Whether hotels go for partnerships with celebrity chefs, offer management contracts to independent brands or continue to develop and run their own in-house concepts, one thing is certain: the importance placed upon F&B operations is only going to increase.
And for any hotel group that is serious about succeeding in this market in future, that’s the way it should be.
Salalah Marriott Resort
• Sumhuram — international all-day dining restaurant
• Mirbat Arabi Café — café with an authentic local theme
• Al Dana Seafood Restaurant — a fish market concept
• The Cove English Pub — relaxed sports bar
• Havana Cigar Lounge — smoking lounge for quality Cuban cigars
• The Wharf Pool Bar — pool-side snack bar
Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach
• The Falls — lobby-lounge café
• West Beach Bistro — gastro-bar serving Provençale cuisine
• The Talk Restaurant — three outlets combined, featuring live cooking stations and outdoor area
Aloft Abu Dhabi
• Dine Restaurant — live-cooked international-style cuisine
• Mai Café Lounge — pool-side chill-out spot
• Relax@12 Rooftop — bar offering sushi and exotic bites
• W xyz — a ‘fresh and funky’ bar concept, adjoined by the hotel’s communal lounge, re:mix
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The Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island
The classic image of a ‘hotel restaurant’ has undergone a major revamp over the past decade; today’s glitzy, modish offerings are a far cry from the drab diners and lonely lounges traditionally associated with hotel outlets.
Nowadays, F&B can be a make-or-break factor for hotel guests — and as a result, new properties entering the competitive Middle East market are looking to express and differentiate themselves through their food and beverage portfolios.
Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach’s director of F&B, Simone Stanco, asserts: “Today hotels are not about rooms — there is much more emphasis on extras, like the restaurants and the quality of food and service they offer. The outlets have a big impact on the customer’s experience in the hotel.”
In fact, a good hotel is “only as good as its food and beverage department”, according to Kempinski Nile Hotel Cairo’s director of F&B, Raoul Duclos.
At another recently-opened Middle East property, the Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island, executive assistant manager in charge of F&B Tim Van Veen notes that F&B is “the second highest contributing department in a hotel”.
“Without food and beverage, the property would not be as attractive to guests coming into this region and would find it difficult to succeed,” he says — an idea supported by Salalah Marriott Resort director of operations Hesham Dawood.
“Many tourists come to this region with the idea of experiencing its cuisine — and that’s in addition to the majority who come for leisure trips, where the food and beverage is also a big part of the experience,” Dawood explains.
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