Food and Beverage Operations in Resorts

Although th e dinin g areas of re staur ants in a resort are p art of the front of the hou se w here guests are concerned, man aging and op erating th ese areas are re sponsibilities which are closely associated with the heart of the house. The food and b everage departm ent is responsible for all dinin g and bar services operated by th e resort, unless top man agement has determined otherwise . Many leadin g resorts have built th eir reputations on the quality of th eir restaurants . Indeed, the importanc e of food and beverage in resort operations cannot be over-emphasized . Today's trends in resort cuisine extend not only to p erpetuating the popul ar dishes of the past, esp ecially in histori c American re sorts, but also to cr eating new traditions in foods. The regional foods of th e Far West , the Southwest, the South , "Cajun Country," and New Engl and-newl y interpreted and refined -have found an important place on the menus of pace setting resorts through out the country. Excel lent food and outstanding service are essential in maintaining the resort 's reputation and attracting critical rep eat business. A recent survey b y Laventhol & Horwath revealed that 81 % of resort managers felt th e reput ation of their resort was based upon the service re ceived, and 68 % said food was an important component in making their reputati on. From th e standpoint of management, the major problems of oper ating restaura nts in r esorts are prima rily those of staffing and training , procurement, m enu planning, and food mer chandising . Resort gue sts, depending on length of stay, are usually concerned with food qualit y and menu variety - the longer the stay , the greater the problems of meal monotony . Managem ent must be creative in menu planning , food presentation , and develaping special dining experi ences . Since speed is only occasionally of concern to a resort guest, the ef ficiency of service i s second in importance to the attitude of the dining staff. Efficien cy at th e cost of pe rsona lized attention and courteous service has little, if an y, merit in re sort dinin g rooms. Staff training, ther efore, warrants considerabl e attention and effort on the part of management ? The Chefs Department .

The executive chef and kitchen staff play a leading role in creating, merchandising, producing, and controlling all meals served in the resort. In larger deluxe re sorts, the kitchen i s typically organized according to European tradition with the chef de cuisine at the helm and the staff classified according to th e division of labor in terms of food preparation. such a s the sous chef, chef-steward , chef de partie, cooks (soup. vegetable, fish, broiler and fry station), garde-manger, pastry chef, butcher . Smaller seasonal resorts ma y emplo y a food production man ager and or ganize accordin g to chain r estaurant concept s, with food planning and production more or less following a standardized format . In many overseas resor ts, especia lly in Asia, separa te ethnic kitc hens are es tablishe d to provide for the cuisine of the country . Chinese ki tchens, for exampl e, are o rganized co mpl etely different ly from E uropea n kitchens in 1

