Search

×

Turning the cocktail bar into a revenue driver

The hotel cocktail bar has evolved from a cursory stop for pre-dinner drinks to a critical element of today’s burgeoning culinary scene. When travelers seek out an authentic culinary experience, beverage is vital, as cocktail culture incorporates the diverse flavors of a destination. Today’s hotel guests expect an immersive cocktail experience coupled with a beverage menu boasting more than just wine and beer.

As hoteliers, it’s our job to capitalize on that demand in order to drive the bottom line. With a little creativity, the cocktail bar can become a huge revenue center for the hotel. Here’s how:

1. Support local
With an increased desire for experiential travel, today’s travelers want to be treated to the city’s best local offerings. The cocktail bar elevates the experience by serving innovative drinks bursting with local flavors. Hotel guests are drawn to these menu items because they can’t be experienced anywhere else, providing them with the “hometown” flavors they crave.

To create an authentic cocktail menu, look within the hotel’s neighborhood for produce, spirits and craft beers before going across the globe. While some hoteliers might believe local equals expensive, that isn’t always true. Often, you can find local companies with little overhead that might be able to offer a low-cost product or provide you with a special rate because they are looking to get their product in front of consumers. It’s the best of both worlds: You’re supporting the local community and turning a higher profit.

If a local vendor does need to charge more, that’s OK, too. If upon completing a cost analysis you discover the vendor’s product will add an element to an offering that drives customers to your counter, then it makes sense to maintain the partnership and pass the added cost to the consumer. If that’s the case, you can also look for ways to use less expensive ingredients elsewhere to make up for the cost.

2. Give something away
To make money from the cocktail bar, the first step is to get patrons through the door. It’s not enough to think customers will simply wander in without a nudge. Ideally, the cocktail bar captures at least 75% of hotel guests, who will purchase at least one drink.

To entice guests or make them aware of the hotel bar, give away a welcome drink. A free sample instantly builds the relationship between the hotel team and guests, inspiring patrons to enjoy the full cocktail experience on their own that evening.

Giving away a free drink might seem like an added cost that your hotel must eat, but that’s not necessarily true. Often, these costs can already be worked into the room rates, but guests perceive it as free. Even more important, the welcome drink promotes the bar and helps drive further business.

3. Offer small plates
Once you capture customers at the bar, you want to keep them there. The longer they are in your bar, the more they will spend. Hotel bars offering light bites have an opportunity to steal the first course from the restaurant guests may be attending after a visit to the hotel bar.

Oftentimes, you can utilize the experience of your current beverage team to develop innovative menus. For instance, at The Spectator Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, the head bartender was once a chef. He used his culinary experience to develop a bar food menu that paired well with his seasonal cocktails. The result has been an increase in the average check price.

Food options are another way to provide guests with the added value they often look for while traveling. Consider hosting a welcome reception in the hotel bar and provide complimentary hors d’oeuvres, which can set the tone for the guest’s stay, provide a social buzz and enhance the overall experience. Be sure to implement the reception before the natural busy hours at the bar, which are usually between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., before people go out to dinner. After implementing a welcome reception at one of our hotel cocktail bars, we saw the capture rate grow from 80% to over 90% – when a reception menu was introduced, guests started to stay at the hotel for longer periods of time, while also ordering more cocktails.

While it sometimes might be difficult to see a direct return on investment when offering complimentary options, there is a long-term ROI on experience.

4. Grow your own goods
Your hotel’s landscaping can serve multiple purposes. It can be used for beauty and shade as well as to provide produce that can be used in cocktails. Where possible, consider adding fruit trees around pools or vegetable gardens on-site.

Gardens don’t need to be large. For example, a 100-square-foot garden can feed a family of four. Work with the space you have. Ask your landscaping crew to help work on the garden. See if employees want to volunteer their time to help. Develop a package surrounding your garden to allow guests the chance to be hands-on in the hotel’s culinary experience.

If the thought of tending a garden seems overwhelming, consider adding window boxes with fresh herbs that make their way into cocktails. In addition to saving money, guests love to hear the story of how the greens were grown on property. You can’t get much more local than that.

5. Get creative with space
Your hotel bar probably won’t be open 24/7, so think about ways you can use that space when you’re not serving cocktails. If your bar isn’t utilized during the day, consider renting it out as meeting space. Offer creative programming to groups for an additional upsell. For example, allow groups to purchase a mixology class with the head bartender after their meeting. Meetings groups are interested in localized culinary and cocktail breakouts, so use what your property already has in order to drive revenue.

 


Contributed by Brent Gresham, corporate operations manager, Charlestowne Hotels, Charleston, South Carolina

Comment