All Back Issues » September/October 2006 Issue
Complimentary
Cocktail Hour...
We asked four F&B directors, representing two prime hotel brands, if complimentary cocktail hours are good for business.
by Pam Leigh
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Embassy Suites
Lisa Brefere
B&B Solutions, Unity Catering at Embassy Suites Hotel, New York City
I think that a complimentary cocktail hour can be good for business, depending on the hotel’s location. For us, although it is greatly enjoyed by our guests, it’s not an amenity that’s needed to fill rooms in lower Manhattan. Hosting a two-hour cocktail event every night involves a lot of monitoring and requires a well-managed system. We do a very specific cost analysis on an ongoing basis, including labor, and we adjust accordingly. We also strive to be continually creative, making it more enjoyable without incurring extra costs. Each property’s location drives the kind of ambience created. Here in Manhattan, our bartenders are attired in black on black, which lends an upscale, sophisticated touch. The background music is selected according to the crowd—jazz for business clientele, Top 40s for families. We also vary the appetizers according to the clientele; we offer more hot items for our corporate guests because it’s manageable. On weekends, our family-oriented occupancy can swell to 1,200, so we keep the appetizers simpler, while still offering four different snacks.”
Farid Elias
Director of F&B, Embassy Suites Hotel, San Diego, California
“Complimentary cocktail hours are one of the four pillars of the Embassy Suites brand. Embassy Suites was one of the first properties to offer a complimentary breakfast, so, in effect, we raised the bar on this kind of service. Whether or not an ROI can be calculated on it, this is something people have come to expect from any hotel nowadays. And at a price of almost $8 per alcoholic drink, our business clientele certainly appreciate it. All of our Embassy Suites hotels offer complimentary cocktails, seven days a week from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. Embassy Suites only uses top-shelf, brand name liquors, and we all serve some kind of an appetizer along with the drinks. At our property here in San Diego, we offer two appetizers at a minimum. One of them is always hot popcorn and then either dry snacks, a vegetable tray, cheese and crackers, fruit, and so forth. The cocktail hour is hosted in our atrium and music is provided via a DMX system.”
Kimpton Hotels
Heather Blume
General Manager of Restaurants, Hotel Allegro, Chicago
“If you were trying to prove that a complimentary cocktail hour paid for itself directly, it would be hard to do. Inarguably, it’s a big expense and we probably don’t recoup it in our restaurant’s food & beverage sales. But offering a wine hour from 5 to 6 P.M. every night serves two purposes. Certainly, it’s a way to promote the hotel, but, really, the main purpose is to entice guests out of their rooms. We host the hour in our cozy lobby area, which we refer to at all our properties as our living room. The concierge is on hand to assist guests with their evening’s plans. Of course, we would like them to dine in our Italian restaurant at least one night, so getting them down around dinner time lets us share what our specials are for that evening. Sometimes our chef brings out a few samples as appetizers. For us, the complimentary wine hour is part of the atmosphere that we, as a boutique hotel, want to create. Our guests love it, and we would never consider not offering it.”
Kevin Siegrist
Director of Catering, Hotel Monaco, Denver, Colorado
“Our wine hour is very successful for business, which is why we have the highest share in the market in terms of hotel sleeping rooms and restaurant. But the real point of our offering a complimentary wine hour is to give the guests something to come out of their rooms for. At the Monaco, we call it Altitude Adjustment Hour. We have a sign-up sheet for our management and sales staff, who take turns hosting the wine hour. We all look forward to our turn because it’s fun to interact with guests. And, of course, we take that opportunity to recommend our Panzano Restaurant. We offer fine wines of the world from large and small vineyards. Each of our properties adds their own touch to the hour. At the Monaco, we are home to the Aveda Spa, ranked No. 1 in Denver, so we provide five-minute chair massages. Our chef, Elise Wiggins, is Colorado’s chef of the year, and she provides gourmet appetizers. Every night offers a different entertainment—such as Tarot readings, jugglers, or games and puzzles. And because we are pet friendly, our guests are welcome to bring their pets down for wine hour. We have our own in-house canine, a Jack Russell terrier, who mingles with guests. It’s all in keeping with our image as a hip and fun hotel.”
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