With the health emergency, the way of conceiving and proposing breakfast in the hotel industry has also changed. More than ever, the need has grown to think of formulas that respect the new rules without sacrificing quality of service and products offered to guests.
Without underestimating the different types of hotels and seasonality, guidelines for a new breakfast model can be drawn.
The ideal solution that eliminates the risk factor and cuts personnel costs is the open-air buffet formula
However, this choice runs the risk of proposing a cold and uninvolving dimension to the event with a loss of identity. This is why it requires distinctive elements that can obviate this risk: plants, floral arrangements or other elements that create curiosity on guests' tables. An example for all, the boxes in plain sight displaying the menus in QRcodes.
An alternative proposal is take-away, which guarantees freedom of action for the customer and total security. Here it becomes essential to take care of all the details: from the search for products and recipes to the branded, obviously green-oriented packaging.
Communication will play an important role in consolidating or strengthening the sale of one's catering products and services to a customer fully into the digital age. Social therefore comes first, included in a plan that integrates several tools and strategies.
Well-curated content that tells a real story can reach ideal users and create quality interactions.
The digital marketing plan in the restaurant business should be accompanied by community management, which means being present, nurturing interaction, responding to messages and comments, being helpful and polite as in your real restaurant.
In addition, the collection of all customer e-mails can become an essential tool for communicating news, promotions, new food and wine ideas. How to do this? One idea could be to include a note requesting the email address when requesting the account.
Will there still be a breakfast buffet?
Here, too, reflection is called for and probably the way forward is the return of the in-room breakfast service, for which it is reasonable to structure the offer on the basis of three variables:
- personnel costs
- the speed of execution
- the reduction of waste on raw materials
The classic procedure of filling out the form remains unchanged, but the buffet is set up in the kitchen where the waiter prepares the various requests, monitoring the execution time, without burdening the kitchen with any work other than the classic standard of replacement and egg preparation.
A good solution for buffets in resorts, salad bars and family hotels is to dust off trolley service in style where, however, the view must be gratified before the palate.
Green light therefore to highly aesthetic presentations. And to streamline the service of sweets, it is advisable to opt for the single-portion form of serving, where the food is delivered directly in a closed single-portion by the serving staff.
Certainty, security, protection.
These will be the key words to help the staff in their day-to-day work and customer relations, devising internal solutions to regulate the work in the best possible way and offering all the necessary guarantees to establish a relationship of total trust.
We therefore follow all procedures and precautions when changing tables by using disposable tablecloths, constantly applying gel containing 75% alcohol to sanitise surfaces, but also try to make them less invasive.
The classic masks can be replaced with transparent ones, so as not to sacrifice smiles, the gel contained in fun devices in line with the style of the restaurant, the menus printed and generously arranged in keeping with the spirit of the ambience, with a clear display of the price and the specifications of the producer or supplier breeder. This is also part of the concept of certainty!
Every single attention doubles in value in Covid time. Maximum concentration therefore on work and service, with repeated briefings to remind staff of the times, methods and style shared in advance.
These are actions that require commitment in terms of money as well as time, but they ensure the relaunch of the restaurant business, the attention and loyalty of the customer, who turns into a satisfied customer and the bearer of positive word-of-mouth.
Photo source: Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels
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