Hotel F&B isn't an amenity, it's strategy

Working closely with owners and development teams, Trip Schneck helps shape food and beverage into a true strategic asset, from early planning through day-to-day operations. As managing partner at Colicchio Consulting, he operates at the intersection of culinary creativity and hotel reality.

Here, he shares the result of those efforts: concepts that reflect place, meet business goals and give hotels a reason to be chosen, not just stayed in. 

—Interview by Jennifer Glatt, edited by Bianca Prieto

Where do independent hotel owners most underestimate what it takes to build strong F&B?

I think most independents underestimate and undervalue the importance of cultural relevance while developing food and beverage programs. Hotels that elect to follow a DIY path in developing their own in-house concepts often look only at either what they know or what seems hot at the moment. They often fail to think about food and beverage as a long-term proposition. Developing concepts with staying power should be the goal.

How do you protect a chef- or concept-driven vision while still meeting hotel operational and ROI realities?

This starts with alignment; securing a third-party F&B partner whose operational standards match up with those of the brand or independent hotel. Extensive underwriting is critical. We seek out chefs and restaurateurs who are creative, collaborative and have sound financial acumen. A well-constructed management or license agreement with a chef or restaurateur will provide hotel ownership with protection to ensure both top-line and bottom-line objectives are being met, while also securing ongoing quality control and training from the chef to maintain culinary integrity. 

F&B is often designed to serve in-house guests first. What do hotels miss when they fail to build it as a demand driver for the broader market?

They miss profitability! Our curation and underwriting process always begins with assessing “regional royalty.” Who are the most successful chefs and restaurateurs locally and regionally? In many markets, partnering with an “outsider” is considered carpetbagging, which is a turn-off for many locals, because they know they are not getting the home team.

A successful hotel food and beverage program should certainly cater to its guests, but it should really lean strongly into the tastes of the local population. The reality is that many guests traveling today prefer to visit a city as a local and experience quality chef-driven food and beverage, as opposed to a chain restaurant they could experience anywhere.

How does involving F&B early shape better outcomes for new builds or hotel repositionings?

The earlier F&B is introduced as a core concept of your hotel’s vision, the more closely ingrained it becomes in the DNA of your property and makes it stand out among competitors. The quality of a full-service hotel’s F&B can often mean the difference between fleeting and long-term success in a market. 

Travelers can tell when a hotel’s leadership team puts care, dedication and training into its F&B programming, which is often reflected in guest satisfaction scores. Lastly, the value of a hotel as an asset is often tied to its place in the local community. Establishing your property as an F&B destination gives it a favorable position in negotiations.

How can operators tell when an F&B concept is truly resonating with the local market, not just hotel guests?

When your property is busy on a Wednesday. Mid-week traffic is often the ultimate barometer of successful hospitality F&B, and hotels that can keep their restaurants full on any day of the week are at a distinct advantage. Doing so requires a strong F&B concept that includes consistent programming that resonates with the local market. Sometimes it’s a pianist doing Cole Porter at the bar; sometimes it’s a wine tasting. Consistent service and a commitment to ongoing experimentation to stay current wins the day every time.  

Anything else you’d like to share?

Hotel food and beverage can no longer be an afterthought, and it can no longer stand alone. It should not be thought of as a loss leader; it should be thought of as a differentiator and a driver of both rate and occupancy. Thoughtfully curated and culturally relevant hotel food and beverage, combined with thoughtful space programming, should produce incremental revenue and also provide a quantifiable lift to the RevPAR index.

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Mint Pillow is curated and written by Jennifer Glatt and edited by Bianca Prieto