How to manage food and beverage profitability in independent hotels

The blurred picture

Shared kitchens, shared stock and shared teams make it easy for restaurant, bar, breakfast and events costs to blend into one figure. A blended figure cannot be managed.

Separate, then combine

Give each outlet its own sales, costs and margin, then bring them into a single weekly view. You will quickly see which parts of the operation carry the others.

A blended figure cannot be managed.

Breakfast and events

Breakfast is often bundled into the room rate, which makes it invisible. Cost it per guest. Events should be costed per head before they are quoted, not reconciled afterwards.

Be honest about transfers

Agree simple rules for stock moving between outlets and for staff working across them. Without them, every outlet’s figures are slightly fictional.

One conversation a week

A short weekly F&B review by outlet keeps the team focused on what they can change.