F & B
and refined than Middle Eastern cuisines .
Stefan trepp , executive chef , Emirates Palace , Abu Dhabi : The wave of South
American food . Whether it is Europe , South East Asia or the Middle East , restaurant concepts with a South American approach have started to emerge and will continue to do so for the future .
Q : F & B is often a loss leader . What is the key to profitability ?
Schueller : At Hilton , it comes down to a few guiding principles : Build a restaurant that caters to people who live and work in the city , not only for hotel guests ; develop flexible concepts that allow us to flex up or down , depending on the meal period ; and empower restaurant managers and outlet chefs to take real ownership of their restaurant or bar .
loh lik peng , director , Unlisted Collection , Singapore : Bring in an independent operator and be a landlord . Ninety-nine times out of 100 the independent restaurateur does a better job and gives your guests a better experience .
trepp : Running the outlet like the owner . Put yourself in the owner ’ s shoes and it will condense operating decisions . Although we are cooks , we can ’ t hide behind the stove and ignore the importance of understanding a profit-loss report .
Q : What does the future hold for room service ? karpinSki : We are starting to see room service offerings shift from the full-service model to in-room delivery . With the growing prevalence of restaurant delivery , hotels are seeking to use room service to replicate the feeling of being at home and ordering from a favorite restaurant . We will begin to see more thoughtful selections for different meal periods , and the lower-tiered segments will eventually fade away completely .
Q . What is the industry ignoring at its peril ? trepp : The importance of hiring the right people . The best hardware is of no use if you ’ re hiring cheaper , inexperienced staff , which results in a lack of luxury and ultimately customer service . Teaming up with the right people can position an establishment for the maximum prospect of success .
loh : The desire of their guests to consume services outside of the hotel . This is inevitable and a losing battle for hotels . From Uber to independent restaurants , guests are choosing to bypass hotels altogether and they can do so with assurance and wide choices now . Hotels need to respond unless they are content to just sell rooms .
The most exciting trend right now for me is the wave of South American food . Whether it is Europe , South East Asia or the Middle East , restaurant concepts with a South American approach have started to emerge and will continue to do so for the future .
— StEfAn trEPP
chung : The industry lost its way with food and beverage 20 or so years ago when some finance person highlighted the fact that rooms were more profitable . Leading companies started to scale down F & B and de facto turned hotels into bedand-breakfasts . There is light , however , with the resurgence of companies like Hyatt that manage to do exceptional stuff .
Now , some chains pretend to reintroduce real hospitality and experiences into a guest stay with boutique and design hotels – all fake anyway as very few real hotels remain . But that is another article and another story .
Q . What ’ s the most misguided trend or misconception you ’ re seeing in hotel F & B ? Why and what needs to change ? chung : One meal period where hotels really can make a great impact is breakfast , and still many aren ' t paying enough attention to it . Coffee and tea should be the most important aspect as well , but employees don ' t know how to make coffee . There has been a resurgence in baristas and the art of making coffee , and this should become a standard in hotels .
Another problem is that when hotels invest or renovate . They should renovate cheap or even use pop-up space to experiment and become more flexible and fast when there is a need to change concepts .
loh : Fine dining with all the frills is coming back into vogue in markets like Singapore , where the Michelin guide is about to launch . This defies logic in a market like Singapore where skilled labor is tough to recruit and retain .
42 hotelsmag . com September 2016