Hotels utilize celebrity chefs, nostalgic dishes to grab travel dollars

As hotel foodservice operators respond to economic challenges, the industry’s second-tier lodging brands are offering new dining options and attractions to capture travelers’ money.

“The economy is definitely the biggest challenge now and in the near future,” says Fernando Salazar, vice president of food and beverage at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts of Parsippany, N.J. “Hotels face higher prices for food and beverages. It is the traditional cycle: Farmers pay more to grow produce or livestock, so they raise their prices and that cost is passed to the distributor and to the local purveyor and on to the hotel.”

The effect of skyrocketing fuel prices on higher airfares is also raising concerns.

“Another challenge is the price of airline travel escalating,” Salazar says. “If fewer people are traveling, hotels in certain markets may face a downturn that could make things tougher in the near future.”

To keep travelers in and around hotel properties, some are offering creative foodservice options such as a resurrection of the TV dinner with a gourmet spin or, in the case of casinos, offering buffets with a popular, homespun bent provided by such celebrities as Food Network star Paula Deen.

A $45 million renovation of the Harrah’s Casino in Tunica, Miss., debuted in May with the first Paula Deen Buffet & Store, which is modeled after her own home in Savannah, Ga.

“I want you to feel like you are a guest in my house when you come to Tunica to eat my cooking,” Deen says.

In addition to a retail shop, Deen’s buffet concept features food stations themed as Granny Paul’s Garden, Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, Hoe Cake and Biscuit Station, Lady and Son’s, Capt. Michael’s Smokehouse and Little Jack’s Corner.

Patrons can dine in one of six different rooms, including Paula’s Parlor, the Pantry, the Bird-Cage Room, the Porch, the Mud Room and the Morning Room.

Homey, but in a different sense, are the new TV-dinner offerings at the Loews Regency Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City. The hotel brought back the 1950s staple with retro dishes holding updated culinary offerings. The property’s executive chef, Andrew Rubin, put a twist on traditional comfort food with upscale ingredients, a spin on side dishes and new offerings such as salmon. The $30 “Park Avenue TV Dinners” are offered at the Lowes’ 540 Park restaurant and through in-room dining.

Such innovations are being seen throughout hotel dining. Salazar of Wyndham says: “More and more, people seek a fun and exciting restaurant to mingle and share a meal with colleagues and friends. Bars are no longer the only places where people go to interact with others.

“Nowadays, restaurants are the focal point to meet, especially if the restaurant serves what I call ‘social food’—small portions that can be shared with others at the table,” he says. “More than tapas, these are a bit larger and allow diners to order different menu items and place them in the middle of the table for all to share. It is almost like a Westernized dim sum concept.”

In addition, hotels have to offer convenience, Salazar says.

“[Guests] have little time and want to use the limited free time they have as productively as possible, therefore grab-and-go concepts in hotels have become more popular—a place where they can grab a quick salad or sandwich to go or eat it in the hotel’s lobby while connected to the Internet,” he says. “This also offers an opportunity to socialize and network with other travelers seated in the lobby engaged in the same activity.”

Hotel diners, like in foodservice at large, also are looking for safely and locally sourced products. Salazar sees growing interest from “the socially conscious diner looking for organic food or food that uses ingredients that speak of social responsibility—cage-free eggs, humane-certified meats, organic produce, etc.”

HOTEL CHAINS RANKED BY U.S. SYSTEMWIDE SALESCHAIN U.S. SYSTEMWIDE FOODSERVICE SALES*(BY FISCAL YEAR, IN MILLIONS) *Actual results, estimates or projectionssSource: NRN research

HOTEL CHAINS RANKED BY GROWTH IN U.S. SYSTEMWIDE SALES(Year-to-year percentage change) *Actual results, estimates or projectionssSource: NRN research

He adds that hotel operators who “do not address the green movement are going to be left behind in the dust.”

“It is ‘go green or go,’” Salazar says. “That is the message that our guests are telling us.”

HOTEL CHAINS RANKED BY NUMBER OF U.S. UNITSLATEST-YEAR RANKPREC.-YEAR RANKCHAINFISCAL YEAR-ENDYEAR-END NUMBER OF UNITS**Actual results, estimates or projectionssSource: NRN researchNote: For hotels, unit numbers denote individual hotels, not constituent restaurant outlets.

HOTEL CHAINS RANKED BY GROWTH IN NUMBER OF U.S. UNITS(Year-to-year percentage change) *Actual results, estimates or projectionssSource: NRN researchNote: For hotels, unit numbers denote individual hotels, not constituent restaurant outlets.

On the whole, Salazar says, “while there may be a tightening of travel dollars, I feel people will still travel, just travel smarter.”

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