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Hotel restaurant management is similar in many ways to restaurant management, bar management, and food and restaurant industry work. The key difference is the situation the management and team are working in. The role of the hotel restaurant plays into the larger setting of the hotel, and the restaurant must be managed accordingly to achieve operational efficiency. There should also be some level of restaurant risk assessment and hospitality risk management.
Overall, the practice of hotel restaurant management involves several members of the hotel team. Everyone on the team contributes to the management functionality. The tips we cover in this article can be applied to the different jobs within the hotel restaurant.
What Is Hotel Restaurant Management?
Before we dive into the best practices for a successful hotel restaurant management program, we’ll take a look at the individuals within the team. The roles we will look at are the hotel owner, the hotel restaurant manager, and the individuals directly under the manager. Those are the shift leads and floor managers.
Hotel Owner
The hotel owner is the overseer of the entire hotel, and by extension, the operation and management of the hotel’s restaurant. In some hotels, the hotel owner will be the direct hotel restaurant management leader. This type of direct leadership from the owner is more common in small hotels.
In many cases, having the hotel owner be in charge of hotel restaurant management is ideal. They can work to maintain similar levels of service and design across the hotel, from the rooms to the dining spaces.
However, in enterprise hotels, the owner typically doesn’t have the time to be directly involved in the restaurant management. That’s where a hotel restaurant manager comes in.
Hotel Restaurant Manager
The hotel restaurant manager is a position that is implemented by medium to large hotels, such as Hilton, Hyatt, or Marriott. In these cases, hotel restaurant management is delegated to the respective manager by the hotel owner. That delegation involves work between the owner and the manager, to transition oversight from the hotel general areas to the hotel restaurant seamless.
Another common term for the hotel restaurant manager is the food and beverage director. This person is responsible for all the day-to-day hotel restaurant operations, from menu planning to scheduling to addressing guest concerns with customer service. While this manager will work closely with the hotel owner, the restaurant is their direct responsibility.
Hotel Restaurant Leads
Staff roles on hotel restaurant teams are less commonly defined by single titles. These people fill the roles of floor manager, lead servers, or staff lead. Each role is a different title depending on the hotel. It can also have a different meaning depending on the service provided by the specific food and beverage location within the hotel.
Some hotels may have one person filling this role, while some may have four to six people. This number fluctuates depending on the size of the hotel.
Ultimately, the hotel restaurant lead is responsible for any tasks given to them by the manager or owner. They also have a daily responsibility for the basic roles and responsibilities of any worker in the food and beverage division.
“Key Takeaway: The responsibility of hotel restaurant management is spread across the workers in the hotel. From the owner to the wait staff, everyone plays a role in making the hotel restaurant as efficient and enjoyable as possible for hotel guests.”
Hospitality Hotel and Restaurant Management: 3 Key Operation Tips
Hospitality hotel and restaurant management is a department of hospitality work that draws from so many fields of service work. Restaurant management tips are helpful, as are bar owner skills and restaurant server techniques. To focus on hotel restaurant management, we’ve zoomed in on three hotel restaurant operations tips that are uniquely important for hotels.
3. Consider room service an extension of the restaurant. While room service means guests don’t have to leave the comfort of their rooms, the experience should match the dining room.
Room service should be a private setting for the same level of service guests would experience in any of your standard dining settings-including the potential for lamb wine pairing advice. From the food to the dishware to the attention to detail, everything should be in order.
2. Have a family-friendly restaurant. While your hotel restaurant will have a variety of guests, you can expect families with young children to be dining on any given day. Family style dining is particularly important. Even a good brunch menu will come in handy.
Your restaurant can be chic and ready for any special occasion, but it should also be child-friendly. The best ways to make a family-friendly experience include a children’s menu, booster seats, and booths for families to be in a settled space.
1. Focus on creating a relaxing atmosphere. While this tip applies to any food and beverage location, it is especially important for hotel restaurants. Most hotel guests will be visiting your hotel with the goal of relaxing and unwinding.
A restaurant space that is quiet and easy to relax in is key. This can be achieved with soft lighting, gentle music in the background, and a low-key atmosphere with no pressure on your guests.
Frequently Asked Questions About What is Hotel Restaurant Management?
Hotel restaurant management is integral to the success of a hotel business. Similar to writing a restaurant business plan or crafting a bar business, an efficient hotel restaurant management plan is the first step towards a great hotel.
Our answers to these frequently asked questions will give you further insight into hotel restaurant management, and hotel success in general.
How Can I Make My Hotel Restaurant Successful?
Making your hotel restaurant successful starts with a plan for every component of the restaurant. From planning your restaurant inventory to hiring the right people to buying the best bar books for your mixologists, no detail is too small. Having a quality hotel restaurant management plan will help you hold all these details together for a great hotel restaurant experience.
What is Hospitality Management?
Hospitality management is the term for the career path of those who run areas of a hospitality business. This term can encompass the work of a hotel owner, hotel restaurant manager, room service director, and more. Dive deeper into the hospitality definition in our detailed article.
Hospitality management comes down to the management of any hospitality business. In addition to hotels, it includes resorts, camping destinations, and cruises.
How Do Hotels Increase Bookings?
Hotels can increase bookings through plans including but not limited to:
- Promotions and restaurant marketing campaigns like happy hour deals
- Specialized deals - including Valentine’s day promotion ideas for restaurants
- Unique features
A hotel marketing team can go a long way to finding ways to increase bookings. That team does the same work as a store marketing team: it gets more people coming through the doors.
How Can I Improve My Hotel?
Improving a hotel comes down to streamlining operations, cutting down unnecessary work, listening to guests, and working with your team. Starting your hotel with a strong management plan is a great way to get ahead of potential issues.
Once you’re up and running, the best way to find areas for improvement is to always be on the lookout for potential problems. Keeping an open mind to solutions and new ideas will also be a key part of your success.
Hotel Restaurant Management: Management for Motels and More
A successful hotel restaurant management plan starts with the hotel owner and goes all the way to the cleaning and wait staff. This blog post is your starting point of maximizing your hotel restaurant for efficiency, guest satisfaction, and profits. Come back to the BinWise blog to learn more, and check out our sister site, the BlueCart blog, for content about order management and wholesaling.