He said Conrad Hilton (among other things) when asked what criteria he used when opening a hotel to ensure its success, he said there were three main ones: “Location, location, and location”. If we consider that a Food and Beverage department is generally—and, unfortunately, in most cases—an afterthought to the many facilities in these iconic buildings, we understand that this fundamental requirement must be met and, in and of itself, benefit operations. But what else contributes to its success down the line? In this article, I’d like to share my own experiences (as well as those of a great professional named Guillermo Pantoja), ideas, hopes, and perspectives with everyone who reads this. Our Blog.
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Supervision of the Food and Beverage Department in Hotels
In recent years, we have observed how many hospitality professionals—and especially many professors, training programs, and educational institutions—have repeatedly emphasized to students in various hotel management courses the importance of costs and cost management as a fundamental element of hotel management. It’s not that I’m going to criticize this focus—since I devote a large part of my time to precisely that—but I feel I must at least remind all those colleagues with an interest in this industry that the success of the hospitality industry lies, and will always lie, primarily in the operations management, including front-line supervision and control.
Quality is the goal
Quality—which we’ve been talking about for many years now—is not limited to a manual sitting on the desk that tells us how things should be done, but rather to the actual fact that they are done well; as long as this is the case, the rest of the elements that make up the business will remain within the predetermined limits. It’s of little use to analyze costs at the end of the month if, day after day, we allow quality issues—resulting from a lack of constant oversight of operations—to cause extraordinary costs. The customer experience should always come first.
The Role of the Food and Beverage Director
The director of the Food and Beverage department at a hotel cannot be just an office worker, but rather a leader who manages using what Americans refer to as “Managing by Walking Around”, which is nothing more than an insistence on to be involved in the day-to-day aspects of everything, every moment, and every operational detail of a hotel’s food and beverage service. The nature of this industry demands personalized treatment of guests, subordinates, and colleagues alike, as well as the drive and encouragement that come from overseeing and ensuring that everything planned is carried out to ensure the ultimate satisfaction of all of us who make up the hotel’s extended family.
Customer satisfaction as a goal
I offer this reflection because, weary of encountering professionals who hide behind their office desks and the reports produced by administrative departments, I believe we are not being honest about the origin and purpose of our work: the customer and customer satisfaction. The day-to-day operations of a hotel’s Food and Beverage department can become quite routine in and of themselves, and that is why (and because we are, after all, in a people-oriented industry) our role must be that of eternal guardian of the values of service and customer care, always striving to exceed our guests’ expectations.
Planned Quality vs. Delivered Quality
The planning and design of operations (planned quality) takes place once every so often, depending on our creativity and our customer mix. In contrast, the monitoring and control of our operations account for 95% of our work (delivered quality). Customer satisfaction (perceived quality) will always be our goal. Cost control is very important, but it shouldn’t blind us to the bigger picture. The experience our guests have should always be our raison d’être. That experience will be the driving force that helps us generate revenue in the Food and Beverage department of any hotel or resort. In our next article, we’ll discuss strategies for increasing revenue in the Food and Beverage department of any hotel.
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