Outsourcing F&b of a Hotel

A hotel is supposed to focus upon its lodging services, that being its core business. It is obvious that all other businesses including the F&B department are meant to support this business goal. But, the fact that F&B facilities can augment the room occupation in hotels is often overlooked. This is all the more true in case of convention centers and resorts.

The slack season can be overcome by marketing the F&B facility of the hotel. The presence of a good eating joint in a hotel widens its customer base manifold, and allows people not interested in lodging, getting interested in your hotel.

The F&B revenue in hotels is neglected because it is presumed that profits from it will never be able to match up with those of the rooms division. Unlike stand alone restaurants, hotels pay no heed to the profits from F&B. Definitely, promoting a hotel in its entirety seems to be the more intelligent choice than simply promoting the restaurant of the hotel. While the room bookings contribute to a massive 70% of the hotel’s revenue, the restaurant is considered to be doing extremely well even if it earns a mere 20% of the hotel’s total revenue.

Improvement of the F&B operations of your hotel is definitely not a one step effort. These norms might be of help.

Restaurant should have a hotel guest list

Many times customers charge bills to their rooms. It is necessary for the restaurant staff to know if the guests have indeed registered in the hotel and have credit available with the hotel for the charge of the restaurant. For this purpose it is necessary that the restaurant staff has an updated list of the hotel guests.

Restaurant should have control over small things.

Little things make a lot of difference. Like the temperature inside the restaurant. The restaurant should have control over such seemingly petty matters, instead of going with the hotel. This is so because the requirements of the hotel and the restaurant might differ.

Keep the staff uniformed

A non-uniformed staff betrays the un-professionalism of the eating joint, so make it mandatory for the staff to be uniformly clad. Insist on standard footwear and accessories, with professionally done name tags that carry the hotel or restaurant’s logo. A well-groomed staff with a particular behavior standard will contribute constructively to the hotel’s image.

Keep a check on the kitchen staff

Kitchen staff loitering in areas other than the kitchen in shabby attire is not a pleasant sight to customers. Allow them specific time to relax and ask them to be in the kitchen for the rest of time. Lengthy calls must be banned, and restricted to a specified time. Also, make sure the kitchen staff is shipshape all the time.

Liquor norms

Since liquor is served in the restaurant under the license of the hotel, the restaurant lessee must provide training to the liquor servers, and provide the hotel owner with the documentation of the training including the course name, content, instructor and the employee identification of the attendees. Unacceptable behavior on the part of the restaurant’s liquor servers might negatively affect the hotel’s image.

Jointly market the hotel and restaurant

Since an increase in revenue of any one will mirror the revenues in the other, it is necessary that the hotel and the restaurant be publicized together. This can be carried out through various promotional methods. Make the front desk staff of the hotel distribute discount coupons for the restaurant at the time of check in. Rooms must have a menu of the restaurant with its open hours and room service menus made available to guests. Vehemently pursue the promotion of the twins as a whole, particularly during slack season. Try to include tailor made breakfast in the room rent, and make available professionally made menus in the food and beverage service of the meeting rooms. Try to include a representative of the restaurant in the committee meetings of the hotel.

Make an asset out of the restaurant

To extract complete benefit from the restaurant, it is necessary that the restaurant and the hotel be looked upon as a single entity and be advertised together. This advertising budget must be fixed according to individual stakes. Analyze and reallocate these expenses each month and be fair in the practice. Do not lease the F&B operation only to collect rent and escape the hassles of running the venture. The restaurant will contribute to the overall profitability of the hotel. Keeping this in mind, create an asset out of the much maligned F&B facility in the hotel.

Wrap up.

Condemning the leasing out of the hotel’s F&B facility is definitely not the solution. Even leased F&B facilities of hotels augment the overall income and lure more patrons to the hotel rooms than otherwise. Only care has to be taken to maintain the same standards as that of the hotel in matters of disciplined staff. Both the hotel and the restaurant should be marketed together in order to reap maximum benefits from the venture.