UK’s Leading Hotels Fail to Hit Five Stars When it Comes to 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

LONDON (28 MAY 2021) — Hotels across the UK are eagerly preparing to welcome back guests on 17th May after a long winter in lockdown. 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 customers 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 the hospitality sector emerges from lockdown. 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, recognized nationwide 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.

With a greater proportion of the country likely to opt for a staycation this summer, and many consumers also 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.

Alongside this, while the world may be reopening, 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 facilitate online ordering and takeaway will be fundamental over the next few months of recovery to add much-needed pounds to their bottom lines.”

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Notes to editors:

Research methodology
Data gathered via desk-based research, auditing hotels listed within Conde Nast Traveler, The Best Hotels in the UK: Readers’ Choice Awards 2020 and Sunday Times, 80 Best British Hotels.

About SevenRooms
SevenRooms is a fully-integrated, data-driven guest experience platform that helps hospitality operators unlock the full revenue potential of their data. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, the end-to-end platform enables operators to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences, and, ultimately, bring guests back. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, review aggregation and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, Highgate Ventures and Providence Strategic Growth, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Bloomin’ Brands, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, sbe, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Altamarea Group, AELTC, Chase Hospitality Group, D&D London, The Langham London, Corbin & King, JKS Restaurants, Live Nation and Topgolf. www.sevenrooms.com.

SevenRooms Contact
Bianca Esmond
Director, Brand Marketing
E: [email protected]