Treasury Wine Estates

The Chief Operating Officer for the Americas shares his strategic view of the importance of food and

beverage in IHG’s quest to Be Number One

The world’s leading independent winemaker oversees an extensive global portfolio of luxury, premium and commercial wines

Talking F&B with Jolyon Bulley

The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage ProgramWINTER 2015

Talking F&B With Jolyon Bulley

IN THIS ISSUE

IHG’s journey to create a Winning Culture that leads us to Be Number One is taking food and beverage in some exciting new directions, as we focus on innovative programs, processes and measures across every region. You can read about several of our Americas initiatives in this issue of Spirited, from the new, streamlined wine lineup in the World Class Beverage Program to the successful E.A.T. (Evening Acceleration Toolkit) program for Holiday Inn hotels. In our cover story, Americas COO Jolyon Bulley shares his vision for fully leveraging F&B as a competitive differentiator for

our brands, and 2015 IHG Owners Association Chairman Kerry Ranson also provides the owner perspective on the importance of food and beverage.

The momentum that’s building is energizing and will most certainly grow as we continue to increase our level of engagement and discover more new ways to take advantage of all that F&B has to offer.

Cheers! — Jp

winterwinterwinter20152015

EVEN Hotels Norwalk, CT & Rockville, MD

Owner Profile: Kerry Ranson, 2015 IHG Owners Association Chairman

2015-2016 World Class Beverage Program

Warming Things Up : New Beverage Promotions at InterContinental Hotels® & Resorts and Hotel Indigo® Hotels

Partner Profile : Treasury Wine Estates

ORCA : Turning Food Waste into Water

E.A.T. Program: Evening Acceleration Toolkit

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Winning in 2015 — and beyond!

W hen Jolyon Bulley thinks about the role of food and beverage for IHG brands in the Americas, he sees

opportunity. A native of Australia, Jolyon joined the Americas regional executive team as Chief Operating Officer last August, after serving as COO for the Greater China region and holding other key Asia Pacific senior management positions for IHG prior to that. The cross-regional learning available, he notes, is tremendous.

“Regional F&B strategy is a subject that’s dear to my heart, and I think it’s essential to our goal of becoming Number One,” he says. “In the Asia Pacific region, food and beverage plays a huge part in the IHG brand guest experience, because in the upper-upscale and luxury segments, hotels are the place to dine, entertain, meet and be seen. Here in the Americas, brands play a lead role in the food and beverage offer, hallmarks and guest experience.”

JOLYONTALKINGF&B WITH

BULLEY

Cross-regional collaboration and staying focused on enhancing five fundamental areas are key to F&B

success in 2015 and beyond, according to Jolyon Bulley. Our series of F&B interviews with members

of IHG’s leadership team continues in a conversation with the Chief Operating Officer, The Americas.

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The priority for 2015 and beyond, Jolyon says, is to focus on five primary areas where, working together, the brand, F&B and hotel teams can make a competitive difference:

Breakfast

A “high-touch” point for many guests, the morning meal, in most cases, combines the stay and brand experience, and it’s essential to deliver the basics in a consistent way, Jolyon says.

“I am an advocate for not complicating breakfast and ensuring guests receive ‘hot food hot and cold food cold!’

“Consumers are shifting to healthier options—such as those introduced by the Holiday Inn Express brand last year to meet market demand. There is also more demand for grab-and-go offerings, a space that allows guests to work and meet, and a service culture that makes their day special,” he adds. “We’ve been looking at innovations and new processes for breakfast in the Holiday Inn brand, and we will map what we learn onto the Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and InterContinental brands. I love the innovation the F&B team led in creating the breakfast offering for the launch of EVEN Hotels.”

Evening Dinner Period

The Holiday Inn brand has also piloted a well-received “Evening Acceleration Toolkit” or E.A.T. program (see the related article on Page 15) designed to offer guests a consistent, efficiently delivered experience during the dinner meal period in the restaurant and bar. “There’s also great customer and owner recognition and appetite for branded concepts such as Burger Theory, a high-end burger offering that tested successfully last year at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport South and will be rolled out to up to 15 additional Holiday Inn hotels by year-end 2015. For the InterContinental brand, we’re looking at innovative ways to offer F&B that’s unique to the market and location of our iconic hotels.”

