Chapter 11

Food and Beverage

By
Dr.Christy Ng 1
 Chapter Objectives
❑ Review fundamental differences between hotel and
restaurant food-service operations.
❑ Describe how hotel food and beverage operations are
organized.
❑ Provide an overview of hotel à la carte dining operations.
❑ Describe three types of hotel food and beverage services:
room service, banquet operations, and concierge (VIP)
services.
❑ Present an overview of hotel beverage-service operations.
❑ Discuss future hotel food and beverage service challenges
and trends.

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 Food &Beverage Operations
❑ Hotel F&B
❑ Operating a profitable hotel F&B department is typically
more complex than operating a profitable restaurant, and
some hotel F&B departments are not profitable.
❑ Hotel F&B operations are complicated for many reasons,
including various offerings. A typical restaurant offers
one type of cuisine and service for one or two meal
periods daily. Most popular-priced and fine-dining
restaurants do not offer breakfast and are not even open
seven days per week.

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 Profitability
❑ How a GM assigns (allocates) revenues and expenses to
a department will dictate, in large measure, the profit
levels in that department.
❑ Revenue – the income gained from sales of all food
& beverage items within your hotel
❑ Expenses - the amount of money spent to generate
revenue
❑ Profit Formula
❑ Revenue – Expenses = Profit

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 Hotel F&B
❑ Hotel F&B operations may offer multiple additional operations,
24-hour room service, banquet meals, and other F&B alternatives.
These may include a snack bar, coffee break, and meal services as
part of convention/meeting operations, take-out and off-site
catering, vending, and alcoholic beverage outlets in lounges and
lobby “grab-and-go” areas.
❑ Grab-and-go area – a small counter area with a limited variety of
food and non-alcoholic beverage items located in the lobby or
other public areas

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The F&B Department

F&B departments typically generate less

revenue, more complaints, and fewer profits
than the rental of a hotel’s guest rooms. Most
full-service hotels generate 60-80% or more of
their revenue from guest room rentals.
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❑ F&B products and services can be a significant factor in attracting
guests to the hotel.
❑ Some guests, especially those planning conventions,
conferences, and other group meetings, select a hotel by
considering the quality and value of the F&B services.
❑ Other travelers and those within the community choose to spend
discretionary dining dollars in hotels with a reputation for
providing quality F&B services and fair prices.
❑ F&B services can support the sale of other, more profitable hotel
features. 7
Similarities between Hotel and
Restaurant Food Services
❑ Basic principles for planning, managing financial resources,
food safety and food preparation, and controlling costs,
among numerous factors, are the same in restaurant and hotel
F&B operations.

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❑ Commercial Foodservice Operation – food services offered in
hotels, restaurants, and other organizations whose primary purpose
involves the generation of profits from the sale of food and
beverage products.
❑ Noncommercial Foodservice Operation – food services provided
by healthcare education, military, religious, and numerous other
organizations whose primary purpose is not to generate a profit
from the sale of food/beverage products but rather to support
another organizational purpose.

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 Operational Similarities
❑ Planning Issues – the need to begin planning by considering a menu
driven by the wants, needs, and/or preferences of those who will be served
is critical. The menu impacts the operation's design, facility layout,
equipment needs, and the labor required to produce and serve the menu
items to be offered.
❑ Financial concerns – economic issues are important in hotel and
restaurant operations. Operating budgets are required to estimate revenues
and plan for expenses.
❑ Emphasis on guests – guests will return when an F&B operation is well
managed. Repeat business generated by a properly managed F&B
department is vital to overall success.
❑ Cost-control procedures – food service operations of all types provide
numerous cost-control challenges when managing all available resources.

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 Operational Similarities
❑ Hotel F&B managers typically recruit the same type of
individuals as their restaurant counterparts.
❑ The number of F&B staff needed depends on the hotel’s size
and volume and the complexity of its products and services.
❑ Hotels and restaurants must recruit, select, and retain trained
F&B professionals.

