Hotel Food Service: How Does It Work?

Hotel catering. A tourist has needs when traveling. Accommodation in a hotel that meets all your needs is undoubtedly one of them. Catering must also respond to specific needs. In fact, it is equally important that travellers, when they stay in a hotel, can count on a quality restaurant service. This is where the concept of hotel catering was born. We are therefore talking about an attractive catering service for the guest, which must arise from an effective organizational strategy.

The restaurant in the hotel is an example of good organization and presents itself as an important plus that is taken into consideration by those who decide to stay in a particular hotel. This type of service is usually also open to external customers and it is possible to enjoy different formulas: brunch, snack or aperitif. In fact, there are many entrepreneurs in the HORECA sector who decide to provide this type of service impeccably to their customers.

Just as for a normal restaurant in the city, the discussion about the identity of a restaurant also applies to the hotel world. By defining which operational strategies to implement, and which formulas you want to prepare for customers, it is not difficult to provide your restaurant with a real personality. Therefore, brand reputation also plays an important role in this context.

Hotel catering: what is the right format?

Hotel catering

There is no right or wrong format for a restaurant in a hotel. Any option can be considered. Much certainly depends on the type of cuisine you want to serve to your customers, but not only that, also on the style of the hotel.

A restaurant concept revolves around 4 essential elements:

• the format
• the brand
• the staff
• the decor and style of the restaurant

A restaurant in a hotel must certainly express a feeling of conviviality and familiarity. When staying in a hotel, customers want to be served impeccably, especially when it comes to hotels with 3 stars and above. In any case, the format should respect the style of the restaurant quite precisely. The food experience must be in line with the brand that offers it. For example, a 5-star hotel will have to offer a very high quality gastronomic offer with gourmet specialties and similar.

Hotel catering characteristics

Hotel catering

When we talk about hotel catering, two concepts might immediately come to mind: quality and flexibility. Obviously all the foods served must be prepared with fresh, first choice ingredients, in order to be able to offer customers a culinary offering of the highest level. As for flexibility, this concept cannot be foreign to the world of hotel catering either.

It is necessary to be able to offer a loose proposal to any type of customer, any target and at any time. A 24-hour restaurant service is certainly an added value for a hotel. Another solution could be that of a restaurant or lounge bar. In short, we are talking about very popular solutions that are certainly attractive to any type of customer.

Management advice

Hotel catering

After having defined the concept of your restaurant, you need to understand what the operational steps will be to follow to best manage the restaurant. Cost management cannot be ignored. It is therefore important to do a preventive analysis of costs and revenues to understand how to proceed, but not only that.

The management aspect must also include the control of suppliers, the definition of the food cost, the establishment of a periodic inventory and the organization of the warehouse. In this case it could be helpful to choose a management program that helps you in this endeavor. Managing the warehouse could be quite a laborious undertaking, but with the help of management software, all the work could be significantly streamlined.Ristomanager is an excellent proposal in this sense!

Conclusions

Setting up a catering service inside a hotel could really make your business explode, making it even more competitive and productive. By also providing customers with a catering service it will be possible to give them a range of options to choose from, allowing them to choose "the complete package". In this way customers will be able to enjoy a comfortable and relaxing service. They will be able to feel at home by deciding to dine at the hotel restaurant and the managers of this business will only have to provide them with all the comforts they need.

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