How do you make a hotel restaurant or bar successful?
SHORT ANSWER
To make a hotel restaurant or bar successful, think like a restaurateur and win the local community, says Scot Turner, starting with a concept everyone in the hotel describes the same way. Olga Galiuk says the team matters more than the menu, and markets her bar like a standalone venue. Angelo Vassallo wants a concept other restaurants cannot easily copy, delivered consistently, and Mark Welbers works to turn locals into returning guests.
What 4 hotel leaders say
Scot Turner
Managing Director, Arden Hospitality
“this is why I always talk about the message about how we should always focus on the local community and hotels because that's where we're gonna create a real foundation of our business. That's what restaurateurs do. They focus on the local community. How do they get people coming back again and again? And that's the innovation part.”
“the first thing we do is we go and ask as many different people who work in the hotel what the food and beverage venue, one sentence. ... And we find quite a bit that that story changed depending on who we would talk to, the front office, the waiter, the salesperson, the finance guy. What that tells us is this isn't clear.”
Olga Galiuk
General Manager, LuminAir Amsterdam
“Having a nice story about the cocktails, about the food, about the venue, it's great. However, the main for me, it's the people that are working in the venue. You can have the most exclusive champagne on your menu, if your team, they are not ready to provide great service, then you might face some difficulties.”
“it's important to promote yourself not only as a hotel venue. So, you know, in social media, makes the things cool, make everything, like, the same as a stand alone venue. So for the guest, they lose that perception of it's a hotel bar”
Angelo Vassallo
General Manager, Tivoli Doelen Amsterdam
“we need to give to the marketing team something that they can sell easily and that is not easily duplicable from other restaurant in the city. ... if you're not consistent in what you're doing, the fourth of your marketing team will be practically reduced to zero because, of course, they're communicating something. And when the guest is coming to the restaurant, they find something different.”
Mark Welbers
General Manager, Carlton Square Hotel
“Harlemers are really used to have very wide options in terms of dinner, lunch, drinks ... So it's really up to us to make sure those people know we're here and that we attract them to come here to to experience with us what we offer in our FMB. And the moment we, we have them in the hotel, we make sure they are returning guests.”
