While location and price are the two biggest determining factors in where travelers book their stay, a hotel’s food and beverage often ranks third.

When room rates and bookings flatten or even decline, unique or quality dining and drinking experiences can beef up your hotel revenue. 

Increasing the quality of your food or variety of your beverage offerings may incentivize potential guests to stay with you over your competitors. 

We’ve outlined five different ways to hoteliers can grow food and beverage revenue below.

Entice With Authentic & Unique Experiences 

Let’s talk about authenticity. Modern travelers are influenced by the ‘experience’ more than previous generations. They tend to be enticed by a hotel brand’s perceived authenticity. 

Hoteliers should make efforts to solidify their property’s brand, and how their unique offerings align with their brand promise. 

F&B trends will come and go, from avocado toast to craft cocktails, but you must maintain a consistent understanding of what makes your establishment different. 

Often, it’s less about a massive F&B overhaul or menu changes, and more about unique offerings that will make your property stand out. 

Always keep social media exposure in mind with ‘instagrammable’ amenities, and make sure to maintain your own hotel Instagram page with carefully curated images. 

Offer Lighter, Fast Casual Fare

Be considerate of time-sensitive visitor needs. Not all travelers have time for a full sit-down meal. Consider a self-service kiosk offering on-the-go snacks such as breakfast bowls,  hummus and veggies, guacamole and chips, or small salads.

Keep tabs on how well your tables are turning over for your seated guests. Many small things combine to have a large impact on the traveler experience: cooking time, hosting, speed of seating, service and time-efficient table clearing. 

Treat Your Hotel Restaurant as a Unique Business

We know it’s hard for a hotelier to possess the same nuance and attention to detail that dedicated restaurateurs have, but that does not mean a mediocre dining experience is acceptable. 

One simple tactic: give every restaurant, cafe’, bar or lounge in your hotel its own name and it’s own social media pages.  

Consider all the spaces in your hotel to maximize or repurpose for the benefit of your food and beverage service.

Try to keep prices as reasonable as possible to make social areas of your hotel versatile and convenient meeting spaces for both visitors and locals.

Stay on top of Changing Consumer Tastes and Trends 

Consumers are increasingly curious about different types of food and beverage, including healthier and more sustainably-produced options. If you use local produce, offer farm to table fare or partner with a local craft beer maker, make that known. 

Consider seasonal menus, to keep travelers interested. Add a brunch with a bloody mary station. Shrubs and infused cocktails are popular–a spiced apple ginger fizz sounds nice. Switch out the sodas for fermented beverages like kombuchas, or quality herbal teas. 

Make sure to consider dietary restrictions and offer gluten-free, vegan, low-carb and low-sugar options. 

Highlight how you reduce waste–ditch the plastic and styrofoam, go for the bulk bins and recyclable materials. Consumers pay attention to a brand’s sustainability efforts.

Price Engineering 

Keep a sharp eye on your F&B revenue and stay flexible to adjust quickly based on that data. 

Determine which items on a menu sell or do not sell. In examining the volume of sales, the average sale price of an item and the extended sales total of items, hotel managers can quickly identify areas of opportunity for the property. 

For example, say the wagyu burger is the most popular item on the menu but contains below-average profit margins. If the hotel increases the price of the wagyu burger by $2, it will increase the profitably of the product by 17%.

Food for Thought

Making food and beverage an important part of your guest’s hospitality experience can move your hotel to the next level. While not every property can utilize all of these ideas, there are many things worth considering.

Consistently elevated dining and drinking experiences can increase event and large party bookings, solidify your hotel brand and boost your bottom line.

Reference URLs:

• https://www.hotelmanagement.net/food-beverage/key-strategies-help-hotels-boost-f-b-profit
• https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4093906.html
• https://www.siteminder.com/r/trends-advice/hotel-management/food-beverage-lessons-hotels/
• https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article63208.html