Chapter 14 Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms

1. Chapter 14 Marketing Catered Events and Meeting Rooms The catering department of a hotel can produce additional, often high, revenues and generate positive guest relations through well-run banquets and other functions.

2. The Importance of Catering Program • Positive word-of-mouth referrals • A wedding reception for 200 guests, for example, represents 200 future customers; if just ten percent of them booked a similar function, the effect on food and beverage revenues would be substantial. • Banquets • Successful can contribute greatly to the overall profitability of the hotel. • Banquets are the most profitability area of a hotel’s food and beverage operation, accounting for as much as 60 percent of a hotel’s annual food and beverage revenue. • The profit margin on sales for banquets often reaches 35 percent, as opposed to 15 percent for hotel restaurants.

3. Several Reasons for Margin Difference • Banquet sales volume often exceeds restaurant volume at a large hotel-in some cases by a margin of two to one. • Banquets allow flexibility in pricing. • Food costs are lower due to volume preparation. • Beverage costs can be controlled through pricing flexibility and volume purchasing. • Labor costs are lower (part-time employees). • Additional income can be generated through ancillary sources, such as photographers, entertainers, florists, and printers.

4. The Catering Department

5. The catering department • Two basic responsibilities • To sell food and beverage functions to businesses and individuals in the local community • To service in-house convention and group functions sold by the property’s marketing and sales office. • Catering department personnel • Must possess extensive knowledge of sales, service, the use of facilities and function space, food production, menu planning, and cost control. • The size and organization structure of the catering department • The size of the property and amount of function space available, the types of catering to be handled, the property’s business mix, local and regional competition, and department budgets (see Exhibit 1).

8. Catering Department Personnel • At large properties, • Catering is usually headed by a director of catering who supervises a banquet or catering manager, catering sales people, clerical staff, and service personnel (food servers, buspersons, and so one). • The catering director’s primary responsibilities • The sales and administrative aspects of the catering operation. • A great deal of attention to soliciting or servicing accounts. • The cost-effectiveness of the department. • Working closely with hotel personnel (purchasing agents, chefs, and the marketing and sales department) to ensure that the catering operation falls within budget guidelines while still providing good service to clients.

11. The banquet or catering manager • Overseeing food and beverage functions and supervising service personnel • Being directly involved in setting up function rooms. • At large convention hotel, a convention service manager to manage the logistics of functions: the room preparation, setup, maintenance, and so on. • Scheduling personnel, prepare payrolls, and work with the catering director on special functions.

12. Catering salespeople • Actively solicit business not brought in as part of conventions or meetings, such as weddings, Rotary luncheons, and similar food functions. • A clerical staff • Maintain the paperwork generated by business solicitation, handle routine inquiries, and follow up on accounts. • Service personnel • Serve food and beverages, set up function rooms, and maintain banquet areas and equipment. • Host, food servers, buspersons, and maintenance or setup crews

13. The Marketing Plan • Analyze your property and the competition-conduct a marketing audit. • Identify key catering markets-select target markets • Position your department-emphasize the difference between you and your competition • Set goals-set objectives for your operation, and develop action plans to enable you to meet your objectives. • Evaluate results-monitor and evaluate the results of your marketing efforts.

14. Analyze Your Property and the Competition • The catering department’s strengths and weakness in relation to competitors. • Factors to consider • The location of each competitor • The size of the function space available • The aesthetic quality of function rooms • The availability of equipment such as audiovisual equipment and portable dance floors • The competitor’s reputation • Comparing menus, specialties, prices, and types of service available (see Exhibit 3). • Non-hotel competition

15. Identify Key Catering Markets and Position the Department • Three types of local business profitable • Business from local corporate sources • Business from civic and academic sources • Social business (see Exhibit 4). • To solicit this business, you must position your food operations to effectively showcase your major selling points (location, décor, pricing, food, service, etc.). • A potential client’s creditworthiness can be checked (see Exhibit 5).

16. Set Goals and Develop Action Plans • Sales efforts on valley and shoulder periods with useful function-room statistics • Function room occupancy by meal period • Types of functions • Pattern of unused times and days • Use of guestrooms by function groups • Popularity of individual banquet-menu items • Sales revenue per square foot of function space • Average banquet check by type of function • Average number of persons by type of function • Strategies and action plans developed • Brochures, promotion programs, etc.

17. Evaluate Results • Reveal successful strategies • Need improvement or new action plans • Monitored a monthly or quarterly basis. • Sales, advertising, and public relations activities for each month. • The information for marketing and sales team • To identify the time of year to approach each market. • To spread the workload and assign salespeople to specific solicitation dates.

18. Catering Sales While most catering sales result from conventions and meetings sold by the property’s marketing and sales office, catering department salespeople in midsize to large properties are responsible for selling to local meeting planners and other local clients.