Meetings & Events Catering

”We’re in the process of refining and improving our meetings and events offer,” Jolyon notes. “We started that process as part of the refresh of the Crowne Plaza brand.”

Beverage

Jolyon says he has learned that beverage is a very important part of the overall F&B experience for guests in the Americas.

“We can explore ways to further leverage the World Class Beverage Program to help hotels with regard to pricing and driving sales.”

Service

”I’m passionate about enhancing the brand experience as delivered by the server,” Jolyon says. “We have a fantastic opportunity to identify little touches—the ‘10 simple secrets of service,’ for example—to guide the server in taking the guest through the brand journey. It’s important to get the fundamentals right in this process, though. We want our F&B teams to understand what the guest needs in each brand without overcomplicating things, in order to deliver desired returns for the owner.”

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Jolyon is also a strong proponent of sharing ideas and solutions across regions. “We can adapt and localize concepts such as the Holiday Inn breakfast and Burger Theory for use in other regions, and vice versa,” he says. “IHG’s recent acquisition of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, who are known for their individual collection of restaurants and bars, represents another opportunity. We look forward to learning from the Kimpton Hotels & Resorts F&B team. They operate from a different model than the typical hotel approach to food and beverage, in which the restaurant is a secondary consideration. Kimpton’s F&B outlets are a primary draw—their popular restaurants just happen to be attached to their hotels.”

Ultimately, using food and beverage to create competitive advantage for each brand is the name of the game, Jolyon adds. “Americas Food and Beverage has worked closely with the brand teams and made huge inroads over the past couple of years toward fully leveraging the F&B potential of IHG’s brands,” he says. “I’m excited about building on that solid work to take our food and beverage offerings to the next level.”

Any foodservice experience in your background?

“My hospitality career began with a three-year graduate development program at the

Hilton in Melbourne, Australia, that happened to skew toward food and beverage. I did

pretty much every job you can do in an F&B operation, from washing pots to being a

chef and working on the front line. Later I became Beverage Manager of that hotel—

an important position there, because Australians like to enjoy a social beverage! I have

been with IHG for 23 years and lived in six countries, so I have learned a lot about

different markets, cuisines and concept innovations, and have enjoyed the learning

journey and immersion as an F&B customer.”

What does a great dining experience look like?

“From a customer perspective, I see F&B as theater, attracting and delivering to all

the senses. The environment should be well-planned, with attention to use of space,

acoustics, lighting and smells, and the F&B offer has to be memorable. Ingredients

should be fresh and preparation uncomplicated, with flawless delivery so that I can

enjoy what’s being placed in front of me. Servers should have high awareness of guests’

needs and the context of the meal—whether it’s a business dinner, an event, a personal

space or a romantic evening. Service can be toned up or down to accommodate the

customer’s need state.”

Favorite food?

“I enjoy a wide variety of cuisines, but I have three favorites. First, Japanese food,

because of its freshness, simplicity and intricacy. I also love the balance of eclectic

flavors—sweet, sour and pungent—in Thai food. Finally, I enjoy a simple but hearty

meal—French onion soup with a nice salad and a New York-cut steak.”

Favorite beverage?

I’m Australian, so I like a good cold beer, particularly during the summer months.

I’m also passionate about full-bodied Australian Shirazes and am really enjoying

immersing myself in the full spectrum of U.S. wines. For spirits, I enjoy Yamazaki, a

highly acclaimed, single malt Japanese whiskey that was recently voted the world’s best

single malt. It’s becoming so popular, I can’t buy it in Atlanta. And soft drinks—well,

living in Atlanta, it has to be Coca-Cola, but make it Coke Zero, please!”

Favorite non-IHG restaurant?

“There are three I really like, all in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Bones is the epitome of a great

steakhouse and a tremendous U.S. dining experience. For Southern food and hospitality, I go

to the Horseradish Grill, close to Chastain Park and near my home. I also like Umi, a cool, fairly

new restaurant that serves Japanese dishes as good as I’ve had anywhere.”

Any recent standout meals at an IHG property?