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F&B Staff Positions

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 The F&B Director

❑ The F&B Director is

responsible for the
effective operation of the
F&B department and
usually reports to the
GM.

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 F&B Staff
❑ Culinarians are highly trained in food preparations and kitchen
management responsibilities and activities.
❑ Restaurant and Dining Room Managers operate the “open to the
public” restaurant facilities within the hotel.
❑ Catering Managers plan and supervise banquets, meetings,
catering, and special events held at the hotel.
❑ Beverage Managers and Bartenders manage and operate the
hotel’s alcoholic beverage outlets
❑ Kitchen Stewarding Staff maintain the kitchen spaces, wash
dishes, and assist the hotel’s food production personnel.
❑ Service staff serves guests in the hotel's restaurant, bar, lounge,
room service, and banquet areas.

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 Marketing-Related Differences
❑ Guest room revenues in a hotel are typically much higher than F&B
revenues. For this reason, many hotels emphasize guest room rentals – not
restaurant operations, in their marketing efforts.
❑ Location within the community – experienced restaurant operators know that location
is a significant factor in operating success. They place their restaurants in locations that
are easily accessible to potential guests. By contrast, hotels are placed in locations that
are most accessible to those guests desiring lodging accommodations.
❑ Location within the hotel – ideally, hotels catering to local (walk-in) guests typically
have outdoor signage and outdoor entrances to attract local diners.
❑ Menu – often, a hotel’s restaurant is designed to cater to the traveling guests it desires to
attract. It may need to offer an upscale menu or one in concert with a local theme.
❑ Marketing to hotel guests – guests in restaurants are there to enjoy the food, beverage,
service, and environment. By contrast, hotel guests may or may not be interested in, or
even know about, dining opportunities at the hotel. Hotel staff members’ job is to
encourage using the property’s F&B facilities.

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❑ Signage throughout the property, a coupon or other discount for
hotel guest diners, in-room advertising, features on the hotel’s
television channel, and an attractive display including the menu and
other food/wine-related items outside the restaurant’s lobby
entrance are all examples of ways to alert and encourage guests to
dine within the hotel.
❑ Another suggestion is cross-selling. A menu for one meal can
encourage guests to visit at other convenient times. Cross-selling
uses messages designed to advertise the availability of other hotel
services.

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❑ There are two other significant differences
between hotel and restaurant F&B operations:
❑ The “Contract-out” Option
❑ The package pricing possibilities

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 The “Contract-Out” Option
❑ Restaurants exist to generate profits from F&B sales, and hoteliers
want to sell guest rooms. Some hotels contract F&B operations to a
second party.
❑ Reasons why include a history of unprofitable experiences or the
owners having no F&B experience.
❑ Other outsourcing factors are specific to a property. A hotel in a
restaurant row, a term used to describe an area with numerous
competing restaurants within a very short (often walking) distance
from each other, may find more guests interested only in the
breakfast.

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 Package Pricing Example

Guest room $99.00 Excluded taxes

Champagne $10.00 In room
Chocolates $7.00 In room
Roses $8.00 2 long stem flowers in room
Dinner $30.00 $30/meal for 2 persons
Cocktails/Wine $24.00 2 cocktails/person for 2 persons @ $6.00 each
Service charges $11.00 For dinner and cocktails (13.2%)
Breakfast $20.00 $10.00/person for 2 persons
Service charges $2.00 For breakfast (10%)
$241.00 Rounded down to $239.99 for package price

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 Organization of Hotel F&B

Smaller Hotel:
Managerial functions are typically combined into just a few positions. The
F&B manager may be responsible for F&B purchasing, some accounting and
control activities, and the management of banquet operations, among other
duties.
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Larger Hotel:
Note that in a large hotel, the F&B manager’s position is now titled
“Director of F&B Operations.” the individual filling that position
supervises the work of an executive chef who, in turn, supervises a sous
chef and a banquet chef.

