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Hotel Wine, Beer & Spirits Update
Special Edition: August 2008 Click here to subscribe» |
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Loews Banquet Wine Stations
Wines-by-the-glass program boosts sales, guest feedback By Michael Costa 
It's cheers for tiers at Loews Hotels. The brand's three-tiered "wines-by-the-glass" program has been a hit with banquet customers since it rolled out last November, increasing wine sales by 12 percent. Loews created three tiers based on a group's budget: Select, Premium, and Luxury. Each tier includes five different varietals. (Click here for a list of the 15 selected wines.) Burke Van Slyke and her staff started with 400 wines, and through blind tastings and other tests, whittled it down to a core of 15. Those wines are also on by-the-glass menus at other outlets throughout each property, meaning leftovers from a banquet can be used immediately. Each tier is replicated at all 18 Loews hotels, with different pricing depending on the location. Because the core wines are used in a banquet application, the chosen wineries had to have a reputation for quality across vintages, according to Burke Van Slyke. If one year isn't available, it can be replaced without a drastic change in flavor profile. "We're keeping practical issues of timing, budget and volume in mind for banquet service," she says. Guest Test When a customer attends an event, they go to a bar or an interactive buffet station, where customized, framed menus with tasting notes for each wine-by-the-glass are available. They order their choice from a trained staff member, who has tasted each wine and can answer any questions. For refills, the guest returns to the bar or interactive station. Also, depending on the size of the group, stemware can be upgraded for an additional fee.  [click on image to enlarge] Overall, the program is not aimed at plated banquets, because it would be "intrusive and disruptive" at a time-sensitive event like a wedding or an awards dinner, according to Burke Van Slyke. She says individual wines are usually selected ahead of those events and paired with specific dishes on the menu. A Second Round Reds and whites are selling almost equally across all three tiers, Burke Van Slyke says, which she adds is a sign customers are "extremely wine savvy." To respond to that savviness, Loews will add a port to each tier in the coming year, and perhaps a Cognac too. "As our clientele becomes more sophisticated, we have to respond in kind or be left behind. Wine-by-the-glass programs have been around since the early 1980s, so it's about time banquets caught up."
King Crimson Hotel Sax's hot bar draws crowds By Michael Costa In this election year, it's appropriate to note that success has been achieved through democracy in one of Chicago's most popular hotel nightspots, Crimson Lounge at the Hotel Sax, formerly a House of Blues hotel. "Our crowd is about 50/50 between locals and in-house guests. Other properties usually try to appeal to what they think is the "cool" crowd, and it usually blows up in their face," says Matthew McCahill, general manager, Crimson Lounge. "They end up attracting those people for a few months, and they're left with no clientele when that crowd moves on," he adds. Crimson Lounge is open seven nights a week, and McCahill says it has nearly tripled its customer base since opening in July 2007, from about 200 people on a busy night to 600. It also coincided with a construction boom surrounding the area, which is transforming a tourist hotspot into a condominium-filled neighborhood. However, it's not just an open door-policy that makes Crimson Lounge a hit. What's inside has been carefully constructed to be as eclectic as the guests, who McCahill says are typically between 25 and 40 years old.  Despite Hotel Sax's nondescript exterior, the unique and wildly popular Crimson Lounge awaits just inside. House of Blues Clues Under the House of Blues, the Crimson Lounge space was called Kaz Bar. It featured Middle Eastern-style décor in a corporate-branded style consistent with the House of Blues franchise, and it targeted hotel guests. When Hotel Sax took over in 2007, they hired designer Colum McCartan to give the space a new identity, and the result was a lounge that combined Gothic European, Asian, and luxurious Middle Eastern influences. The unique, less-touristy look started attracting customers living nearby. "It has more intimate areas than a regular hotel bar, which locals love," says Adam Kaplan, director of marketing, Hotel Sax Chicago. "The goal was to create something not of a specific time or place, but a combination of them. Something that had luxury touches from many different styles." All the Small Things Beyond the décor are basic elements that can make or break repeat business in a hotel lounge: The professionalism of the staff, the quality of the drinks, and the music. McCahill says most of the mixologists at Crimson Lounge are United States Bartenders' Guild members, and are in their 30's or older, so they view it as a profession. The bartenders also bring their own fresh fruit to their shifts, so their signature cocktails can change depending on the ingredients that day, giving guests another reason to return. As for music, McCahill says they have DJs five times a week, and live bands as well. The type of music changes night-to-night, depending on what the crowd wants, essential for a different blend of customers daily. "You can have a beautiful place, but if you combine that with listening to the guest and focusing on great service, people will return. That's how we've kept our local clientele," McCahill says.
