Food and beverage has become a vital part of hotel operations. At many hotels, large restaurants with brand names or celebrity chefs not only attract hotel guests but also bring in business from locals off the street. With a first-rate food and beverage outlet, a hotel can become a destination for tourists.
But for many independent properties figuring out what type of food service to offer and then attracting a quality name or building your own service can be a daunting task. While many branded properties have the luxury of affiliating with restaurants, bars, and even coffeehouses that are part of the brand affiliation, smaller and independent hotels are forced to go it alone.
“Providing food and beverage at an independent property, especially a seasonal destination resort, can be both challenging and exciting,” says Bob Smith, proprietor of Sebasco Harbor Resort in Sebasco Estates, Maine.
Smith says that many independent properties such as his, especially those that are seasonal resorts, must deal with several challenges when it comes to food and beverage service. “The biggest challenge is maintaining a consistency of product despite the unavoidable turnover that comes with seasonal hiring. Although many members of our culinary and service staff return each year, the personal needs of some eventually require a full-time year-round opportunity at one location,” he says.
Sebasco Harbor Resort brings in approximately $1 million in food sales annually, according to Smith. That revenue is split among the elegant oceanfront setting of the Pilot House; Ledges Pub, which offers a more casual dining atmosphere with patio dining available; and special dining events during the summer season, such as lobsterbakes and blueberry pancake breakfasts.
One way Smith’s property has set itself apart in terms of food and beverage is establishing consistency in its service. “Our returning guests have a right to expect that the most popular items, such as our fish chowder or lobster roll, will be the same from year to year, so certain recipes have to be consistent,” he says.
He also says that hiring and maintaining a quality staff is vital. However, as a seasonal resort, there is a transient nature to employees. “It means we need to commit to lots of training before we even open for the season in May, and that ongoing training needs to continue as additional staff come on board for the busy summer season,” Smith says.
“The culinary staff at the Pilot House, which is our fine dining restaurant, can take these varieties of seafood (and locally raised organic meats) and create some wonderful culinary experiences on a nightly basis. The Ledges Pub, our casual restaurant, takes this fresh fish and creates chowders, seafood stews, and the type of cuisine that visitors to Maine would expect from a great ‘seafood shack,’ ” he continues.
For properties such as Sebasco Harbor Resort, which is set in a unique location, food and beverage service can offer an exciting opportunity. “The excitement comes from the local product available to us literally out our back door. Our location on the eastern edge of Casco Bay means that we are right in the heart of the fishery on the coast of Maine,” Smith says. “Lobster and crab are landed right at our own wharf. Native oysters, mussels, and locally grown produce are just down the road a piece. Tuna, swordfish, haddock, and a variety of other species native to the Gulf of Maine are delivered fresh to the resort at a reasonable price that allows us to pass those prices along to the consumer.”
Having a means of obtaining quality ingredients from local sources offers Sebasco Harbor Resort a means of competing with bigger hotels. “Our buying power can’t come close to many of the national chains,” he says. “However, the competitive environment keeps pricing reasonable and a few of our local purveyors, like Native Maine Produce, Small Point Fisheries, and Maine Shellfish, have lower overhead.”
And that’s just another way an independent resort can offer quality food and beverage and stay competitive.