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 Menu Planning
❑ Food-service managers know that their operation’s eventual success will be
determined, in significant part, by the menu offered to the guests.
❑ Menu planning is determining which food and beverage items will most
please the guests while meeting established cost and profitability objectives.
❑ Many guest-related factors must be considered when planning menus:
❑ Purpose of visit – guests want an experience in line with the purpose of their
visit.
❑ Value – value relates to a guest’s perception of the selling price of an item
relative to the quality of the menu item, service, and dining experience.
❑ Demographic factors – characteristics such as age, marital status, gender,
ethnicity, and occupation impact menu item preferences.
❑ Other factors – social factors such as income, education, and wealth influence
guests’ menu preferences.

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 Menu Impacts:

Food Impacts
Service Menu
Operation

Successful
Product Personnel Layout/ Equipment Production
F&B
Purchases Needs Design Availability Volumes
Operations

Quantity

Quality

Cost

Availability
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 À la carte Service
❑ À la carte food dining can be divided into two activities:
❑ Moving food and beverage products from production
personnel to the food and beverage servers who
serve them to guests
❑ Moving food and beverage products from service
staff to guests

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 Room-Service Operations
❑ Luxury hotels and many other full-service hotels
typically offer room service; some provide it 24
hours per day, 7 days per week.
❑ Smaller full-service hotels generally offer room
service, but frequently on a more limited basis.
❑ Guests of all types may use room service.
❑ Large hotels employ a room-service manager with
total responsibility for this service.

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Room Service Operations’ Concern:
❑ Profitability
❑ Many hotels do not generate profits from room service. Why is room
service frequently unprofitable?
❑ Menu Planning Factors
❑ Quality control
❑ Minimum order
❑ Mandatory service charges
❑ Language issues
❑ Operating Issues
❑ Communications issues (ordering)
❑ Communication errors are not easily corrected
❑ Communication between room-service food production and service
staff is critical

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❑ Within Guest Room-Service Issues
Room service does not “end” when the order reaches the
guest room. Room service attendants must be adequately
trained in service procedures, including:
❑ Asking guests where the room-service meal should be set up
❑ Explaining procedures for retrieval of room-service items
❑ Presenting the guest check and securing payment
❑ Opening bottles of wine, if applicable
❑ Providing an attitude of genuine hospitality (as opposed to being
rushed to return to the kitchen for another room-service delivery)

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 Banquet Operations
❑ The ability to plan and deliver banquet events sold by a catering staff
salesperson separates F&B departments in hotels from many counterparts in
other hospitality industry segments.
❑ A hotel’s sales and marketing staff usually is responsible for generating
banquet business by negotiating contracts and arranging details for specific
events.
❑ Planning a single banquet for a group is similar to planning a banquet for a
convention or a more extensive group meeting, but there are some
differences, including:
❑ The need for coffee and refreshment breaks for attendees during intermissions
in business meetings.
❑ The potential need for hospitality suites and other functions within guest rooms.
❑ The potential set-up of receptions, breaks, and even dinner/buffet food services
in public spaces within the hotel that may not normally be used for these
purposes.

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 Profit Opportunities
❑ Banquet events are generally more profitable than
dining room operations for several reasons:
❑ Banquets are frequently used to celebrate special events. This
provides the opportunity for menu items that are more expensive
and, therefore, higher in the contribution margin
❑ The formula for the contribution margin is:

Contribution
Selling Price Product Cost
Margin

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Types of Banquet Bars
• Hosted Bar
– A beverage-service alternative in which the
function host pays for beverages during all or part
of the banquet event.
– Also called an “open” bar.
• Cash Bars
– A beverage-service alternative where guests
desiring beverages during a banquet function pay
for them personally.

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 Menu Planning
❑ Banquet menus must be carefully planned to ensure the
hotel has the resources to execute them, including
management and employee experience.
❑ Many hotels develop pre-established banquet menus.
❑ Successful catering is a matter of paying attention to
numerous details.

