This document is a comprehensive guide on banquets and catering within the hotel industry, authored by Tom Pasha, a seasoned professional with extensive experience in hotel management and catering. It covers essential information about hotel operations, profit margins in food and beverage, effective negotiation strategies for catering services, and the importance of understanding space management and pricing. Additionally, practical advice is provided for planners to optimize catering contracts and ensure successful event execution.

1. “Banquets and Catering –
An Insider’s Guide to
Food & Beverage”
I've twiddled my thumbs in a dozen odd bands
And you ain't seen nothing till you've been
In a motel like the Holiday Inn
Elton John, Holiday Inn, Madman Across the
Water, 1971
Tom Pasha
CONTACT Planning, Inc.
Tpasha@contactplan.com
Tel: 407-891-2252

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Introductions…
 Tom Pasha…
 Worked in hotels since age 15
 Garde Manger, Banquet Sous, Line Cook
 12 Hyatt Hotels over 20 years
 Catering Manager; 6-time DOS
 Hyatt National Sales Office Director
 Founded CONTACT Planning, a national
meeting and golf planning company
 Trains planners from “The Hotel Side…”

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In this session…
 TONS of Information!
 Very Interactive
 Ask lots of good questions
 Take lots of notes…questions
along the way
 See how hotels work so you
can do your work better… find a
WIIFM you can take with you!

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Hotels really are organized….
 Rooms: Front Desk, Bell Desk,
Housekeeping, Laundry, Public
Areas
 Food & Beverage: Outlets,
Beverage, Banquets, Catering,
Convention Services
 Amenities: Golf, Spa, Casino
 Support Depts: Administrative &
General, Sales, Engineering

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Food & Beverage
 Restaurants, Bars, Rooms Service,
Banquets and Hospitality
 Critical marketing / service for hotel
 Good F&B fills rooms, banquets
 High product cost, high staff costs
make F&B less profitable
 Banquets and Beverage are the most
profitable sections of the F&B
department
 WIIFM: Hotels compete for groups
with good banquet business

6. Hotels Need Group Business –
Group Business Means
Catering!
Hotels Depend on Groups,
Meetings and Conventions
Higher rate and Yield revenue
 Much better revenue drivers – Catering,
golf, spa, gaming
 Sunday / Monday Arrivals and Catering
are top priorities for a hotel
 Add Catering to have hotels compete for
your business.
 Convention Hotels are designed with
Meeting Space to fill rooms and sell
Catering!

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Hotel Accounting is based on
GAAPS– Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles
Rooms 80% Profit
Catered F&B 40% Profit
Total F&B 25% Profit
Gaming 90% Profit
Recreation 90% Profit

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Does Hotel Revenue Affect
Planners? Hotel Math…
 100 SF of mtg space per group room
 80% Rooms profit (Mtg space fills rooms)
 40% Catered F&B profit
 $125 per room per day goal in Catering
 300 rms x 365 = 109,500 (100% occupancy)
 1095 roomnights = 1% on the annual;
 90 roomnights = 1% on monthly;
 Occ. rooms x ADR = Revenue @ 80% profit

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How Hotels Evaluate Your
Business…
 Hotels Live and Die by the Annual Forecast, The
BUDGET; we evaluate, or “Revmax” your group:
 Dates: Sunday or Monday arrivals are best; is the
group flexible?
 Rates: Average Daily Rate: ADR hitting the targets
on the Annual forecast?
 Space: Group rooms are calculated at 100 SF per
room night; if your group needs more than that, you
may be a space-hog group.
 Catering: Is the group spending $125-$150++ per
room per day in Catering?
 Amenity use: In addition to Rooms and Catering,
what is the Spa, Golf, Casino spend?
 Hotels will stack several tentative groups and the
group with the best revenue profile wins the dates.

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F&B– The “L” Side
of the P&L!
-- Outlets make just 15% Profit
-- Banquets make 40% Profit
 F&B is much more labor and
materials intensive:
 No cooks – Executive Chef, Sous
Chefs, Saucier, Garde Manger..
 Ingredients– baked goods, butcher,
food prep, etc.
 Equipment, staffing expense
 Total Profit of 25% is good for F&B,
but it is needed to fill the rooms.

