Why hotel dining revenue should be read outlet by outlet
Most hotels track dining revenue as one total F&B number and continue operating their portfolio in the configuration it launched with. Breakfast restaurant, lobby bar, room service, and perhaps a rooftop all run simultaneously regardless of hotel capacity, occupancy pattern, or guest mix.
This approach works under the right occupancy and location conditions, but becomes unsustainable under competitive pressure and rising costs. To improve hotel dining revenue, each outlet must be analysed across four critical dimensions:
- 1RevPASH (Revenue Per Available Seat Hour) — capacity efficiency
- 2Food cost ratio — ingredient efficiency
- 3Guest satisfaction score — experience quality
- 4Labour productivity — labour hours per seat
When you map these four dimensions into a table, the true contribution of each outlet in the portfolio becomes visible.
How to Calculate RevPASH
The RevPASH formula is:
RevPASH = Total F&B Revenue / (Seat Count x Daily Operating Hours)
Example: An 80-seat restaurant runs 4 hours of evening service and generates TL 32,000 in revenue.
RevPASH = 32,000 / (80 x 4) = TL 100 per seat-hour
When this figure is applied to the 120-seat breakfast room in the same hotel, comparison becomes possible. RevPASH compares outlets by efficiency, not by size.
Turkey hotel F&B benchmarks:
- Breakfast room: TL 60-90 per seat-hour
- All-day dining restaurant: TL 80-130 per seat-hour
- Lobby bar: TL 50-80 per seat-hour
- Fine dining: TL 150-250 per seat-hour
Scale / Optimise / Close Decision
For each outlet, ask: "Should this outlet be scaled, optimised, or closed?"
Outlet to scale:
- RevPASH at 110 percent of target or above
- Food cost in the 28-32 percent range
- Guest score 8/10 or above
- Reaching capacity limits as occupancy increases
Outlet to optimise:
- RevPASH between 80-110 percent of target
- One or two deviations in food cost or labour cost
- Guest score between 6.5-8/10
- Problem is solvable through systems, menu, or team calibration
Outlet to close / convert:
- RevPASH below 60 percent of target for 3 months
- Labour cost exceeding 40 percent of total revenue
- Guest score below 6/10
- Misalignment with concept, location, or target audience
Typical Hotel F&B Portfolio and Decision Matrix
| Outlet | Typical RevPASH Performance | Common Problem | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast room | High (strong correlation with occupancy) | Service speed and waste | Optimise |
| All-day dining | Medium (weak at lunch) | Empty lunchtime hours | Develop lunch package |
| Lobby bar | Variable | Empty post-evening hours | Add late-evening concept |
| Fine dining | High but low occupancy | Cannot fill reservations | Capacity constraint or close |
| Room service | Low RevPASH but high ADR contribution | Logistics cost | Digitally optimise |
The output of this table is the strategic priority order for scaling the highest-value outlet, optimizing medium performers, and converting low performers. Hotel food and beverage consulting helps you structure this analysis across breakfast, room service, bar, and restaurant performance as one system.
What to Do in Practice
The first step to starting an outlet profitability analysis is to separate existing POS data by outlet. Most hotels track all F&B revenue in a single pool; this hides true outlet performance.
Actions within 30 days:
- Segment the POS system by outlet
- Begin weekly RevPASH calculation for each outlet
- Track food cost and labour cost by outlet
Actions within 60 days:
- Run benchmark comparison for each outlet
- Conduct root cause analysis for underperforming outlets
- Determine the scale/optimise/close decision
Actions within 90 days:
- Execute the closure or conversion decision
- Increase resource allocation to the outlet to be scaled
- Activate the optimisation plan
For a broader cost-and-performance lens, it should be read alongside the main hotel food and beverage consulting page and the connected hotel F&B articles.
