Alpha is a 5 star 320 bedroom hotel located on the Gold Coast, which has a buffet style-restaurant, an all day café and a Cantonese restaurant serving for dinner only. Because the demand for food and beverage at Alpha’s current restaurants is rising, guests are waiting long periods of time and leaving to go to other restaurants. Alpha has identified an unused part of their hotel that will be turned into a new fine-dining steakhouse, Bravado. Bravado will be an a-la-carte steakhouse restaurant serving varied steaks and other meat dishes. This restaurant is being established so patrons wishing to eat in Alpha have a diverse selection of restaurants to choose from.
Concept Development
Over the years hotel restaurants have often been managed as a secondary function of the hotel-that is, as a costly amenity rather than a revenue center (Strate & Rappole 1997, p. 50). With the rising demand in all restaurants of Alpha hotel during last year, a differing fine dining restaurant is required by hotel owner and operator. Compared to the seafood buffet and Cantonese cuisine already offered by Alpha hotel, the new restaurant should be a western-style steakhouse called Bravado, offering fine-dining grill and meat options. As an international 5 star hotel in a famous tourist city, the customers of Alpha hotel are from all over the world with different cultures and also different tastes. In this case, besides the Cantonese cuisine andThe Assignment is provided by UK Assignment http://www.szdhsjt.com seafood buffet they already have, some western style dishes should also be provided by this new restaurant in order to fit some international guests. Another reason for choosing the western style steak house is the hotel restaurant must now also be viewed as a selling point to generate increased room revenues where the goal is to maximize overall property profits (Strate & Rappole 1997, p. 60). To achieve a higher occupancy of hotel rooms, hotel companies must consider operating some franchised restaurants with different styles to attract more customers. Moreover, Bravado will be open for both lunch and dinner sittings, as neither the Cantonese restaurant, Ming, is not open for lunch. At the same time, Bravado could also be used as a bar for guests that may not want to eat out, or wish to drink before and after there meal. Recently restaurants have recognized the benefits of establishing and nurturing ongoing relationships with their customers (Kim et al. 2006, p. 148), as well as offering satisfactory products and services. It is really important for Alpha to provide appropriate services and conveniences for its customer base. Due to Alpha hotel being a 5 star hotel with an excellent reputation, Bravado should be opened for both hotel guests and the general public. Because of this high rising demand, Bravado is able to seat 150 people and serve approximately 300 covers on any given night, as well as seating in the bar area. In addition, Bravado is a recognition of the excellence offered at Alpha.
F&B service area
As we can see from the drawing of restaurant floor plan (appendix 2), in a F&B outlet, customers should be guided in a logical manner. Consider exterior, entry zone, dining area, beverage area and rest rooms (International F&B management lecture 6 2009). First of all, the floor plan of the whole restaurant is a square with both sides made of glass. Through the entry zone on the left, the reception is located at the front of the dining area. On the left side there is one waiting area with really comfortable seats and beautiful views. Since most customers have to wait for seating in a full-service restaurant, physical comfort in waiting areas can also affect overall customer satisfaction and repeat patronage intentions. In contrast, a roomy waiting area tends to increase a customer’s willingness to wait for seating even if the restaurant is busy (Sulek & Hensley 2004, p. 237). After passing the entry zone and waiting area, the most attractive facility is a grand piano placed at the centre of the dining area providing tasteful music. A restaurant must include a mix of table sizes and types, including freestanding tables for different party sizes, fixed-seating booths, flexible banquettes, and perhaps bar seating at high-top tables or at the bar itself (Kimes & Robson 2004, p. 334). Around the grand piano, there are some freestanding tables for two to four customers. Beside those tables at the centre, some tables with 2 or 6 seats could also be found in this dining area. If a large booking is made there are 4 big separate rooms for a larger group of customers on the left of the restaurant. Moreover, Bravado provides a bar area for some guests who prefer to have a drink in the hotel, which is located in the right hand corner of the restaurant. The kitchen is located at the back of the dining area with both front door and back door. At the right corner of the restaurant, we can find the rest room that not only toilet but also a place include makeup areas for women, shoeshine station. There is an outdoor dining area that will be used when the restaurant is busy. The overall ambience and atmosphere lends towards a fine-dining experience, but with the larger tables, and piano area, some areas of the restaurant will provide a lively tone. The positioning of the kitchen allows for staff to reach all tables in adequate time, cutting down on service time. The décor colours will be black and red, adhering to the overall style opted by Bravado. This décor and setting will ensure that the customer experiences an intimate, professional and chic dining experience at Bravado. |