terms of s taffing, k itchen layout, equipment, and even in the pr ocurement of food supplies. F urthermore, not all Chinese ki tchens are a like they a re designed and equipped according to the vario us schools of Chinese coo kery (e.g., B eijing, Szec huan, Hunan, Gua ngzho u). Regardless of the organizational s tructure, w hich may be dictated by circumstances of budget, location. size of o peration, seasona lity, availability of personnel. and other factors, t he kitchen s taff should b e as highly trained as possi ble, bo th in food pre paration an d in th e ar t of food presen tation. The chef and s taff must be fami liar with classical c uisine as we ll as i nternational cookery. T he initial emph asis on in novatio n,health, and diet in th e 1970s popularized la nouvelle cuisine and cuisine minceur, both of which barrowed heavi ly from Oriental techniques o f preparation and p resentation. La nouvelle cuisine offere d new met hods of combi ning i ngredients and preparing tra ditional dishes, whi le cuisine minceur presented alternatives that elimi nated the high -calorie bu tter, cream, a nd starches found in th e rich sauces o f Frenc h haute cuisine and elaborate classical di shes. During the 1980s, culi nary tre nds at resor ts moved eve n more decidedly towar d lighter, hea lthier cuisine wi th an emphas is on good n utrition, qu ality rather than quan tity, and the use of fres h, n atural ingredients. In many dishes, so dium, calories, cholesterol, and f at have been grea tly reduced . Same resor ts have e mbraced the co ncept of du marche cookery - that is, improvising menus according to the marke t availa bility of fresh ingredien ts. Menus are printed each day (and da ted) with the se lections of the chef . Du marche cookery assu res g uests that theyar e getting only the freshest foo d ingred ients, a co ncern for many guests today. From the foo d and beverage director's perspective, thi s type of dining co ncept provides flexibil ity and reduces monotonyand starage pro blems . The Homes tead prac tices du marche planning fo r its table d'hte menu (see Exhi bit 9.1). Until a few years ag o, the diet-conscio us reso rt guest searchin g for lighter, low-calorie meals had to settle for cottage c heese a nd fruit or a ligh t soup and salad (unless, of co urse, he/she was s taying a t a hea lth resort). Today's c hefs, however, have created imag inative men us featu ring a variety of tas ty dis hes-of ten em phasizi ng the fres h ingredie nts and u nique flavors of the region -that fulfill th e special dietary needs of g uests. Ex hibit 9.2 is a portion of the me nu from Bo naventur e Ho tel & Spa which li sts ca lories instead of p rices and recommends a limi t on calorie i ntake per mea l. While healthy c uisine co ntinues to increase i n popularity and has proven to be more than a p assing fa d, tra ditional dining co ncepts and classica l buffets which are veri table "horns of p lenty" featuri ng dis hes f rom all over the wor ld, the best in fres h fruits and vege tables, rich pastries an d sump tuous desser ts, and tables replete wi th ice carvi ngs a nd foo d sculptures- have never lost their a ppeal or place i n the catering opera tion of grea t resorts. The exec utive c hef must ensure the co ntinui ng develop ment and ou tput of high-qual ity mea ls thro ugh re sear ch, refi nemen t of standards, and co nstant trai ning of the resort's culina ry staff . At the sa me time, the chef must be ac utely awa re of the cos ts associated with th ese requirements. 2

The Importance of the Menu The menu i s the blueprint f or any foo d service o peration. Master planning, marketing, management, and operation of the food serv ice facility all depend on, as wel l as influence, the menu. To the food and b everage manager, the menu is a catalogue of the food and beverage department's pro duct lin e, providing the basis for purchasing, production, staffing, a nd service . it is also the department's principal adv ertising medium and sales tool. As a sales tool, it affects the sales mix and profita bility. The "s ignature," or iden tity, o f each resort resta urant is created by its menu. Indee d, favori te dis hes that a ttract c ustomers to par ticular res taurants are often referre d to as "signat ure" menu i tems . The menu, therefo re, means differe nt th ings to different p eople. As an im portan t guide to planning, marke ting, ma nagement, and pr oduction, it is centra l to bo th day -to-day and seaso nal opera tions. The amoun t of space a nd equ ipmer t needed for s uch f unctions .as storage, pre paration, production, dining, and warewas hirrg a re significantly affected by the menu. These co nsiderations must be t aken i nto acco unt during the ear ly plan ning and deve lopme ntal stages of the resor t. Resta urants serving classica l cuisine, for examp le, req uire alarger variety of equipmen t, more space for a ll operationa l functions from storage t hrough cleanup, and larger office an d employee wo rk areas t han do other types of restaurants servi ng the same numb er of guests. Resor ts are usually masterplanned to off er a variety of facilities for dining, with di fferent t ypes of menus required for each one ( see Exhibi t 9.3). The me nu dict ates w hich products need to be purchased, how they w ill be prepared and served, q uality corsiderations, and eve n the ambi ence of the dining room . In turn, the menu i s influenced by sam e of these sa me factors. From a production and service s tandpoint, for exampl e, the menu d eperds on the availability of f ood suppli es a nd personnel needed to produce a nd serve the items within the standards es tablished by the resor t. In m any resorts, especially those o perated on the Amer ican plan, the menu m ay be further limited by the operating bud get given to the executive c hef or the food production manager. The menus offere d depend also up on th e guest markets that the resor t wants to attract and the amount of lo cal patro nage ex pected. A resor t that caters to convention and group meeting business, as well as to individual guests, m ust meet the needs of both t ypes o f guests in food services planning (see Exhibit 9.4). While there a re few restrictions on m enus for individual guests, menus for group s a re constrained by factors of timing in service a nd pr eparation, retention of qu ality i n holdin g f or service, universality of appeal, and m erchandising co nsiderations. Separate menus for convention and group business, espec ially incentive gr aups wi th special requests, are a n impartant p art of the total convention and mee tings sa les presentation of resor ts. These a re genera lly offere d as plan ning guides in the for m of "ma keup" menus w hich p ermit buyers t o select menu compon ents by the price of entrees are included. 3