Missed Opportunity Do hotels miss the mark in promoting brews? By Mckenzie Brown While traveling around the country, Stephen Beaumont, beverage consultant and founder of The 8 Hour Beer Expert program (www.worldofbeer.com), noticed something missing from employee training sessions. Everyone thought it was important to bring in wine and spirits professionals to educate their staffs, yet thought nothing of beer training and education," he says. "If you're going to sell beer, you have to give the customer the full experience." Beaumont says promoting the "full experience" of beer in a hotel's beverage program can increase draft and bottled beer sales by 30 to 50 percent. "Beer has suffered from an image problem for a long time, but premium beers are changing that. They're hot right now—incredibly hot," says Beaumont. "Hotels should consider stocking up on ultra-premium bottled beer." Some other tips Beaumont says can help hotels boost beer sales include:
Makeover at Maison 140 Regional focus transforms wine tastings into weekly sellouts By Michael Costa  Success story: Locals flock to Wednesday wine tastings. Last February, Maison 140 Beverly Hills made major changes to its Vin et Fromage tasting program, turning a monthly underachiever into a weekly hit, especially with locals. "They know what to expect now when they arrive," says Marie-Helene Morowati, hotel manager, Maison 140 Beverly Hills. "It's not a big expense, and it's a friendly atmosphere. People aren't moving furniture around to make it a special event. It simply is as it is." It might be "as it is" now, but Vin et Fromage used to be different: held on one Monday night each month, costing $45 to get in, and featuring multiple wines from multiple vineyards without any focused themes; it was not successful. "[It was] very difficult to make a memorable impression on guests," Morowati says. "In the crowded world of hotel wine tastings, Vin et Fromage needed a makeover if it was going to catch the public eye." Alterations Like a group of F&B surgeons, Morowati and her staff operated on Vin et Fromage, making the following changes to attract more customers:
Morowati says the new "flexible format" allows guests to come and go any time between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Customers are given a menu of the evening's wine and cheese pairings, featuring 3 to 5 different varietals. They can choose their cheeses from a nearby buffet table while the winemaker walks around to each group of seated guests, pouring wine and explaining the story behind each varietal. Local Payoff Morowati says Vin et Fromage's current success comes from its renewed focus on locals. Not only by featuring California vineyards, but also pairing the wine with artisanal cheeses from nearby Froma on Melrose and understanding that guests don't want to be rushed through a stiff, choreographed event with a time limit. "People go at their own pace here. Most of them are from the neighborhood or companies close to the hotel. It's like they're getting together with friends every week, and it's obviously more reasonable to go out on a Wednesday night and spend $25 instead of $45," Morowati says. Seeing Green Organic cocktails generate after-work business at XYZ Bar By Michael Costa Attracting eco-conscious customers is a new twist at XYZ Bar at the W San Francisco. Monday through Friday between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., XYZ Bar features the Eco-licious Cocktail Mixer, where guests drink all-organic cocktails, biodynamic wines, and microbrew beers at reduced prices. 
"San Francisco is one of the greenest cities in the country, so we definitely thought there'd be a market for this," says Mark Ernst, director of outlets, W San Francisco. Since the hotel debuted Eco-licious last April, Ernst says they've seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in happy hour business at XYZ Bar. "Creating a happy hour theme is often difficult. Normally, you're offering discount drinks for half price or five dollars off or whatever," Ernst says. "But our hotel has an environmentally conscious mindset. For example, we offer 300 wines that are either organic or biodynamic, and our executive chef uses almost 100 percent organic produce on his menus. We thought we should continue that with Eco-licious," he adds. Cost Challenge Seventy percent of the customers attending Eco-licious are locals, and because San Francisco is among the most environmentally aware cities in the world, Ernst says the concept was accepted immediately. "We've had incredible response from locals who choose to drink organic and make a conscious decision to support these products and lessen their carbon footprint," says Ernst. Those products, however, especially organic spirits like Square One Vodka or 4 Copas Tequila, are expensive and required some tough pricing decisions to help get Eco-licious off the ground. "We're absorbing some of the costs to make sure this program is successful. We can't afford to do 2-for-1 on a cocktail when we're featuring liquor that's priced at $40 a bottle, for example. But in the end, we didn't want to put a $17 cocktail out there and alienate people immediately," Ernst says. The solution was to offer the organic cocktails at $10 each during Eco-licious hours. That's a few dollars more than regular happy hour cocktails, but less than what an all-organic cocktail would normally be priced. Ernst says Bay-area customers understand the difference and have responded enthusiastically.
