There's an emerging trend that is none-too-friendly to your hotel restaurant's beverage sales. Encapsulated by buzz terms like 'dry January', 'sober curious' or 'mindful drinking', more people nowadays are abstaining from alcohol or are drinking less overall.
During this disruptive time, most hoteliers and F&B managers agree on one thing: A not-so "business-as-usual" future will follow the current changes. We know that as the hospitality industry begins recovering from COVID-19, there will be many new challenges ahead. But what can be done with F&B outlets now, to come out of this crisis stronger and better prepared for these future changes? Together with industry experts, we compiled best practices for providing reassurance to customers and employees during the closure of your F&B outlets. Furthermore, we offer you some suggestions on how to build up relationships with your suppliers and benefit from the current situation.
The restaurant industry is not dead. It just became a temporary tragic victim within a global traumatic condition that threatens its very survival.
Since the beginning of the spread of the virus, all industries worldwide have been heavily affected. It has consequently left its impact on the wine market which has started to deteriorate at the announcement of the cancellation of some major local, national or international events. Amid these events, Divinum Switzerland, where I have the honour of being the ambassador and that allows more than 300 winemakers to exhibit their products and participate in maintaining existing and developing new customers, has been cancelled. On an international scale, the world of wine vibrates with Vinexpo and Prowein, where important economic decisions related to wine are made, have been cancelled.
As the Coronavirus has continued to spread rapidly, the full scale of the risk to the global economy has hit markets with rarely seen violence: the speed of the sell-off in equities and "risky" asset classes has only been matched by the rise in price of safe haven assets such as US government bonds or Gold.
When people hear the term food cost, they generally think of the simple calculation of cost / selling price = food cost %. This calculation does little more than give you a percentage. Understanding and controlling food cost is much more complex.
The impact of COVID-19 is devastating. Now, it is not a question of whether the coronavirus pandemic will cause a global economic downturn. The damage has made. It is about how much the economy will shrink.
Controlling the beverage cost is a big deal in hotels. People like to drink and that's great for the bar, but you have to remember the people serving your drinks need a tight set of checks and balances or else they will help themselves to your supplies. It's just human nature to mess around with the stuff at your fingertips all day long. There is a certain sense of entitlement as well because the wages are small, and people rely on tips. Bigger portions or the odd free one for a client can make a big difference in the tips left behind.
We are in unprecedented times with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the travel and hospitality sector. Public health organisations and governments may advise us on how to deal with the disease here and now, but there are many unanswered questions as to how to deal with the fallout.
Bear with me on this one, as I see troubles ahead for restaurant wine sales in the not-too-distant future. It comes down to two major economic forces and their effects on overall customer behavior.
If you have a sweet tooth, choosing a wine amongst dry, 'serious' wines can be difficult. Whilst dessert wines tend to be looked down upon as a novice wine drinkers' choice, this opinion is pretty flawed. Historically, sweeter wines were once the most popular and coveted style of wine. In 1737, Hungary's Tokaji was the very first wine region to specialize in sweet wines and helped form today's fine dessert wine collectibles market. To help you understand more about the value of fine dessert wines, we spoke to Jack Chapman, Senior Portfolio Manager from Cult Wines, who gives us his complete guide.
Nowadays, it seems like there is a coffee shop at every corner no matter where you find yourself, and if there is a corner without a coffee shop right now, you can bet that there'll be one in 2020. Yes, the cafe industry is booming around the world, and unsurprisingly so, as opening a coffee shop in a day and age when people want to socialize more, work remotely, and de-stress in a friendly environment is a surefire way to build a profitable business in the hospitality industry. Oh, and the fact that coffee is the world's most popular drug can't hurt, either.
The way food has been produced in the past has led to countless problems. At long last, traditional farming and distribution practices are about to be disrupted. The future of food is high-tech, local and taking into account the needs of our planet. What is the future of food made of, why we cannot continue the way we used to produce and what practices will be replacing current approaches of handling food?
When it comes to food, we can struggle to find the perfect wine pairing. Balancing the abundance of different tastes, textures and flavours with the characteristics of a wine is understandably overwhelming- especially with the wide variety on the market. So to help with this, we spoke to Lukasz Kolodziejczyk, head of fine wine at Cult Wines who provides his suggestions for the right wine pairings to complement your dining experience.
Giving your customers the option to find what they want on your menu at the price they want to pay, is the key to making more profits.
It happens all too often now. I'm dining with my wife, a friend or a business associate for lunch and we are both in need of a morsel of libation. But as the sun is still out, a bottle is simply too much - a point that is metaphorically and literally driven in by the glint of my white Mercedes-Benz station wagon near the far end of the parking lot.
When one thinks of visiting Vancouver Island, the typical trip includes a day or two in the bohemian provincial capital, Victoria, followed by a trek north into perpetually verdant British Columbian wilderness or hugging the craggy, wind-swept western coast with most roads ending in Tofino. Along the way are picturesque mountain ranges, hiking trails and some truly incredible people of all walks of life.
Food cost is a never-ending battle in a war that does not end. You can never take your foot off the gas, if you do you will slow down. When you slow down in the food cost world it is costly. Back in the day I cut my teeth as a receiver, F&B cost control clerk and ultimately an F&B cost controller.
Take a moment and imagine the typical minibar in a traditional big box hotel. Stocked with the basic assortment of national beers, a few half-bottles of wine for some plonky mass-produced label, some one-shot servings of the most common hard liquor brands and perhaps a bite or two of sugary snacks, this isn't doing your property any favors.
From the high-tech preferences of Generation Z, to the experiential fondness of Millennials, to the health and wellness realities facing Baby Boomers, hotels continually adjust the amenities and services they offer to satisfy their guests. These adjustments are based on extensive consumer research, much of which has been published in the lodging industry trade publications.