As t he weat her c hanges w ith the seaso ns, the mix of gu ests ma yaiso change, and there may be a s hift in food prefere nces. The menu and food service faci lities m ust be f lexib le enough to let these changes be made. Cyclical Menus : One of the better ways to avo id menu monotony in resor ts is to make use of cy dical menus. The ideal menu cycle covers a period which is slightly longer than the ave rage length of stay a nd plan ned for an odd number of days . For exa mple, assume that the average length of sta y at a resort is seve n days. A nine-day cycle (or l onger) may be planned as illustrated: WEEK 1 2 3 SUN #1 #8 #6 MON #2 #9 #7 TUES #3 #1 #8 WED #4 #2 #9 THURS #5 #3 #1 FRI #6 #4 #2 SAT #7 #5 #3

If the resor t operates on a year-round ba sis, then seaso nal cydical menus should b e used. Aside from th eir adv antage in pr eventing menu monoton y. cyclical m enus have these featur es: 1. Each time the c ycle is repeated, menu s may b e improved b y eliminatin g unpopular items and substituting n ew items.

2. Food co sts are highl y predictable, eve n when mult iple entree se lections
are offered.

3. Purchasing and food in ventorie s are s impli fied through standardization.

Exhibit includ es s ome of the menus from the Regent of Fi ji's cyclical m enu set. These menus are print ed on d elicate tapa cloth in k eeping with th e resort's Polynesian ambience .

Meal Plans There are four ba sic types of meal plan s: the Europe an plan, American pl an, modifi ed Amer ican plan, and continental plan. Oft en, more than one option will be off ered to guests of a parti cular resort. Guests usually choose a meal plan when makin g their reservations. European Plan. This term ind icates that meals are priced separately fro m rooms. Guests are bill ed only for the m eals they actuall y consume. As in th e case of ind ependent restaurants, menu s may be pric ed on a basis of table d'hte, a la c arte, or a combination o f both. From an economic standpoint, the Europ ean plan offer s no advanta ges over the Americ an pl an. However, from th e standp oint of mana gement and financi al accountability, the food and b everage department is better able to demonstrate its contributi on to the resort as a separate profit center under the European plan. Well over half of the resor ts in the Uni ted States today operate under a European plan. American Plan. This term means that the daily rate quotation includ es bo th room and board . Originally, all resorts operated on an American pl an basis. Early innk eepers ac cepted the responsibility of providin g meals as we ll as lodging for th eir guests for a fixed char ge. 4

While m any resor ts still operate under this meal plan, the majority offer a modifi ed version. A fu l American plan indicates t hat breakfast, lunch , and dinner are included. The two distinct advantages to the resort in operating on an American plan:

