Revenue Management

🏨 In January 2025, upscale hotel segments witnessed RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) grow by over 4%, despite a minor decline in overall occupancy rate by 0.4 points to 53%. This was predominantly due to a nearly 5% rise in the average daily rate (ADR), facilitating the sector's resilience amid broader social, political, and economic challenges.

🧃 Ghee, a staple in Indian cuisine known for its high smoke point and nutty flavor, has seen a 71% increase on U.S. restaurant menus over four years, particularly at independent and midscale eateries, yet appears on less than 1% of menus. With 33% of Americans aware of ghee and 18% having tried it, this clarified butter is celebrated for its versatility and connection to Ayurvedic traditions.

🏨 U.S. hotel industry saw a year-over-year increase in occupancy by 1.2% reaching 60%, ADR by 2.2% at $164.79, and RevPAR by 3.4% to $98.83 for the week of February 9-15, 2025. Chicago experienced the most significant occupancy rise of 14.4%, achieving 55.0%. New Orleans, hosting Super Bowl LIX, saw ADR soar by 42.8% to $314.37 and RevPAR by 33.5% to $222.66, despite a 6.5% drop in occupancy to 70.8%. In contrast, Las Vegas faced a decline with occupancy falling 7.1% to 76.4%, ADR dropping 30.6% to $202.10, and RevPAR plummeting 35.5% to $154.44.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, covers food and beverage trends. He hosts the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and wrote for "The New York Sun" from 2005-2008. Thorn joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999, Restaurant Hospitality in 2016, and lived in Thailand for about five years writing for "Manager" magazine and "Asia Times." A Tufts University graduate (magna cum laude, 1990) and member of Phi Beta Kappa, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu and was in Beijing for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award, was IFEC president in 2005, and contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd edition, 2012) and Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015). Inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014, he's from Denver and resides in Brooklyn.

🍸 The early 2000s cocktail renaissance continues, with bartenders using savory ingredients like cilantro in drinks. Empirical Spirits in Brooklyn, N.Y., launched a cilantro spirit last fall with 38% alcohol volume, made from French wheat, cilantro stems and leaves, lime, and tomatillo. Lolita in New York City offers the No Güey using Empirical’s cilantro spirit and sotol. Dear Strangers, which opened in November in Greenwich Village, features cilantro in the Star Treatment cocktail. The trend extends to international locations like NoMad London with their best-selling Sergeant Pepper cocktail and Licorería Limantour in Mexico City with an Al Pastor Margarita. Despite cilantro's divisive taste, its use in cocktails is growing.

🏨 Hidden costs can undermine hotel profits; this article suggests implementing expert cost-saving strategies to streamline operations, reduce expenses, and increase revenue. No specific numbers or statistical data provided. Published on February 17, 2025, by Akanksha Mohapatra, the article emphasizes the importance of smart strategies to avoid hidden costs in hotels.

💸 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.