Your 'F&B DNA' reveals what kind of hotelier you are
What type of hotelier are you? An aubergiste, entrepreneur, restaurateur or undecided? Your F&B strategy may tell the story. But first of all: No single hotel F&B strategy fits all. There is only “a good strategy” – the one that’s right for you, the one that fits your objectives. Whether that’s outsourcing, hiring a celebrity chef, getting a franchise, doing the cooking yourself or incubating new talents, it doesn’t really matter.
The idea for this post is not so much the strategy but to highlight the impact that the “boss” has on that approach. In fact, I believe there is and should be a strong alignment between the general managers’s “F&B DNA” and the hotel’s F&B strategy. The way you put your F&B strategy together and execute it is highly related to your own identity.
Your F&B DNA is what you have accumulated over the years in building your relationship with F&B topics. Be it through education, your mentors, experiences, training or even your personal interest in the topics; do you cook at home; do you love discovering new restaurants; do you like going to the market to find your products; do you enjoy watching and learning from chefs and restaurateurs?
Or perhaps you believe that there already are enough restaurants in your city; that the hotel business is more about rooms; that speaking with a chef is like dealing with a diva; that F&B can never make profit. The reasons for your stance on F&B are as varied as each person.
Different approaches
A simple matrix illustrates the different approaches:
NB #1: I invented this matrix based on observations from biographies, published interviews, press releases, websites, encounters with top-level hotel decision-makers, and almost 20 years of dealing with F&B issues, from hotelier, restaurateur and consultant points of views. It was also inspired by books like “Strategor”, which has always highlighted the importance of identity and corporate culture when setting up a strategy. This matrix attempts to categorize hoteliers based on their relationship with an attitude toward gastronomy. My hypothesis is that the level of “restaurateur DNA” correlates with the F&B strategy or its absence.
NB #2: In the case of a hotel group (with a CEO, a COO and a vice president of F&B), the same reasoning and logic may apply, simply with more complexity due to different levels.
Next week, we’ll tackle the first of the four F&B types: The aubergiste.
Stephane Bellon is the founder of Studionomie, an agency specializing in creating and developing original dining concepts. Previously, Bellon was vice president of corporate F&B for Kempinski Hotels for four years, overseeing the company's worldwide F&B strategy. Before joining Kempinski, Bellon worked alongside Alain Ducasse, prospecting new business opportunities and developing restaurant concepts. A graduate of business school HEC Paris, his book, “Gastronomie et Hôtellerie, secrets de cuisine” has been welcomed as a reference in the industry.
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