1. Planning is simplified. The kitchen and dining room staff know in

advance how many guests to prepare for at each meal. If the menu is fixed (i.e. a set menu) or very limited in selcetion, there is practicularly no waste from over production of food. 2. Meals are paid for, whether or not they are consumed. For resorts using the American plan, an allocation is given to the restaurant manager on a per capita basis. For example, a resort charging a $200 daily rate may allocate $50 per person per day to the dining room. It is then up to the food and beverage manager to plan the daily menu within an average budget of $50 per person per day. Inevitably, some guests will miss or choose to skip a percentage of their prepaid meals. The unearned income from missed meals may either accrue to the overhead contribution of the dining room operations or be used to upgrade menu selections. Modified American Plan . This plan is similar to the full American plan, except that only two meals, usually breakfast and dinner, are included in the daily rate quotation. if the guest has lunch at the resort. an additional charge must be made. The excluded meal, say, in the case of lunch, permits the guest a degree of flexibilityover his/her own daytime schedule. When room rates include breakfast and lunch or dinner only, the meal plan may be termed demi-pension. The modified plan offers same of the economic advantages of the full plan as well as marketing advantages not present under the full version. That is, the modified version appeals to guests who do not want to be confined to the resort premises for all three meals. Continental Plan . Resorts operating on the this plan indude a continen tal breakfast in their rates. The continental breakfast is traditionally simple, consisting of a beverage -coffee, tea, cocoa, or milk, fruit or juice, and bread, rolls, or toast (Americans often substitute pastry for rolls). In some European countries, the continental breakfast mayaso indude cheese and cold meat or fish. This plan is sametimes called "bed and breakfast." Market segmentation It should be emphasized that the guest markets for various meal plans are not homogeneous, but are composed of many submarkets whose wants and needs may be met to different degrees by the particular meal plan they specify on their reservations. Merchandising to these submarkets will become increasingly important as food and beverage departments seek to realize their full potential sales volumes. Examples of these submarkets are: Sports enthusiasts who want only a light lunch that will not interfere with their game. These guests may be served by locating fast-food and health food bars in, or adjacent to, the recreational areas. 5

 Conven tion or meeting atte ndees who wa nt a quick breakfast or mid mor ning coffee break . Room ser vice, '' buffeteria,'' fast -food ou tlets, and coffee shops serve these purposes .

Senior c itizens, c hildren, dieters, people on restricted di ets, and other

groups w hose die tary needs differ from the norm. In some resor ts, these guests are se rved by offering s uppl ementa l menus in the mai n dining room and provi ding o ther o utlets such as hea lth foo d bars.

Guests who prefer to ea t at the hour of their choice rather than at

estab lished meal times . Late s leepers and honeymooners are pr ime examp les. In so me resar ts, 24-hour room service, coffee s hops, a nd vending mac hines serve thei r needs.

Local resi dents d ining socially or o n busin ess. In most resorts, this
subma rket i s serve d in th e restaurants. main dining room s a nd

spec ialty

Non-guests

coming from near by ac commodations-tourists, conventioneers, business a nd commercial travelers, and vaca tioners staying in n earby transient hot els, motel s, a nd campsites. Th ese submarkets may be served in food and b everage o utlets throughout the resort , but a po licy may be needed to ensure that resor g uests have prefere ntial seating or are accor ded priori ty reserva tio ns. Decisions to improve up on m eeting the needs of these s ubmar ketsby introdueing sp ecialty foods, desig ning se parate menus, pricing a round smal ler portions, ex tending operating hours, c reating new food o utlets, making changes in in-house a nd external ad vertising, and other tactic s-will receive incr easing attention in m any resorts as cost s of operatio n conti nue to rise . Because of new food and beverage trends, a nd in order to sa tisfy the needs of ide ntified submarkets such as those sp ecified above, for examp le, the Ma una Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii decided to add t wo new dinin g concepts to its existi ng two: a [apanese teppan -yaki style res taurant, which appeals to [apanese a nd Am erican guests alike, a nd another res taurant t o serve lighter meals in a faster pace d and l ess formal a tmos phere . Because Mauna Kea ca ters to a large perce ntage of repeat guests, manageme nt felt it was unwise to eliminate any of its popnl ar. es tablished restaurants, despite the fact that the new a dditi ons meant inc rease d dinin g capacity in a relatively limit ed marketplace. Food and Beverage Merchandising In t oday 's co mpetitive reso rt market , food and b everage m erchandising is esse ntial to buildi ng g uest volume and h igh levels of re turn bu siness. The g reeting, a tmosphere, menu, service, and f ood and b everage presen tation s hould all focus on producing a d ining ex perience that g uests will find sa tisfying a nd want t o repeat. Resor t guests have become increas ingly so phisticated in th eir tastes, many o f them being seaso ned world t rave lers. To cater to s uch t aste as we ll 6

