WHAT ’ S HOT
FROM NEW STRATEGIES TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO REVAMPED ROOM SERVICE MENUS AND GARDEN-TO-GLASS COCKTAILS , HOTELS ARE FINDING WAYS TO MAKE F & B HOTTER THAN EVER .
by ANN BAGEL STORCK , MANAGING EDITOR
Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Art Smith of
Southern Art at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta was part of the “ Kitchen Passport ” program , which gave influential bloggers a chance to help develop recipes for the
InterContinental Kitchen Cookbook iPad app .
HIGH-TECH AND HIGH-TOUCH
It almost goes without saying that hotels are doing “ the basics ” when it comes to using technology to promote F & B — tweeting about new menu items , coordinating Facebook promotions and the like . But a growing number of hotel companies are taking this brand of guest engagement to the next level .
Last October , JW Marriott ’ s 10 U . S . and Mexico resorts debuted an online cookbook — jwresortscookbook . com — featuring recipes from the properties ’ chefs . “ Giving guests a hands-on opportunity to recreate some of our signature dishes provides them the opportunity to bring a piece of the JW experience home ,” says Melinda Pachner , director , marketing and e-commerce , West Resorts , for JW Marriott . Also last fall , InterContinental Hotels & Resorts issued “ Kitchen Passports ” to influential bloggers who then worked with the brand ’ s chefs and mixologists to create recipes for the InterContinental Kitchen Cookbook iPad app . The InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta kicked off the program as chef and restaurateur Art Smith of the hotel ’ s Southern Art restaurant collaborated with Anne Dolce of The Daily Meal , to craft an appetizer , entrée and dessert .
“ Over the course of four months , the Kitchen Passport program accounted for more than 15 % of total InterContinental Kitchen Cookbook iPad app downloads ,” says Debbie Grant , brand management director , InterContinental Hotels & Resorts . “ We also received more than 795 placements in a variety of national and local print publications . In 2013 , we may extend the program to Mexico , Latin America and perhaps some of our other brand hotels outside of the Americas region .”
www . hotelsmag . com June 2013 HOTELS 41