InterContinental - Hotel Background

 
Exceptional events in unusual locations are their forte. Subsidiary company, Catering’s Best by InterContinental, which claims to be Germany’s biggest hotel caterer, exploits the synergy of a powerful catering brand and an internationally renowned, 5-star luxury hotel chain. A balancing act between an autonomous and a joint brand presence.
 
www.cateringsbest.de
 

 
“We don’t just sell food and drink, we feel responsible for the general ambience in the room,” Martina Horn emphasizes. As Regional Director of Catering Sales Germany, Ms Horn has held the reins of Catering’s Best by InterContinental since 2006 and has consistently driven forward development in four areas of expertise:

• Food
• Location
• Decoration
• Service.

With nine locations, five in Germany plus Vienna, Prague, Budapest and most recently Warsaw, Catering’s Best now has a Europe-wide presence. Martina Horn is supported by the creative force of a 25-strong organisational team plus 40 cooks, 110 service staff and lots of subcontracted personnel. The company brings twelve years of experience to bear – the formula was established in 1996 asan independent branch of InterConti Frankfurt/Main, with two employees. Events range in size from 5 to 5,000 guests, with the emphasis definitely on company events with or without event companies, rather than small, private parties. The repertoire has to cover everything: gala evenings, company events, and communications-based informal get-togethers and fair catering. Depending on the size of the event, Catering’s Best works on an order value of between €45 and 1,000 per person, so it is hard to give an illustration of an average bill. Extreme flexibility is the order of the day when it comes to lead time – it can be months but is sometimes only a week. The peak months for business are identifiable with a fair degree of accuracy. May, June and October are good. September, November and December are extremely busy months. The rest of the year is quiet to middling. What is the decisive factor resulting from the impact of the hotel brand?
 

 
Catering’s Best believes its success comes from focusing on individuality and custommade solutions as well as highlighting the synergies between the hotel parent company and the catering subsidiary, in other words between the 5-star luxury hotel brand and the catering brand. Horn would like to push the radiation effect of this, an effect which has long been neglected or deliberately played down as a marketing tool and decisive competitive USP: “Unfortunately, for many industry players, the term hotel catering is almost a swear word – we are aiming to prove the opposite. As caterers to InterContinental Hotels, we would be stupid not to exploit the image of the InterConti brand. At the same time, we present ourselves as a separate brand with our own logo and customers see this as positive!” Naturally, the synergies extend far beyond the image effect. “Access to existing HR, mater ial and equipment resources, the logis tical platform and expertise of one of the world’s most influential hotel brands creates major advantages in terms of competitive differentiation.” At the same time, the catering company’s orders ensure optimal utilization of hotel kitchens, which is an advantage, particularly in what are slack periods for the hotel trade, a business which is subject in any case to seasonal fluctuations. The kitchens are now experienced in coping with this dual usage: “it has worked out well.” Emotion is an important and decisive key word when it comes to customer satisfaction and even enthusiasm. “We are already halfway to winning an order if we get a handle on the client’s emotions and can look ‘into his soul’ at the very beginning of an event presentation.” Horn outlines the initial step in the awarding of or pitching for an order: “Having a team presence, decorations and ambience”. So as to pull out all the stops, in terms of expertise, at a preliminary stage, Martina Horn generally travels with a large presentation team. She has four people to support her: a local catering manager, a chef de cuisine, a service manager and an operations manager. The team provides a yardstick for overall performance particularly where major company clients are concerned.
 

 
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| 13 November 2008 |