Creativity, training, innovation, and quality ingredients may be essential for F&B success in any outlet. Bill Bell, F&B director of the Wyndham Syracuse, says his staff adds another more elusive item. Bell heads an operation that brings in $5.5 million for the 250- room property with 12,500 square feet of meeting space. Business groups account for a majority of revenue, followed by social functions and the hotel’s 160-seat restaurant. Wyndham Syracuse has a strategic location near Syracuse University, New York’s sparkling Finger Lakes, and the city’s central business district. Mountains and Turning Stone Casino are nearby, so location plays a role in pumping the bottom line.

But Bell’s secret, he says, is a staff with longevity and an attitude of service. “We have people in our kitchen who have been here 27 years—since the hotel opened,” he says. “Our GM has been here 17 of those years. He knows everyone, including repeat customers who know they can pick up the phone and talk to anyone on our staff. Our various departments talk and interact very well, on a first name basis. I think our strength is that when we have a problem, we sit down and talk it out. From the top down, there’s also an attitude of service. We aren’t like so many who get so focused on profit that they give up the human side of service.”

Bearing out Bell’s assessment are Wyndham customer surveys putting the hotel at the top of the company’s customer service survey results, especially in room service. Wyndham Syracuse has placed number one in the company.

Though exemplary service is primary, Bell said, the F&B staff never forgets the need to innovate. The latest is “deconstructed” menus that are gaining in customer popularity, particularly on social occasions like Father’s Day brunch which attracted 500 last June, Mother’s Day (1,500), Christmas, and Easter.

“We’ll do simple buffet stations for gumbo, pasta, and tacos to get guests involved in a fun interactive way,” says Bell. “They like the choices this gives them to select the food they want—salt free or whatever. These menus are great revenue builders for us too, because they lower food costs. There’s not much prepping necessary, and you can command portions,” says Bell.

Portion control is also evident in the hotel’s plated presentations. Smaller servings and simple presentations are successful because guests are more health conscious and don’t eat as much as they used to, he says.