We never expected to charge a premium for drinking water. But then, we never thought we’d drop $4.50 on a cup of coffee either. In the F&B world, everything is possible.

Two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, the sweet nectar of life is the latest thing to hit the menu and some hotel F&B managers are making the most of its rising popularity. They are training waitstaff to recognize and sell the subtle virtues of water.

“They need to understand it and taste it. We want them to do a blind tasting especially, because with water you cannot really understand it unless you have experienced the differences,” said Tanya Wagner, F&B director of Acqua at the Four Seasons Miami.

The 90-seat restaurant boasts about a dozen selections on its water list. Servers get briefed twice a week as new waters arrive, and food specials often get paired with water offerings.

All this training pays off when the server arrives tableside with a tray of liquid selections. “Because it's already on the tray, you can talk about the water and make suggestions, from San Pellegrino to something that maybe people don’t know. They will talk a little bit about the water and the people will try it because they see the bottle right there, which makes it easier for them to make a choice.”

With so many water brands originating in Europe, it should come as no surprise that waiter water training already is in vogue across the Pond.

“We ensure staff are fully aware of our water offer,” says Darrell Burnham, deputy manager of Britain’s Best Western Monkbar Hotel. “New additions to the list are sampled at pre-service briefings. We have incentive schemes in which staff are rewarded with a percentage of their total water sales for the evening, and this proves to be a motivating factor in discovering the waters offered.”

Burnham’s menu carries more than 15 waters with markedly different tastes and qualities. “This makes the staff training simpler as tasting notes and definitions of each water can be easily referenced,” he says. Thus a server might recommend the clear and almost flavorless Fiji to complement a good bottle of wine, while a sparkling Badoit might help settle the stomach after a meal.

Isn't It All a Bit Much?
Not a drop, says Stephen Kay, a spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association. “Like other food & beverage choices, there are different characteristics in waters. They may be a little bit more subtle than the differences between vanilla and chocolate, but the differences are there. That’s why there are different types and different brands,” he says.

Training waitstaff means making those differences clear, he emphasizes. “It’s about presenting the choices, being able to respond to questions. Where is it from? What are the characteristics of this water? What are the different size bubbles in these different sparkling waters?” says Kay. “There really are differences among them, no matter how subtle they may be.”

A water-savvy staff can help diners complement a meal and add a touch of sophistication to the presentation. More to the point, the water-wise waiter can bolster the bottom line.

“It is something different for both the guest and the staff, and of course you have the value of upselling the water as compared to just ice water,” Wagner says.

Those who have taken the plunge say the payoffs can be tangible.

“Water is becoming increasingly popular, and guests are becoming more discerning. Brands of water are being recognized just as with beers, wines and spirits,” Burnham says.

“On average, one in four people now will order bottled water with a meal without prompting. The offer of a selection of waters has raised the profile of the operation and given us something different in our region,” he says. “If that is the difference between dining with us and the competition, then it has been worth it.”