Revenue Management

💸 Inflation rose 0.5% in January, annual rate at 3%. Costs driven by shelter, energy, gasoline, food. Overall food index up 0.4%, food at home +0.5%, away +0.2%. Year-over-year, food prices increased: overall +2.5%, at home +1.9%, away +3.4%. Egg prices surged 15.2%, the largest monthly jump since June 2015. The gap between grocery and restaurant price increases was the narrowest since April 2023, yet grocery stores maintained a 150-basis-point advantage over the historical average of 70-basis-points, impacting restaurant sales in 2024. Menu pricing increased 3.4% year-over-year, equalling the 23-year average. Companies like McDonald’s and Brinker observed easing inflation, with Brinker's food and beverage costs improving by 20 basis points year-over-year.

🍴 Briar at Number One Bruton, led by Sam Lomas, earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand just four months after opening. The Somerset restaurant, praised for its exceptional value and quality, showcases simple, seasonal, farm-to-fork dining. Lomas, a former River Cottage chef and Great British Menu contestant, focuses on local produce. Briar has been shortlisted for "Chef to Watch" and "New Restaurant of the Year" at the Good Food Guide Awards, and listed in Squaremeal’s Top 100. Owners Claudia Waddams and Aled Rees partnered with Lomas for Briar, which replaced the Michelin-starred Osip at their hotel.

🍴 Bohemia Restaurant at The Club Hotel & Spa retains its Michelin star for the 21st consecutive year, a feat matched by only 19 other UK restaurants. Head Chef Callum Graham, having led the team for five years, celebrates this honor. Bohemia is the sole Channel Island restaurant with a Michelin star, known for its modern European menu with fresh Jersey and French ingredients. The Michelin ceremony's personal significance is heightened for Graham, being held in Kelvingrove, near his birthplace, East Kilbride. The Huggler Group plans to commemorate 21 years of exceptional dining at Bohemia.

🍴 COJE Management Group, since 2010, runs successful restaurants in downtown Boston and Seaport District with diverse cuisines. CEO Chris Jamison and co-founder Mark Malatesta, who opened their first venue in 2010, now boast eight concepts and nine restaurants. Yvonne's, opened in 2015, replaced the historic Locke-Ober space. Chef Tom Berry joined as culinary director and COJE's management is mostly promoted internally. COJE's portfolio includes Ruka, Lolita, Mariel, Cuban-themed Underground, Coquette, Cocorico, nightclub Caveau, and Mr. H, with a new Sicilian restaurant under construction. COJE focuses on experiential dining with meticulous attention to detail, targeting mostly local customers.

🥚 Salted egg yolks, a Chinese and Southeast Asian staple, are gaining popularity in U.S. restaurants as a unique flavoring in various dishes. Market research from Datassential shows a 71% increase in menu appearances over four years, now at 0.5%. However, among the U.S. population, while 50% are aware of salted egg yolks, only 23% have tasted them. The trend reflects a rising interest in indulgent, umami-rich flavors.

🥒 Dukkah, an Egyptian seasoning blend, is gaining popularity in the US with a 35% increase in restaurant menu presence over four years, particularly in independent and fine-dining venues. Market research from Datassential reveals 14% of the US population, mostly Gen Z, recognizes dukkah. It's creatively used in salads, soups, as a protein coating, and as garnish on avocado toast.

💾 In the hospitality industry, tracking capacity (rooms, meeting spaces, etc.), volume (units sold), and price data (ADR, package pricing) is key for revenue and staffing optimization. Despite their importance, many hotels analyze these metrics in silos rather than holistically. To unlock growth opportunities and improve guest satisfaction, hotels must align all departments—housekeeping, front office, food and beverage, sales, and revenue management. An integrated business intelligence (BI) tool is essential for collecting, consolidating, and visualizing data, allowing for strategic decision-making that enhances service coordination and leverages cross-department synergies. The article suggests moving beyond siloed metrics and adopting an advanced, coordinated approach to capacity, volume, and pricing strategies with the right BI platform.