10 Menu Trends We'd Like to See in 2011

Well here are a few that we'd actually like to see more of in the upcoming year.


1. Recognition to butchers.
The meat trend can occasionally start to feel a little tired, but letting customers know that your restaurant is accountable for the provenance of its meat and that it supports the dying art of butchery is a good thing.


2. Improved beer programs.
Small batch distilleries and microbreweries are finally reaching critical mass to get the beer movement really rolling. We'd like to see well-curated beer lists right next to the wine lists offering bottles from obscure, but terrific vineyards.


3. Less "artisan" this and "artisan" that.
There was a time when the word artisan actually meant something—it was produced by an artist. These days, anything handmade or rustic in appearance gets the artisan stamp. Let your food's flavor speak for itself. If it's truly made by an "artist," your customers should be able to taste it.


4. More diversity in meats and fish.
Even though chefs are becoming more adventurous about serving offal, we still see cow, pig, chicken, duck. How about more goat or wild boar? Or sea robins, barramundi, and mackeral, instead of the same half dozen fish that appear on every menu? Many alternative meats and fish are both more interesting, and sustainable—a double win for interested chefs and customers.

5. Strong bar programs that don't rely on flashy cocktails.
Lots of restaurants these days have house cocktails featuring multiple fresh-squeezed juices, infused or barrel-aged spirits, and three different acai/pomegranate/cardamom liqueurs, but ask them for a Negroni or a Sazerac, and you're met with blank stares (or worse—the bartender who pretends to know what the drink is, looks up the ingredients, then serves you your Manhattan shaken in a martini glass). Get the basics right, then work on the fancy drinks.

6. Drink pairing suggestions beyond wine.
Pick the perfect beverage for each of your dishes, whether it's wine, beer, or a nonalcoholic cocktail. Beverages help food shine—encourage your customers to choose good matches and you'll improve their experience while improving your bottom line.

7. Improved cheese programs.
We can never get enough good cheese, and tasting small-batch cheeses from small farms and producers is always interesting—provided that cheese list is well curated. To make things easier for cheese novices, it's always nice when "set menus" of three or five different choices are already picked—of course, the diner should always be given the choice to make his or her own groupings if desired. And for God's sake—do not serve fridge-cold cheese. Room temperature, please.

8. Smaller menus with fewer programs.
When we're confronted with a menu that's got Appetizers, Small Plates, Crudo, Salumi, Pastas, Main Courses, Side Dishes, and a half dozen other sections, we don't just get confused, we get annoyed. Customers don't come to restaurants to get a mental workout: your job is to do the work for them. Keep the menu simple, and make it clear how and how much customers are meant to order.

9. Don't list the name of your farmer or producer unless you've got something to say.
It doesn't mean much to a diner if your eggs come from Starry Grove Farm unless Starry Grove is doing something really special to make those eggs different from all the other eggs out there. Ask yourself: are your eggs really that different from the eggs they're using next door? If not, then we don't need to know about them.

10. Wording designed to inform customers rather than confuse them.
Menus written out as confusing lists of ingredients may be the hot trend designed to get your patrons to interact with the servers, but 99 percent of the time, we'd like to be able to figure out what's going on just by reading the menu. We prefer straightforward menus that describe the food in simple but evocative ways so we can at least get a sense of what we are about to eat. Also, plain English is almost always preferable. Is that sauce really an aioli, or is it just mayonnaise?



Oh, and for the record: We want more double crusted pies on dessert menus. Crumb toppings and crisps are a cop-out.

What 2011 Means to Me.

With resurgence in the hotel business, although not in all markets, and some job movement it seems that 2011 will be stronger than 2010. The changes that we see are the RevPar equations and logical movement to make the property as profitable as possible. There are other components that are the other side of the equation that is equally important one is the Menu costing and Profit Ratio models. The key is to get the best pricing from your vendor or be under a contract. The other part is the Profit model for meetings and Catering events. A preliminary P&L will give you a clear indication on adjustments that need to be made. Labor is another key element that hotels scrutinize to make money. They combine jobs, or scale back staff there seems a fine line on service at all levels. With Budgets in mind there is a time to know when to cross the line and when to cross back. Marketing your property correctly to achieve the most revenue streams and social marketing will get you the most exposure.



