Something To Chew On
Concept creator and restaurant consultant Bob Puccini discusses the state of the hotel food and beverage world, along with insights to success. His discussion topics include hotel food and beverage concept creation, operational issues, challenges, opportunities and solutions.
Caution = Successful Restaurants
In the last two months I feel as though I have moved from a gentle jog to a full-on race against time. Proposals are going out right and left. We are finally switching gears from slow to fast, and the problem is that everyone wants a deal. I think we are starting to arrive at the real new economy; one where clients want more, faster, and want to pay less on a longer payment plan. This is the ...... Read More
Comments (3)The Blame Game
These are definitely difficult days, budgets are tight, mistakes have a tendency to be overblown, and sensitivities are tender. Blame. In my business you see a lot of blame. Finger-pointers are everywhere. Owners blaming operators. Operators blaming the economy, or excessive value-engineering as directed by owners. It is about as effective as a dog chasing its tail. Classic blame stems from a lack ...... Read More
Comments (0)Hotel Design Is Language
Design is language. Several years ago I read a book by Paul Ekman, “Emotions Revealed,” an exhaustive study of how people communicate through both small and large facial movements and how to read them. It taught me that although we all think we communicate through language, there are a number of other “languages” we provide people to understand how we feel and think. On ...... Read More
Comments (2)Don't Settle For Ugly Ventilation Systems
As a designer of restaurants and kitchens, I occasionally get frustrated by rules. Understandably, rules frequently exist for a reason, but on a recent business trip I again came across one of the most beautiful kitchens I have seen in a long time, this time in Istanbul. I find it particularly curious that here in the U.S. it is virtually impossible to find a kitchen with a ventilation system ...... Read More
Comments (4)He Who Benefits, Pays
We were recently asked to advise on the renovation of a leased restaurant and bar, both of which were located in a recently sold and renovated hotel. The hotel renovation matched the mood of the new owner, highly contemporary in that trendy sort of way. The restaurant is 10 years old, locally popular, highly successful (pays 7% rent and a management fee to the operator) and is up 10% this year ove ...... Read More
Comments (1)The "Third Place" Opportunity
I recently heard the term "third place" from a representative for Steelcase, an office furniture company looking to expand into new arenas. What was interesting was the amount of research they were putting into a field in which they had limited experience. What fascinated me are some of the concepts they came up with that I think are real insightful. Although we are conscious of them, we don ...... Read More
Comments (1)How To Add F&B At Your Mid-Scale Hotel
Quick service has changed. Do you remember the heyday of Starbucks when they defined grab and go for the American public? Once people fell in love with their convenient and cleverly packaged grab and go idea, a number of clones developed and then disappeared. We are now seeing even some airports try to move away from the grab and go concept, which is nearly dated, and provide higher ...... Read More
Comments (0)Making Salespeople Out Of Your Guests
My last blog discussed the supply and demand for hotel rooms and the battleground for market share as the effects of the recession roll into 2010. I think that commenting on what hotel F&B outlets are not doing overlooks some of their competitive advantages, and I was recently reminded of that. The number one competitive advantage everyone is capable of, is SERVICE. If you must maint ...... Read More
Comments (1)Time For Hotel Restaurants To Compete
This last week I was at an ISHC (International Society of Hospitality Consultants) in Quebec and I had a couple of insights. Over the course of several days of ‘not so good’ observations on our economic situation here in the United States there was one crucial insight that really stuck with me. Randy Smith of Smith Travel Research reported that for the near future, and possibly ...... Read More
Comments (1)Do Right By The Details
The middle hotel market seems to be hotter than ever right now. I am working with an owner and an operator who each want to see what the return on investment (ROI) for a remodel and re-conception of their restaurant would be. To effectively project the ROI, we need to work with reliable records and data. Unfortunately, this information is not always easy to come by. This brings up v ...... Read More
Comments (1)Evolution Of Hotel Restaurants In The World Market
It’s easy for companies to look at their business with what I like to call “marketing myopia.” Up until about 15 years ago, most hotel operators viewed guestrooms as the single-most profitable center for the hotel. This myopic perspective is why “plug-and-play” generic restaurants were in so many properties–operators believed that their “F& ...... Read More
Comments (2)The Impact Of Women Travelers
Today, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 60% of women over the age of 16 are in the workforce, representing 46.5% of the total workforce. The largest percentage, 39%, is in management, professional or related occupations and they account for 51% of all workers in the high-paying categories in those jobs. Interestingly enough, unemployment figures show that compared to men ...... Read More
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