Pan Pacific Hotels Group - Brochure 2018

Pan Pacific Hotels Group: food & beverage, redefined

Pan Pacific Hotels Group redefines Asia’s food and beverage sector WRITTEN BY

DALE BENTON PRODUCED BY

ALISTAIR WEST

Pan Pacific Yangon, Myanmar w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

Through the advent of a leading food hygiene and safety management programme and a design guideline tailored to the future of food and beverage, Pan Pacific Hotels Group redefines the guest experience

T

he hotel industry is undergo-

A particular challenge, one that is

ing a transformation. With

representative of a changing indus-

technology continuously

try, is food and hygiene. For Golden

redefining the day to day lives of the

Whitehead, Vice President, Food &

guest, so too is the guest experience.

Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels

The modern-day guest expects the

Group, one of his first tasks upon

same level of connectivity and acces-

joining the company was to work

sibility in their hotel experience as they

on and implement a global food

would in any other stretch of their lives.

safety programme across all of the

So how does a hotel group respond?

company’s operations.

As one of the most established

“Singapore, where we are based,

hotel and property companies in

has always been very focused on

Asia-Pacific with 40 properties oper-

food hygiene with high standards

ated under its Pan Pacific and

in place. There will be significant

PARKROYAL brands, Pan Pacific

changes to its current system in

Hotels Group recognises this ever

the next couple of years and we

evolving, ever challenging space as it

have to be prepared for that,” he

continues to expand its footprint.

says. “Pan Pacific Hotels Group

Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group

w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

has always done very well on adhering to the highest standards and we are now ready to take sustainability to the next level. The traceability of the produce we buy and the amount of waste that’s generated from our hotels are two areas which I am particularly passionate about tackling for a start.”

Whitehead brings a wealth of experience across the global food and beverage sector, having worked for companies such as the Shangri-La, Hilton Group in the UK, Hyatt in Australia and even opened up a number of restaurants in the Middle East with the Jumeirah Group.

This international experience, gleaned from

“ It’s all about keeping the guest in house and staying with us,” says Whitehead.

“Guest experience is crucial and outsourcing is key to enabling greater guest experience” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group

working in kitchens across the world for hotel groups, has provided Whitehead with the skills and capabilities required to establish a new system across a global operations.

“Hygiene and sustainability has become much more of a focus in recent years, and hotels and suppliers need to work much harder than before to stay at the top of the game. Sustainability efforts require not just commitment but also an investment of resources, and that often needs to be balanced with operating costs,” says Whitehead.

“When I came on board, we partnered with a company called Diversey and together launched a global programme on food safety

Marketplace, Pan Pacific Yangon, Myanmar

w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

07

management which was rolled out

head says. “You’re asking chefs

in the first half of 2018.”

who’ve been cooking a certain

Fast forward to today and White-

way their entire lives to com-

head can point to a complete

pletely re-think the way they

implementation of the food safety

have been doing things for

management system across all of

years and learn a new system,

the company’s Pan Pacific and

so training and retraining is

PARKROYAL hotels, which incorpo-

absolutely critical.

rates regular audits and gap

“This extends to the suppliers

assessments for continuous

and purchasers we work with, and

improvement.

some degree of education is nec-

But of course, implementing

essary with suppliers who may not

a system across an entire global

be familiar with the new demands

operation that spans 40 hotels,

of the system. As part of our new

resorts and serviced suites

process, we now audit our suppli-

across Asia, Oceania, North

ers to ensure they recognise the

America and Europe was not

specific products and are able to

without its challenges.

meet the new requirements.”

Whitehead acknowledges

Pan Pacific has seven proper-

that there is a need for a more

ties across Singapore, which is

standardised approach to food

the main hub of its Asia-Pacific

safety and hygiene in Europe

footprint. Having multiple proper-

and Australia. In Asia, he notes,

ties across the city enables a far

there are often more complex

more collaborative approach

food preparation processes.

across its supplier base, not only

“There’s the whole training

in the training of these suppliers

element to consider,” White-

but also on the auditing side.

