It feels like summer is on the way, so now is the time to invest in a digital strategy that focuses on seasonal menus, guest experiences and mobile ordering that delivers greater efficiency and satisfaction on both sides of the menu (for staff and guests) and ensures you will be basking in summer profits!
How can you achieve this? Here are our top five tips for increasing your F&B revenues this summer:
1. Celebrate seasonal, local produce
Summer is synonymous with a fresh, vibrant produce and guests now, more than ever, are keen to take a seasonal, sustainable approach to ordering. If you are fortunate enough to have local producers then be sure to include them on your digital menu if you can. Not only will this support wider commitments to sustainable practices but you can guarantee a freshness to your menu that holds real guest-appeal. Whether that is locally-sourced ingredients for salads or limited edition cocktails using fruit from local farmers. Keep the menu vibrant, exciting and fresh to keep your guests coming back for more!
Extend the guest experience by showcasing local producers on-site with exclusive events and offers. This could include a wine tasting with a local vineyard or food tastings hosted by local growers to demonstrate your commitment and expertise, all whilst adding value and increasing revenues.
However you choose to include seasonal produce, make sure you update your digital menu accordingly (even if it’s for a limited time period) and promote local producers and events in your digital guest directory – guests will love to read more and discover their dish’s local origins. With quick edits just a click away, promotion in your mobile ordering apps will drive awareness, engagement and crucially, orders and revenue.
2. Content is king
As they say a picture paints a thousand words, so whilst key information like ingredients and allergens are important, remember that strong, appealing imagery of menu items and outlets can work wonders to increase reservations and order volumes.
Upload inspiring, bright images to your digital menu to tempt guests to add them to their cart (and potentially order more per transaction).
Whether that be ambient shots of cocktails on the pool deck, behind the scenes content of chefs and bar staff preparing drinks and dishes or inclusions from local producers, there are a number of ways to get creative and showcase the very best that your menu has to offer through the summer months.
Once you’ve curated a great album of images make sure they are working as hard for you as possible. Add images to your digital menu, your website and social media and pre-arrival communications so they are readily available to the guest and working hard to inspire orders for the entirety of the guest journey.
3. Promotion, promotion, promotion
With an abundance of fresh produce available, summer is the ideal season to expand your menu and launch enticing promotions and offers to ensure that you maximise your F&B revenue potential.
Promotions can include discounts for early pool-side dinners, limited edition summer cocktails, BBQs on the terrace and picnic hampers – all of which can be viewed, ordered and paid for in the palm of the guests’ hand via the hotel’s digital guest directory or digital menu for added value convenience, efficiency and revenue.
4. Take a dive into the data
Whilst your guests are diving into the pool, now is a good time to dive into the data and review your F&B figures in terms of sales and profits to see what’s proved popular in the past. Mobile ordering not only delivers efficiencies in terms of managing and delivering orders, it also delivers transparency in terms of reporting and analysing data.
At a glance, reporting dashboards can give a comprehensive overview of what items, outlets and times/days generated the most orders, average guest spend and revenue to help inform future F&B strategies and price points.
5. Get personal
Data can not only help with menus and pricing plans, it can also enable you to provide the most popular add-ons and related items so guests can personalise their order to their own liking.
Guests can customise their orders according to their preferences, all of which helps boost order value, minimise waste and enhance the guest experience. Prompts for example such as ‘How about adding a refreshing glass of Rose to your meal or a fresh fruit salad after your lunch?’ can really support sales volumes. Additionally, guests could even order in advance of their stay and have their room or villa pre-stocked with their favourite snacks and drinks for when they arrive.
Consider offering exclusive discounts for loyalty programme guests so they feel extra special. Data and special offers can power guest satisfaction and operational efficiency on either side of the menu so be sure you are using it to maximum effect.
The key to maximising summer F&B revenues is as much about the tools and operations you have in place to manage service and orders as it as about the items on the menu. Keep your digital menu and directory fresh, up to date and engaging to ensure that you are basking in higher revenues throughout the summer season.
To find out more about how mobile ordering can help get your F&B offer summer fit and request a demo please visit iris.net/demo
About IRIS Software Systems
IRIS is a global market leader in digital F&B ordering, guest directory and concierge solutions for hotels, working with many of the world’s leading chains including Marriott, Ennismore, Mandarin Oriental, IHG and Four Seasons.
IRIS empowers Hotels and F&B leaders to do what they do best: increase revenue, look after their teams, and provide an outstanding customer experience.
Their flexible hospitality platform enables hotels and restaurants to provide a truly digital ordering experience to their guests, making it easier and faster for guests to browse, order and pay for items and services across multiple outlets.
Since 2010, thousands of hotels on every continent across the world have used IRIS’s mobile, tablet and web app technology to boost additional revenues by 20% on average.
More information: www.iris.net or [email protected]
Kate FullerSenior Marketing Manager
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