SPIRITED SPRING 2016

SPRING 2016

The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program

Diageo

Industry leader boasts world’s greatest collection of premium beverages

Talking F&B With Curt Smith The Senior Vice President, Global Technology, talks about his love of Thai food and technology’s impact on hotel F&B

IN THIS ISSUE

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2016 F&B Winning Metrics

Property Spotlight: Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina

Getting ready for C.A.S.H. Training

Talking F&B with Curt Smith

Owner Profile : Steve Ehrhardt, 2016 IHG Owners Association Chairman

Partner Profile : Diageo

The Winners : Incentives to Boost Breakfast Scores

Winter/Spring Beverage Briefs Promotions: Hotel Indigo & InterContinental Hotels

Farther, Faster “ I think my acceleration is very good.

That’s the key for me.” — Usain Bolt Jamaican sprinter; winner of six Olympic gold medals; 11-time World Champion; considered the fastest person ever timed There’s something exhilarating about picking up speed. Whether we’re urging the car to cruising level as we head out on a journey, pushing ourselves in a run or walk around the park or moving more rapidly along our chosen career path, it’s satisfying and it’s FUN to go faster.

Americas COO Jolyon Bulley has tapped into this in his theme for 2016: Accelerate faster and finish strong. Winning the right way, he says, means to 1) hit your metrics, 2) pump up your people and 3) plan for the future.

For Food and Beverage in the Americas, both our corporate and hotel teams have worked diligently and effectively over the past three years to build a solid, strategic foundation that will allow us to do just that. We’re ready to bolt out of the gate and leave the competition far behind. You can read in this issue about some of the key initiatives that are already propelling us forward, such as the C.A.S.H. program, new promotions, our 2016 Winning Metrics and a cutting-edge new F&B analytics program we’re testing.

Fasten your seatbelts—we are shifting into overdrive! And I can’t wait to celebrate with you when we reach the finish line.

Cheers! —

Jp

2016 F&B WINNING METRICS

Defining the Path & Measuring Progress

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n 2016, IHG Corporate Food & Beverage entered its third year of using F&B Winning Metrics to track performance against key strategic objectives. The approach offers a clearer, simpler way to determine where we’re headed and how we’re doing.

Five Winning Metrics were identified for company-managed hotel GMs to embed into their F&B Director Key Performance Objectives (KPOs). These metrics are the cornerstones of successful operations and reflect how well a property is delivering the F&B experience to guests, along with delivering budgeted F&B revenues and profits to our hotel ownership groups.

“To facilitate accelerating our progress, we’ve narrowed the focus of the Winning Metrics this year,” says Gretchen Hazel, Corporate Director, F&B Programs Center of Excellence. “Three metrics were removed from last year’s measurement—Beverage Revenue (which is already included in F&B Venues Revenue and C&B Revenue), Overall F&B HeartBeat and Target Gross Operating Profit (TGOP).”

The 2016 Winning Metrics are: • F&B Venues Revenue—This metric measures all revenue from F&B venues (restaurants, bars, room service and mini-bar).

• Catering & Banquet (C&B) Revenue—This metric consists of food, beverage, room rental, AV income and service charges from C&B events, on- or off-site.

• F&B Gross Operating Profit (GOP)—F&B GOP is calculated by taking the difference between total F&B revenue and total F&B departmental expenses.

F&B Venues Revenue

C&B Revenue

• Breakfast Guest Love—Starting in 2016, Breakfast HeartBeat changed to “Breakfast HeartBeat Guest Love.” Guest Love will be based on the percentage of HeartBeat responses where guests rate an 8, 9 or 10. Why the change? “We’ve found that guests who rate their experience as an 8, 9 or 10 are much more likely to return to IHG® branded hotels,” says Hazel. The newly defined scores continue to be found on the HeartBeat Guest Love Portal (Merlin > Applications > HeartBeat).

• F&B Employee Engagement—An essential element of successful F&B departments, employee engagement is the degree of emotional connection employees feel about their jobs. It directly impacts guest service, productivity and efficiency. The metric is the average of answers to F&B-related questions in the twiceyearly companywide employee engagement surveys.

“Our hotels will receive an F&B Winning Metrics Playbook in Q1 2016 defining each metric and listing the performance support resources available to help them reach their specific goals,” Hazel says. “All of the Enabler tools are readily available on our Americas Food and Beverage website (ihgfbamericas.com). F&B Winning Metrics progress reporting will be provided to our CMH hotels’ leadership team members on a monthly basis.

“Acceleration is the name of the game as we continue to use the F&B Winning Metrics and performance support tools available in our journey to win.”

Access F&B Winning Metrics Enablers on the Americas F&B website (ihgfbamericas.com).

