You don’t necessarily need to have a sky-high budget to get married or arrange an event. Located in the heart of Thane, ‘Ritz Banquets’ bring a rare combination of quality, luxury and value, all under- one roof. Conveniently located in the outskirts of Mumbai, the spacious property offering customized services is set to redefine the standards of celebration of its consumers. It’s known to be the first-ever banquet hall in Thane, offering customized services – right from decoration to complete event management – everything under one roof. ‘Ritz Banquets’ a distinctive state-of-the-art entity that can house 50-1500 guests at a time. Spread over 21,000 square feet area, constructed on the same floor the hassle-free banquet hall offers world-class amenities with a palatial feel that transports you to the richness of the event. Interview with Pratish Ambekar, Director, Ritz Banquets
- How did you start Ritz? A backgrounder
Discovering a fervent interest in event planning during the early years of our career, we decided to pursue our passion by starting an event management company few years back called as ‘iLeaf Connects’. Soon after establishing our foothold in the event management industry we decided to take the business to the next level by offering these services under one roof and launched ‘Ritz Banquets’ in Thane. Our objective is to offer varied range of services under one roof and provide luxury at an affordable range. ‘Ritz Banquets’ is a distinctive state-of-the-art entity that can house 50-1500 guests at a time. Spread over 21,000 square feet area and constructed on the same floor the hassle-free banquet hall offers world-class amenities with a palatial feel that transports you to the richness of the event.
- How demonetization is affecting the hospitality industry?
Often, the strong season for the hospitality sector in the country extends from October to March, which to a large extent defines the success of the industry in any given year. The lack of available currency has forced some of the hospitality customers to either postpone/cancel their travel and accommodation or to use hospitality products that easily allow the use of the other modes of payments. However, the organized banquets business will witness growth, as customers move from the cash-only unorganized sector to proper hotels or banquets for want of non-cash means of payment. The weddings business will also return to Indian banquets from their overseas counterparts, as unofficial channels for offshore transfers of cash have dried up, forcing the cancellation of many Indian weddings from foreign locales back to hotel venues in India.
“The wedding industry will become more organized in the long run”
- Demonetization woes? Don’t worry! Here’s a guide to go cashless while booking the banquet hall
One can go for cashless options while booking banquet halls. Opt for in-house services offered by the venue owners. That way you have to deal with only one entity rather than multiple unorganized vendors who insist on being paid in cash. It may be more expensive, but the peace of mind is worth it.
Paying through cheque or RTGS for banquet halls and other services invites a 15% service tax liability. However, this also ensures a clean and recorded transaction. The wedding industry will become more organized in the long run. We are seeing a huge shift from cash to digital mode of payments.
- Other business the group is into and your future plans
Be it creating an event concept or plan any form of event of any scale, the directors of Ritz Banquets had also floated another sister concern organization, called iLeaf Connects, an event management company. Through this company they we have been organizing varied range of events across the country. We promise to make it to the best through our years of experience.
We plan to take ‘Ritz Banquets’ to the next level by setting up branches across the country and providing quality services to our potential customers.
- Your views on the service charge on the hospitality industry
The Centre wouldn’t have made it mandatory. However, they might have received several complaints from customers regarding hotels and restaurants levying a compulsory service charge which the consumers were forced to pay for the poor service offered by them. People would have been happy to pay these service charges if the services were up to the mark. Thus, we support the directives that if the customer is dissatisfied with the dining experience, he or she can have it waived.
Everything under one roof: Ritz Banquets