TREND TRACKING What's on the 2009 horizon for your hotel? Hotel F&B magazine and Technomic Inc. invite you to a one-day executive conference on September 18, 2008, near easy in/out Chicago O’Hare Airport. You’ll receive the latest research in consumer dining trends that can impact your menus, service, and concepts. You can share these insights with your entire staff. Here are some of the areas that will be covered: ♦ Industry Update and Forecast: What’s on the 2009 Horizon for your Hotel?We’ve created this event exclusively for hotels and, particularly, with executives such as yourself in mind. Do not miss it. Business Intelligence, Absolutely Free! We guarantee you will be delighted with this market intelligence. AND—the conference is FREE if you register at the normal price. ♦ Sign up at the normal price. Go to www.hotelfandb.com/2009trends.asp. “Technomic is a powerhouse of information. This is perhaps the most comprehensive, consumer-based data source for hotel F&B professionals to benefit their operations.” Sponsored by: 
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In this issue: Trend Tracking What's on the 2009 horizon for your hotel? Seeing Green Organic cocktails generate after-work business at XYZ Bar Makeover at Maison 140 Regional focus transforms wine tastings into weekly sellouts Missed Opportunity Do hotels miss the mark in promoting brews? King Crimson Hotel Sax's hot bar draws crowds (with photo gallery) Loews Banquet Wine Stations Wines-by-the-glass program boosts sales, guest feedback 
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Corporate Editorial Advisory Board Brian Abel Senior Director, F&B Development, Westin Hotels Kris Beck Director, Brand Operations Support, Embassy Suites Hotels Phil Beilke Senior Director Brand Management, Cambria Suites Mary Bentley President, Women's Foodservice Forum Terry Bickhardt President/COO, Waterford Hotel Group Don Billings President, Incentive Marketing Inc. (iMi) Elizabeth Blau President, Blau & Associates Pete Boyd VP F&B, The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino Tom Brija President, Spring USA Ernie Catanzaro VP Operations, The Dow Hotel Company Nicholas Clayton President, Kor Hotel Group Paul Daly Asst VP F&B, Hyatt Hotels Fred DeMicco University of Delaware Giorgi DiLemis VP F&B, Gaylord Hotels Andy Dolce Chairman and Managing Director, Dolce Hotels Marion Edwards Corporate Director, F&B Experience and Concept Development, Great Wolf Resorts Matt Engels VP Hotel Operations, Red Lion Hotels Steve Enselein VP, Catering and Convention Services, Hyatt Hotels Richard Faeh Corporate Executive Chef, Starwood Hotels Don Fisher President/CEO, Fisher-Nickel Inc. Frank Fraser Catering Director, Mandalay Bay George Goodrich Corporate Director F&B, Red Lion Hotels Steve Hedberg VP Operations, Carlson Hospitality International Michael Heeb VP, Paragon Gaming David Henkes VP, Technomic Inc. Menze Heroian VP Food & Beverage, Tishman Hotel Corp. Jean-marc Jalbert VP F&B, Accor North America Dieter Kadoke President, PointSource LLC Steve Kirsch Director of Culinary Operations, Holland America Line Niki Leondakis COO, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants David McIntyre VP F&B, MGM Grand Scott McMinn VP, Benchmark Hospitality Corporation Bart Mahoney VP F&B, Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas Tobias Mattstedt VP Restaurant Development, MGM Grand Sue Morgan VP Franchise F&B, InterContinental Hotels Vito Palmietto Corporate Director F&B, JQH Hotels Stephen Rosenstock VP Brand Standards and F&B, Omni Hotels & Resorts Gus Sader President/CEO, Hospitality Asset Services Fernando Salazar VP F&B, Wyndham Worldwide Hotels & Resorts Martie Sparks VP, Catering & Convention Services, Mandalay Bay Roger Taylor VP F&B, Columbia Sussex Corporation Frederick M. Tibbitts, Jr. President, Fred Tibbitts & Associates Rob Underwood Corporate Executive Chef, Great Wolf Resorts Ellen Burke Van Slyke Corporate Creative Director of F&B, Loews Hotels Matthew Von Ertfelda VP Restaurants & Bars, Marriott International Inc. Doug Zeif VP F&B, Hilton-Americas |
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Hotel Wine, Beer & Spirits Update is edited by Michael Costa and published in affiliation with Hotel F&B Magazine
and Hotel F&B Online (www.hotelfandb.com). To submit story ideas or images, contact Michael at mcosta@hotelfandb.com. © 2008 Hotel F&B Magazine, Hotel Forums LLC |