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Strategic sourcing for special events at your hotel can maximize your total revenue as you continue to build relationships with your guests. This strategy works best when you combine these elements together.
Room revenue is one measure of hotel profit. Increasingly, operators are diligently considering the revenue generated through other avenues such as food and beverage (F&B) and special events. According to an article on the HotelNewsNow website, analyzing different revenue streams by area profitability allows you to make the best decisions about which will help grow your hotel business.
“It doesn’t matter where the revenue is coming from, we’ve got to boil them down to profitability,” says Neal Fegan, executive director of revenue management at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
When it comes to F&B, you need to understand the needs and habits of your clientele, from meeting planner to leisure guest. The article also says that when you analyze different types of customers, you can determine who is willing to pay more. Focus on acquiring new business from the groups that typically spend more on F&B.
As you begin to use strategic sourcing for your hotel, look for popular, familiar products with a brand halo. The idea is to use these products to heighten the guest experience just like a musician evokes harmony throughout a musical performance. Strategic sourcing of familiar products allows you to orchestrate a memorable event, maintain your standards and increase revenue from the event.
Before you become overwhelmed when deciding what specific F&B amenities to offer meeting and event planners, make sure you understand their theme and concept. Always be mindful of their ideas while offering innovative solutions from your own rich experience. Your goal should be to carefully orchestrate food selections around their concepts to guarantee a successful, memorable event.
Make sure all the products they select are aligned. For example, if you are looking for a well-known coffee brand, you can give your guest a familiar brand that they recognize and trust by choosing Starbucks. Want a more upscale, gourmet experience? Choosing a high-end brand is a good way to deliver that experience.
As a strategic partner in procurement, Source1 Purchasing helps operators protect their promise to their guests and deliver the tastes, memories, emotions and satisfaction of a memorable vacation or meeting with rich dining experiences. If you want name brand products, Source1 delivers.
With strategic purchasing, some hotel operators focus on cost saving. It’s more than a one-dimensional review. Finding and serving the right products that present the most appropriate image to complement an event improve margins and guest satisfaction. Some meeting planners will be looking for Black Angus steaks and exotic desserts that convey an upscale experience and justifies a higher price point for your operation
According to research conducted by UniFocus, when hotel operators focus on what’s most critical to meeting planners’ satisfaction and intent to return, they can increase return business and referrals. UniFocus identifies three key elements for satisfaction during events and continued loyalty:
• Quality of food and beverage provided at meetings.
• F&B service during the event, including presentation and timely setup.
• Effective communications and follow through before and during the sales process.
Consider how each facet of an event allows you to embrace the meeting planner’s concept and theme for their event and works within their defined price point. Strategic sourcing experts can work with hotel operators to select the right products to fit their operation…from beach resort or busy downtown convention hotel. . Procurement experts can also help you add value to your next special event.
As a hotel operator, if you carefully navigate through many products and services intended ultimately for your guests. Develop a distinctive theme for your operation that translates to a blend of culinary factors and purchases. It is the key to success for your hotel. Supporting a meeting planners theme will ensure their success and return.
