(MENAFN-Khaleej Times) the 2014 edition of the arabian hotel investment conference or ahic to be held in dubai on may 4 and 5 will be looking at solutions to fill in the gaps in the hotel food and beverage market in the region
As the middle east is becoming the global benchmark for hotel food and beverage ahic 2014 has dedicated a special panel session entitled “the evolution of hotel f&b in the region – where to next?” to discuss what value are hotel operators adding how are they competing and where is it now headed. the session will also look at where owners need to invest to ensure they are able to compete and what impact can f&b have on adr and revpar.
The session will be moderated by mary gostelow editor of the gostelow report who will be in conversation with henning fries managing director of hospitality at the al habtoor group; gert kopera senior vice-president for food and beverage at the jumeirah group; and bob puccini founder and chief executive officer of the puccini group.
Fries said: “some might argue that for the most part in the us and europe hotels are no longer considered dining destinations and have long been displaced by independent restaurants/venues. especially in the middle east and asia owners and operators alike are increasingly focused on maintaining and growing turnover from f&b-related activities.”
According to str global f&b revenues have roughly grown in relation to the room performance across the markets that are not affected by localised problems. total f&b accounts for approximately 37 per cent of revenue across the middle east which is pretty much the highest worldwide and it is growing by five 10 per cent each year. puccini said: “dubai’s hotel restaurants with their eclectic makeup of patrons have the opportunity to win with regards to roi if conceived correctly. in order for a restaurant to work in dubai everything from the concept to the design to the operations and to the branding have to tell the same story the same message through a cohesive and convincing framework that ultimately fulfils an emotion.”
Mark willis area vice-president for the middle east and sub-saharan africa for the rezidor hotel group said: “a key focus for us this year will be the rejuvenation of our food and beverage services for guests. if you look at the collaboration between food and drink and events there is a lot of synergy.”
Kees hartzuiker ceo of roya international said: “we are constantly reviewing the performance of f&b outlets at the hotels that we oversee. every situation is different but most certainly third party f&b operators need to be considered — and in general we find that this strategy generates a far superior roi compared to a self-managed or operated space.”
— business?khaleejtimes.com
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