We at Sutter & Pine Hospitality are ready to assist you in Development, Operations, and Training, Control systems, helping you make the right decisions for 2011.

To Pay Or Not To Pay…Sense or Dollars….

A National Chain has decided to take the first steps in eliminating their free rewards program. At checkout a staff member would ask for you Rewards card or email address. They decided to switch to a program in which you have to pay $20.00 to join the basic plan which to gain anything from this plan as it stands, you the customer would have to spend $200.00 a year in the store to get back your original $20.00,so to include that your break even point is really $220.00 before you get nothing. If it were a hotel chain, your sign up would be free and your points accumulate and accrue. If you get points in their plan which equates to roughly $5.00 you have 30 day to use them, with no rollover or accrual.



The one part which makes no sense is that the employee’s were sent a letter telling them to support the program, or that they would be written up in disciplinary form, getting hit with a stick does not make the donkey move faster. The customer base they have to work with at the store in particular is Latino from Mexico, and the email required to start the process doesn’t allow them to accept Mexico emails or their base is elderly and don’t have emails or computers. It is funny how none of this is taken into consideration during the design or implementation of the new system.


It won’t work for any of the reasons I mentioned who wants to Pay to Play, and support by a staff who has their hands tied to make it work, who is threatened with disciplinary action. Some companies need to do more to get more.

Make your hotel more profitable : Strategy #12 – Diversify Your Revenue Stream

(John Hogan brings some valid points for 2011)


The hospitality industry has many components, including lodging, food service, beverage service, meetings, tourism, entertainment, attractions and more.

Running a successful, profitable hotel and/or restaurant has parallels with
the stock market : one must diversify to maximize profitability and to
minimize risk. The risks are even more apparent today considering the current economic climate, which requires thinking about the future as well as the present.


Today, you may have a solid brand (local or national), a good location, a base of regular guests and are holding your own in your competitive set comparative numbers. On the other hand, you have been having some staff turnover, your profit margins are not always consistent and there always seems to be a new competitor entering the market.


Your business could become stronger, more balanced and able to strengthen market penetration if you carefully examined some options and expanded your offerings with some diversity of service and products. These could include:


1.Adding retail space and/or items. Conrad Hilton set the pace two generations ago and the industry is again about to expand this approach in deeper ways

2.Making your services more accessible. This is especially true in food services, with major and smaller players experimenting with delis, carry-out for select popular items, etc.

3.Exploring the potential for appropriate size party catering services. Hosting special events off-site, IF you can do it well and profitably.

4.Finding your niche. It could be weddings, showers, corporate team building, etc

5.If you have a hotel restaurant , assess the periods of volume and see if there are options, such as making your restaurant available for larger functions on slow periods. You could also find a niche in renting the

entire place for private parties on known slow days or in high demand seasons, like corporate holiday parties.

6.Assessing your current or potential meeting room space and determine if the need is met in the market. This could bring in group business not currently using your facilities.

7.Creating profitable partnerships. There are likely several other local businesses that would like to reachyour customer base. Come up with creative ways to give such partners advertising access to yourcustomers…for a fee.

Make Your Hotel More Profitable and Successful – 2011 is the critical time to invest in Your Talent and Your Team

(John is a great friend and former Instructor, he has keen insight.)



“Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.”


W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993)

Deming was known as the father of the Japanese post-war industrial revival and regarded by many as the leading quality guru in the United States. Trained as a statistician, his expertise was used during World War II to assist the United States in its effort to improve the quality of war materials. He was invited to Japan at the end of World War II, where Japanese industrial leaders and engineers asked how long it would take to shift the perception of the world from the existing paradigm that Japan produced cheap, shoddy imitations to one of producing innovative quality products. Deming told the group that if they would follow his directions, they could achieve the desired outcome in five years. Few of the leaders believed him, but were ashamed to say so and would be embarrassed if they failed to follow his suggestions. Looking back, Dr. Deming observed, "They surprised me and did it in four years."


