Interview: Hilton's MEA vice president of F&B

Hilton Worldwide’s regional F&B department is pioneering new initiatives for both restaurant creation and management in its hotels. VP of food & beverage for Middle East & Africa Simon Lazarus reveals the group’s strategy, as embodied at the newest launch, Conrad Dubai

Hilton Worldwide has kept its F&B department on its toes in the region with vice president of food and beverage Simon Lazarus working on launching two of the group’s luxury brands in the UAE, along with the refurbishment and reformatting of existing venues, and keeping an eye on its competitors.

The Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah and the Conrad Dubai both launched this year, with the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah currently under construction.

Hilton Worldwide has also split its concept-creators from the operators, and is experimenting with a new method of operating its restaurants and bars in order to ensure its outlets can compete with the fast-growing casual dining sector creeping in.

Listening to the Consumers
“We have had a flurry of activity over the last couple of years and they have culminated with the launch of our two luxury brands within the region — we have the Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah and Conrad Dubai. We have changed a lot as we go along, we learn and listen to what our customer wants,” says Lazarus, who has worked on the Conrad for nearly five years, and on the Waldorf Astoria for three.

Hilton is making a concerted effort to listen to customer feedback and demand, partnering where necessary with external chefs or brands to deliver the desired experience.

Lazarus explains: “In Ras Al Khaimah, we have opened a fantastic Lebanese to cater to the local clientele. It’s a Middle Eastern restaurant called Marjan and we went into an agreement with a famous Lebanese chef named Joe Barza, who is our consultant chef.” Barza frequently visits the restaurant and works on its menu.

He adds: “In our talks with customers we realised that there are a few touch points and memory points [for them]. When we built our all-day dining buffet in the Waldorf Astora, the smell of fresh bread is something that you just can’t get away from. So we moved the bakery ovens to the front so people can watch the croissants and muffins coming out.”

According to Lazarus, this is an example of how Hilton Worldwide is “opening up” its F&B offering, compared to what it typically would have been 10 years ago. The Waldorf Astoria hotel also offers its traditional steakhouse, the Lexington Grill, which according to Lazarus, pays homage to the roots of the Waldorf in New York City.

At Conrad Dubai, he highlights the Las Vegas concept PuroBeach and the Marco Pierre White Grill, international brands yet managed by Conrad, and Cave wine bar, created and run by Conrad.

“We listen to what people say. We ask surveys, we look at the comments our guests give us. Cave, for example, came out of that need of having a great place to drink wine and French comfort food. Where else in Dubai will you find great onion soup?” asks Lazarus.

“Conrad Dubai also has Izel, a Latin American supper club, which is going to have a 10-piece band, and dancing. The concept of supper clubs is another lost thing in F&B; supper clubs and cabarets are just coming back so we are providing that.

“Conrad doesn’t have an all-day dining traditional restaurant. We have Ballaro, which is a Sicilian market restaurant and that’s in partnership with Massimo Mantarro, who is a two-star Michelin chef. You will see the produce and the cooks cooking in front; it’s purely a Sicilian theme.”

He says Hilton turned the idea of an “all day dining” option on its head with the outlet, where “it’s not a breakfast restaurant, it’s a restaurant that happens to serve breakfast”.
At existing hotels, Hilton Worldwide has also tried to offer something a little different, with Pure Sky Lounge opening at the Hilton Jumeirah Residences, and the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah’s Wavebreaker undergoing “a massive refurbishment”.

“Not only are we building new properties but our existing properties are really getting a rethink,” he says.

“There are so many new things to talk about — we are launching a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Lounge in Ras Al Khaimah. Ras Al Khaimah is now really what Dubai was 20 years ago. If you look at who’s coming to Waldorf, it is people that work in Dubai that happen to live in Al Hamra.
I imagine you will see a lot more branded and high-energy restaurants and bars coming there.”

Hemingway’s in Hilton Abu Dhabi is also scheduled for a refurbishment, and while Lazarus is tight-lipped about Hilton Dubai Creek Table9’s future, with Nick Alvis and Scott Price leaving the fold in January 2014, it is hinted that an announcement of a new culinary team will be made soon.

Lazarus observes the significance of the company’s focus on home-grown and local concepts. Speaking about outlets in the Conrad Dubai, he says: “This is all Dubai; this grew for the Dubai market. It’s not like somebody in Washington went, ‘this is what we are going to do’. Everything that you see here was born in Dubai. So I think we need to really be proud of doing things differently here”.

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Staving off Competition
The perception of dining in the UAE five years ago was that it was upscale and all about fine dining. However, Lazarus says Conrad Dubai is an example of the changing trend where the consumer wants to eat out wearing their jeans.

The devolution of dress code is matched by the trends for hotel F&B becoming less formal with its food and encouraging sharing-style dining, as well as casting off the ideas of reservation policies.

Lazarus explains: “It works to a certain extent but you may alienate, depending on the concept, people by not being a bit freer.”

He agrees that “sharing” is one of the food trends that is coming into prominence in the region. He points to Lexington Grill which, although a traditional steakhouse, also has a sampler plate of the different meats available. To nobody’s surprise, according to Lazarus, it’s the top seller.

Can many of these changes in outlook for hotel F&B operators be attributed to the steady rise in the casual dining sector in the region? “Absolutely, that is one of the reasons why we’re doing up our F&B to be purposely built; these are standalone units.

They have their own general manager, their own entertainment person,” responds Lazarus, referring to the decision made by the Conrad Dubai to hire a director to head up its traditional hotel F&B services and another director responsible for the seven bars and restaurants.

This was a planned move by Hilton Worldwide, says Lazarus, to be individual and compete in the busy market, emulating already successful strategies in places such as New York. At Conrad Dubai, Lazarus explains that the hotel still has its traditional F&B manager, with a massive operation in terms of lobby lounge, banqueting and room service, where it is serving a 500-800 capacity ballroom and 20 meeting rooms.

“We are good at that side of things, and we have always been great at restaurants. But now moving into this nightlife and entertainment sector, we have hired in the right people.”
The key to success in this arena will be enabling each outlet to have its own identity.

“Where some hotels will move the banquet business into a particular restaurant, we are not going into that. I’m not going to serve coffee breaks in Cave. There’s a very strict policy about what goes on here. I want people from outside to enjoy the ambience, and there’s nothing worse than 300 people in a restaurant like Cave with badges walking around. I think hoteliers are realising now that the businesses need to stand on their own.”

Don't Mix Business
Just as the bars business is being kept separate from banqueting, Lazarus says the creative process is also separate from operational procedures.

“Hilton took the approach that the ‘conceptualiser’ needs to be removed from the hotel operations, so we hired restaurant people to develop the concepts for the hotel. It’s interesting to see a lot of competitors that didn’t have an F&B presence now doing it,” says Lazarus.

He also explains that F&B in hotels — not just Hilton’s — are the differentiators, the unique selling points for consumers trying to pick from one property to another. “People realised the food element is a massive part of the rooms business. It’s a huge percentage of our daily revenue and it has to be managed independently.

“It’s what actually drives the room business, especially in a place like Dubai. There are a lot of choices, so how do I pick? A room is a room is a room. Sure we have great beds and our rooms are fantastic.

But what will drive somebody in here is our great conference rooms and spaces, and the choice with many different restaurants. It’s now at a point where it’s such a competitive market hotel-wise, that if you don’t differentiate yourself in F&B, you’re going to lose out on that potential of selling more rooms,” he says, visibly passionate on this point.

Lazarus concludes: “I’m really excited about F&B. I think this has been a massive year and it just keeps getting better.”