1. Chapter 10 Food and Beverage

2. Cost-Control Procedures
Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Similarities: Hotel and Restaurant Food Services
Planning Issues
Financial Concerns
All food service operations must assess financial status
– Operating budget
– Income statement / balance
sheet / cash flow statement
Plan by focusing on menu
Menu impacts operational factors:
Menu driven by guests’ wants, needs, and/or preferences
– Layout/equipment
– Labor for production, service, and cleanup
– F&B products for purchase
Necessity for standard operating procedures
– Purchasing / receiving / storing
/ issuing / prepreparation /
preparation / serving / service
Cost-Control Procedures
Marketing concerns
Repeat business important to financial success
Emphasis on Consumers
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

3. Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Steps in Food and Beverage Product Control
Step 1: Purchasing
Step 2: Receiving
Step 3: Storing
Step 4: Issuing
Step 5: Prepreparation
Step 6: Preparation
Step 7: Serving
Step 8: Service
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

4. Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Steps in Food and Beverage Product Control (cont.)
Develop purchase specification
Supplier selection
Purchasing correct quantities
No collusion between property and supplier
Evaluation of purchasing process
Step 1:
Purchasing
Development of receiving procedures
Completion of necessary receiving reports (e.g., addressing financial and security concerns)
Step 2:
Receiving
Effective use of appropriate inventory systems
Control of product quality
Securing products from theft
Location of products within storage areas
Step 3:
Storing
Step 4:
Issuing
Product rotation concerns
Matching issues (issue and usage)
Purchasing as inventory is depleted
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

5. Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Steps in Food and Beverage Product Control (cont.)
Prepreparation
Mise-en-place
Minimizing food waste/maximizing nutrient retention
Use of standardized recipes
Step 6:
Preparation
Use of portion control
Requirements for food and employee safety
Timing of incoming food delivery
Step 7:
Serving
Portion control
Revenue management concerns
Revenue control concerns
Step 8:
Service
Serving alcoholic beverage responsibly
Sanitation and cleanliness
Food and beverage server attentiveness
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

6. Practice of Empowerment To meet unanticipated guest needs effectively:
Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Personnel Requirement Similarities
Practice of Empowerment
Transferring some decision-making responsibility and power to front-line employees
Enhancing service to guests and increasing profits for the organization 
To meet unanticipated guest needs effectively:
Staff must be trained in standardized procedures.
Managers must provide clear direction to employees.
Managers must provide necessary resources.
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

7. Profitability = Revenue – Expenses
Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Profitability Differences
Profitability = Revenue – Expenses
Profit amounts generated by restaurant F&B is relatively easy to calculate.
The process of allocating revenues and expenses applicable to F&B services in a hotel is more difficult.
Costs of F&B sales is generally higher in a restaurant than in a hotel.
Hotel’s “bottom line” profit from F&B sales is likely to be lower than a restaurant’s.
Payroll costs (or fixed-labor costs) are higher than in a restaurant.
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

8. Location within the Community Location within a Hotel
Overview of Hotel Food and Beverage Operations: Marketing-Related Differences
Location within the Community
Restaurants: Locations easily accessible to potential guests
Hotels: Locations most accessible to guests desiring lodging accommodations
Location within a Hotel
Restaurants: Locations easily accessible to potential guests
Hotels: Locations most accessible to guests desiring lodging accommodations
For hotels, food and beverage service is viewed as an amenity or secondary objective (sale of guest rooms is primary objective)
Menu
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

9. Room Service Operations: Profitability Concerns
Why does it lose money?
Relatively few properties generate profits from room service
Very high labor costs
High expenses incurred for capital costs
– Delivery carts/warming devices
Why offered?
Service to guests
Impacts hotel rating
– Some guests select hotels based on room service availability
High expenses incurred for capital costs
- Delivery carts / warming devices
Offer hospitality suite business
Provide hosted events
How to offset losses?
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