“Recently I had dinner at the sushi bar in the Crowne Plaza LAX with the GM and a couple

of colleagues. We left the selection up to the chef, and it was terrific: small portions,

high-quality product, casual ambience and some good laughs—easily the best dinner

experience I’ve had since I’ve been in the Americas. Locally, my family loves Southern

Art at the InterContinental Buckhead.”

Do you cook, and if so, what are some of your specialties?

“I don’t cook anywhere near as much as I used to. I consider myself pretty competent

with the barbecue—it’s the Australian in me. After living in China for three and a half

years, there is so much fresh meat and seafood available here that our barbecue is getting

frequent use! Again, I keep things simple and extract the best I can from nature’s source,

complemented by a drop of great wine.”5

It’s clear from the moment the EVEN Hotels management team introduces themselves. The General Manager is also known as the “Chief

Wellness Officer.” The Food and Beverage Director carries the additional title of “Eat Well Director.” This isn’t your typical hotel.

IHG opened the first two EVEN Hotels in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Rockville, Maryland, in June, and the properties became an almost instant hit in their markets. The new lifestyle brand is designed to help guests maintain their health and fitness routines on the road, through a wellness-savvy staff, a best-in-class fitness experience, healthier food choices and natural, relaxing spaces.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with the properties generating strong, sustained levels of both occupancy and repeat guests. Both EVEN Hotels also have held the Number One ranking on TripAdvisor in their markets for six straight months.

“Introducing a more specialized brand like EVEN Hotels doesn’t usually generate such a strong initial response,” says Scott Blakeslee, Chief Wellness Officer for the Rockville hotel. Scott is also the Brand General Manager, with responsibility for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast operations teams as the EVEN Hotels brand expands. “At these two hotels, the guest love we’ve experienced right from the beginning has completely validated the platform we created during the two-year brand development process.”

Convenient, Delicious, Nutritious Guests are nurtured in their wellness journey in four key areas. An In-Room Training Zone and natural-light-filled, three-zone Athletic Studio help guests Keep Active. Weary travelers can Rest Easy in guest rooms with an open, calming atmosphere featuring color-changing, adjustable LED mood lighting, a Premium Sleep System with natural eucalyptus linens, very bright bathroom lighting, a glass-enclosed shower and all-natural EO bath products. A productive environment—comfortable, ergonomically designed, moveable work spaces, fast and free Wi-Fi and easily accessible multi-media ports both in-room and in common spaces—provides the opportunity to Accomplish More.

Then of course, there are the hotels’ tasty and healthful food and beverage choices, designed to allow guests to Eat Well. The Rockville and Norwalk properties both feature the proprietary Cork & Kale™Market and Bar, as will all EVEN Hotels, with identical F&B offerings.

“Cork & Kale is amazing, especially for breakfast,” says Dieter Schmitz, Chief Wellness Officer for the Norwalk hotel. “Guests can build their own breakfast bowl, enjoy our full smoothie bar or select from popular items like the Frittata Egg Quinoa Wrap and the Salmon Board. We like to say we provide great food that’s good for you. With all the breakfast items priced under $10, customers see it as a real value.”

Dinner and even dessert selections are similarly light and flavorful. All menus feature a legend identifying whether each item is vegan, under 426 calories, contains immunity-building levels of Vitamin C and/or is SPE (sourcing, preparing, enhancing)-certified to provide nutritional richness.

The bar in Cork & Kale is designed to create a relaxing space where guests can wind down after a long day. Signature EVEN Hotels cocktails are made with hand-selected, organic spirits, fresh herbs and natural mixers, and there’s a robust selection of beer and wines by the glass. Another caring touch: the hotels provide a water bottle in every guest room and unlimited filtered water throughout the property for refills.

HealthyTravelerSupporting

the

Norwalk, Connecticut & Rockville, Maryland

The Salmon Board features a toasted multigrain bagel with thinly sliced smoked salmon, sliced hard-boiled egg and classic accompaniments.

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“We chose to make food and beverage truly part of the brand DNA as opposed to an amenity or afterthought,” says Scott, who was a member of the team that developed the EVEN Hotels brand. “Now that the brand has been brought to life, F&B is playing an even bigger role than we expected in delivering on our promise to the guests.”

