Should your B&B use Food and Beverage to increase revenue?

When travelers are on the road there are two essential things they need; a place to sleep and a place to eat. Offering some range of food and beverage at your B&B will help generate as much revenue as possible from your guest.

However before you decide to implement an elaborate wine and dine menu you will need to plan ahead and assess whether your property should take this next step.

Here are four key questions you should ask…

1. Do You And Your Staff Have The Time To Provide This Extra Service?

B&B’s should first assess if this additional workload will restrict the time you can spend on guests.

It’s true, nothing quite compares to a home cooked breakfast, but how can a guest enjoy their meal if there are stressed staff running around trying to do everything?

If your staff do not have time, then you could consider hiring additional staff to take on this task.

If budget doesn’t allow for new members of the team, you could lighten the admin load of current staff by employing technology solutions. For example, freeing them from their desk with cloud technology that will automatically update property rates across booking channels and your brand website, help plan your day, and take reservations while you sleep.

2. Does Your Hotel Have The Physical Capacity To Prepare And Serve Food

If your B&B is limited in the amount of space and number of guest rooms you have then you probably won’t have anywhere for guests to sit and eat. Serving food and beverages would stretch your space too thin and be an unnecessary use of resources.

Instead, build your relationship with your fellow business owners and direct guests to local cafes and restaurants.

3. Would On-the-go Options Be Better For Your Guests?

Your guests may sometimes just want to grab a bite to eat then go explore, or if they are travelling for business they may be short on time. A great way to increase revenue with these customers is with to-go sales. Items can be prepared the night before or even outsourced from a catering vendor.

On-the-go is a great method to increase revenue with little labor costs, here are some ideas:

• Sandwiches
• Cakes, muffins and quiches
• Fruit/Muesli bars
• Boxed Salad
• Tea/coffee, bottled water and juice

4. Would Beverages Alone Be More Effective?

It doesn’t matter if a hotel’s guests are business or leisure, coffee is usually expected and appreciated.

Serving guests a great cup of coffee is not only a low cost way to bring in extra sales, but it also can also be a great marketing tool to increase bookings. People love to post photos, or tag their location, of morning coffee. Encourage them to build your social media exposure by making it special and unique.

Hoteliers could also consider offering guests a happy hour where drinks and appetizers are discounted or consider a food and wine tasting that reflects the local area.