An F&B Focus
Talking of feeding, setting new standards in food and beverage was a clear focus for the hotel. Executive assistant F&B manager Albert Ettinger admits there was some concern about the level of competition in the market.
“Kuwaitis have a known history of fine dining, and a fondness for F&B, and we knew that whatever we did here, we had to make sure that we had a portfolio of restaurants and lounges that offers a certain variety and quality,” says Ettinger.
“When it came to price we had a clear strategy to not be overpriced. We wanted to be number one in the market and become the premier F&B operation in the market, but through the service and quality that we offer rather than the price. We therefore went with the market in our first year, price-wise,” he admits.
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So far since opening, it is clear that the hotel’s F&B strategy seems to have worked, with the hotel’s revenue breaking down to 50:50 between rooms and F&B. This is also attributable to the high levels of interest from the local market, with 60% of F&B business coming from outside of the hotel and not just from guests.
“We have done very well since pre-opening, and while some may say this is luck, I believe that we are enjoying the fruits of our hard work during the pre-opening period,” says Ettinger.
“For example, when I went about recruiting the F&B team, I wanted to get a team of managers on board who see F&B the same way I do, which is to see ourselves as hosts rather than businessmen.
What I mean by that is that over the last 10 years the F&B industry has gotten very good at producing managers who have a sound understanding of financials, average cheques and return on investment. However, I feel that this has caused us to lose focus on our guests, and I believe that if you look after your guests, then the financials will look after themselves”.
“So far by operating this way we have had a huge market response and great market feedback since day one. There have been great comments in our guest feedback system, and also we have had a very strong financial performance in our first four months,” he says.
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