Revenue Management - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers - Page 25

REPORT: Restaurants Gift Card Sales Peaked Early on Thanksgiving Weekend

🎁 Starbird, a super-premium fast food concept, partners with Mehta Investment Group for a franchise development agreement to open 17 new locations in Washington state by 2025—15 in Seattle, 2 in Spokane. This follows Starbird's first expansion outside California, with seven locations planned for Denver through Whiplash Holdings. Starbird boasts an Average Unit Volume (AUV) of $4.1 million. Franchise candidates require a net worth of $3 million, liquid capital of $1 million, with investments ranging from $1,138,074 to $1,588,963.

2 min

Restaurants closed the inflation gap with grocery stores in November

📈 The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in November, now 2.7% higher than November 2023. Menu prices increased by 3.6% compared to last year, with limited-service meals up 3.7% and full-service meals at 3.6%. Grocery/supermarket inflation grew 1.6% year-over-year, marking the 20th consecutive month it lagged behind restaurant price increases. Egg prices surged over 40% month-over-month due to avian flu. Overall food prices jumped 9.9% since 2022, the fastest annual increase since 1979.

2 min

The Restaurant Hospitality holiday party, Yelpers’ favorite restaurant, and a brasserie at Grand Central

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, also joined Restaurant Hospitality in 2016. He wrote The New York Sun's Kitchen Dish column from 2005-2008 and was based in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times from 1992-1997. Thorn graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University in 1990 and studied at Le Cordon Bleu in 1986. Won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award, inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014, and authored entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015). He's based in Brooklyn, NY.

2 min

Christmas Karaage & Champagne in NIJU

🎄 NIJU, a Japanese "home-cooking" restaurant in Mayfair, offers Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus with a Japanese twist. Throughout December, guests get free Japanese fried chicken (karaage) with two glasses of Champagne. The New Year's Eve menu features dishes like A4 Wagyu beef tartare and has two seatings at 5.30pm (£175pp) and 8pm (£225pp). The Christmas menu, available in the private dining room throughout December, costs £200 per person. Offers include live entertainment, DJs, and optional drinks pairings.

1 min

13 conversations with restaurant culinary experts

🍽 In April 2024, Restaurant Hospitality and Restaurant Business introduced "Menu Talk," a podcast featuring editors Bret Thorn and Pat Cobe. Over 40 chef interviews have been recorded in 2024, with guests ranging from Portillo’s to chef Michael Mina. The "Extra Serving" podcast by Nation’s Restaurant News also continued monthly. Thirteen top chef conversations from 2024 are highlighted, with more to come in 2025. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to both podcasts.

STUDY: Restaurant Sales, Visits Increase

🍳 In November 2024, U.S. restaurants saw year-over-year growth with sales up by 8.1% and foot traffic by 8.7%, with a decline in average ticket sizes by 1.3%. The Fiserv Small Business Index for Food Services and Drinking Places reached 131, a 4-point increase from October, with restaurant sales and transactions up by 3.1% and 1.9% respectively. Retail's year-over-year sales and transactions grew by 5.6% and 9.5%, while average ticket sizes decreased by 3.8%. Grocery (+11.1%), General Merchandise (+11.0%), and Clothing, Shoes and Jewelry (+7.3%) led retail growth. Service-based small businesses saw a 5.1% increase compared to 2023, with Information Services (+15.0%) and Food Manufacturing (+14.8%) showing significant growth. Regionally, Nebraska (+13.1%), Florida (+11.5%), and Alaska (+11.4%) had the highest year-over-year small business sales growth, while Miami (+11.4%) and Atlanta (+7.5%) topped large cities in growth.

2 min

New on the menu: Artichoke carpaccio and PB&J jello

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, joined in 1999. He hosted the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and wrote for The New York Sun from 2005 to 2008. A Tufts University magna cum laude graduate, he also studied at Peking University, Nanjing University, and has a Cértificat Elémentaire from Le Cordon Bleu. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, served as the IFEC president in 2005, and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Email: [email protected]

2 min

New York City landmark Gotham Restaurant closes for good

🏩 Gotham Restaurant in New York City closed permanently after 40 years of operation. In July, its parent company, Gotham Restaurants LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York, with nearly $484,000 owed to the New York State Department of Taxation Finance and additional debts to suppliers, credit card and utility companies. A cyberscam in June cost the restaurant $45,000, affecting payroll. The restaurant, known for inventing "tall food," opened in 1984 with Alfred Portale, who left in 2019.

4 min

Why Mews acquired Atomize, by Richard Valtr

🏨 Atomize, a leader in revenue management, improves hotel RevPAR by 15% on average through real-time, automated pricing recommendations. Mews and Atomize exhibit great synergy, with many properties using both systems. The acquisition allows for fast product development, enhanced support, and powerful, integrated solutions. Hoteliers can anticipate seamless experiences and improved efficiencies. The partnership aligns with visions of digitalization, automation, and efficiency in the hospitality industry, set to redefine industry standards and profit optimization. The collaboration started with Atomize's first integration in 2018. Mews will continue as an open platform, offering diverse revenue management options through Mews Marketplace.

2 min

Inflation has cooled for both quick-service and full-service restaurants, study finds

💸 In April 2022, restaurant-related inflation peaked but has since declined, with full-service restaurants experiencing a 4.3% inflation rate and quick-service restaurants a 3.6% rate as of September, as reported by Square. Full-service restaurants have seen inflation rise since the year's start, in contrast to a steady decline in quick-service categories. Over the past seven years, labor costs have surged 73.9% for full-service restaurant employees and 60.2% for those in quick-service restaurants. Square highlights the ongoing operational challenges for restaurants, including balancing increased expenses with customer affordability.

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