Customizing for the Guest All recipes in Cork & Kale restaurants and bars are made to order, notes Chloe Grost, Eat Well Director for the Rockville hotel. “We accommodate guests’ individual requirements, whether it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, low-fat or low-carb,” she says. Freshly prepared grab-and-go items are also available 24 hours a day from the restaurant’s reach-in cooler. Guests use a tablet computer to ring up their own orders.

“We also do in-house, made-to-order catering for small meetings and groups,” Chloe adds. “For larger functions, we partner with local restaurants or health-conscious organizations such as Seasons 52.” Function space includes the Sage & Bamboo meeting room, the Athletic Studio and soft space in the open-concept restaurant and bar.

The EVEN Hotels brand supports travelers’ needs beyond the stay experience through its wellwellwell.com website, which provides articles, tips and localized content designed to help people maintain wellness routines while visiting cities across the country.

A Winning ConceptRequirements for becoming a team member at an EVEN Hotel property also break the mold versus other brands, Dieter notes. “We have a limited staff model and recruit for personality and alignment to a wellness lifestyle,” he says. “Team members can enjoy a meal from

Cork & Kale for each shift, and we encourage using the Athletic Studio during off-hours. Wellness is central to our team members’ lives just as it is with the brand.”

Both Scott and Dieter regularly host visits from potential owners and investors interested in learning more about developing the brand. Starting this summer, three additional EVEN Hotels will open in New York, two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn; multiple other sites are being considered throughout the U.S.

“The idea behind EVEN Hotels is simple and long overdue,” says Dieter. “People—like me—who have been traveling for 20-plus years have never had the opportunity to stay in a hotel that supports their wellness goals and fitness routines like we do. Knowing we are delivering that kind of service and experience for our guests makes our jobs easy, fun and rewarding.”

Egg Quinoa Wrap is another Cork & Kale AM favorite.

Guests at the EVEN Hotel in Norwalk can work as well as eat in Cork & Kale’s comfortable seating area.

Cork & Kale Market and Bar at the EVEN Hotel in Rockville features spaces with an open flow and plenty of light.

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KerryRansonPROMOTING THE F&B LIFESTYLE

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In our occasional series profiling leaders within the IHG owner community, we asked the 2015 Chairman of the IHG Owners Association about his F&B experience and to provide his thoughts on the role of food and beverage in building preference for IHG’s brands.

KerryRanson

B eing born and raised in New Orleans, 2015 IHG Owners Association Chairman Kerry Ranson grew up in a culture where food was an integral part of family and social life.

“I love that about the city—everything revolves around food, and not just in our great restaurants,” says Kerry, who is Chairman and COO of New Orleans-based Expotel Hospitality. “Getting together around meals was, and is, a way for neighborhoods to socialize and mark important events, like baptisms, graduations, or friends moving away,” he says. “During Mardi Gras, when I was a kid, there were always lots of King Cake parties. All the families would gather at a different house for dinner each night for a week and a half. People took turns showing off their signature dishes. In the warmer weather, everyone from toddlers to grandmas participated in crawfish boils.”

So although he never planned a career in food and beverage, it seemed inevitable his professional life would include a stint in the restaurant business. As an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi, Kerry worked in a well-respected high-end restaurant in Oxford, working his way up from bus boy to headwaiter. He found he enjoyed the guest interaction and learning about kitchen operations and what it takes to serve a quality product.

After finishing college in New Orleans, Kerry worked for a couple of local restaurants before becoming a regional manager for Ruby Tuesday in the Southeast. He then joined Mirage Hotels on the operations side of the business, helping open the Beau Rivage Resort on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. From that point his career was centered on hotel management, though the intrigue of F&B persisted.

“Food and beverage got in my blood and never really left,” he says. Today the portfolio of 18 hotels that Expotel Hospitality manages in six states comprises primarily full-service properties, including a Crowne Plaza hotel.

Tapping into Guest Preferences Kerry is excited about the efforts IHG has under way to enhance the food and beverage experience across the full-service brands and push the envelope on F&B innovation.

“Food and beverage didn’t get a lot of attention during the recession because many owners were struggling just to keep their heads above water as they faced declining occupancy and rates,” he says. “Now that the economy has improved significantly, both consumers and hotel operators are focusing on F&B again.