as to build reputation, reso rt food an d b everage departments should consta ntly develop n ewand u nusual menu i tems w hile pro moting those house specialties that are favorites with guests and are associated with the resorts tradition. To stay current with international food trends, resort management must consider the creation of new dining concepts and restaurants when older concepts fail to attract or when volume warrants. The current trend toward less alcohol and lighter beverages and wines offers ample opportunities for the beverage department to exper iment with and produce new alcohol-free cocktails (sometimes called "mocktails") and fruit-based drinks. Merchandising drinks means ac tively promoting them through service personnel, table tents, monthly features, elevator posters, and other means of suggestive selling. Many resorts have created a vast array of mocktails and low-alcohol drinks which have exotic names, presentations, and flavorful ingredients, and also provide a healthy profit margin for the bar. Resorts today also aggressively promote wine sales and higher quality or brand-name liquors to counteract the overall drop in alcohol sales. Resort food should be of high quality and should be served in an imaginative and attractive manner. Table settings and the careful selec of china, flatware, and napery are an essential part of food and beverage merchandising. Servers must be trained to answer questions on ingredients and methods of preparation use d for particular "specialties of the house." And personnel throughout the resort should be familiar with the "signature" items and menus of all restaurants and lounges within the resort so that they can respond positively to guests whenever they ask for recommendations on food, drinks, and places to go. Effective restaurant merchandising brings together all elements of personnel and training, production planning, marketing, ambience, and other important aspects of restaurant operation to create a memorable dining experience for guests. Special Promotions: Parties and Special Functions . tion

In addition to planning for regular operations, the resort may offer variety to guests through the promotion of food-related special events or themes, such as: International food festivals Texas barbecues and outdoor chuck wagons Hawaiian luaus Oktoberfests Seandinavian and English hunt breakfasts Smorgasbords and buffets

Holiday menus and parties (St. Patrick's Day, Easter Egg hunts,
Halloween, Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, etc.) Wine and cheese parties Casino nights (Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, ete.) 7

 Picnics New England clambakes

Besides pleas ing g uests, the food service s taff ha s an opportuni ty to participate i n a non-routine project and b ecome involved in p lanning appropriate room d ecoratio ns, costumes, a nd entertainment for the spec ial event. E x.9.6 s hows menus used in pl annin g theme par ties for groups at The Broadmoor. Similar dinin g concepts can be plann ed for a ll resort guests and used to draw l ocal p atrons. In pl anning an int ernational dinn er, it should b e kept in mind that airlines and t ourist bureaus are interested in pr omotin g the c ountri es they se rve o r represe nt. Most ca n pro vide travel posters and d isplay materials. Some resor ts have invite d int ernational air carr iers to serve as co-sponsors of international festivals and to assist in making the eve nt more authentic by flying in f oods, entertainers, and ch efs from th e co untr y which is be in g featur ed. Many resorts offer special food and b ever age promoti ons that tie in with regional and l ocal festivals. Al though th e entire resort is of ten in volved i n accommo dating and serv ing guests who have co me to attend such even ts, the de partmen ts that are most heavi ly involved are fo od and b everage, guest relations, and guest activities. T his is es pecially true if the r esort i s hosting an event within th e festival or is a spon sor of th e festival itself. Room Service. Room service is perha ps the one d ining ser vice t hat is opera ted entirely from th e hear t of the house . Guests place orders e ither t hrough a telephone order-take r or th rough d oorknob menu s (which will be discu ssed later) . The only face-to-face contact the guest will have with an emplo yee is when the latter deli vers food to the room or remove s soiled dishes and tray s or carts from the room at the guest's request. Room ser vice is offered almo st round th e clock in d eluxe resarts. In same re sorts, the room ser vice operation i s considered a profit center, but, in the majority of resarts, it is not profitable and i s offered as a subsidized guest conveni ence. Dependin g on the cli entele and the amount and quality of promot ion, room s ervice may account for 12 % or more of the tot al volume of food and b everage sales. Room ser vice demand varies throu ghout the d ay, but br eakfast remains the bu siest time in mo st resorts. Doorknob request forms, on which guests may order their breakfasts before retiring, may be used to facilitate breakfast service. The breakfast request forms often combine the features of a menu and an order c ard. Guests are asked to check th e desired time for service, to specify the numb er of p ersons, and to indicate the breakfast item s they wish delivered. I f the breakfa st menu i s not printed on the order cards, it should be available in th e guestroom. Two type s of ser vice are usually provided -full breakfast and contin ental br eakfast. Do orknob card s are usually collected af ter midni ght b y a bellp erson or room service e mploy ee a nd t aken to the kitch en so that the order can be processe d th e following morning. Two things are esse ntial i n any successf ul r oom servi ce opera tion 8

