UK’s Leading Hotels Fail To Hit Five Stars For Managing Their F&B Guest Relationships

Just over one in four of the UK’s best hotels allow guests to go direct for restaurant bookings.

 

Hotels across the UK are eagerly preparing for a summer of staycations, with many people holidaying closer to home this year. Yet new research by SevenRooms indicates that many are going to be missing out on valuable revenue opportunities when it comes to their food and beverage (F&B) offerings. The study of the nation’s leading hotels reveals that over half (55%) are using third-party reservation providers to handle guests’ restaurant and bar reservations instead of leveraging direct booking platforms. Notably, more than 1 in 10 don’t have any online reservation systems in place to handle bookings for the F&B outlets within their properties.

 

The Hotel Inspection’ study from SevenRooms, a data-driven guest experience platform for the hospitality industry, looks at how prepared the UK’s best hotels are for enticing consumers back this summer via their food and beverage offerings. Providing exclusive dining packages for guests to book as part of a stay is one popular route for hotels, however the findings reveal that over one third of the country’s leading hotels aren’t offering these experiences to consumers.

The research also examined how well these hotels have adapted to the changing needs of guests in the last 12 months, which has seen more consumers ordering delivery than ever before. Despite the extended period of closure and growth of online ordering, the study indicates that 84% of the UK’s leading hotels do not have solutions in place to enable consumers to place orders for delivery and takeaway from their F&B outlets. Operators will leave both customer data and revenue on the table if they do not adapt to meet the needs of their local customer through off-premise offerings.

Danilo Mangano, General Manager Europe at SevenRooms, comments:

Hotel operators up and down the country are eager to make up for lost time as many take their holidays within the UK this summer. Yet, without the right technology in place to meet and exceed the changed expectations of guests, hotel operators will be left behind as their savvier counterparts excel in building deeper, long-term relationships. The hotels we have looked at as part of this research are the best of the best, recognised nation-wide for their exemplary customer service, but having a complete view of their guest is paramount to upholding this.

Integrating a guest experience platform across F&B outlets is crucial in providing a 360-degree view of each and every guest — whether they choose to dine on property or closer to home. The valuable F&B data collected through these platforms before, during and after a customer’s experience can be used not only across the restaurants and bars, but extends into the experiences offered property-wide. This could mean adjusting a mini bar to remove allergens, offering a preferred bottle of wine at check-in, or even simply a ‘welcome back’ to someone who has only dined, but never stayed, at the property. These hyper-personalised interactions drive loyalty and repeat business with customers.”

 

Seven Rooms

 

Mangano adds:

“With a greater proportion of Brits opting for a staycation this summer, and many consumers looking to support businesses in their local area, it’s more important than ever that hotels are thoughtful in adapting their operations — whether through technology or in the experiences it enables. This not only means providing guests with a direct way to book reservations with their restaurants and bars, but also looking at new ways to diversify their offerings through unique F&B packages.

While the world may be reopening and COVID restrictions expected to be lifted on 19th July, it’s important that hotel operators recognise the need to continue to meet the varied expectations of diners. Having technology in place that ensures operators are able to continue facilitating online ordering and takeaway will be fundamental over the next few months of recovery to add much needed pounds to their bottom lines.”