“This represents a huge opportunity, and the IHG brand and F&B teams are taking advantage of it by tuning in to guest lifestyle trends and preferences. We’re seeing new programs and concepts that address healthier menu options and introduce restaurant and bar environments and F&B offerings that are more conducive to being social. Guests are responding favorably, and that’s starting to boost the revenue side of the business, which will ultimately help increase the value of our assets.”

A Family Affair Though Kerry likes to cook himself, his F&B endeavors these days are limited to the outdoors—grilling and crawfish or crab boils.

“My wife, Liz, does most of the cooking for our family, and she is great at it. She lets me mess around in the kitchen every now and then,” he says. “I do enjoy supervising the crawfish boils in the summer. Everybody gets involved, from our eight-year-old triplet daughters to neighbors and other friends who join in to help cut the onions. It’s what we do here.”

Lobby bar at the Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport

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Streamlined& FlexibleThe 2015-16 edition of the

World Class Beverage Program calls for a reduced number of wines for most brands and offers individual properties the flexibility to add local, regional or guest favorites.

C hanges for the World Class Beverage Program in 2015-2016 include adding new partners and products as well as

slimming down the number of required items in the wine category, according to Jean-Pierre

“JP” Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, Food & Beverage, Americas.

“The number of wines specified for each brand has been reduced to simplify inventory management, and we’ve made the wine selections more guest-focused, ensuring a higher caliber of products,” JP says. “The wines included in the program represent a solid core list, and F&B teams are invited to round out the offerings with their own choices, particularly for InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo hotels.”

Program slicks for all full-service brands are in development and will be provided to the hotels within the next few weeks. For a complete listing of products by brand in all categories, visit the Americas Food & Beverage website at ihgfbamericas.com.

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& Flexible

Vintage CraftHotel Indigo guests have a real appreciation for food and beverage developed from a local perspective, and there’s no better example than the red-hot trend in craft beers.

The Hotel Indigo brand currently is promoting two outstanding examples, from the Vintage Ales collection of Chicago-based brewer Goose Island Beer Company, a leader in the American craft brewing movement since its beginnings in the late 1980s.

Matilda is a smooth Belgian-style pale ale with a distinctive fruity malt aroma, spicy yeast flavor and citrus hop notes—the perfect complement for cheeses such as Camembert and steamed seafood. Light and effervescent, Sofie is a sparkling Belgian-style farmhouse ale with spicy white pepper notes that contrast perfectly with citrus tartness. The creamy finish complements oysters and other seafood, poultry and soft cheeses.

The promotion runs from March 6 through May 28, 2015, at all U.S. properties. Hotels received a promotion kit containing a program execution guide and marketing materials including coasters and table tent inserts.

For more information on the Goose Island Vintage Ales promotion, contact Dianna Stoffer at dianna.stoffer@ ihg.com or 770.604.2633.

Passion & PleasureWhen it comes to Valentine’s Day, lovers intending to impress generally can’t go wrong with two tried-and-true gifts: chocolates and Champagne. The InterContinental Hotels brand put that premise to work in a repeat of the brand’s successful 2014 Valentine’s promotion, this year theming it, “Passion & Pleasure,” and inviting guests to “enjoy a seduction of the senses.”

The promotion ran January 30 through February 15. Guests ordering a bottle of Moët and Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne received a complimentary four-piece sampler of GODIVA fine Belgian chocolates. The chocolate samplers were provided by Moët and Chandon to participating hotels throughout the Americas. Additional collateral material included posters, menu inserts and key packets.

Hotels also received guidelines for featuring the offer online via Open Table. A Moët & Chandon sales incentive program encouraged servers and bartenders to compete for biweekly prizes of Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speakers and a grand prize of a trip for two to Domaine Chandon in Napa, California.

For more information on the Passion & Pleasure promotion, contact Mark Greenhalgh at mark@imiagency.com or 770.928.1980.

First quarter promotions for the Hotel Indigo® and InterContinental Hotels® brands are designed to be hearty and heartfelt.