For much of the past three years, many industries have faced somber financial challenges. Hospitality in literally all segments struggled to find ways to meet the global financial meltdown in 2008 and 2009 and the 2010 scorecard shows mixed year-end results. Erosion of revenue and profitability from 2006-2007 periods, and the loss of both long-term customers and loyal staff are all issues faced.


As recently as last week in the HVS Career Network , there was discussion of a growing demand from their clients for top talent, especially at the middle-management level. Their report stated that the middle management group was considered a “ traditionally neglected group” of employees, but they were a crucial link between top management and line employees and responsible for turning business strategies into tangible outcomes.


In my career, I have experienced four major economic recessions that all dramatically hurt our industry for a period and I have participated in four recoveries. I agree with the HVS assessment that “Hoteliers have come to realise that now more than ever the quality of the workforce is the key market differentiator, and are ramping up their talent sourcing and retention strategies.”


Now is the critical time for hospitality business owners and managers to invest in their talent and team if they hope to make their Hotel More Profitable and Successful. Rebuilding our center of attention into a business recovery over the next 12 months means that now is the time to pay attention to those professionals in our organizations who are the key components of why guests will stay with our businesses.


I commented in several columns a year ago that it is a sometimes a hardship in the cost-conscious operations facing many businesses today for managers to leave their properties for professional development. It is also a reality that there is seldom any longer dedicated time for meaningful on-the-job training, which had habitually been a strong element of the hospitality industry’s career advancement path. There are many issues facing the complex world of hospitality and today’s business owners and managers need to be aware of that diversity, regardless of their own business focus.


As an individual who has been involved with well thought-out learning as both an academic and a corporate educator, I have come to recognize that delivering a balance of real-world business skills and comprehension with structured learning is essential to long-term success.

Measure Twice Cut Once…Communication is Key.

This past weekend I helped out a neighbor with a roofing job, and a few things came roaring back to me. My neighbor called me late and asked if I could help him out, so I went with him, and he told me that there would be two others also and it would be a fast job to remove shingles from a roof. We get there and he had explained how easy it was going to be and put the shingles in a dumpster in front of the house like under the eaves, Well, two big things didn’t happen…the other two guys didn’t show up…and the dumpster was behind the house, and 15 feet away. This immediately posed problems, it was going to take longer to remove them, and getting the shingles to the dumpster was going to take twice as long.


We worked all day and 2/3’s the way finished removing them but the clean up was going to be a long hard task. If everyone had showed up it would have been easier. Secondly the person tasked with the placement of the dumpster had it placed wrong, and thusly did have to pay for it in the long run. So it reminded me of the hotel days of being short staffed, of better yet..a snow day or night as it were, and the 3rd shift couldn’t make it in. It was brutal but we’d make it through. As for the dumpster it was a long day of picking up shingles and debris and taking it to the roll off container. If it was communicated correctly and placed correctly and the other people had shown up it would have been easier. Eliminating a step to save time and money.

13 Best Practices for Hospitality Training Managers & Directors

Keys to Success

A Common Sense Approach to Success in the Hospitality Industry
 
The forecasts of recovery for the hospitality industry range from "next quarter to next year" depending on where one is located in the world. For those of us who have been in the industry for more than 15 years, we have come to realize that the cycle will reverse itself and we need to be ready to greet guests, serve them efficiently and exceed their exceptions.






The responsibility for ensuring that all associated receive initial and ongoing training to provide that excellent and consistent service varies by type of hospitality business. Larger hotels and companies have internal training staffs. Many branded hotels have access to their brand's general training offerings for a fee and online learning continues to grow.



Late last year, I authored a column titled "A Baker's Dozen" of Strategies for Hospitality Human Resource Managers" that offered specific recommendations that included an overview on training. With the continuing turbulence facing our industry and shaky global economies still identified each month, the responsibility to find the time and resources to train becomes more critical. Like politics, business is often "local" and we must be ready to greet those guests when our local conditions present themselves positively. We need to remember to foundations of our successes and not accept the negativity of the naysayers.





