquet arm Palais de Chine Collection (君品Collection), Ting said.
The banquet market is going through a structural shakeup since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, a process that is gaining traction this year, he added.
Palais de Chine Collection is one of the few banquet operators in Taiwan that managed to remain profitable last year, Ting said, adding that FDC is in talks to arrange two to three more management contracts to increase its market share.
The company’s other banquet sites include a 60-year-old mansion in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area and a vintage restaurant near Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園).
Le Palais (頤宮), the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant of Palais de Chine (君品酒店), has joined peers in offering takeout after the Taipei City Government banned dining-in at all restaurants.
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