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CATERING, from the Hotel Side
 Massive part of your Master Account, but many planners
frequently don’t negotiate it!
 Meals, Breaks and Receptions are all Huge Expenses – negotiate
them when you negotiate your contract.
 On your RFP: Ask for Floor-plans, Catering and AV Menus.
 Read and build a F&B budget before you sign a contract
 When you meet with your Sales Manager, also speak with a
Catering Manager, get them involved when the deal gets underway.
 Catering Managers have Sales and Upselling goals:
 Two Steps to Managing Your Catering:

Negotiate Pricing and Value-Added items

Wrap-up and Accounting

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Meeting Space Management:
Set-Up Options
 Banquet Room Set- Up is critical for a great catered event…
 Buffets are best with one side per 50pp – 75pp
 Banquet Rounds: Rounds are 60, 66 or 72 inch:
 60-66 Inch: 6 to 8 pp maximum
 72 Inch: 8 to 10pp maximum
 72-inch table set for 10 = 10 x 10 feet = 100sf
 500pp = 50 tables of 10pp each = 5000 net sf

+ 50% of the Net for aisles and exits

7500 gross sf Minimum, or 15 sf PP: 25 sf PP is comfortable.

Add a front screen riser, podium, etc = 30 sf per person = 15,000 sf
 Ask for a scale CAD drawing, speak with the Catering and Banquet Manager to
make sure the room is set correctly…

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Negotiate “Catering Pricing?”
 Catering: The Highest F&B Revenue % in a Hotel!
 Catered Food: 40% profit / Beverage @ 25% profit
• Negotiate % discounts: 10% - 20% is common
• Meet with the Chef and Catering Manager – Ask to
customize a menu - Seasonal, Farm to Table, Action
Stations, Choice of Entrée, Dual Entrees
• Current pricing for future bookings
• Menu-matching: See what is already being served that
day and order that too – ask for an additional discount!
• Ask for a “Non-Profit,” Veteran’s, Educational, Social
Service, Senior or Junior menu to be customized.
• Ask for a seasonal special – a summer salad lunch?
• Confirm exact menus and price on your contract.
• Negotiate the Service Charge: 20- 24% adds up!

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Negotiate Value-Added Items:
 Value Added Items are Comps and
Upgrades– charged back to the hotel at cost,
not retail, so they don’t hurt the hotel bottom
line.
 Some Value Added Items to Negotiate:
 Centerpieces: Mirror Tiles, Votive Candles
 Props, themes, linen and napkin upgrade, buffet
lights, up-lights, logo’d décor,
 Easels, Stanchions, Risers, Podiums, Flags,
Backdrops
 Drink ticket or House wine included with dinner
 Upgraded desserts – chefs love to work with
dessert

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CATERING: BONUS Ways to
Save Money!
-- Skip the Top Shelf.. House Pour is OK
-- Negotiate bartender fees: $500 per bar: Comp Bartender
-- Stand-up tables for receptions
-- Lines at bars are OK– 4-5 deep
-- Order by consumption, if possible: cokes, package items
-- Skip the salad and soup course for lunch
-- Serve the lunch dessert at the PM break
-- Bartenders use pour-spots, not free-pour
-- Action stations and server-passed hors d’oeuvres
-- Ask for discontinued wine brands
-- Use smaller plates
-- Re-use centerpieces
-- Seafood is expensive—hide the shrimp buffet

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Catering Event
Wrap-Up / Accounting
• Get Guaranteed menu pricing before your sign the
contract; check it against the BEO and Banquet
checks.
• Check BEO’s: Set, GTD #, Menu items and price
• Bottle count at every reception- be there before and
after the reception and do a count with the beverage
manager.
• Order house brands to save money; call brands for
VIP’s
• One fifth= 10 tenths @ 3 shots ea; $10 per drink =
$300 bottle retail, $30 cost, 10% beverage cost!
• Review and Sign Banquet Checks at every event:
Food, Beverage, AV, etc –tell staff you need to meet
them after every event.

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And finally, Catering…..
 Catering is one of the fun parts of our
business – learn some basic skills, take a
class, read some books, become a
foodie.
 Spend some time in a kitchen, watch a
plate-up during a site visit;
 During the tour, ask to plate-up a sample
plate, not a formal tasting.
 Learn to see a banquet “From the Hotel
Side,” to plan better events.

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Call me if I can help!
…Thank You!
Tom Pasha
CONTACT Planning
Tel: 407-891-2252
tpasha@contactplan.com
www.contactplan.com
www.full-contact-training.com
www.tompasha.com
“ And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say,
Welcome to the Hotel California.”
-- The Eagles, Hotel California, 1979