Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a four-part series about how hotel operators can leverage food and beverage to win loyal customers. You can access the full white paper from which this content was derived here.
NATIONAL REPORT—Imagine this scenario: A hotel guest gets recognized at check-in as a regular visitor, has a welcoming handwritten note waiting on the bed, then walks downstairs to dinner at the on-site restaurant where the guest has been to before… And the maître d’, not knowing the person is a loyal hotel guest, says the restaurant is full for the evening.
This unfortunate scenario still plays out frequently at hotels around the globe, but it doesn’t have to. Savvy hoteliers are now investing in the right technology to fully integrate the F&B experience and resulting data into the overall guest experience.
One hospitality group that truly understands the value of connected guest data across their hotel and restaurants is Dubai-based Jumeirah Group.
The F&B experience is vital to the global hospitality group’s business. They’ve staked their brand reputation on a tech-enabled F&B strategy to deliver exceptional hotel experiences. “Knowing our customers and providing them with memorable experiences is at the core of our business,” says Alejandro Helbling, VP of Group Services at Jumeirah Group. “Every decision we make supports delivering to that objective and [technology] gives us the ability to provide our customers personalized service.”
Jumeirah takes the guest experience to the next level by:
- Linking guest profiles across F&B outlets — at the property and across the portfolio — including pools/cabanas and restaurants, so loyal guests can be given preferential tables or upgraded services
- Recognizing hotel guests when they arrive at the restaurant during their stay, or when they call for reservations
- Tagging guest profiles with important information including participation in the hotels loyalty program
- Personalizing in-room amenities based on prior purchases — for example, welcoming guests with an in-room bottle of the same wine they previously ordered in the restaurant
Jumeirah leverages SevenRooms’ reservation, seating and guest management platform to make this all happen, integrating 70+ restaurants, lounges and bars within the Jumeirah Group portfolio, including the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah.
SevenRooms’ technology takes what was once siloed guest F&B data and shares it across properties, offering unified guest profiles containing detailed guest history and order data through a point of sale integration. This connected view of the guest adds significant fire power for the service teams, who now have added ammunition to personalize guests’ experiences.
Jumeirah’s approach to F&B data offers a lot of inspiration for hotels of all sizes. It could mean loyal guests are given preferential poolside cabanas. It could mean a guest who orders a certain bottle of wine each time she dines at the Hotel restaurant will see that exact bottle presented as a thoughtful in-room amenity the next time she stays at the hotel. It could mean a frequent guest of a New York property will be recognized when he enters the hotel restaurant in Miami, and when he arrives to his room in Los Angeles, the snacks waiting for him have taken into account his food allergies. These are the moments that can create intense brand loyalty. They’re sparks of true connection, made possible by an integrated and tech-enabled approach to F&B.
To learn more about how you can leverage your restaurants, pools, rooftops, and bars to win loyal customers, download SevenRooms’ F&B playbook, Harnessing the Power of F&B. In this free industry white paper, you’ll get data-based insights into the current hotel space as they relate to the F&B landscape, best practices for using technology to provide a world-class F&B experience.
About SevenRooms
SevenRooms empowers hospitality operators to create and cultivate the meaningful, direct relationships with guests that make exceptional experiences possible. The company’s reservation, seating and guest management solutions boost revenue and enable personalized service and marketing. SevenRooms has restaurant, hotel and nightlife clients in more than 100 cities worldwide, including: Ethan Stowell Restaurants, Jumeirah Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Standard Hotels, LDV Hospitality, Live Nation, Zuma, TAO Group, Bagatelle, Altamarea Group, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, NoHo Hospitality Group, Chase Hospitality Group, Mercer Street Hospitality, Corbin and King and The h.wood Group. For more information www.sevenrooms.com or email [email protected].
