CHICAGO—While it’s easy to think of hotel technology as being just the property management system (PMS) or in-room TVs, innovative hardware and software solutions pervade all aspects of hotel operations—including f&b.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, in an effort to expand and capitalize on the hospitality industry’s current trend of unique-yet-branded guest experiences, utilizes B.PRO, a web-based intranet site designed by MarkeTeam Inc., for its food and beverage menu offerings in all Hyatt-branded hotels. John O’Connell, corporate director, food & beverage-Americas operations, Hyatt Hotels, noted that true local customization is one of the greatest challenges for f&b operations. “For a company, like Hyatt, that’s global, if we’re going to roll out a lounge menu, it’s easy to come up with one program,” he said. “But that’s not very personal—one size doesn’t fit all.”
Dave Sribnik, director of eCraft, a new technology division of MarkeTeam, explained that B.PRO gives companies “the ability to maintain branding, look and feel while also giving individual managers freedom to customize unique to their location.” He said that they’re able to take preapproved artwork and reverse engineer and rebuild to make aspects of the artwork variable.
Using B.PRO (which stands for Branded Program Resources Online), individual Hyatt hotels can customize menu options and prices tailored to their property and market. “Pricing is different in markets all over the United States: a hotel in Wichita does not sell a glass of wine for the same as a hotel in New York,” O’Connell pointed out, illustrating why the ability to customize prices is critical for f&b to be revenue generating. He also noted that the company had researched menus without pricing, but that wasn’t ideal because it creates “an extra step of service that slows down the process” when it comes to ordering.
And these days, with all hotels determined to incorporate local culture into the guest experience, a customizable menu is key, whether it’s for a standard dinner menu or a limited promotion such as a summer cocktail tasting, wine and cheese flights or a fall promotion featuring whiskey drinks. “They go onto the B.PRO website and some of it is a template already set up for them, but there’s flexibility to customize it for their property,” O’Connell said, adding that while a hotel can feature classic favorites, Hyatt encourages hotels to add their own local flavor. “Not only do we ask them to do something unique to their hotel, embracing local is a global Hyatt philosophy,” he said. “One of the big things we do is support local farmers and markets, as well as local spirits.” O’Connell suggested that when a hotel comes up with its signature drink, instead of using a well-known brand, they should use “a local whiskey for more authenticity.”
While B.PRO allows for customization, O’Connell said it also helps keep the branded experience for each hotel. The template provided is Hyatt approved, but he noted, hotels have choices as to which template is right for them. For instance, Hyatt has three different designs for the lounge menu: one that’s friendly to urban markets, a resort-style menu and a traditional choice. “They’ve got the flexibility to pick the layout that suits,” he said.
Hyatt has been using B.PRO for seven years, and O’Connell noted that originally, it was just an ordering mechanism. “Over the years, they’ve evolved it to allow the website functionality,” he said, adding that the ease-of-use is exceptional. All users are given a unique user ID so that the site knows what hotel they work for. All hotels are divided into two tiers depending on the size of their f&b operation; what menus and offerings are available is dependent on what type of hotel it is. “When individuals log on, we can tell if you’re large or small, and it’s set up accordingly,” O’Connell said. “It’s already somewhat customized.” Sribnik added that the system has automatic restrictions and freedoms based on the individual hotel’s market—for instance, if pricing legalities are involved.
Users input their changes and have the ability to see an immediate PDF proof. “It speeds up the ordering process of menu printing,” O’Connell said. “There’s no back and forth—you submit it and can see how it’s filling the page.” Users then approve the menu and it goes to a proofreader before printing. O’Connell also noted that menus can be saved for a later date, so if a hotel wants to reorder, the process is as simple as adding items to a shopping cart on consumer websites. Sribnik added that if a hotel only needs to make small tweaks, it means they don’t have to start over from scratch.
In addition to the ordering system, O’Connell praised the educational component to B.PRO. “Managers and staff can go online and video content is housed there,” he said. Video topics, according to O’Connell, can be things like winemakers discussing a wine Hyatt features or noted mixologists demonstrating the proper way to make a cocktail. Sribnik added that the system can house any ancillary documentation Hyatt wants—such as execution instructions or recipes. “We’re working with MarkeTeam to evolve that to make the educational portion more robust,” O’Connell said. “It definitely comes in handy.”