It's about time that our chefs in the hotel industry collectively woke up to something different than the same old bacon and eggs or oatmeal and raisins. In this sense, breakfast is another overlooked opportunity to wow your guests and leave a lasting impression. Glass half empty, it's also an instance where you can irk customers by underserving them.
We manage a great hotel in Sedona, Arizona, called Arabella. We pride ourselves on having unique features. These include a small hiking trail up to a spot that is ideal for star-gazing, a courtyard as a backdrop for an idyllic picnic or coffee sipping, an on-property puppy named Bella who greets guests, and a fine restaurant called the Elote Cafe.
That is a long title and it is fitting because F&B reporting in your financials is the longest part of your hotel financial reporting process. Every other department except for benefits is a single shot. In F&B you need allocations and a roll up of all outlets into a total F&B profit statement. This is the single biggest area where I see hotels get their statements wrong. In this article, I am going to lay out how to set up your statements and general ledger to provide you strong financial reporting for your food and beverage department.
Choice is a tricky thing. Confronted with too much of it and you are stymied by indecision. Yet faced by too little and you feel shortchanged or indifferent to the whole buying process. It's all about finding that happy medium, and to help you decipher this golden mean there's better place to start than by examining how prix fixe menus subtly work to build revenue and customer satisfaction.
With the 4th of July come and gone, it seems only apt for this libation-centric article to discuss the spirit that is perhaps the quintessential American contribution to the world. Even though California and Oregon produce some spectacular wines and local craft beers that have taken the nation by storm, no other country on the planet makes bourbon.
Almost every hotel management company brand has specific guidelines regarding the design of all-day dining concepts. Usually, the size of the all-day dining outlet is proportionate to the number of rooms; therefore, a hotel with a greater number of keys will have a larger all-day dining area. In addition, the greater the number of rooms, the greater the linear length of 'buffet offering' is required to support those rooms. This can ultimately result in the space being underutilized, which in turn, leads to a potential revenue loss should the area be used for other purposes.
I'm sick of boring breakfasts, aren't you? It's about time that our chefs in the hotel industry woke up to something different than the same old bacon and eggs or oatmeal and raisins. In this sense, breakfast is another overlooked opportunity to wow your guests and leave a lasting impression.
Eating out has never been more popular. It's no longer a special treat, but an everyday delight.
While I've been writing blog-style articles for the past seven years, by my family's standards I'm actually late to the game. Both of my two sisters as well as my father were all accomplished scribes long before I even entertained the notion of stepping on a soapbox.
I intentionally played upon this line from The Lord's Prayer (Luke 11: 1-4) for the title of this article in order to underscore the importance that bread plays in Western culture. When we go into a restaurant, a bread basket is all but an expectation. If we must ask for it, then there is a service problem! And for those restaurants who feel as though they can charge extra for this item, be warned that you certainly aren't winning customers over with your penny-pinching approach to F&B.
While I've been writing blog-style articles for the past seven years, by my family's standards I'm actually late to the game. Both of my two sisters as well as my father were all accomplished scribes long before I even entertained the notion of stepping on a soapbox.
In an era of online reservations, many people continue to connect by phone to a restaurant to make a reservation. Be it a way to ensure they get that special request, or perhaps the ease of dialling from a google search when on the move, rather than going through the whole online process. Whichever the case, the day of the reservationists in your restaurant is not over yet.
What does innovation mean to food and beverage specialists, given their respective working structures and cultures? AccorHotels' CEO of global F&B, Amir Nahai told a recent panel discussion at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne that, for the hotel group, innovation is all about getting closer to their customers. "We do this by focusing on being great hosts and entertainers, all the while taking local traditions and customs into consideration. That's how we provide great customer experiences".
Some would excuse the malaise (in the casual dining industry) because of the soft economy, demographic changes, and even the weather. However, that doesn't explain the remarkably few success stories who must compete for similar customers and are at the mercy of identical forces as the failing brands. In my view, the casual-dining segment is mired in a management carousel that, for over a decade, has bounced senior management from one company to the next on the basis of little more than their title. Hiring existing casual-dining executives may be the safe choice, but it doesn't automatically make it the best option, as recent financial outcomes certainly bear out. Sadly, casual dining is backward looking, while society and culture is ever-changing and moving forward. A worn-out formula that doesn't work at one chain is unlikely to succeed by shifting it to another.
You drink wine. You have a fondness for white or red. You have your favorite producing countries, regions, varietals, blends, vineyards and wineries. Then you can also take into account terroir, age of the vines, vintage, aging process and yearly climatic fluctuations. There's a reason why good sommeliers must go to school to perfect their expertise. Wine is a complex story with many layers to regale the novice to even the most veteran drinker.
The growing number of third-party meal delivery services like GrubHub, DoorDash, UberRUSH, and Postmates, while easy, inexpensive, and convenient, are creating a new and different phenomenon, and it's not always good.
Few restaurateurs on the planet would argue that cheese isn't a good meal or wine accompaniment. But fewer still are properly leveraging these savory pairings to enhance the overall dining experience and subsequently turn a better profit.
U.S. President Trump's forthcoming state visit to the U.K. may only be in the planning stages as yet but it has already proved to be controversial. A state visit is largely ceremonial but the pomp and pageantry can help to cement relations between two countries – and with Brexit on the horizon, Britain will need all the friends it can muster, especially when it comes to negotiating trade deals.
Chocolate is a highly romantic food for the fast-approaching Valentine's Day and, of course, wine goes with just about any meal, so why not bring the two together? While you might not have any many options as a wine and cheese tasting, pairing chocolate with these grape-based liquors may be just the ticket to winning the hearts and minds of incoming guests. You can apply this concept as a small-plate amuse bouche, an appetizer, a dessert or as part of some other cocoa-infused main.
It's 2017; people are drinking less alcohol, renouncing cigarettes, exercising more often and eating healthier. If you're smart, you'll get with the program.
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