Donald Morrison: Converting Sleepers to Eaters

 
Over the past 20 years, Donald Morrison, Hilton International vice-president of food & beverage, has helped shape and coordinate guest foodservice at hotels across Europe and the Middle East. Some projects, such as his Hilton Breakfast Concept, are now worldwide standards. At a time of momentous change and expansion for the Hilton business, now reunited globally, he talks about the role of restaurants, the trend to chef partnerships and changing perspectives in banqueting, coffee shops and kitchens. Interview by Bruce Whitehall.
 

 
The hotel industry is often thought to be over-focused on filling bedrooms. While big city centre hotels have undoubted prowess in functions and corporate meetings, their restaurants are often seen as expensive and unimaginative. Is that fair?
 
Morrison: So much depends on location. There are cities like Barcelona where the sleeper-to-diner ratio – i.e. the number of staying guests who can be converted to meal takers – is very low, whatever hotel you are at. That’s simply because people want to go out and sample the huge choice of local cuisine. Hotels can only put so much effort into competing. But that rule can be broken, as we have found at the Maison Du Bouef at the Brussels Hilton. In a city full of good restaurants, it’s on the hotel’s first floor, and not well-signed; but it’s full every lunch and dinner. It owes a lot of its success to the Michelin-starred chef, widely considered one of Belgium’s top chefs. Across the European business, all our hotels have an all-purpose restaurant/ coffee shop plus at least one speciality restaurant. It would be fair to say that the chain was a bit overtaken in the 1990s by companies like Hyatt, who introduced a very creative approach to F&B. We tended to focus on in-house custom with concepts which we thought were good for us from the viewpoint of operating costs and return. However, we have seen a new momentum in the past 4-5 years and definitely now encourage a more innovative approach to restaurant design, in line with guests’ needs for a fresher, simpler and more clean-cut presentation. One key issue is avoiding large counters stuck in the middle of restaurants. We now have buffet concepts which can be concealed after breakfast, giving us a whole new ambience for lunch and dinner.
 

 

 
Are hotels tending to change their F&B priorities?
 
Morrison: My team tries to get involved at a very early stage in ensuring efficient space planning within the building’s footprint. We try to have all the F&B areas – restaurants, meeting rooms, ballroom, etc. – all on one level rather than having to move goods and people around, which can be a logistical nightmare. And if possible, we aim to have foodservice outlets and bars in locations which are visible outside the building. But that is not always easy and a lot depends on local marketing factors such as the amount of meetings business, the potential for social functions, and so on.
 

 
What factors make the difference in developing a hotel F&B culture internationally?
 
Morrison: Today’s guests are a lot more consumer-led in their attitudes and behaviour, particularly in respect of health and nutrition. We have to be very aware of this in terms of our menus and presentation. One very clear message I give to my team: keep it simple and get the basics right: don’t over-complicate and aim for clean, straightforward presentation. In terms of sourcing, procurement must find the right balance between cost and quality, not just lowest price. And you also need to consider global, regional and local tastes; we cannot just produce an offering in the head office and say: this is what everyone has to do. Environmental and social factors also enter the picture, with waste management, energy efficiency, reduction of carbon emissions, recycling and related considerations all becoming more and more of an F&B issue.
 

 
| 15 October 2007 | Bruce Whitehall |