"We learn by example and by direct experience because

there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction."

Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, 2005



This column addresses the very core of all hotels: the one-on-one interaction of associates and guests. Without the proper planning and implementation of staffing and service, a hospitality business that interacts with guests 24 hours a day for 365 days a year has little chance for ongoing success.



Smaller hotels likely do not always have staff dedicated only to training, but the responsibility remains the same regardless of hotel or staff size. Today's hospitality training team must be effective communicators who can share best practices and examples of "how to" because there always seem to be crises. Those crises might be anything from technology problems to staffing shortages, but thriving in a multiple priority environment is often a requirement

"A Baker's Dozen" of Strategies for Hospitality Training Managers & Directors


Training differs somewhat from HR roles, in that it often tends to be two fold and more action oriented.

Planning


1.Plan, produce and monitor the annual training budget. Successful training efforts do not just happen. A team leader must work with HR and department heads to identify probable needs and create a viable plan to help operations meet those needs.

2.Formulate all learning & professional development related policies and procedures and update routinely. As with business forecasts, training needs to be anticipated and evaluated at least quarterly.

3.Prepare appropriate training needs analyses and career development plans. This is as much for the individual participating in training as it is for the organization. We all like to know "what's in it for me" and having career path potentials can assist both department heads and associates "think ahead."

4.Plan, produce and monitor the annual learning & professional development master schedule. Training needs to be ingoing. When one steps back and recognizes the changes in technology, the green movement, online learning and more, it becomes obvious that as in #2 above, there is a logical need for a longer term plan with the requirement for updates.


Delivery and Evaluation

1.Support the timely scheduling and posting of the following month's Training Calendar, incorporating security and safety training sessions to all Department Heads and Executive Committee Members monthly. With the increasing potential of terrorism in hotels and hospitality businesses, the need to regularly review updates and the property's plans are essential.

2.Assist the Quality Assurance or other managers in monitoring and consolidating month-end training activity reports from all departments. Some properties have limited training staff, but all information relating to professional development and training activities should be recapped in monthly training activity recaps. We all recall the expression, "what gets measured, gets done!"

3.Assess changes in guest needs, the hotel's guest mix, and industry and competitive trends. Markets change, products and services evolve and having someone who interacts with the front line regularly is an excellent resource to recommend appropriate product, service and operational changes that might improve the guest experience and associate satisfaction. Properties that set our to establish and maintain market domination frequently enjoy outstanding financial results.

4.Monitor and ensure that all training and development programs are carried out within the allocated budget. Budgets should be regularly reviewed and adjusted as needed, but not overlooked. Training is not the place for major savings, unless perhaps one is considering delaying a major new initiative for a short period of time such as one quarter.

5.Identify and make available external instructors as necessary to fulfill training objectives. This column has focused on internal trainers, but there are times when external resources are essential.

6.Conduct New Hire Orientation program for all new employees using current property, brand and/or corporate standards. The expression about making the right first impression remains essential.

7.Lead New Manager Orientation, clearly reviewing associate handbook information, brand, corporate and property standards. New managers must understand the organizational values and operating procedures from day one.

8.Oversee and/or conduct compliance courses. As in #5 that discussed safety and security, the need for attention to reasonable care continues to grow. Programs that address product safety and potential liability, such as TIPS and Food Handler, and others involving Safety and/or Security should be addressed, monitored and measured. Some may be mandated by local, provincial/state and/or national government agencies, but attention must be ramped up here. Part of my work includes expert witness and/or consulting on legal issues and there needs to be specific attention paid to these issues by the major brands, as well as individual hotel owners, managers and franchisees.

9.Lead by example. I have personally been an advocate in my career in ongoing learning. Professional certifications in a wide range of specialties in learning and operations are extremely beneficial because everyone benefits. Trainers need positive leadership and interpersonal skills, yet must also maintain a sense of perspective for those learning.