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 Service Styles
❑ Banquet events can use numerous ways to serve guests. These include:
❑ Butler Service
Appetizers and pre-poured champagne can be served by service staff at a reception.
❑ Buffet Service
Quantities of food are prearranged on a self-service line; guests pass along the line
and help themselves.
❑ Family Style (English style)
Platters and bowls of food are filled in the kitchen and brought to guests’ tables.
❑ French Service
Meals are prepared or finished at the tableside by service staff.
❑ Platter Service (Russian service)
Pre-plated food trays are brought to the table, where the server places individual
portions on guest plates that have been preset.
❑ Platter Service (American Service)
Pre-portioning of food on plates is brought to the table for service to the guests.
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 Beverage Functions
❑ Types of alcoholic beverages
❑ Call brands: high-priced and higher-quality alcoholic beverages that are
sold by the name
❑ Premium brands: the highest priced and highest quality beverages
generally available
❑ House brands (well brands): alcoholic beverages sold by the type
❑ Types of beverage charges:
❑ Individual Drink Price: Collecting cash or a ticket when each drink is
sold
❑ Bottle Charge: Charging on a by-bottle basis for each bottle
consumed/opened
❑ Per-Person Charge: Charging a specific price for beverages based on
attendance at the event
❑ Hourly Charge: charging a number of drinks/hour X number of guests
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❑ Labor and Other Charges
❑ Bartenders and barbacks
❑ Beverage servers
❑ Beverage cashiers
❑ Security personnel
❑ Valet (parking) staff
❑ Coat room employees
❑ Corkage Fee
❑ The charge levied when guests brings their own bottle of
alcoholic beverage to a hotel for consumption at a banquet
function or in the hotel’s dining room.

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 Banquet Room Set-Up
❑ In large hotels, banquet rooms may be set up by housekeeping (public space) staff.
❑ In other facilities, this activity may be the responsibility of staff members within the
F&B department. Regardless, the required activities are the same.
❑ Numerous details are involved in setting up a banquet room. Size is determined by:
❑ Number of guests expected
❑ Local fire safety codes and ordinances
❑ Size and type of dining room tables (e.g., round or rectangular)
❑ Number of seats per table
❑ Required space for aisles, dance floors, bandstands, other entertainment, head tables,
reception/buffet tables
❑ Timing is critical when:
❑ The same space is to be used for different functions throughout the same day
❑ A very large evening event precedes a very large breakfast event in the same space on the
following day

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 Banquet Contact and Billing
Policies
❑ Guest contact information
❑ Agreed-upon charges and prices
❑ Specific function room assignment
❑ Last date that function space will be held without a signed
contract
❑ Time by when a guarantee of attendance must be received
❑ Cancellation policies
❑ Guarantee reduction policy
❑ Billing
❑ Service of alcoholic beverages (if applicable)
❑ Other information applicable to the specific event
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Alcoholic Beverage Operations in
Hotels
❑ Good training protects guests, the public and the hotel
from tragedies and lawsuits
❑ Responsible service & consumption of alcoholic
beverages is an integral part of the responsibility of all F
& B managers in all types of operations.
❑ Train all hotel staff (i.e., non-F&B positions, e.g., front
desk, housekeeping, maintenance, and/or security staff) to
recognize and respond to visible signs of guests’
(non-guests) intoxication.
❑ Develop and implement ongoing training for responsible
service of alcoholic beverages.

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Trends in Hotel Food and
Beverage Operations

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❑ Trends Affecting the Food and Beverage Industry
❑ Changing Employee Expectations
▪ Flexible scheduling
▪ Professional development
▪ Support from leadership
❑ Increased Use of and Reliance on Technology
❑ AI
❑ Recruiting the Best Leadership Talent
❑ Food Safety Concerns
❑ Environmental Concerns
❑ Sustainability
❑ Food Planning and Purchasing Concerns
▪ Organic foods
▪ Locally sourced foods

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❑ Trends Affecting Hotel Food and Beverage
Operations
❑ Expanded F&B Offerings in Select-Service Properties
❑ Lobby bars; Lobby pantries; Grab and Go
❑ Large hotels renting lobby or other prime real estate spaces to
well-known restaurant brands
❑ Large hotels seeking to regain their roles as “the places to dine”
within their communities

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Thank You!

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