Plan Your Meetings

F&B cost-saving tips: January 2009 Morsel

Top of the New Year to everyone!  Since we are  all going to be challenged with cost-saving measures this year, why don’t I dedicate my first morsel of the year to that? Before I begin, though, I do want to clarify one talking point: Let’s not confuse cost savings with cost cutting. To me, cost savings is doing what you would normally do, just  finding more creative ways to squeeze it all in. Cost cutting is eliminating a portion of what you would normally do in order to save  money. Today I am going to talk about cost savings because  being able to save money while preserving the overall experience is more important than ever. Here are some of my favorite tried and true  methods.*

*A special note to catering managers and hotels:  Please show additional flexibility in 2009. The reality is that the customers you work with now will remember you when the pendulum swings back around. The suggestions below will not break your bank, but they will show your appreciation for their business.

• Cookies — Nowadays no one needs jumbo cookies. Ask the hotels to take their preformed ball of dough and cut it in half. This way you are getting two dozen cookies at the one  dozen price. It’s a win-win compromise, especially since I typically add a  couple of bucks to the dozen price for labor.
• Whole Fruit — Do yourselves a  favor and don’t put oranges in your arrangement. No one is going to stand around trying to peel an orange. I give a breakdown of 50 percent bananas, 15 percent apples, 10 percent pears (or whatever fresh fruit is in season) and 25 percent cut up bunches of grapes.
• Buy in bulk — Even though individual bags are charged on consumption, you are going to get a better deal and less wastage if you buy popcorn, peanuts, pretzels, trial mix, M & Ms  — all coffee break items — in bulk. It works out better from a value perspective.
• Ask for 10 percent off — When negotiating the catering portion of hotel contracts, it will save you more  money if you ask for 10 percent off the current menu prices instead of asking  them to honor last year’s pricing. Also, if you use a lot of coffee, ask for 15 percent off of current coffee pricing.
• Bartender fees — Bartender fees should be waived if the bar does at least $750 in revenue, end of story. I have had bars that have done upwards of $3,000 and were still trying to charge $300 per bartender. I call that double dipping because you already are paying a 22 percent service charge on that $3,000 — that should include the  bartender. With a banquet meal, we pay a 22 percent service charge that includes fees for servers. So why should the bar be different? I feel the same way about chef’s fees.

These are some of my ideas. They’ve worked well for me in the past, and I am sticking by them — especially in 2009. Hopefully, they will help you, too.