Eat, Stay, Love: Crafting a one-of-a-kind hotel restaurant or bar concept

Introduction

A restaurant and bar in a hotel is much more than a place to eat and drink it's a vital part of the hotel guests experience and a beacon to attract people living and working around the hotel to meet with friends, loved ones and to socialise.

Creating a distinctive and successful restaurant and bar concept requires a clear vision, and in some cases the concept should have a strong connection to the hotel and the local area, most importantly the person creating the concept must have an absolute understanding of whom the intended target audience is by meal period.

In my opinion here's a process you can work with to develop a concept for your hotel that would resonate with your target guests both in the hotel and people living and working around the hotel itself.

The restaurant or bar concept should add value to the hotel's overall market positioning and offer a differential advantage over other hotel competitors ensuring your intended guests will book your hotel because you have a concept that they can relate to and want to be seen in.

Identify your Target Market

Understanding your intended customer mix is the foundation of a successful concept. Ask yourself questions about who the concept is targeting, is it the hotel guests such as business traveler's, families, lifestyle, luxury guests or others such as people living and working around the hotel? The restaurant concept must align with these guests mindsets.

Its important to be clear about the following points when defining your target audience as a minimum:

Demographics: Age, occupation, income level

Psychographics: Lifestyle, interests, values

Travel Purpose: Leisure, business, special occasions, experience seekers

Assess the Location & Competition

Analyse the local area, competition, and market trends both hotel and non hotel. What are other restaurants and bars offering, and is there an opportunity for your concept to be different and better?

Local Culture: Embrace your local area, check out regional cuisines, traditions and behaviours.

Competitor Analysis: Identify gaps and opportunities in the local market, where your competitors are weak. Or are there things you can ensure your concept does better?

Trends: Consider current food and dining service trends, ensure they are relevant to your intended guests and or have a medium to long term demand. There is little point in building a concept around a fad.

Space: Where in the hotel will the restaurant and bar go, if on the 14th floor how will your concept make it worth while to get in a lift and go to the concept, it cannot just be the view from the 14th floor.

Define the Restaurant's Identity

The restaurant's identity should be cohesive and compliment the hotel's brand and positioning while the concept should have its very own unique personality and purpose.

Experience: Decide on an experience that resonates with concept story, the hotel and its location, often hotels overlook merchandising of spaces with a connection to the concept, ensure you have clarity on this, otherwise you risk having a very clinical looking bar or restaurant.

Food and Drink: Select a type of food and drink that suits the intended target guest and where there is potential demand, through being different and better than your direct or indirect competitors.

When creating a concept it is important to have a menu pricing strategy in mind to ensure it is aligned with your intended guests expectations and that of local competitor benchmarks. Equally you then build up an ROI based on a pricing structure that has been defined.

Determine the features you want to have in the concept for example, do you want a meat counter where your guests can choose what will be cooked for them? Do you want a bar counter where guests can watch and engage with your handpicked mixologists?

If you are lucky enough to have a bar or restaurant in a hotel with its own toilets create a theme.

Design a Unique Dining Experience

Think beyond the menu. The ambiance, service style, plating style and the dining room layout all play a significant role in defining the dining and drinking experience and more. The Interior design should match with the theme and brand, consider the flow of operations if you create a floor plan as part of your concept document.

Service Style: Casual, formal, buffet, à la carte, again look at key features and design touch points that can help the concept connect with your guests, create a basic sequence of service.

Ambiance: Ensure the lighting and music are controllable, and can adapt in terms of brightness, sound etc. The décor, merchandising, lighting and music playlists all contribute to the overall mood to ensure authenticity and dwell time of the guest.

Curate a Menu that Tells a Story and connects your guests with the concept

A well-designed menu is critical to your concept, it is a sales tool and a storytelling document that narrates the concept of the restaurant.

Menu Items: Align with experience, food, drink and pricing.

Local Produce: Incorporate local ingredients if possible.

Storytelling: Infuse the menu with stories or facts that relate to the concept including the wording style, layout and font.

Incorporate Sustainability

Sustainability is more than a trend; it's a responsibility. Include sustainable practices where possible and be sure it will make a difference.

Sourcing: Utilise local and seasonal ingredients, work with your intended suppliers.

Waste Management: Implement waste reduction strategies for water, food waste, and utilities.

Energy Efficiency: Consider energy-saving appliances and practices, dont just focus on the cost of the item , discover the operating cost of the item over its whole lifecycle

Develop a proper Marketing Strategy

Often hotel restaurant and bars are the best kept secrets because they fail to invest correctly in the pre opening period to generate interest and curiosity.

Promoting your restaurant or bar is key to driving relevance, creating local interest and attracting people and bookings to your venue.

Engage with potential guests through social channels, choose the channel that is most likely to be used by your intended guests. Ensure there is a proper plan and strategy to post meaningful content.

Collaborations: Partner with local businesses, influencers, suppliers and events, work with your hotel F&B PR company and that of your concept collaborators.

Special Offers: Create packages or special offers for hotel guests in anticipation of the launch. Perhaps focus on anticipated quiet periods therefore extending the ability to be profitable.

Implement & Evaluate

After all that planning, it's time to bring the concept to life. Make sure you and your team understand the concept and its purpose. Especially when:

Hiring & Training: Build a team that understands the concept and reflects the concept personality and targeted guest (think tribe)

Soft Opening: Consider a soft launch with the right influencers and intended guests to gather feedback

Pivot and continue to Evaluate: Assess and adapt as needed

Food for thought

Creating a restaurant or bar concept for a hotel is a multifaceted process that requires thoughtful planning, creativity, and a deep understanding of the guests expectations. By focusing on the target market, aligning the concept with the hotel's brand, designing a unique experience, incorporating sustainability, and effectively marketing the restaurant or bar, hoteliers can create a dining destination that becomes an integral part of the guest experience and brings life into the hotel from people living and working in the area around the hotel.

The success of the restaurant concept is not just in its launch but in its ability to evolve and adapt. Regular evaluations, guest feedback, and a willingness to innovate will keep the restaurant vibrant and relevant, enhancing both the dining experience and the hotel's reputation. Remember, a hotel restaurant or bar is more than a dining room; it's a stage where memories are made, stories are shared, and guests feel a connection to the place they've chosen to stay. Make it special, and they will remember not just the meal and drink but the experience, long after they've checked out.......

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