Localizing concepts not only makes F & B more authentic , it creates more revenue streams .
contributed by Jeri Clausing
Kari Herer
34 HOTELS November 2015 www . hotelsmag . com
The
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Aged Beef Culotte
Steak at Union restaurant inside the Press Hotel , Portland , Maine
While recent buzz in hotel food and beverage circles has centered on the celebrity and developing restaurants with chefs who have gained national renown through televisions shows and awards , today ’ s pioneers are casting a narrower net and honing in on what might seem a much more unlikely crowd : the locals .
“ We want to build for the locals first and the rest will come ,” says Brad Nelson , vice president for food and beverage , and global corporate chef for Marriott International . “ That ’ s a big shift – addressing the places where people want to be . As a traveler you are looking for the place where the locals are so you can experience your destination .”
Patrick Goddard , president of Trust Hospitality , Miami , Florida , says that the way he and his team approach restaurant branding today is very much the same way they develop concepts for their independent boutique hotels . “ We do an outside study where we look at demographics , psychographics and the local population ,” he says . “… We realize that if we don ’ t design a concept that works within the community we ’ re not going to succeed . We want the community to feel like they own the hotel and the restaurant . That is central to our philosophy on hotels and dining experiences .”
And while food across the board is getting more refined , hotel restaurants are generally becoming more relaxed , catering not just to that key demographic , millennials , but also to an older crowd . “ The way I look at restaurants is older people want to go where younger people are hanging out ,” says Guy Rigby , Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts ’ vice president , food and beverage , Americas . “ Until they get into their 70s , they want to hang out with younger people . They want to feel the vibe . So I ’ m building restaurants for the 25- to 50-year-old demographic .”
That means restaurants also have to be approachable , Goddard adds . “ We want them to be good enough for a special occasion , but not so fancy that I won ’ t go there two or three times a week to have a steak sandwich at the bar ,” he says .
On the following pages , HOTELS profiles some new concepts and re-concepted spaces with menus driven by the trends of the day , ranging from beer or tequila driven to oldschool and farm-to-table .