Warming Things Up

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A Legacyof LegendaryBrandsA Legacyof LegendaryBrands

In the United States, brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer emigrated from Germany to the West Coast to found one of the first wineries in Napa Valley in 1876. Modern-day trailblazers include such acclaimed winemakers as Margo Van Staaveren, who has overseen production of the award-winning wines of Sonoma’s Chateau St. Jean for 35 years, and Bill and Ross Spence, who founded Matua Valley Wines in New Zealand and produced that country’s first-ever Sauvignon Blanc in 1974.

“We are proud of our wines, their legacies and the people who have created them,” says Bill Young, Vice President, On-Premise Strategic Accounts, for Treasury Wine Estates.

“We recognize and take seriously the responsibility that comes with protecting our brands and their heritage.”

Crafting the Best

A series of mergers and acquisitions of successful Australian and American wineries over the past three decades ultimately led to the creation of Foster’s Wine Estates in 2005, the wine-

P ioneering winemakers dot the history of the many iconic brands that are part of Melbourne, Australia-based Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). The world’s largest standalone wine company boasts a leading

international portfolio of more than 80 brands, representing wines from Australia, California, New Zealand, Italy, Argentina, Chile and South Africa.

Its five “foundation brands” comprise some of the most recognized and awarded wines in the world: Beringer Vineyards, Chateau St. Jean, Penfolds, Stags’ Leap Winery and Etude Estates.

The company’s history dates back to 1843, when surgeon and viticulturist Henry J. Lindeman first planted vines in Australia’s sunny Lower Hunter Valley just north of Sydney. Mary Penfold was another early agriculturalist and entrepreneur of South Australia’s wine industry who with her physician husband, Christopher, established Penfolds winery in 1844. Upon his death in 1870, she continued running and growing the business successfully for another 25 years.

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producing division of global brewing giant Foster’s Group Limited. Foster’s renamed the business Treasury Wine Estates and spun it off into a freestanding business in 2011.

Today, TWE cultivates more than 27,000 acres of vineyards, with annual sales of 30 million cases. The company employs more than 3,000 winemakers, viticulturists and sales, distribution and support staff across 16 countries.

The TWE portfolio regularly receives recognition from industry peers. Most recently, Matua was crowned Champion Winemaker at New Zealand’s International Wine Show in October 2014, and Penfolds was named Australian Wine Producer of the Year in November by the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London.

In the company’s new incarnation, TWE has clearly focused on the growing, crafting, and selling of fine wine, Bill notes, as well as continuing to develop strong relationships with on-premise partners worldwide. “Turning great wines into great wine experiences involves the right setting, service, presentation and execution, so the on-premise delivery is critical,” he says. “That’s

why we’re delighted to be part of the World Class Beverage Program at IHG.”

Careful stewardship of their respective iconic and diverse brand portfolios is a characteristic IHG and TWE share, adds Russ Kuck, TWE’s Director of Hotels & Lodging.

“We’re continuing to work closely with IHG’s corporate and property F&B teams to align strategies and further enhance the ways our brand strategy and assets can support the success of each IHG brand and the individual hotels,” he says.

Americas Food & Beverage Vice President Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray agrees. “Treasury has a top-quality portfolio with many flagship brands, and they are a great, long-time partner in the World Class Beverage Program,” he says. “We see lots of new opportunity with TWE in the future.”

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Whenever Executive Chef Alex Feher notices a member of his kitchen team “feeding the ORCA,” he smiles. Tucked into a corner of the InterContinental Miami kitchen, the gleaming silver ORCA (organic refuse conversion alternative) machine uses natural microorganisms and biochips to rapidly decompose food waste into earth-friendly water that can be safely discharged into the sanitary sewer system.

The result? Stewards have considerably less kitchen garbage to lug to the dumpster, fewer plastic bags are required and there’s no need to engage waste management services to carry away tons of kitchen scraps. In addition to saving money and labor, “the ORCA has allowed us to significantly reduce our hotel’s environmental impact,” says Alex. “We are helping save the earth one piece at a time.”

He goes on to rattle off impressive statistics for the InterContinental Miami in its first year of using the technology: 55.5 tons of waste (the equivalent of more than 15,000 meals) were diverted from landfills resulting in a 7,000-cubic-yard reduction in methane gas and 365 fewer miles traveled by truck to haul the garbage.

