Revenue Management

🍴 According to the ICR Conference, the restaurant industry saw sequential improvements in traffic and sales towards the end of 2024, with a 0.3% month-over-month decline in December but a 2.4% increase compared to December 2023. Traffic rose by 0.8% in Q4 2024, in contrast to a 1.1% decrease in Q4 2023. Analysts anticipate a "stable to improved environment" with consumer spending expected to advance in 2025, while credit card and auto loan delinquencies slowed down, implying a potential peak in consumer debt. Restaurant spending is predicted to grow by a low-single-digit percentage, but traffic could be flat or slightly negative due to ongoing inflation and a cooler labor market.

🏨 The European extended stay accommodations and serviced apartments sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2024 to 2030. A shift in traveler preference for work and play trips, restrictions on short-term rentals, and lean operating models are driving this growth. Revenue management in this segment faces challenges such as varying rates for different stay lengths and demand forecasting. Advanced revenue management systems are essential for optimizing forecasting, inventory allocation, and pricing strategies to maximize revenue. Serviced apartments must balance long-stay and short-stay demand and ensure straight-line availability to unlock revenue potential.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, reports on food and beverage trends. Host of “In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn” podcast and columnist for The New York Sun (2005-2008). Joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999, after 5 years in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times. Studied history at Tufts University, French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, and Chinese culture in Beijing and Nanjing. Worked for ABC News during Tiananmen Square protests (1989). Won 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier (2014). Lives in Brooklyn, NY, and specializes in French, Asian, and Thai cuisines. Email: [email protected] Social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

💰 EBITDAR is a profit metric particularly relevant for businesses with high rent expenses like hotels. It excludes non-operational costs such as interest, taxes, rent, and restructuring from earnings to give a true picture of operational performance. The Dalata Hotel Group reported an EBITDAR margin of 39.4% in H1 2024, a slight decrease from 40.6% in H1 2023. EBITDAR margin is calculated as EBITDAR over total revenue x 100. For a hotel with $4,500,000 in revenue and $3,550,000 in costs, EBITDAR is $2,300,000, resulting in a 51.11% margin. Technology plays a key role in simplifying EBITDAR tracking, and hotels can improve this metric by optimizing revenue and controlling costs.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, hosts the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn." He wrote for The New York Sun from 2005 to 2008 and joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999. Thorn, a magna cum laude Tufts University graduate, member of Phi Beta Kappa, studied at Le Cordon Bleu and in China. His column won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award, and he was president of IFEC in 2005. Inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014, Thorn resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. Email: [email protected]

🍻 On Jan. 5, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy linked alcohol consumption to increased cancer risk, advocating cancer warnings on alcohol bottles. A report by the ICCPUD supports moderate drinking, 6-9 drinks per week, increases cancer and alcohol-related death risks. Murthy highlighted alcohol as a preventable cause of cancer, with 100,000 cases and 20,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The restaurant industry rebuked these findings, citing bias and conflict of interest. The National Restaurant Association and similar groups protested. Last month, a NASEM report associated moderate alcohol with lower mortality and cardiovascular disease risks. Public comments on these studies will inform the next "Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

🥣 COVID-19 in 2020 led to a decline in dine-in restaurant transactions and an increase in takeaway services. In 2021, easing pandemic measures saw a surge in dine-in demand, despite ongoing social distancing and mask mandates, causing dine-in transactions to rebound and takeaway growth to slow.

🍽 Dallas welcomes Victory Social, a new 12,000-square-foot food hall situated near the American Airlines Center. Hospitality Alliance, known for creating dining destinations, launched this upscale space featuring six unique dining concepts and a full bar, managed by veteran chef Josh Harmon. Victory Social provides a diverse range of culinary options, including Rise & Thyme café, Birdie's Southern-Asian fusion, Park Bistro's soups and salads, Itzá Cocina's contemporary taqueria, D’oro Italiano's Neapolitan pizzas and pastas, and Victory Grill's steaks and seafood. The space also offers a private dining experience, with reservations available via Toast. Hospitality Alliance is expanding with three additional concepts at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas.

🌱 Ramps, or wild leeks, with a garlicky-onion flavor, are available from late March to early May and have become a culinary highlight signaling spring in restaurants. Their popularity on U.S. menus has increased by 32% over four years, now appearing on 0.8% of menus, particularly at fine-dining and independent establishments. This trend is driven by the demand for local and seasonal ingredients, with Gen Z and Millennials as the main consumers.

👤 Dutch Bros Inc. has a Facebook page with over 60,000 followers for sticker drops. 📅 Since 1999, stickers have been a key part of Dutch Bros' marketing, with designs becoming collectors' items. 📍 Dutch Bros, headquartered in Grants Pass, Ore., operates 950 locations across 18 states as of September 30. 📊 Customers collect stickers from Dutch Bros shops on the first Wednesday of each month and through the Dutch Rewards program on their app.