19. Catering Promotions • Advertising and promotion • Play a key role in the success of a catering department. • Should be targeted to specific audiences and reflect the professionalism and creativity of the catering services being offered. • Should give potential customers a way to respond (a reply coupon, a toll-free number, a fax number, an e-mail address, etc.). • Print ads • Effective in local newspapers (especially in the society and business pages), ethnic publications, and specialty newspapers and newsletters. • Brochures and fliers.

20. Developing Leads • In-Person Soliciting • Contacting the owners of businesses frequently by members of a targeted market segment. • Cultural organizations, the owners of jewelry stores, bridal boutiques, or photography studios for wedding business referrals. • Property tours • Telephone Soliciting • Sales Letters • Response to Inquiries • Written inquiries/Telephone inquiries/In-person inquiries

21. Selling to Clients • The key to successful selling is putting yourself in the client’s place. • Establish a personal relationship with each client in order to be able to turn his or her negative concerns into positive expectations. • Offer a tour of the facilities, preferably when the ballroom or an appropriate function room is set up.

22. Catering Sales Procedure • Should have clearly defined standard operating procedures; how recurring catering activities should be handled. • Catering filing and tracing procedures • Solicitation and booking procedures • Methods used to prepare banquet event orders and other planning sheets • Dates and space reservation policies • Confirmation procedures, Cancellation procedures • Function room rental rates and setup charges • Deposits and refund policies • Credit procedures, and guarantee policies.

23. Planning the Function • Banquet and catering checklist (see Exhibit 11). • Menus • Printed on durable, high-quality paper an should be easily readable (see Exhibit 12). • Type of service • Russian service • French service • Preset service • A la carte catering

24. Beverage Plans • Cash bar or no-host bar • Host bar • Finalizing Arrangements • A Banquet Event Order (BEO) or a function sheet or banquet prospectus. • A guarantee clause

25. Managing the Function • The banquet manager • Should make sure that the function room is set up as far in advance as possible and that the appropriate number of extra setting over the guaranteed attendance are set up. • A bulletin board • The appetizers and desserts are ready to serve and the tables are properly set. • Everything is going smoothly and the order of service is followed (see Exhibit 13).

26. Following Up Accounts • Follow-up service • An important step in building a base of repeat clients. • A thank-you letter • An evaluation form (see Exhibit 14).

27. Other Food and Beverage Sales

28. Creative Refreshment Breaks • Refreshment breaks • Usually scheduled at midmorning and midafternoon, normally last 15 to 30 minutes. • Hot and cold beverages, muffins and other types of bread and pastries, fruits (both fresh and dried), cut vegetables, and peanuts. • Speed is often a major consideration. • Theme refreshment breaks • A New York Deli refreshment break: Vegetable juice, lox and bagels, cream cheese, jellies, and cream sodas • A Mexican refreshment break: Exotic fruits and juices, Mexican pastries, and so on.

29. Hospitality Suites and Receptions • Hospitality suites • Are often sold to sponsors of an event or to vendors or attendees as a place to do business and socialize. • Two or more guestrooms with connecting doors, or the hospitality suite may be located near the meeting area • Open only in the evenings. • Receptions • An excellent way to generate revenues at a low cost. • Involve a host or cash bar and simple hot or cold hors d’oeuvres.

30. Special Functions and Off-Premises Catering • Special Functions • Theme parties, family reunions, and wedding receptions. • Wedding receptions: the menu and beverages, disposables, equipment, décor, and service. • Kosher service (see Exhibit 15). • Off-Premises Catering • A function that is not held in the banquet room but is still on the property, such as poolside party or barbecue, a garden wedding, or a function held under tents pitched on the property’s ground. • Functions away from the property, and is offered by far fewer hotels.

31. Meeting Room Sales

32. The Dollar Value of Meeting Room Space • The amount of revenue that can be generated relates directly to the amount of space available. • Selling the least desirable space first increase maximum space usage • “Holds” that reserve space for all day or all evening should be questioned. • Salespeople should concentrate on selling space during times when business is usually low.

33. Type of Meeting Room • Three types of meeting room • Exhibit halls. • Ballrooms for large meetings or banquets • Conference meeting rooms • Factors deciding the type of meeting room • The type of meeting, • The number of people expected to attend • The size and layout of the room • Special equipments (audiovisual equipment, access to freight elevators, and so on)

34. Meeting Room Setups • Theater setup • Senate setup • V-shaped setup • U-shaped setup • T-shaped setup • Hollow-square setup • Schoolroom setup • Herringbone setup • Board-of directors setup • Banquet setup

36. Booking Meeting Rooms and Managing Meetings • Booking Meeting Rooms • Release Dates: 60 to 90 days prior to the extensive program changes. • Managing Meetings • Rooms are set up well in advance if possible. • General meeting room accessories. • Setting up exhibit booths or display areas. • After a meeting, follow-up: a thank-you letter and an evaluation form