“In North America, 23 percent of what goes into landfills is food waste. People aren’t generally aware how big an issue this is,” says Spiro Frangos, Director of Strategic Accounts for Totally Green, the company that developed and manufactures the ORCA technology. “Ours is an extremely green, ‘no-truck’

solution because it involves digestion onsite and using the passive transportation system of the hotel’s plumbing.”

Two other IHG hotels currently have ORCA machines in place—the InterContinental Times Square and the InterContinental Toronto. Reception to the technology from hotels as well as many other industries has been extremely positive, Spiro notes.

The ORCA technology is available to customers with no upfront risk or capital outlay through a lease arrangement, or can be purchased outright. The package includes a 30-day, risk-free trial, transportation and installation of the equipment, and a day of staff training, conducted by the Totally Green team, to teach team members how to operate the machine and what it can and cannot handle. While 98 percent of food waste can be processed, paper and plastics, large bones, oils and grease and coffee grounds must be sorted out. The company also provides machine maintenance, onsite “food audits” to determine usage and management reports to track ROI and environmental impact reduction.

The kitchen staff at the InterContinental Miami has affectionately named their machine DINO—for “Digesting Immune Natural Organisms”—and keeps it running fairly constantly, Alex says, adding water as needed and occasionally replenishing the microorganisms.

“It’s easy to use and pretty amazing,” he says. “The ORCA provides our team a daily environmental practice they can feel good about.”

OrganicAlchemy

For more information on the ORCA technology, visit www.feedtheorca.com or call 855.355.6722.

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What kind of evening dining experience do Holiday Inn guests want from the hotel at the end of a long day? IHG research indicates the brand’s guests are social and look for the hotel to provide a consistent experience during the dinner meal period that allows them to relax in an inviting restaurant or bar with colleagues, friends or family and enjoy a great bite to eat. At the same time, Holiday Inn owners and operators have shared that they need help running a more efficient, revenue-generating F&B department.

Using feedback from both key stakeholder groups and focusing closely on the guest experience, IHG Food & Beverage and the Holiday Inn Brand Team collaborated to create the Evening Acceleration Toolkit, or “E.A.T.” Bar and Dinner program. This solution provides a narrowed-down selection of engaging evening menu items to lower food costs, coupled with intensive training support to help boost the average check and improve customer service.

The program was tested in 40-plus U.S. hotels in 2014 with extremely positive results, according to David Neves, Corporate Director, Food & Beverage, for the Holiday Inn Brand Family, Extended-Stay Brands and Army Lodging. “Our extensive testing showed that our Holiday Inn customers, across all different markets, are comfortable with the selection of classic menu items included in the program, such as burgers and Caesar salads,” says David. “Front-of-house employees in the pilot properties indicated they are now more confident in the kitchen’s ability to consistently produce high-quality food items.

“In addition, our test hotels saw an increase in bar and dinner revenues, and HeartBeat scores, including those about food quality and service, also improved. The F&B teams were able to effectively manage food costs, and, most importantly, guests gave rave reviews about their experiences on social media outlets.”

Results from the pilot program were presented at the October conference and additional company and franchised hotels in the U.S. and Canada were invited to participate in a full rollout of the program in 2015. The majority of the test hotels have elected to continue in the program.

Prior to the E.A.T. mid-year 2015 launch, newly participating hotels will be required to send one or two representatives—the F&B Director, Executive Chef or other property-level champion— to a two-day training session.

At this onsite training, attendees will taste all menu items and learn firsthand how to plate them. Effective use of menu engineering will be covered, along with instructions for using the program’s online menu tool and ordering process.

Takeaway materials will include a comprehensive operations manual with checklists and e-recipe cards for both the kitchen and bar, a service guide and access to online training videos demonstrating how to prepare each dish. The E.A.T. program will also offer an ongoing, subscription-based component that will include rotating new menu items into the offering on an annual basis.

“We’re clear that F&B teams who follow the training for both front-of-house and heart-of-house positions will see higher levels of profitability and experience guests being excited to be in our bars and restaurants again,” says David.

Raising the Evening Experienceto a New Level

Holiday Inn hotels interested in learning more about the E.A.T. program should contact David Neves at 770.604.2678 or david.neves@ihg.com. 15

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