F & B
BEING the
BEYOND FOOD PRICES , COMPANIES ARE USING THEIR BUYING POWER TO INFLUENCE SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS — AND LOWER COSTS — THROUGHOUT THE SUPPLY CHAIN .
You won ’ t see a lavish breakfast spread at MOB Hotel of the People .
“ I am very skeptical of brunches and huge buffets , which are instruments of unimaginable waste ,” says founder Cyril Aouizerate , co-founder of Mama Shelter hotels and former Sorbonne professor . MOB , his new concept announced late last year , intends to network with local , organic agricultural cooperatives and limit its menu to a handful of seasonal options .
That will make food costs about 10 % to 15 % above average and prices to customers about 10 % to 20 % higher , Aouizerate says .
Many hotel companies aren ’ t looking simply at the cost of sustainably produced , responsibly raised produce and other food – they are using their buying power to reshape the entire chain , demanding that their suppliers meet ethical criteria and minimize packaging , and making sure guests know that a luxury experience can be delicious – and , in the case of some resorts , an opportunity to choose your own freshly laid eggs .
They are also redefining the business .
MOB , which aims to develop and manage eight hotels in the U . S . and Europe over the next half-dozen years , calls itself not a hotel chain but an “ ethical cooperative moment .”
“ Our goal is to defend a sustainable food chain , without dogma or ideology ,” Aouizerate says . As for cost , “ simplicity guarantees both the safeguarding of the planet and the maintenance of low prices , allowing a social mix within the establishment ,” he says . “ We need to learn to eat more responsibly .”
BY THE NUMBERS It ’ s tough to talk about costs in hotel F & B because aspects such as water , waste disposal and energy usage are often entwined within a property ’ s total expenses . What guests actually see on their plates is another matter . Hotel companies often are willing to pay a premium for positive PR , and guests want the satisfaction of ordering responsibly raised and grown entrees . Cost can be measured in reputation , too , says Eric Ricaurte , founder and CEO of Greenview , a Singapore-based sustainability consulting and research firm .
“ In the F & B world , there ’ s a risk that you could get called out for shrimp that ’ s farmed using child labor or for dynamiting fish ,” says Ricaurte , a founder of the HOT Coalition , a community of so far mostly Asia-based hotel owners who have signed on to take and measure energyand resource-saving steps that can lead to quantifiable cost savings .
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE It ’ s a philosophy that Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas pioneered . “ It ’ s not about saving money in the kitchen ,” says Jeffery Smith , the Thailand-based company ’ s director of sustainability . “ Sustainability is our competitive advantage .”
“ I AM VERY SKEPTICAL OF BRUNCHES AND HUGE BUFFETS , WHICH ARE INSTRUMENTS OF UNIMAGINABLE WASTE .”
— CYRIL AOUIZERATE , FOUNDER , MOB HOTEL OF THE PEOPLE
52 hotelsmag . com January / February 2017