Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Room?

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rubberbaron
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by rubberbaron »

Well, back to F&B. When I said bar sales are higher in some resort hotels then room revenue, I guess I need to qualify that. My experience is strictly with resort hotels in Europe (Mallorca, Ibiza, the Canary Islands), the U. S., the Caribbean, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines. It also was in the late 70ies through the early 90ies. Many guests used their vacation time for the three things that especially Northerners in both America and Europe like - beach, drink, and sex. If the hotel is in the right location, you couldn't find a place at the bar after 8 or 9 in the evening. The casual sex thing started to taper off after AIDS, though. I believe there are at least two places in SHV that really make more money on drinks, despite them being cheap - how about Led Zephyr or Monkey Republic, but then these places are no 4 or 5-star properties.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by hanno »

rubberbaron wrote:Well, back to F&B. When I said bar sales are higher in some resort hotels then room revenue, I guess I need to qualify that. My experience is strictly with resort hotels in Europe (Mallorca, Ibiza, the Canary Islands), the U. S., the Caribbean, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines. It also was in the late 70ies through the early 90ies. Many guests used their vacation time for the three things that especially Northerners in both America and Europe like - beach, drink, and sex. If the hotel is in the right location, you couldn't find a place at the bar after 8 or 9 in the evening. The casual sex thing started to taper off after AIDS, though. I believe there are at least two places in SHV that really make more money on drinks, despite them being cheap - how about Led Zephyr or Monkey Republic, but then these places are no 4 or 5-star properties.
Not saying you are wrong, rubberbaron. I spent the last 20 years in SE Asia and it is quite a different picture here. I am looking after 9 hotels in Vietnam and Laos and some have very little F&B revenue. In places like Luang Prabang, nobody eats in the hotel.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

some places like big easy and monkey republic are more like bars with accommodation, i bet they earn more from the bars than they do the 3-5$ dorm rooms/15$ private rooms etc but as stated theyre not 5* resorts,
in resorts ive stayed in in Mexico, theyve been all inc. so ive always eaten at the hotel, in europe where most of the time its self catering, weve always eaten out in the restaurants in town even if they offered catering services at the hotel, who wants to be stuck in the hotel anyway after youve spent all day doing nothing by the pool
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

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General Mackevili wrote:
Username Taken wrote:^^ But, you did give her your number.
Meh, maybe she guessed it. Image
No she got it from the dick-pic text !
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

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General Mackevili wrote:
Jamie_Lambo wrote:awww cute roses GM ;)
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by rubberbaron »

hanno wrote:
Not saying you are wrong, rubberbaron. I spent the last 20 years in SE Asia and it is quite a different picture here. I am looking after 9 hotels in Vietnam and Laos and some have very little F&B revenue. In places like Luang Prabang, nobody eats in the hotel.
I am sure you are right. I was talking more about places like Koh Samui, Koh Chang, Phuket, etc. in SE Asia, but more so about Spain, Greece, etc.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by 4000islandsguy »

rubberbaron wrote:Having been in the business for 30 years I have never come across such a thing either. But here is a little enlightenment for the uninitiated. Resort Hotels make more money on bar sales than on the rooms. The restaurant and bar mark-up should cover your monthly payroll. So good hotels hate nothing more than guests bringing in their own food and drink but if guests still do they won't say anything either. City hotels is a different matter. Our seven associated hotels in Phnom Penh,though, do a very good restaurant business and guests usually don't bring their food/drink. Most guests who spend $40 to $80 on a room have no problem eating at the hotel restaurant once or twice.
We have a page in our hotel information asking guests to refrain from bringing in food or drink pointing out that we do have a restaurant and room service available. This does not keep some guests from doing it anyway, especially the Russians who also usually stay longer. Sometimes guests even ask us if they can bring something in from outside, e. g. crabs, etc. as we don't serve them. A hotelier''s perspective is if you want to travel on the cheap go to budget hotels which often don't have a restaurant to begin with. The hotel in question probably is not in the 3-star category despite their say-so.
There should be no nothing telling your guests to refrain from bringing food into the room. I personally don't like being sweated into using a restaurant I may not like. If I want your food I will decide on my own to purchase it, however if I want a Brooklyn pizza and you don't even make one who are you to tell me?

Cooking in the room and such I understand but simple take aways are fair game as far as I am concerned. If I do bring something in and don't have the cutlery or plates I require to eat it, then I obviously tip as that as a service. I don't want to be railroaded into eating crap hotel food for no reason.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by 4000islandsguy »

Forgot to add that those that are saying ants and bugs and whatever... There is no difference between the food the hotel or guesthouse cooks or what a guest brings in with this regard. I have a policy at my guesthouse that asks people not to bring food unwrapped into the room but they can eat on the balcony. My bungalows are very simple thatched affairs so if you prefer not to have rats or insects I simply request it. I do not ask them to only do this for outside but for my room service as well I request people eat on the balcony or please carefully wrap what they do bring inside.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by Bhodi »

4000islandsguy wrote:Forgot to add that those that are saying ants and bugs and whatever... There is no difference between the food the hotel or guesthouse cooks or what a guest brings in with this regard. I have a policy at my guesthouse that asks people not to bring food unwrapped into the room but they can eat on the balcony. My bungalows are very simple thatched affairs so if you prefer not to have rats or insects I simply request it. I do not ask them to only do this for outside but for my room service as well I request people eat on the balcony or please carefully wrap what they do bring inside.
Your opinion on outside food and how you would like it consumed on your premises are quite fair I would certainly abide.
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Re: Some Hotels Charge $5/$10 for Food/Drinks Brought to Roo

Post by rubberbaron »

4000islandguy - what applies to you and your bungalows does not necessarily apply to other establishments or guests. We don't like it but we allow it. You mentioned ants and bugs, etc. Kids often bring in candy or pie and leave the wrapper or the plate in the room overnight. What do you think that does? Pizza etc. leave a smell that the next guest might mind and write it in his review, give you a negative rating, etc. There's more to all this, and there are different categories of guesthouses/hotels and guests too. Guests want different food? They can go to plenty of restaurants nearby. But cooking is definitely out. Except we do have one suite with a kitchen corner though; plates and all.
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