Even when the pandemic was at its peak, one division in the hotel industry was on its toes – the F&B team. When business and operations were upended completely, this department quickly adjusted to the changes – introducing digital menus, contactless payments, food delivery or coming up with wellness options.
For instance, the culinary team at The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences dished out balanced and healthy foods for people recovering from COVID-19 at home. Guests could sign up for the 15-day package or choose two daily meals at INR 699 per meal, and the hotel would deliver it to the customer’s home.
Of course, F&B professionals had to deal with dynamic issues like the disruption of the supply chain and labour shortage. But then again, hoteliers – especially F&B professionals – are nothing if not resilient. They quickly started collaborating with local vendors to overcome this challenge and ensure that their operations continued unhindered without compromising customer experience.
On 23rd February 2022, leading F&B leaders will discuss the shifts and movements likely to determine what the ‘Future of F&B’ will look like at the F&B Dialogues webinar organised by Hotelier India. These stakeholders will reveal how the pandemic forced them to rethink past best practices and re-start from a blank slate to put this business into overdrive. AH International, Asia’s leading FF&E and OS&E aggregator, is supporting this webinar. It offers a gamut of F&B solutions, ranging from cutlery, crockery, tableware, barware and glassware, from reputed brands in addition to fabricated and custom-made F&B equipment.
ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES
Hoteliers realised the need to acquaint their workforce with every aspect of the business operations. So, the cooking and serving staff need to know all the restaurants and menus inside and out to give guests the information they need. And if this meant reskilling, upskilling or even encouraging people to multi-task, then so be in.
A case in point is Pullman, New Delhi Aerocity. Its Director of Culinary, Neeraj Tyagi noted that numerous training sessions were organised virtually so that employees could enrol in the subject that fancied them the most. In addition to upgrading their knowledge, it also kept them updated about the latest happenings in the sector.
Through this journey, most F&B heads pivoted towards the concept of minimalism. This was reflected in their cuisines and how it was prepared and presented. They also rethought their menus to minimise carrying costs and prevent service disruptions.
JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity is on point with this concept, which is evident in its restructured K3. It is the quintessential coffee shop and all-day dining place. But more importantly, it has an Italian, Oriental and Indian restaurant, all connected. So, guests entering K3 can order from any of these cuisines without walking into a speciality restaurant in the hotel. It reduces serving time, thus improving the guest experience.
This is just the scratching of the surface – at the Future of F&B’ webinars, the panellists will shed more light on how they are trimming costs and streamlining service to heighten customer delight. Register here to attend this enlightening session.
