Setting the Restaurant Experience: Tailoring to Travelers

As the economy continues to pick up steam and shake itself free from the sluggish and sometimes nonexistent growth of the last several years, more and more businesses are coming alive.  Most indicators of economic performance indicate that we’re not totally out of the woods yet, but we are certainly on the right track. 

This means that as new businesses pop up and older ones return to profitability, the hospitality industry as a whole is experiencing growth.  In short, as the business climate heats up, people are traveling, meetings are being held, and industry conferences are popping up all over the world.  Due to this growth in the hospitality industry, it’s more important than ever that your kitchen operates as smoothly as possible so it can take advantage of all opportunities available to attract customers.

What About the Experience?

One of the most important considerations for your operation is to manage the experience of dining in your establishment.  As more and more tourists and business travelers patronize restaurants, you must be able to deliver the best experience possible.  This means engaging your target audience so you can position yourself as well as possible to scrap for the limited opportunities available. 

For example, if your establishment is targeting business travelers, then ensure that you your restaurant can meet their needs.  One easy tip to meet those demands is to offer increased wi-fi connectivity and bandwidth in your restaurant so that you may accommodate a large group of patrons, all of whom need to be connected.

Mix Up the Menu

Another great way to accommodate the huge number of hospitality seekers is to vary your menu options.  With business travelers and tourists coming from all over the nation and world, chances are you’re going to have any number of people from any number of varied locations that all want something different out of their meals.  This means that you should consider several different dining options, like a vegetarian dish, something with some spice, or even quality seafood if it can be sourced for a reasonable price. 

The bottom line is that with travelers comes variety.  Hopefully you will have a restaurant constantly filled with people, and if you do they’re probably all from somewhere different and want and expect different things.  It’s a waste of your time to cater to every individual taste and preference, but offering at least a few options can make people feel welcome in your restaurant and endear them to you forever.  Who knows, maybe they’ll recommend you to a colleague or friend, or come back next time their in town.

Setting Yourself Apart

Ultimately, there are probably an infinite number of considerations that you’ll have to make when figuring out how to perfectly accommodate the growing number of hospitality seekers traveling today.  Fortunately, you don’t need to perfect and really only need to worry about a few to craft the dining experience you want for your guests. 

Another thing to remember is that this is a good problem to have.  Using the examples listed here as a starting point, you should be able to figure out more ways to differentiate yourself and offer a hospitality seekers what they’re looking for in their dining experience.  It just takes some careful planning and consideration, but it’s possible, and tailoring the experience you offer to travelers could be the best choice your restaurant ever makes.