getting the food into the roo m as q uickly as possib le and keeping hot food as hot as possible. Room service delivery systems usually empl oy car ts which may indude h eating unit s and plug-in toaster a nd c offee pot unit s. Contin ental br eakfast service in n ewe r hi gh-rise hotels is so metimes operated directl y out of service elevators. In thi s operation. portable se rvice carts, containing heating a nd refrige ration un its f or bread, ro lls, condiments, and b everages, a nd space for delivery trays a nd lin en, are wheeled int o the elevators. Trays may be se t the night before w ith nap ery and u tensils. Orders are prepared in the service e levator a nd d elivered directl y to the designated fl oors . In same cases, g uests can even phon e orders to th e elevator dur ing hours of the mornin g operation. Anoth er option i s a food p antry on each floor or one to serve a couple of floors. However, i t is ex pensive to operate and m aintain even a sma ll kitchenette on more than one floor. In low-rise hotels, the ca rt system is usually adequate to del iver a ll orders. if guest quarters are w idely seattered, earts may have to be mecha nized to s peed delivery. Room service menu s in deluxe resorts may cove r a wid e range of guest needs. In addition t o stand ard meals, they might also i nclud e between-meal snacks, beverages a nd h ors d' oeuvres for i n-room entertaining, and b ox lunch es for g uests who wish to picnic or sightsee. Consideratio ns to keep in mind whe n planning roo m serv ice menus are :

The ability of th e kitch en to produc e foo d items when th e full kitchen

may not be in op eration, such as before an d following regular meals The holding quality of food it ems after preparation -delicate souffles, for exam ple, wo uld n ot survive t he trip from kitchen to rooms. Temperature contr ol and d elivery eq uipm ent Ease of asse mbl y in prepara tion for delivery Kitchen asse mbl y an d storage s pace for room serv ice functions Skill of room service staff ( unlike the superv ision of servers in the dining roo m, supervision over room service s taff is remo te) Pricing Room service sales o ffice re quirements, i ncluding billing to guestrooms

Room service fa re should b e of t he same quality as that served in the reso rt s dinin g rooms. it should al so be as e legant as a f ine dinin g ro om, with tables set prop erly, co mpl ete with lin en, china, and silver. Fresh flowe rs on the table and pampered service en hance the prese ntation. Labor cos ts are muc h hi gher i n room service tha n in the di ning roo m and should be ref lected either i n the form of higher prices on individual items or a service surcharge. A s ervice surcharge is common in resor ts operating on the full or modi fied American p lan for room servic e orders . Room service is one of th e most impor tant amenities for guests in fine resorts. but the logistics of service and deliv ery, return of equip ment, and remo val of dirt y dishes must be carefull y planned to avoi d possible adver se impact s on other pha ses of r esort operations, especiall y during peak hour s of demand. The most d ifficult operational room ser vice probl em is forecastin g. 9

Predicting how many gue sts in aresort wi ll request room service is extremely diffic ult to do with a high de gree of acc uracy. The process re quires evaI uating past experience an d weighing seaso nal trends and var iables. Var iables affecting room service reques ts are n umerous, and indude such factors as the type of g uest staying at the reso rt, the day o f the week, weat her, the types of functions goi ng on in the com munity, and-more of ten than not-the television schedule. Room se rvice requires ex tensive in-room merchandising to realize its full sales po tential.

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