How to Increase Food & Beverage Revenue in Your Hotel?
Table of Contents
In accordance with Hospitality Net, Food and Beverage (F&B) revenue is a vital source of income for the US $200 billion dollar hotel industry, as it can account for up to 25% of their total revenue. F&B revenue contributes to the hotel’s bottom line and enhances the guest experience and satisfaction, leading to repeat visits, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals.
Therefore, this article will share some proven strategies to achieve that effectively, such as optimizing your menu, pricing, marketing, and more. Read on to learn how to take your hotel’s F&B revenue to the next level.
The Physical Capacity To Prepare And Serve Food
One of the factors that can affect the hotel’s food and beverage revenue is the physical capacity to prepare and serve food. This means assessing the hotel’s kitchen facilities and staffing capabilities to ensure that they can meet the demand and quality standards of the guests. Some of the aspects that need to be considered are
- Optimizing the workflow and minimizing the distance & time between different stations: This includes receiving, storage, prep, production, and service.
- Ensure have enough space and equipment to properly store and protect all food items, particularly fresh and local produce that require cooler space.
- Adhere to health and safety regulations, ensuring proper ventilation, lighting, and sanitation measures are in place.
- The appropriate equipment is available and in good condition. Equipment should be versatile, efficient, and easy to use and maintain.
- Some examples include multiuse equipment like combi ovens, induction cooktops, and blast chillers, which can perform multiple functions while taking up less space and using less energy.
- Countertop equipment like panini grills, fryers, and microwaves can also be helpful for saving space and providing flexibility.
- The kitchen must have sufficient well-trained, skilled, and motivated staff.
- Each staff member should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and effective communication and coordination should be maintained among the staff and other departments.
- They should be able to adapt to changing situations and customer preferences, including off-premise dining and special dietary requests.
Real-life example: Many hotels streamline their kitchen workflow to accommodate a higher volume of F&B orders during peak seasons by these strategies:
- Prepare and store food in advance.
- Using combi ovens to cook different types of food simultaneously at different temperatures and times.
- Using induction cooktops to heat food quickly and safely without gas or flames.
- Use countertop equipment to prepare food quickly.
- Using disposable packaging and utensils for off-premise orders to reduce washing and handling time.
- Hiring temporary staff or outsourcing tasks to external vendors to supplement the regular staff.
Menu Options Be Better For Your Guests
Here are some reasons the strategy of serving better menu options can help you boost your F&B performance:
Analyzing guest preferences and dietary trends: Understand what your guests want and need from your F&B offerings
- Use various methods, such as surveys, feedback forms, online reviews, social media, or data analytics, to collect and analyze information about your guests’ likes, dislikes, expectations, and behaviors.
- Monitor the latest trends and innovations in the food and beverage industry, such as plant-based products, healthy and functional foods, personalized nutrition, online ordering and delivery, sustainability and transparency, experiential dining, and social media marketing.
Offering a diverse menu with seasonal and locally sourced ingredients: Enhance the quality and variety of your F&B offerings
- Use seasonal and local ingredients to create fresh, flavorful, and nutritious dishes that reflect the local culture and cuisine.
- Offer various options for different customer segments and occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, room service, catering, snacks, beverages, etc.
- Cater to different dietary requirements and preferences, such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, halal, kosher, etc.
Real-life example: If you follow the dietary trends recently by Gfieurope statistics, the demand for plant-based products increased by 12% from 2020 to 2022. The right strategy for every resort is to introduce a plant-based menu option to cater to the growing demand for vegetarian and vegan dishes. By doing that, the revenue of F&B increases, which leads to the hotel’s total revenue also increasing!
Beverages Alone Be More Effective
One piece of information you may not know is beverages have higher profit margins than food, as they usually have lower costs of goods sold, labor, and overhead. As stated by the statistics, beverages can account for:
- Up to 40% of a hotel’s total F&B revenue
- Up to 60% of its F&B profit
As you can see, increasing beverage sales can significantly impact your hotel’s bottom line.
Evaluating the profitability of the beverage menu involves analyzing the sales, costs, and margins of each beverage item, as well as the customer demand and satisfaction. You can use various ways, such as menu engineering, product mix analysis, or contribution margin analysis, to identify the best-selling and most profitable items and the ones that need improvement or elimination.
You should offer a diverse and appealing selection of beverages, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, local and international brands, seasonal and signature items, etc. You can also use dynamic pricing, upselling, cross-selling, bundling, or promotions to encourage your customers to spend more on beverages.
Real-life example: A hotel creating a unique “Craft Cocktail Collection” featuring locally crafted spirits. This drink can showcase the hotel’s creativity and expertise in mixing and serving drinks. The hotel can use locally crafted spirits, such as gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, or liqueur, to create original and distinctive cocktails that reflect the local culture and flavor. resulting in increased beverage sales.
Leveraging Technology for F&B Promotion
We have to admit that now is the world of digital marketing. Digital menus and interactive displays can provide more information and visual appeal than traditional paper menus. If you take the chance to take advantage of leveraging technology for F&B promotion, you will win! Technology menu will support you:
- Display high-quality images, videos, or animations of your F&B items and detailed descriptions, ingredients, nutritional facts, prices, ratings, reviews, or recommendations.
- Highlight your special offers, discounts, loyalty programs, or events.
Update your digital menus and interactive displays easily and frequently to reflect the changes in your F&B inventory, availability, or demand. - Allow your customers to browse, order, pay, or rate your F&B items from their own devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops.
- Give your customers personalized suggestions, feedback, or rewards based on their preferences, history, or behavior.
- Communicate with your customers in real time and provide them with timely service and support.
Real-life example: A modern hotel uses QR codes on tables to give guests easy access to the digital menu and promotional offers, which can enhance the customer experience and convenience.
The hotel doesn’t need too many staff but also comforts customers. The revenue will increase by attracting potential customers & driving more sales, saving money for managing the staff as well.
Explore our WordPress hotel theme with seamless booking functionality, brought to you by TravelerWP. Start planning your perfect getaway now!
Conclusion
Increasing food and beverage revenue in your hotel is a key goal for any hotel manager who wants to improve their overall profitability and competitiveness in the hospitality industry. Many factors and strategies can affect the hotel’s F&B performance, such as making your menu options better for your guests, leveraging technology for F&B promotion, focusing on beverages alone and enhancing the physical capacity to prepare and serve food, etc.
Applying these strategies can increase your F&B revenue by increasing customer satisfaction, spending, traffic, and loyalty. You can also create a competitive advantage for your hotel by providing high-quality and diverse F&B options that reflect your creativity and expertise.
