During economic hard times, understanding what consumers want can mean the difference between success and failure. While our forecast isn’t optimistic about a quick return to growth, we continue to be bullish about our industry over the long term. Understanding how consumers use F&B services at hotels will be more important than ever. This is especially true in markets where rapid deceleration of sales makes competition more intense.

Here are proactive ideas to consider about your property and F&B business:

• Banquets and catering will drive sales for most properties. Banquet and catering dollars represent about 40 percent of total hotel F&B revenues and are often much higher for individual properties. Having a best-in-class banquet business can help during lean times. What are you doing with banquet space or offerings to differentiate your property from the competition? We see the key question as: Of the 37 percent of consumers who attended a catered group event or meeting at a hotel in the past year, how many of those groups and guests plan to return?
  
  
• Local consumers historically haven’t visited hotels for food and beverage, but that may be changing. With travel down, we believe hotels can be more attuned to the local market and focus on ways to drive traffic from these consumers. The “staycation” has gotten a fair amount of press, and properties should look for ways to bring these consumers in to help enhance their staycation experiences.
  
  
• Premium complimentary breakfasts build value and customer loyalty. The majority of properties offer some type of breakfast. For value-conscious consumers, this is becoming increasingly important. Upscaling complimentary breakfast offerings helps properties compete by attracting new guests and keeping current customers loyal.
  
  
• People still want to treat themselves. Despite this, when consumers get pinched, some of the first areas they cut are the extras, like desserts and appetizers. Providing smaller portions and more options or bundling these with meals can help keep sales up and provide some hedge against falling check averages.
  
  
• Use specialty beverages to drive summer sales. Smoothies and specialty drinks have been big the past several years, and they will no doubt be mainstays on most menus again this summer. While the higher price point may drive some guests away, hotels are in a unique position to tap into the need for small indulgences. Specialty beverages can be a way to do that.
  
  
• Be flexible with the space in your hotel. Hoteliers are increasingly using open space, especially reception and lobby areas, to produce additional revenue and meet guest demands. These are visual focal points for guests and can build energy around F&B offerings. For properties located in urban markets, there may be even more options to draw in pedestrian traffic for a unique F&B experience.
  

Like the rest of the foodservice industry, hotel F&B is being challenged by economic uncertainty. There’s no magic bullet to turning the business around, but understanding consumers and how they use your F&B program is critical to keeping the business close to the consumer.

David Henkes is a VP at Technomic, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on away-from-home eating and drinking. For more information on food and beverage trends in foodservice, please contact David at 312-506-3927 or at dhenkes@technomic.com.