Hotel Restaurants & Bars: increase your F&B outlets’ sales

One of the biggest challenges for today’s hoteliers is to support their overall revenue by increasing the sales of their hotel’s in-house services. Hotel Restaurants & Bars is perhaps the most promising sector to focus on since it can achieve a satisfying profit margin. At the same time, a positive dining experience can upgrade the level of the guest satisfaction, generating even better reviews.

In this article, Hotelier Academy experts have gathered some clever tips and ideas, that will help you improve your results in a fast and cost-efficient way:

Showcase your hotel’s “mouth-watering” aspect

There is nothing better than a great picture, to give out the message you want. Do not just describe your restaurants, but present to the travellers what they can expect to find — or, more importantly, eat — in your restaurants and bars during their stay at your hotel. Invest in the right photo shoot, that highlights your hotel’s menu & culinary philosophy. Use images that not only focus on the dishes or the design of your restaurant but present the overall dining experience.

Smart Idea: During the photoshoot, take some more casual photos with your mobile phone or portable camera. These photos will be great to use on your social media, since their more ‘direct’ character can lead to better engagement with your current or upcoming guests. 

Begin promoting specific dishes or drinks to your guests, before their arrival

The Ashe Hotel, Ireland

The travellers might easily notice your bars or restaurants on your website or in your overall online brand identity, however, this does not guarantee that they will begin dreaming of trying your dishes or drinks. A clever idea would be to create an exciting newsletter, focusing on your hotel’s gastronomic aspect, and send it to your coming guests before their arrival. This way, they will be informed about their dining options in the hotel and include your property’s restaurants in their ‘must’ places to eat during their holidays. Make sure to specify the price range of your restaurants, as this is something that always matters, or even give out a special ‘pre-arrival’ offer.

Smart Idea: Don’t just show your bars & restaurants’ empty tables and chairs, but focus on presenting your food and drinks directly. Present specific dishes accompanied by mouthwatering photos or highlight the special cocktails that the guests must absolutely try in your hotel bars, increasing their anticipation for their visit.

Transform your Hotel Chef into a real Star

Chef Giuseppe Vannucci Photo Credits: Lara Jane

No restaurant can have a great value if it is not combined with a Chef with a strong personality and talent. Even if your Chef is not a famous one, make sure to create a detailed profile and highlight their contribution to your hotel’s dining experience. Take some photos of your Chef within the kitchen, the restaurant or the hotel grounds in general, and build a story around the Special Recipes that have been exclusively created for your hotel.

Smart Idea: Instead of including long menus or boring restaurant presentations in your room directory, create a special «gift» for your guests, that will highlight the Chef’s personal aspect regarding the hotel’s gastronomy. A clever idea would be to give a secret recipe to your guests, that they can cook themselves when they get back home.

Create “Branded Treats” for your guests and support their gastronomic experience in your hotel

Anantara Seminyak Bali Resort, Indonesia

It is very common for a hotel to offer a welcome drink and/or a basket of fruits or a bottle of wine to its guests, upon their arrival. This is your guests’ first contact with your tastes, so you definitely want to offer something so special, that will convince them to visit your restaurants and bars. Avoid giving a cliché welcome drink but choose a special beverage from your bar. Your welcome treats could be small bites from your restaurant menu, that will introduce your guests to your hotel’s gastronomic experience from the moment they arrive.

Smart Idea: Offer as a welcome drink a non-alcoholic version of one of your signature cocktails, promoting your bars to the newly-arrived guests. The chances of going later to the bar, asking for the full version of the cocktail, are more than increased!

Make your hotel’s breakfast the main reference point for all your restaurants

Baccarat Hotel, New York

Masseria Potenti, Italy

Chiltern Firehouse, London

The Peninsula, Paris

Santiago de Alfama, Portugal

Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel and Spa, Mexico

The only restaurant that almost every guest tries, is the one where your breakfast is served. There is no doubt that the breakfast ‘reflects’ a hotel’s gastronomy level, and plays an important role in the guests’ decision for trying your other restaurants during their stay. Give particular attention to the overall set-up and quality of tastes. Do not just offer ready products (like cheese, boiled eggs etc), but make sure to include special hotel recipes — a pie, a cake, a freshly baked bread or a delicious omelette, will surely make your guests appreciate your hotel’s level of cuisine!

Smart Idea: The simplest way to promote your restaurants through your breakfast, is with discreet and clever promotional material. However, when promoting food, it is always much more efficient to give to the customers a real ‘taste’. So, work closely with your Chef, and create some special ‘daily’ treats that can be served separately (for example, in a specially branded corner in your buffet), promoting your a la carte restaurants. Don’t forget to match the treats with each restaurant’s profile!