TRENDING
THE PROCUREMENT TEAM IN EMEA HAS CONTINUED TO LEVERAGE OUR GLOBAL SCALE WITH OUR STRATEGIC SUPPLY PARTNERS TO FEND OFF PRICE INCREASES AND IN SOME CASES OBTAIN PRICE REDUCTIONS , AND ALSO NEGOTIATE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MULTI-YEAR PRICE CAP GUARANTEES .
– BARRY DAWSON
communications to guests ’ most frequent needs , or demand- and location-based labor allocations . By pairing multiple technologies , we have been able to meet and exceed our guests ’ rising expectations in this difficult environment .
Albert Rothman , senior vice president of Food & Beverage , EOS Hospitality : We have strategically altered outlet availability to match labor availability . In resort destinations , where labor has been acutely tight , almost all hotels have had to alter days open and hours of operation to balance guest demand and manpower .
H : As inflation spirals , what has been your most effective procurement strategy change to control costs and get what you need to serve guests ? Barry Dawson : The majority of our UK hotels have benefited from our energy procurement program whereby we had hedged our gas and electricity well in advance of the market volatility . This has resulted in significant savings to our owners compared to the market rate for the first nine months of 2022 .
We have implemented a new e-procurement solution across the UK portfolio which gives us enhanced control over the supply chain , ensuring that we are buying products from our nominated supplier at the lowest price available while at the same time automating the " procure-to-pay " process providing improved back-office efficiencies .
The investment into a new procurement program will give us enhanced control on expenditure at hotels and above the property level as well as improved business intelligence to help driver further efficiencies as we continue to leverage our global scale through a series of vendor and contract reviews across all areas of the business .
Our procurement teams have been engaging with our strategic supply partners to ensure continuity of supply of goods despite the logistics challenges faced by suppliers across the industry . The procurement team in EMEA has continued to leverage our global scale with our strategic supply partners to fend off price increases and in some cases obtain price reductions , and also negotiate highly competitive multi-year price cap guarantees . Kirk Pederson : In markets where we are more isolated such as Hawaii , we have focused on buying local , getting brand waivers for brand standard products and pushing for locally sourced ( no shipping wait times or costs , less expensive and fresher ). In Hawaii , Hyatt worked with Sightline to modify the brand standard breakfast offering , which allows us to buy local products instead of the Hyatt spec from the mainland . Chris Green : Using data to refine our offerings at each key opportunity point ensures that our significant purchasing power is directed at the items our guests want most . Streamlined purchasing that still delivers a unique experience while eliminating waste or inventory hold costs has been necessary for our overall success . Albert Rothman : While we haven ’ t altered our procurement strategy due to inflation , we have empowered our property teams to increase the value proposition of menu offerings so that our guests feel good about spending more at our restaurants / resorts . While some pass along increased costs , we generally feel that doing so without adding additional value detracts from our brands . When effective , we can both preserve our financial performance and enhance the guest experience .
8 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2023