Why Hotels Must Treat F&B as a Strategic Revenue Engine, Not Just a Service

In hotel performance reviews, rooms usually take center stage. Metrics like RevPAR, ADR, and occupancy pacing are meticulously tracked, forecasted, and optimized. But walk into most hotel boardrooms, and you’ll find far less clarity on the performance of Food & Beverage (F&B)—despite it contributing 25% to 50% of total revenue in many properties.

This isn’t just a technology gap. It’s a leadership gap. F&B is often under-managed as a commercial asset—not because it lacks potential, but because it lacks structured ownership and strategic discipline.

A Systemic Gap in F&B Revenue Management

Recent studies confirm what many of us already see. A 2023 survey of European hotels revealed that less than half of F&B departments use structured revenue management practices—even when F&B plays a significant role in total revenue.

In branded hotels, revenue systems are overwhelmingly room-focused. Function space optimization, outlet-level yield, and RevPASH (Revenue Per Available Seat Hour) are rarely discussed at a strategic level.

Many properties:

• Don’t track flow-through or contribution margin by outlet
• Avoid dynamic pricing for event spaces or menus
• Operate with static rate cards that ignore demand patterns

The result? High-footfall venues can quietly drain value without ever triggering a financial alarm.

Why F&B Should Be a Core Asset Strategy

Rooms are a finite resource. Beyond a certain occupancy point, growth must come from better asset utilization, not just adding more inventory.

F&B is one of the most flexible yet underutilized levers for revenue growth—if managed strategically:

• Function spaces priced dynamically by demand, lead time, group type, and revenue potential
• Outlets tracked for both revenue and margin, with seat-level productivity metrics
• Menus engineered commercially—each dish evaluated for popularity, profit margin, and role in the mix

Our Approach at DHI Hospitality

We focus on practical, asset-based revenue management—not theory. Our F&B optimization approach delivers measurable results by:

• Creating clear outlet-level P&Ls
• Setting defined contribution targets
• Making data-driven pricing decisions aligned with guest behavior and cost structures
• Implementing forecasting tools for both service planning and financial strategy

The results: Higher margins, stronger flow-through, improved space utilization, and tangible total revenue growth—without adding a single new room.

A Call for Commercial Leadership

The hospitality industry doesn’t need endless F&B “innovation” for the sake of trend-chasing. It needs true commercial leadership in F&B.

If you’re an owner, asset manager, or brand operator, ask yourself:

• Is your hotel’s F&B performing to match its footprint, cost base, and demand potential?
• Is anyone truly accountable for making it so?

If the answer is anything less than a confident yes, then you’re leaving revenue on the table—every day.

Bottom line: F&B is not just an amenity that supports brand equity. It’s a standalone engine of profitability waiting to be unlocked.

Explore how we transform F&B from a service into a serious asset—visit www.dhihospitality.com or contact us directly.