Raising The Bar

By Karyn Strauss, Senior Editor -- Hotels, 7/1/2007

Do you know your mojito from your caipirinha, or the best way to muddle lime wedges? When it came to preparing cocktails, it used to just be learning when to shake and when to stir, but with the continued and growing popularity in specialty drinks, Marriott International has launched a new global mixology program aimed at elevating the caliber of its bar beverages across the Marriott and Renaissance brand portfolios. The program is the brainchild of Matthew Von Ertfelda, Marriott's vice president of restaurant and bars. "When I came on board as vice president two years ago I did an evaluation of our resources in the beverage area. I found we had some good resources on beer, wine and spirits, but thought it wasn't robust enough," Von Ertfelda explains. "I didn't think we had developed enough time to train and explain the classic and contemporary drinks."

Von Ertfelda set out to create a differentiated cocktail program that could set the company apart. The result is a new program called BarArts: Liquids, Classic to Cool. It was developed in partnership with leading mixologist Dale DeGroff as well as an international panel of Marriott and Renaissance bartenders. The core component of the program is using fresh-squeezed juices in all of its cocktail recipes.

The company is in the process of training and rolling out the BarArts program to all Marriott-branded hotels in the United States. And later this year, Marriott will be further tweaking the program for its Renaissance brand. "We're looking at other mixologists to associate with for our Renaissance brand as well," Von Ertfelda says, adding that for the Renaissance hotels the program will focus more on creating an interactive experience for guests. Going forward, the hope, he says, is to make BarArts a brand standard worldwide.

"We aligned ourselves with Dale DeGroff-a real classic mixologist-and we bred his spirit throughout the program. It starts with the mantra 'you cannot have a professional mixology program without fresh juice,'" Von Ertfelda explains. "We really took that to heart. Pre-mix falls flat once you've had the fresh juice. We saw the trends that were under way in the independent restaurant arena and the lifestyle of our guests and recalibrated all our cocktails to fresh juice. It's really a groundbreaking program for a company of our size."

The team went through its entire cocktail repertoire and whittled its recipe files down to a core and optional selection of 250 recipes for guests. They also went through additional training on all the attributes of a great cocktail, from glassware to garnish choices. "We also addressed all the aspects of a successful bar operation and went into great detail in how to merchandise at the bar," Von Ertfelda says. "We eliminated clutter on the back bar and point-of-sale areas and replaced [the clutter] with our premium spirits." The idea, he explains, is to use that space to communicate the signature drinks. In addition to showcasing premium spirits, the hotels are adding new trays stacked with fresh fruit and garnishes to act as a cue for guests. "These are subtle changes now executed on a daily basis. For instance, now guests can see the cherries that can be muddled into a cocktail."

During development, the team also focused intensively on execution, learning proper technique for everything from muddling and mixing to pouring and decanting wines-techniques that then could be then taken out into the field and taught to bar staff. "We wanted to get away from the book-only thing that the bartender would read through and then place on a shelf," Von Ertfelda says. The traditional recipe book therefore has been replaced with a contemporary fan file. The company also decided to upload the recipes onto iPods for its staff members, and put all the materials on the company's Intranet as well.

The main goals of the program, Von Ertfelda says, are to enhance guest satisfaction by creating a dynamic atmosphere. "We really want to create an impactful back bar to drive awareness and push the fresh juice-based, hand-crafted cocktails," he says. "It's a very big competitive advantage and not very taxing on the properties because they are honoring the recipes that already have been perfected. They are now executing them consistently on a daily basis."

BEHIND THE BAR:

Hyatt Goes Interactive With New Promos

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is shaking up happy hour with new cocktail promotions that get guests involved in mixing their own drinks. Earlier this year the company developed the successful "Make Your Own Mojito" program that put a creative spin on the classic Cuban cocktail by offering pomegranate, orange or pineapple varieties. Guests then could take part in creating the favorite beverage. "What really drove the program was seeing the renovations at Hyatt properties over the last few years and seeing how more and more the hotels are creating open kitchens again-getting the chefs to be more interactive with guests. So it's about leveraging that," explains Barry Prescott, corporate director of beverage for Global Hyatt Corp. "I wanted to bring that same interactive environment to beverage." Hyatt worked with MarkeTeam Inc. to create custom menus printed on coasters and drink photos on dominos-another Cuban invention-to bring an added playful element to the program.

Now for the summer Hyatt is focusing on freshness with its latest promotion "Get Fresh," featuring cocktails all made with freshly squeezed juices. Guests can select their beverages and take part-if they want-in the hand squeezing process. Since the time it takes to make these drinks is longer than your average cocktail, making them interactive is a way to entertain guests-rather than keep them waiting. And to guests' further delight, instead of creating drink menus, all the cocktails are featured on individual recipe cards that people can take home. "People want to know more, and they like to be a part of the action," Prescott says. "We had to have recipe cards for guests to take home." Prescott now also is promoting Get Fresh in banqueting as a fun, interactive experience for group customers, as a sort of complement to the live cooking stations that have become so popular over the last couple of years.

Wine Events Add Unique Touch To Meetings Business

Since the hit movie "Sideways" in 2004, the Hotel Andalucia,Santa Barbara, California, has welcomed an increasing number of guests who come to the area to explore the nearby Santa Ynez Valley wine country. As a result, the boutique, 97- room property has developed a number of wine programs geared toward these individual travelers. But with its ample meeting space-6,000 sq. ft. (557 sq. m)-for a hotel of its size, General Manager Manfred Timmel says the opportunity was there to expand the wine programs to the meetings market. Now groups have a new way to mix business with pleasure.

The hotel teamed up with Artiste Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley to offer an exclusive Wine Camp program. Groups visit the winery and take turns blending barrel samples and then creating, designing and painting the labels for their own special bottled blend. And for those groups that don't have time to attend an off-site event, the hotel introduced "Wining and Dining," a program that in essence brings the wineries to them. Groups can choose from a variety of seminars from how to order wine and pairing wine with food to the history of wine in Santa Barbara and how wine is made. The lectures-and tastings-are taught by local wine experts. The cost for the camp event is US$30 per person; the seminars cost US$75 per hour, plus the cost of wine.

"Wine is really on people's minds when they come to Santa Barbara County now. And in the past we only did wine programs geared toward individual travelers, so we wanted to extend that to make it a group experience," Timmel explains. "The groups that have bought into it have been absolutely thrilled. It is really something special." Timmel says the Wine Camp has been the more popular option because, he says, guests like to be active and get involved in the sampling and creating. While there are no immediate plans to expand its wine-related events offerings, Timmel says the hotel is looking into the possibility of teaming up with a winery that will let guests make their own wine as well.