The food industry is a high-risk business proposition. You’ve got a lofty level of competition and a lot of details to perfect. According to an often-quoted study, 60% of businesses fail in the first year. How do you ensure your hotel’s F&B Dept./ restaurant’s success?
You can help increase your chance of success by understanding a few of the surprisingly common problems restaurants face and developing strategies to combat these issues.
Customer Service
The key to success is happy customers who want to return again and again. the way you handle your customers along every step of their dining experience has an impact on whether you’ll retain that customer. Every contact your staff makes with customers must be pleasant, welcoming, and accommodating. As the digital arena continues to grow, online reviews are consistently important to your success.
Marketing
From big hotel groups to even small restaurant owners, fail to pay enough attention to marketing, making this a common problem in the F&B world. Following are a few areas to attend to now in order to avoid the pitfalls that not-enough marketing incurs:
- Make a marketing plan. Daunting? Start small and then scale.
- Engage in social media and digital marketing.
- Create a customer loyalty program.
Be creative with your marketing. Whatever your budget, there are inexpensive ways to market your restaurant.
All Customers cannot be Equal
Travelers today use food as an entry point and a conversation starter to experience the social fabric and cultural customs of a destination. This change in mindset raises travelers’ expectations of culinary experiences, and also raises the bar for hotel food and beverage. Large destinations and hotel groups in particular can capitalize on this paradigm shift by gathering local data on what kinds of experiences travelers are looking for and using that data to personalize their offerings and promotional campaigns.
