Determining your 'F&B DNA': are you a undecided?
The aubergiste, the entrepreneur, the restaurateur and the undecided (c) Thibault Prugne & Stéphane Bellon
In my final post on the subject of hotel F&B strategy driven by management, I want to look at a type of hotelier I call the undecided. (Read my first post, in which I suggest that a hotel’s F&B strategy is largely driven by the executive’s experience and attitude to the culinary side as a whole; and the first three hotelier categories that can define your approach as a hotelier to F&B – the aubergiste, the restaurateur and the entrepreneur.)
The undecided typically used to be an aubergiste or a restaurateur – someone who has met success in previous positions. For the undecided, a gastronomic restaurant is not a priority, while the rooms or meeting rooms that bring more profitability are. The undecided is not looking for rewards and awards, but rather to provide a consistent service to its clients, which ideally are both internal and external customers. No particular attention is given to the restaurant in terms of commercialization or communication. The restaurant, compared to the rooms or banquets, is more of a formality.
The undecided understands that F&B is strategic but doesn’t necessarily have (yet) a strategy.
The undecided doesn’t prioritize the restaurant compared to the rooms and does not drive any special attention to remarkable service even if it generally is of high quality. Large hotel chains that are pressured on budgets and are looking for high profit margins are often undecided, as they would rather invest in rooms and meetings than F&B. Hence they tend to operate the restaurants themselves rather than outsource.
I think that you understand that this is the most uncomfortable situation to be in.
So what type of hotelier are you?
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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