All About Hotel Food and Beverage Management

Hotels and other accommodations often employ several teams within their walls. From housekeeping to concierge services to the front desk team, it takes a lot to keep the wheels in motion each day and operations running smoothly. For establishments with a restaurant on-site or simply a kitchen responsible for room service and breakfast preparation – there is a team supporting food and beverage efforts as well. Like on any team, having a responsible and driven manager is critical for success.  

Profit margins within food and beverage can vary dramatically, with poor management being a leading cause for why some ultimately fail. Why is management in this function of a hotel consistently challenging? It’s likely because the responsibilities of food and beverage managers are extensive. Duties stretch across multiple areas, meaning managers must be well-rounded and extremely organized to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Wedding reception table put together by a hospitality food and beverage management team

Inventory Management & Ordering

A menu item at a hotel restaurant can take up to 10 or 20 ingredients to prepare. Each of these ingredients – be they meats, vegetables, spices, etc. – had to make it into the kitchen in advance. Ensuring the right ingredients are on hand for all offered dishes is a core responsibility of food and beverage managers. This area of duty is referred to as inventory management. Food and beverage managers have to not only ensure chefs have what they need for each meal service. They also must avoid over-ordering, which leads to food waste and unnecessary spending. There are even other considerations that great managers take into consideration. These include seasonality of items such as produce and building relationships with vendors and suppliers to ensure continuous access to high-quality ingredients.

When it comes to ordering, most managers build these relationships with multiple suppliers working with representatives from those companies to pick the best ingredients and supplies to complement their establishment’s needs. Because many ordered items are perishable, ordering tends to happen weekly, if not more often.

Budgeting & Costing

Money spent ordering ingredients isn’t the only financial consideration a food and beverage manager makes in their role. In fact, budgeting is a huge responsibility of managers in this function. Both profitability and sustainability depend on adequately managing the budget.  

A big part of this is ensuring that offerings are priced correctly, based on the costs that go into making them. In addition to the cost of ingredients, managers must factor in other costs, including labor and equipment maintenance. Labor costs stretch beyond the kitchen as well. Of course, a big labor cost is the time it takes a chef to prepare a dish. However, managers must also consider the cost of employing others within the establishment. These include servers, hosts, and dishwashing staff. There is also the added difficulty when food prices fluctuate. Those in food and beverage management must perform the costing of dishes diligently and often to ensure prices are set at the right amount to maintain profitability.

Recruitment & Training

There is also a good amount of human resources responsibilities for food and beverage management staff. As previously mentioned, it takes a team to transform raw ingredients into customer dishes. Ensuring they have the right team in place to make that happen comes down to management recruitment efforts. Good managers seek out individuals with proven track records of responsibility and punctuality with a desire to contribute to the overall success of the establishment. Because food and beverage is truly a team effort, there needs to be the right individuals in every role – from sous chef to busser.

Getting the right individuals in the door is simply the first step. Ensuring staff are adequately trained is another crucial responsibility. While some roles in hotel restaurants or bars are pretty transferable when it comes to duties, each establishment has its characteristics that make proper training a must to build a successful team. 

How to Obtain a Role In Food and Beverage Management

Like most manager-level roles, snagging a job in food and beverage management generally requires a combination of relevant industry experience and possibly related education. Some establishments prefer to hire those with management degrees or certifications over those without. However, even more important than this is time spent in the industry. In hospitality, becoming a manager in any function of an establishment usually requires prior experience in other more junior positions within that function. This applies to food and beverage management. Many in these roles started in the industry as servers, hosts, or potentially in the back of the house. 

Learning the ins and outs of how a hotel restaurant operates happens over time, as you take on different roles and responsibilities. Luckily for those looking to get into the industry, now is a great time. Options are plentiful as hotels are currently understaffed and continue to recruit to fill chronically vacant positions. In attempts to persuade applicants, wages are increasing, and many businesses are also offering more incentives to apply than ever before.

Whether you are looking for your first role in hospitality or your tenth, it’s helpful to have access to many opportunities in your area, so that you can easily and quickly sort through them and find ones that are a fit. Our database is full of opportunities in multiple roles in the industry. In addition to roles in food and beverage management, the listings include other functions of the industry – including housekeeping, front desk, and concierge roles. With the new year in full swing, now is the perfect time to check out new potential opportunities!