Globally, food and beverage accounts for around 27 percent of total revenue for a hotel, on average. But hotel operators are wondering if they can nudge this number higher by diversifying their offerings.
Hospitality management pros are recommending that operators move away from the traditional RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) metric and focus instead on Revenue Per Available Guest (RevPAG). “By focusing on RevPAG, hotels can shift their F&B strategy from simply serving meals to maximizing the value of each guest's dining experiences throughout their stay,” noted Tim Hansen, VP Sales Hotels and Resorts at Agilysys. This holistic approach not only increases hotel food and beverage revenue, but boosts guest satisfaction as well.
Enable mobile ordering everywhere.
In the restaurant world, mobile ordering has proved to be good for business. From a customer’s perspective, they can save time by scheduling meals, saving favorite orders, and never waiting in line. From an operator’s point of view, mobile ordering is more efficient, increases order accuracy, and enables customized upsells and offers.
Mobile ordering can boost hotel F&B revenue as well. Give your guests the chance to order food and drinks everywhere:
- Pools and beaches
- Spa and fitness facilities
- Coffee shops
- Cafés
- Conference spaces
Offer F&B upgrades before a guest checks in.
“When guests receive the option to upgrade their room a few days before they check in, it taps into their excitement,” says The Hotel General Manager. That means they’re more likely to say yes. Yes to the breakfast package. Yes to the in-room snack basket or charcuterie board. Yes to the champagne and chocolates for two.
Photos and specific details can go a long way toward convincing guests that the upgrade is worth it. When suggesting a guest spring for the hotel breakfast buffet, describe everything they get: the omelet bar, the oatmeal with an array of fresh fruit toppings, the locally roasted coffee, etc.
Look for places to add cocktail service.
Want to serve your guests drinks in the lobby, on the terrace, or at the pool? You don’t need a highly trained mixologist. You don’t need a full bar setup. You just need the Bartesian Professional Cocktail Machine.
This sleek cocktail maker uses capsules of natural flavors, spirits and water to make premium cocktails in 30 seconds. Select the desired drink strength, insert a capsule, and Bartesian Professional does the rest. Its ability to make low-strength drinks and mocktails is a plus for hotel guests, as it fits in well with the mindful drinking trend we’re seeing worldwide.
And it can be a major boost to hotel revenue.
Give your menus the TURF treatment.
TURF stands for Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency. It’s a mathematical procedure for optimizing sets of choices. For menus specifically, a TURF analysis can reveal both the shortest menu needed to satisfy the vast majority of customers and the average number of items that each customer finds on the menu that they might like to order.
How can a TURF analysis increase hotel F&B revenue? Here are just a few examples.
- It can identify high-cost or labor-intensive items to take off the menu. Let’s say you offer a burrito with 17 ingredients that takes your kitchen staff a long time to assemble. If data shows that customers are just as happy ordering one of two simpler Mexican dishes, then you can safely get rid of the burrito.
- It can help your kitchen become more efficient and reduce food ordering costs. If you’re buying a crate of strawberries every week, and half of them go bad because people aren’t ordering enough French toast with strawberries, it’s time for a change. Tip: Did you know that the PrimaVac™ line of commercial vacuum sealing machines can extend the usable life of fragile produce, such as berries and herbs? Learn more about how this works.
- It reveals opportunities to add revenue-generating menu items. Let’s say you have mango juice and orange juice on your hotel breakfast menu. Most juice drinkers will order one or the other. But if you add a specialty apple-ginger blend that’s made in a centrifugal juicer, or a freshly blended fruit smoothie, that appeals to a whole new set of health-conscious customers.
Ready to reinvest in your F&B program? Hamilton Beach Commercial supports hospitality operators worldwide with innovative solutions for restaurants, bars, and the hotel breakfast bar.
