F & B
Top-shelf
TRENDS
A
good hotel bar increases the bottom line : Guy Rigby says he cannot emphasize this enough to his international clients .
“ I ’ m currently working with a hotel chain in Thailand . They have a fantastic restaurant in the hotel , but it doesn ’ t have a bar , and their problem is they ’ re not doing as much dinner business ,” says Rigby , president of Toronto-based Octopus , an F & B consultancy . “ You don ’ t do a Google search that says ‘ Show me restaurants or hotels with bars ,’ but I can ’ t think of great fine-dining restaurant without one . The kind of relevant restaurants – they ’ ve all got a bar in there somewhere .”
A good bar , serving up great cocktails and drinks , not only enhances a hotel but easily increases traffic and profits . “ Automatically , you have a different energy , and you sell more booze ,” Rigby says – especially prominent , well-designed lobby bars that are well-designed .
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CONSULTANT TONY ABOU- GANIM SAYS HE IS FOCUSING ON DOING THE CLASSICS WELL BY ADDING A UNIQUE OR LOCAL TWIST AND “ PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS .”
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“ I travel a lot for my work , so the ( hotel ) bar is my refuge ,” says Tony Abou-Ganim , a consultant and author (“ The Modern Mixologist ”) who developed the cocktail program at the Bellagio , among other Las Vegas hotels . “ But I don ’ t go to bars . I go to bartenders – like if the bartender welcomes me with a smile and a ‘ What can I get you ?,’ I ’ ll forgive a lesser-made drink if I ’ m feeling welcome like that .”
WHAT ’ S IN THE MIX Good hotel bars also stay abreast of trends . Rigby and Abou-Ganim confirm that vodka remains the top of the heap in terms of spirit sales , despite the rise of rum and whiskey in popularity .
“ I think vodka , straight vodka , is on point ,” Abou- Ganim says . “ For a time , we were inundated with vodkas that were flavored with every flavor from our childhoods , and that might have deterred vodka ’ s popularity .” But in bars Abou-Ganim has founded
40 hotelsmag . com May 2018