Established restaurant operators are increasingly partnering with hotel chains to transform their food and beverage operations. Poppleston Allen’s Lisa Sharkey looks at the opportunities and challenges for operators looking to get into this burgeoning market.
In the past three years, I have dealt with an increasingly high number of licensing applications for new or existing hotels where the F&B offer is going to be run by a third party.
Smart hoteliers are joining forces with F&B operators to deliver destination bars and restaurants within hotels.
Hotel bars and restaurants have long been seen as an adjunct offering for residents, which were often underutilised, uninspiring and overlooked as a standalone revenue stream. We are now seeing bars and restaurants within a hotel being turned into the ‘go to’ venue in many towns and cities. They are also offering a point of difference for the traveller who not only wants to stay in an amazing hotel but also wants that hotel to have a quality bar and restaurant offer.
Hoteliers are passionate about people, comfort and service. Really good hotels create a refuge for the mind but the best ones also satisfy our joy for eating good food and for drinking and socialising. They can also deliver amazing creative spaces and somewhere to work, as well to relax.
It is a win/win for the hotelier and the F&B operator. The hotelier can focus their skillset on maximising profits from the rooms and the F&B operator use their specialist skillset to create a destination bar and restaurant which not only gives travellers a reason to stay in the hotel but also and, more importantly, creates footfall into the hotel and gives it a buzz.
As a licensing lawyer, I can understand the opportunities but I have to consider the challenges.
Hotels are often in prime locations which is great for footfall, but can be a real challenge from a licensing perspective. If the hotel is located in what is termed a “cumulative impact area” (which means that there is a presumption to refuse licences if objections are received unless the operator can prove that there will be no adverse impact upon public nuisance and crime and disorder – which is hard to prove!) then it might prove impossible to get approval to your proposed bar offering, or your late night event space. However, there is often a desire locally and politically, especially with new hotels satisfying the tourism drive, so there might be a way to get your licence with carefully drafted conditions provided you plan carefully, and consult with the statutory authorities and local residents.
If the hotel has an existing premises licence then this might be a real win win for the F&B operator who would perhaps have no hope of securing a licence outside of the walls of the hotel.
Another advantage (although it might not be seen) for the F&B operator is that the hotelier will naturally be protective of its main asset and thus their expectations and demands upon the F&B operator will be high. The licensing authorities will understand this and will take comfort from it in terms of protecting residents from public nuisance or the potential (or lack of it) of crime and disorder. The F&B operator might have to make some concessions with the hotelier on late hours for the public; types of events and music style but what they get back in terms of infrastructure (for example, relying on the hotel’s CCTV system, toilets, kitchen, cloakroom and security) is probably worth the compromise.
For the hotelier, the licensing authorities will treat you differently. You will no longer be asking for a licence for purely events, or to entertain solely residents and guests. You will be seen as wanting to compete with public bars and restaurants. There are licensing challenges in that it is important to understand that there is no national licensing standard and different authorities do have different requirements and demands due to the location factors. You need to understand that to get the licence over the line, you will need to balance a variety of factors. You might be faced with licensing restrictions which you have never been asked to agree to before, which you believe will impact upon the wellbeing and enjoyment of your guests and which makes the proposal less financially viable. To overcome some of these obstacles it is important to plan early, involve professional advisors and engage with the authorities. Get it right and you are on your way to creating a destination bar and restaurant, and not just a breakfast restaurant and bar which entertains your residents before they go out for dinner and after they have returned.
