Hotel Management

Food & Beverage outlets are referred to as point of sales/sections of F & B service in large hotels from which prepared products are delivered and served to the guests at the time. The following outlets are usually designed and operated in large category of hotels for the customer’s convenience. Such outlets are

• Coffee shop
• Banquet
• Room service
• Specialty restaurant
• Fine dine
• Bar
• Grill room
• Discotheque

Coffee Shop

Coffee shop actually opens for 24 hours, however in the context of Nepal it opens usually as other outlets & mostly pre-plated & light foods are served and the service is not very elaborated and quite formal. The menu offered in coffee shop is varied according to the different times of day & night. There should be easy access for both in-house and non-resident guest. It is the second highest revenue-earning outlet in the food & beverage department. It is however necessary to change the menu, ambience & décor from time to time to keep the customer coming back.

Banquet

This outlet is usually the highest revenue-earning outlet in the F&B department. It caters food & beverage to the volume of persons usually gathered for some functions such as wedding party, reception, seminar, conference, cocktail dinner, meeting etc.

The word banquet is derived from a French word Banque which refers to mass or gathering of people. The history of banqueting is traced back to sumptuous feasts or various ceremonial feasts held in honor of visiting host or monarch. It is essential outlets of food & beverage department in a large hotel. In a large hotel, all events take place within the banqueting halls and conference halls that are under the administrative control to F & B director and banquet manager.

Room Service

This outlet is for serving food & beverage to the resident guest in their respective room. It functions round the clock in all luxury hotels, offers simple menu but prices are high. It gives small turn over in term of revenue but great deal of labor and effort is necessary to run this outlet. Promptness and accuracy are of almost important. If delayed guest should be informed immediately. In most of the hotel, room service facilities are centralized and located next to the main kitchen, service bars and service elevator.

Specialty Restaurant

It offers any special cuisine like Indian; Chinese etc. may be one cuisine or multi cuisine. Service may be both formal and stylish. The price tends to be very high due to high overhead cost. Menu may be a la carte, table d’hote or buffet. Waiter should be very skilled as specialized services such as preparation of food itself in the table or flambé may have to be performed.

Normally every 5 star hotel offers at least one specialty restaurant but in the context of Nepal, multi cuisine restaurant are fairly popular as they offer a wide range and variety of foods to the guest. If it is an ethnic restaurant, traditional dances may be performed. Specialty restaurant should provide not only excellent food & beverage but also a good décor and ambience, hence care should be taken to enhance the décor and the ambience of the restaurant. The equipment’s, utensils & tools used should be of high standards, as this will enrich the entire dining experience of the guest.

Fine Dine

Bar

This is the place where all kind of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are served along with some light cocktail snacks. There are normally two type of bar found in all luxury hotels.

Public Bar

It is located in the public area with sitting arrangement where both resident and non-resident guest can enjoy their drinks.

Lounge Bar

This bar is also known as lobby bar. It is located in the lobby area. The guests can interact with the bar personnel. There are provisions for guest seating at the bar itself. In this bar all types of drinks are openly displayed on the bar rack behind the counter.

Dispense/Service Bar

It is located within the hotel premises where guests are not allowed to consume the drinks. As the name suggests, this outlet only takes the order from the other outlet and serve the beverage accordingly. This is also known as hidden bar. It is ideally located at the back of the restaurant dining area. It is attached with the main kitchen area or back of the house space away from the guest view. The customers are not allowed to enter and have drinks in this bar.

Mini bar

It may also be called In-room bar. It is ideally placed in the guest’s room with a small refrigerator. The mini bar is stocked up daily by the room service staff. The mini bar of the occupied room is checked daily by room service staff, and any sale that has occurred are noted and then added to the guest account.

 Mobile Bar

It is also known as trolley bar that can be moved from one place to another within the hotel as per the requirement. The moveable trolley is equipped with add drinks. Wine butler or bar person, who can serve drinks using trolley to the guest are entrusted. This bar is temporary and arranged during banquet.