Best Tips to Cook up a Bed and Breakfast Menu
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If you run a bed and breakfast, you know how important it is to offer your guests a delicious and satisfying breakfast menu. Besides that, the revenue from the B&B menu also contributes to the total hotel revenue. So, how do you create a menu that appeals to your customers and showcases your culinary skills?
In this blog post, we’ll share some of the best tips for cooking a bed and breakfast menu that will make your guests happy and hungry for more. Let’s get started!
Customers Won't Read the Whole Menu or Notice Swaying
One of the first things to consider when designing your menu is the attention span of your guests. According to Restaurant Resource Group, customers spend an average of only 109 seconds reading a menu.
That means you have a concise window of time to capture their interest and persuade them to order your dishes. Some tips to optimize your menu layout to highlight essential dishes are:
- Be aware of eye-scanning patterns: Customers frequently read menus like a book, starting in the top left corner and moving to the right and down. Put your best-seller or signature dishes in these areas to catch their attention.
- Divide the menu into logical sections: Group your dishes by categories, such as appetizers, entrees, desserts, etc.
Use photos or illustrations sparingly: Photos or illustrations can help showcase your dishes, but they can also distract from the text or lower the perceived quality of your food. Use them only for your signature or unique dishes! - Don’t emphasize currency signs: They can make customers more conscious of their spending and reduce their willingness to order more.
- Use descriptive and enticing language: Use words that appeal to the senses, such as “crispy”, “creamy”, “fresh”, or “aromatic,” and include details about your dishes’ preparation, origin, or story in a nutshell.
- Choose appropriate colors and typography. Colors and typography can help set the mood and tone of your restaurant and draw attention to certain dishes.
Real-life example: A B&B reorganizing its menu to feature popular dishes in a visually appealing way with phrases like “local farm-fresh eggs”, “maple-glazed bacon”, or “house-made granola”. This helped their guests make faster decisions, resulting in increased orders for those items.
Menu Choices Are Made Fast
Another factor to remember when creating your menu is the speed at which guests make decisions. According to a survey by OpenTable, 75% of consumers find something to order within two minutes of looking at a menu. It can reduce the wait time and increase the efficiency of your service.
Customers who make quick decisions can order and receive food faster, improving their overall experience and satisfaction. It can also free up more tables and seats for other guests, increasing your revenue and capacity.
So the key point is you must ensure your menu is straightforward and easy to read without overwhelming your guests with too many options or information. To help customers make quicker choices, it is essential to provide additional details about the food, such as taste and ingredients, as the names of the food items may not always convey this information
Investing in high-quality images of the food items on your menu is essential. This is because even if your hotel’s food tastes excellent, customers may pass on it if the visual appeal is lacking. People love sharing their food experiences on social media, so enhancing the visibility of your menu not only increases sales but also serves as an intelligent way to promote your brand through customers’ social media posts.
Real-life example: The countryside B&B was a popular tourist destination, but the menu was unclear or enticing. The descriptions of the dishes were vague and uninformative, and the photos were outdated and low-quality.
As a result, guests often took a long time to decide what to order, and some even left without ordering anything. Vice versa, if they update its menu with clear and enticing descriptions, leading to faster decision-making and higher guest satisfaction.
What's Familiar Is Preferred
Most guests prefer something familiar and comforting when choosing what to eat for breakfast. By CivicScience, 61% of consumers say they order breakfast items they typically eat at home. This means you should offer a balance of classic and innovative menu options that cater to different tastes and preferences.
When you know this interesting information, the next step is to explore the most common breakfast item travelers eat based on their preferences and taste! By Reviewed, the top 10 are:
- Doughnuts
- Home fries
- Oatmeal
- Fresh fruit
- Cereal
- Bacon
- Pancakes
- Toast
- Sausage
- Eggs
You can offer these items as staples on your menu but add variety and creativity by offering different flavors, toppings, sauces, or sides. One of the most excellent mixes are eggs benedict with smoked salmon, blueberry pancakes with lemon curd, or oatmeal with nuts and dried fruits.
Highlighting Signature and Unique Dishes
While offering familiar dishes is essential, you should also showcase your signature and unique dishes that set you apart from other B&Bs. These are the dishes that reflect your personal style, skill, and passion as a chef.
The dishes also reflect your location’s local culinary culture and history. You can create a memorable and distinctive experience for your guests by offering these dishes. Some of the benefits you can gain are:
- Increase your sales and profits: Customers are willing to pay more for unique, innovative, or customized dishes. They are also more likely to order dishes the chef or staff recommends. By highlighting your signature and unique dishes, you can showcase your value proposition and encourage customers to try them.
- Enhance your reputation and loyalty. Customers always remember and recommend B&Bs that offer something different and special. You can create positive word-of-mouth and build a loyal customer base by highlighting your signature and unique dishes.
- Express your personality and brand: Customers are more interested in B&Bs with a story and a purpose behind their food. They are also more attracted to B&Bs with a clear identity and style.
Real-life example: A mountain lodge promoting its signature “Forest Breakfast” featuring foraged ingredients, creating a unique selling point for the property, such as wild mushrooms, ramps, fiddleheads, and berries. This created a unique selling point for their B&B and attracted guests looking for a rustic and adventurous experience.
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Conclusion
Creating a bed and breakfast menu appealing to your guests and showcasing your culinary skills is not easy. But by following these tips, you can cook up a menu that will make your guests happy and hungry for more. Remember to optimize your menu layout to highlight essential dishes, use clear and enticing descriptions to speed up decision-making, offer a balance of classic and innovative menu options, showcase your signature and unique dishes that reflect your style and location, etc
These strategies can turn your breakfast menu into a powerful marketing tool to boost your reputation, revenue, and repeat business!
