Save up to $1,000 - Negotiate Cake Cutting Fees Charged by Hotels

Yesterday I spoke with the mother of a bride who refused to use a hotel to cater her daughter’s wedding simply because they refused to waive their cake cutting fee.  The bride’s best friend was a fabulous professional baker and as a gift, was providing the cake.  For four dollars a person, the hotel lost the bride’s business which would have easily been five figures.

Go figure….Why do hotels charge this fee in the first place for couples who wish to bring in their own cake from their favorite baker?   It’s all about money…..if they allow outside cakes, they lose the revenue they would earn from either marking up the cake prepared from their in-house baker, or their mark-up from their preferred outside cake vendor.  As a business man I understand that the hotel’s food and beverage department looks to maximize their revenue…..but is it worth losing a large wedding over such a small amount?  I doubt it.

So what’s the bottom line here?  Wedding couples, moms and dads listen carefully!!!…if you wish to bring in your own cake from an approved source you should be able to negotiate not having to pay the cake-cutting fee.  How much does it cost the hotel to cut your cake?  Maybe one broken plate and some dishwashing labor and handling along with the chemicals to clean the plates…the wait staff are already working.  They can take out ten minutes or so to cut and serve the cake…come on!!!!

As an off-premise caterer, we welcome outside cakes from approved vendors, and we do not charge a cake-cutting fee….and we have the cost of renting or providing the plate and fork.  A cake cutting fee is one charge that you should not have to pay, and for a wedding of 200 guests, this can reach close to $1,000 or even more.