“ We work with the suppliers to help them to improve their operations. This is where we train them and when they improve we sign longer term agreements with them moving forward” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group

PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore

w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

“There will always be demand for F&B. A good hotel, or a good restaurant, will rebuild their concept for today’s market with an eye on tomorrow’s. Then they innovate and redefine it again” — Golden Whitehead, Vice President, Food & Beverage at Pan Pacific Hotels Group

Pan Pacific Melbourne, Australia

ness and packaging of products.

“We work with the suppliers to help them to enhance their operations,” says Whitehead. “This is where we train them and when they improve we sign longer term agreements with them.”

These inspections also provide an opportunity to streamline the supply base and generate cost efficiencies where possible.

Through the auditing process, Pan Pacific looks at what other prod-

Lime, PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore

ucts certain suppliers sell and as opposed to purchasing from 10 different suppliers, there will be

Pan Pacific looks at its leading

one or two key suppliers that both

suppliers and issues a guideline

sell the required products but also

that it measures the supplier per-

comply with the food safety man-

formance against.

agement standards.

“You really need to know the

The second task that Whitehead

whole chain,” says Whitehead.

was tasked with was the develop-

“Where everything comes from,

ment of a design guideline for all

how we receive it and then how

the hotel F&B operations across

we store, clean, cook and serve

the brands. One of the major driv-

the product.”

ing forces of this guideline has

The company also works with

been the question of in house pro-

hygienists to look further at the

duction versus outsourcing, which

supplier performance, analysing

again is testament to the modern

storage facilities, fridges, cleanli-

guest expectation. w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

“It’s all about keeping the guest in house and staying with us,” says White-

through third party delivery services.

“All our new hotels still have breakfast,

head. “Guest experience is crucial and

lunch and dinner services, but we offer

outsourcing is key to enabling greater

smaller order dining,” he says. “The

guest experience.”

hotels don’t have numerous F&B outlets

With that in mind, Whitehead set out

as compared to older hotels, instead,

a guideline to redesign a far more efficient

they come with an all-day dining room

and freestanding kitchen concept. This

and maybe one bar or lounge.

wouldn’t remove the kitchen services, but

“With so much choice in the wider

tailor to the technology enabled guest

market, we’ve had to think differently.”

who would prefer to order into the hotel

Thinking differently in this instance

is exemplified by a separate postcode

tives, the Group is investing in its people

onsite, one that guests can order deliv-

and customers by developing pro-

ery services to the hotel, therefore

grammes which are built on its DNA of

keeping the guest within the hotel but

being “Sincerely Yours” – which makes

catering to the modern day experience

sure that whatever the Group does

they expect.

comes from the heart. In always putting

All these changes are in line with Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s brand refresh, which strategy is about making impact-

their interests and needs first, the Group keeps the trust of its customers.

As with any transformation, or imple-

ful changes with eyes on the future.

mentation of change, the journey never

Besides unveiling bold marketing initia-

really ends. As the industry continues to

Summit Lounge, Pan Pacific Hanoi, Vietnam

w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

Pan Pacific Beijing, China evolve, so too must the industry players

improvement right across the board.

and Whitehead is aware of this and recog- They are scoring better with our food nises the company must continuously

health and safety management sys-

strive for improvement.

tems and delivering a consistently

“These guidelines are working docu-

high-quality product across both our

ments. We must constantly improve the

Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL brands.”

product going forward,” he says.

Over the next five years, Pan Pacific

“Right now, I’m temperature checking Hotels Group will look to add more hotel all of our properties to see where we

properties across Asia-Pacific and

are along this journey and I’m happy

Europe and widening its global opera-

to say that there are sure signs of

tions. Interestingly, as the footprint gets

Cinnamon Show Kitchen, PARKROYAL Penang Resort, Malaysia

bigger, Whitehead believes the food and

A good hotel, or a good restaurant, will

beverage offering will get smaller.

rebuild their concept for today’s market

The reason for this, he feels, is the rise of third-party food delivery companies.

with an eye on tomorrow’s. Then they will innovate and redefine it again.”

“You can now eat whatever you want, whenever you want it,” he says. “Hotels in the future will design smaller F&B offerings, which are super-focused on what the consumer wants from their dining – and

Sincerely Yours

not necessarily hotel – experience.”

“There will always be demand for F&B. w w w. p a n p a c i f i c . c o m

www.panpacific.com/en.html www.panpacific.com