Food. Glorious food!
Hotels of today need to be more than just a collection of hotel rooms, particularly in order to compete with the business models utilized by companies such as Airbnb, which have altered the competitive landscape of the industry moving forward.
A shift has taken place in the expectations. Guests and customers are looking for something that is one of a kind. They want a wide variety of options. They are looking for a unique kind of tourism to experience. Aside from the desire for safety and a restful night’s sleep, they are also interested in participating in genuine experiences that impart a sense of the place’s personality. This interest extends to the pursuit of one-of-a-kind and unforgettable dining and drinking experiences. This might entail coming up with concepts for a modern hotel that are modeled after food halls in order to give the establishment a sustainable advantage over its competitors.
Food Tourism – A Growing Opportunity
According to recent estimates, the consumption of food has surpassed all other interests as the primary reason for going on vacation. Food tourism is one of the hospitality industries that is expanding at the quickest rate. It is not uncommon for it to include not only restaurants but also tours, cooking classes, and various other interactive experiences that bring the concept of dining to life. Students in hospitality training who want to bring out-of-the-box ideas and opportunities for growth into their future hotel management careers can keep track of current food tourism practices and trends in order to attract even more customers to their hotel or restaurant.
Food tourism presents a number of exciting opportunities, one of the most exciting of which is the opportunity to really differentiate the distinctive features of the surrounding environment through the use of food and flavour. One of the most exciting aspects of food tourism is the potential for it to become a multi-billion dollar industry. Food tourism can be an excellent way to stand out from the crowd, particularly for locations that are geographically isolated or relatively small and may have difficulty attracting tourists due to their size or location.
Food Tourism and the Social Media Buzz
Those with experience in hospitality management are able to put their knowledge of hospitality marketing to use in the real world by taking advantage of new opportunities presented by social media. One of the things that a lot of people who use social media find the most enjoyable to do is take pictures of delicious new meals, desserts, and other kinds of treats, and then share those pictures online. Any Instagram user is probably aware of this fact. People can be encouraged to tell others about their dining experiences by having them experience something that is either visually appealing, features unusual components, or takes place in a fun location. Food tourism that is done well can, in a sense, help customers market your establishment on your behalf.
Food Tourism and Hospitality
As we always say within the hospitality industry; it must be about the complete experience! Instead of following the traditional “template” of fitting a hotel with whatever restaurant a corporate team believes will drive the most revenue, they must match the right restaurant concept with the right guest in terms of food and beverage. This is more important than simply following the traditional template. Hoteliers need to have the ability to design restaurants and bars that stand out, despite the fact that they are located within a hotel. While large hotel chains will continue to use their corporate-based culinary teams to streamline their programs, there is an opportunity for independent and boutique-like hotels in many markets to build localized, strategic ‘F&B’ partnerships that will better position their brand to adapt to the aforementioned changes. These partnerships can be built in conjunction with other businesses that share a common interest in the hospitality industry.
Boutique and independent hotel brands that experiment in this space will be better equipped to excel as time goes on; creating a brand that is scalable, sustainable, profitable, consistent, and memorable while also being in a better position to adapt to change. This is because the food tourism industry is growing rapidly. It’s time for hotels to step out of the past and very firmly step into the present!
Wait… Food Tourism is just the tip of the hospitality iceberg!
You can choose to pursue a career in hospitality management, which will put you on the path to an engaging and interesting hotel management program that will also provide you with a wide range of outstanding employment opportunities. This is the sector that relies on trends, which can shift dramatically from one day to the next; consequently, there is a constant need to learn new things. One must consistently add new information to their knowledge base in order to maintain a competitive edge.