10 reasons why you want to have a great restaurant in your hotel!

Many folks spend many hours discussing the virtues of having a great restaurant in your hotel. Here are my top ten reasons to support having great Food and Beverage venues:

Charisma - It gives your hotel personality, it is the face of your hotel, and is brings life to your hotel, it makes it more than just a box!
Revenue - Food and Beverage can add substantial revenue to your operation. any successful hotel restaurants produce more F&B revenue than Rooms revenue. I understand it is not as profitable, however; if you go into it in the right mindset, it can definitely deliver great results.
Guest satisfaction - Your guests need to, and want to, eat! Having a great option in-house that doesn’t require a cab ride, or more traveling, is more often than not what a guest wants; and if it is a great experience, it will result in happy customers.
Guest Comfort and Security - Being in an environment where you know who the other guests are, travelers like themselves, makes guests feel at home. They can relax in this safe and vibrant atmosphere and enjoy some good conversation, or some peace and quiet, after a hectic day!
Marketing - It should be newsworthy and social media worthy. Hopefully it is, and if not, make it so! Postings and photos should be uploaded daily. Having your name out there, as a place where things are happening, tells others that this is a hip and trendy place to stay!
Engagement - It's a great way to connect with your customers. The service staff can engage and communicate with guests and make memories. In the [rare] case where something is going wrong, this gives you another opportunity to recover and make it right.
Return Guests - It's a great way to bring them back. When a guest feels connected, warm and welcome, it brings repeat business. So many of our guests travel for a living and you can be their home away from home.
Nostalgia – If you are like me, you grew up in a time when eating out at a hotel was special, let’s bring back those times!
Being a part of the community – A great restaurant that is a place to frequent, has a sense of place, and is topic of discussion - gives us a strong link to the community. Host meetings, special events, dinners and receptions, and welcome local patrons.
For us! – It creates a fun, vibrant and happy place to work. All of the glitz and glamour; isn't this why we all got into the business in the first place?

So, don't be shortsighted and look only at the big picture. Understand up front that it is going to cost a little more as a percentage of profit, but it still will bring more revenue to the bottom line.

Don't short change yourself, make sure that you do it right. Trying to cut expenses at every corner will not make a great restaurant. If you are going to do this, then don’t operate a restaurant at all! Too many times, the CPA or accountant is the one to question this. Be ready with the numbers!

Realize however, that better guest satisfaction results in more guests. That results in more revenue, more occupied guest rooms: and all of that results in happy owners!

Be proud, do it right, and the top line will take care of any bottom line issues.

Russ Blakeborough