10. Room Service Operations: Menu Planning Factors
Quality Concerns
Less likely to oversee room service food quality
Must offer products that maintain quality during holding and transportation to guest room
(e.g., problems with omelets and french fries)
Cross-Selling
Advertising availability of other hotel services
– Dinner menu providing information about Sunday brunch
Menu Language
Language barriers for international guests
– Use of pictures and multilingual menu descriptions
Clearly state ordering requirements
– Minimum order charges/mandatory tipping policies
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

11. Room Service Operations: Operating Issues
An inaccurate room service order cannot be corrected quickly.
A minor problem in room service may impact guests’ perceptions about the entire lodging experience.
Communication
Guest placing order / order taker / room service production-service staff / room service staff
Abbreviations should be clearly understood by order taker and food production staff
Technology
Improving the accuracy of room service orders
– Electronic cash register (ECR) / point-of-sale terminal /
remote printer
Upselling Technique
Opportunities for upselling are overlooked.
Upselling increases guest check average.
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

12. Room Service Operations: Within Guest Room Service
Training Issues for Room Service Attendants
Explaining procedures for retrieval of room service items
Asking guests where room service meal should be set up
Presenting the guest check and securing payment
Opening wine bottles (if applicable)
Providing an attitude of genuine hospitality
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

13. Banquet Operations: Profit Opportunities
Well-planned banquets can be profitable!
Banquet menu has higher contribution margin.
– Banquets frequently celebrate special events.
Forecasting and planning production, service, and labor are relatively easy.
– Formal guarantee is made
– Less likelihood of overproduction of food with subsequent waste
Beverage sales from hosted or cash bars increase profit.
– Capable of increasing alcoholic beverage sales
Increasing market share of the community’s banquet business
Increasing property’s profitability
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

14. Banquet Operations: Menu Planning
Factors/concerns for planning banquet menus:
Guest preferences
Ability to consistently produce items of the desired quality
Availability of ingredients required to produce the menu
Production/service staff with appropriate skills
Equipment, layout, and facility design issues
Nutritional issues
Sanitation concerns
Peak volume production and operating concerns
Ability to generate required profit levels
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

15. Banquet Operations: Service Styles
Butler Service
Appetizers and prepoured champagne can be served by service staff at a reception while guests stand.
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 tableside by service staff (e.g., tossing Caesar salad/flambéing entrée)
Platter Service
Production staff plate food in the kitchen; service staff bring it to the table and place individual portions on guests’ plates.
Plated Service (American Service)
Production staff preportion food on plates in kitchen; service staff serve to guests.
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

16. Banquet Operations: Beverage Functions
Various Ways to Charge for Beverages
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 and/or opened
Per-Person Charge
Charging a specific price for beverages based on attendance at the event
Hourly Charge
Charging the host a specific price for each hour of beverage service
Specific Per-Event Charge
Using hours of beverage service; charging number of drinks per hour times number of guests
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

17. Banquet Operations: Banquet Room Set-Up
Size
Timing
Determined by:
Number of expected guests
Local fire safety codes/ ordinances
Types and sizes of tables, chairs, and other equipment
Number of seats per table
Required space for aisles, dance floors, band stands, other entertainment, and head tables.
Reception/buffet tables
Becomes critical when:
The same room to be used same day for different functions
Large evening event precedes following day’s large breakfast event in same room
Two Critical Concerns
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

18. Banquet Operations: Banquet Contracts and Billing Policies
Topics in banquet contract:
Last date that banquet space will be held without signed contract
Time that a guarantee of attendance must be received
Cancellation policies
Guarantee reduction policy
Billing: Amount and schedule for guest payment
Information about service of alcoholic beverages
Other information applicable to a specific event
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

19. Alcoholic Beverage Service in Hotels
Good training protects guests, the public, and the hotel from tragedies and lawsuits.
Responsible service and consumption of alcoholic beverage is an integral part of the responsibility of all F&B managers in all types of operations.
Train all staff in the hotel (including non-F&B positions, e.g., front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, and/or security staff) to recognize and respond to visible signs of guests’ (and nonguests’) intoxication.
Develop and implement ongoing training for responsible service of alcoholic beverages.
Hotel Operations Management, 2nd ed. ©2007 Pearson Education
Hayes/Ninemeier Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458