Real Projects, Proven Results

The Challenge

A large luxury hotel operating multiple food and beverage venues required an independent review of its F&B performance. While the hotel benefitted from strong brand positioning and scale, the operation faced challenges around consistency, profitability, and alignment between concept intent and day-to-day delivery. The objective was to gain a clear, unbiased view of performance across venues, identify operational and commercial gaps, and provide practical recommendations that could be implemented within a live, trading environment.

Our Solution

Captivate conducted a comprehensive, on-site food and beverage review covering front of house, back of house, kitchens, service models, menu structure, procurement, staffing, and guest experience. Each venue was assessed individually, recognising that different concepts, dayparts, and guest profiles required tailored analysis rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Particular attention was paid to how concepts translated into operational reality, including workflow, staffing efficiency, menu complexity, and cost control. We worked closely with senior leadership and operational teams to understand existing challenges, decision-making constraints, and commercial objectives, ensuring recommendations were grounded in the realities of the operation. The review focused on commercial performance and cost structures, menu design, pricing, and margin integrity, kitchen workflow, staffing models, and productivity, procurement practices and supplier alignment, guest journey, service consistency, and venue positioning, and opportunities to reduce waste without impacting quality.

✓Key Results

The Challenge

A resort hotel group operating across eight countries required a complete review and restructuring of its food and beverage offering. The group faced rising costs, inconsistent guest experience across properties, and high levels of food waste, particularly across breakfast, all-day dining, and resort dining outlets. The brief was clear: improve quality and consistency, reduce waste, and enhance the guest experience without increasing cost per guest or requiring capital investment. Any solution needed to work across different cultures, markets, and operating conditions while remaining practical for on-property teams.

Our Solution

Captivate worked closely with corporate and property leadership to redesign the food and beverage structure across the portfolio. The focus was on simplifying complexity, standardising where it added value, and allowing flexibility where local relevance mattered. Rolling menu structures were introduced across breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, welcome drinks, and out-of-standard offerings. Menus were designed to reduce duplication, improve cross-utilisation of ingredients, and minimise waste, while still offering variety and freshness for guests. Signature dishes were standardised across the group, creating consistency in quality, presentation, and brand identity, while allowing properties to retain local character where appropriate. Particular attention was given to presentation standards, ensuring that improvements were visible to guests without adding cost. Alongside menu development, we conducted operational reviews across kitchens and service areas, identifying low-hanging operational changes that could be implemented immediately. These included workflow improvements, portion control, production planning, and service adjustments that required no capital expenditure. Training was delivered to operational teams to ensure consistency in execution, reinforce waste reduction practices, and embed new standards into daily operations.

✓Key Results