F&B GOP

Breakfast HeartBeat Guest Love

F&B Employee Engagement

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On his final business trip of 2015, Curt Smith rolled over 125,000 miles on Delta and joined the airline’s Diamond Medallion level. That wasn’t surprising—extensive travel comes with the job for the person responsible for IHG’s technical operations and customer support across all IHG regions and global systems. But Smith considers it a plus and takes the opportunity to explore and enjoy food and beverage the world over. In a recent interview, the Senior Vice President, Global Technology Infrastructure, discussed the impact of next-generation technology on F&B at IHG and also revealed the secret ingredient in his popular grilled sea bass.

Pursuing Global Culinary Adventure 4

TALKING F&B WITH

CURT SMITH

ANY FOODSERVICE EXPERIENCE IN YOUR BACKGROUND? “Not really, though I did work in the kitchen of my fraternity when I was an undergraduate at Iowa State. I was the head steward, responsible for managing the serving staff and coordinating with our cook to get the meals out and clean up. On Friday nights, I cooked, too. Payment for the job was free food. But I was a Computer Science major, so I followed a technology career path after I graduated.”

WHAT DOES A GREAT DINING EXPERIENCE LOOK LIKE? “Lighting and ambience are really important. I’m not one for stark decor and a loud environment. I prefer a nice, warm, relaxing atmosphere, maybe a little rustic, ideally with a fireplace and candlelight. Service is key, too. The staff should adapt to your style—formal, relaxed, etc.—rather than the other way around.”

FAVORITE FOOD? “One of the many things I enjoy about my job and having responsibility for all four geographic regions is that I get to travel. Of all the places I visit, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than Thailand, and the food is one of the big reasons.

I love the spicy, exotic dishes you can find in the wonderful restaurants in Bangkok and other cities around the country.”

FAVORITE BEVERAGE? “For me, there’s nothing better than a good, cold beer, and I enjoy all kinds, from the top-quality standards to the unique style and tastes of craft beers.

Beer is like wine—you select the brew to go with your meal. As with my food preferences, I like to explore what’s available for whisky, wine and beer and not be locked in to the same things. That said, my go-to beverage is an IPA (India pale ale).”

FAVORITE NON-IHG RESTAURANT? “My choice would be NAHM, in Alpharetta. It’s a Thai food restaurant (of course!) run by a woman who is both the sole proprietor and the chef. IHG folks and guests who visit Atlanta from the AMEA and Greater China regions, including some who are Thai, say it’s the real thing and among the best they’ve had. The restaurant is small, but it has a beautiful setting and the quality of the food is exceptional. The staff is friendly and attentive but not pretentious. Dining there is always a nice experience.”

ANY RECENT STANDOUT MEALS AT AN IHG PROPERTY? “The Crowne Plaza Dubai has a great Brazilian restaurant that’s a little like Fogo de Chão here in the States. I had dinner there on my birthday, and the staff provided a cake and a band. The food was delicious, and we all had a really good time.”

ANY F&B “PET PEEVES?” “People and places who take their food and beverage, and themselves, way too seriously come across as pretentious and obnoxious to me. In particular, I’m not a fan of over-the-top restaurants, where the food items are almost unrecognizable and the elaborate service takes far too long. I don’t enjoy experiences like that, but surprisingly many of these excessive establishments tend to be top-rated.”

DO YOU COOK, AND IF SO, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR SPECIALTIES? “Yes. I’m good at all the guy stuff, using the grill and smoker. One of my specialties is a smoked Boston butt. I also grill sea bass on a cedar plank with jalapeño marinade. I have friends who come over just for that. I am an amateur, but I’m an adventurous cook—I’ll try anything once!”

WHAT ROLE DOES TECHNOLOGY PLAY IN IHG’S F&B FUTURE? “The most exciting opportunities will come with the full implementation of IHG Connect, the technology infrastructure enabling the next generation of WiFi in our hotels. Among many other things, it will allow our F&B teams to communicate about features and specials via mobile phone apps, to attract travelers to our restaurants and bars. Our hotel teams will also be able to easily track and accommodate guests’ food and beverage preferences.

“My team and I aren’t F&B experts, but we’re proud to be responsible for developing and maintaining the framework that will allow IHG to stay ahead of the competition, enable the vision of our brand and operations teams and result in better service and a better experience for our guests.”

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Spirits Titan Diageo successfully balances an expansive portfolio and connecting with the consumer.

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ention the name Diageo to guests enjoying cocktails in IHG hotel bars and restaurants and you’re likely to get limited recognition. Ask if they’re familiar with iconic brands such as Guinness, Crown Royal or Captain Morgan, however, and the response will be an almost universal yes.

Diageo PLC is one of the beverage industry’s giants. The London-based multinational alcoholic beverages business is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands.

The company’s extensive portfolio includes legendary names and market leaders as well as innovative newcomers. A sampler: Smirnoff—the world’s best-selling premium distilled spirit Johnnie Walker—the world’s leading blended Scotch whisky Baileys—the world’s leading liqueur Guinness—the world’s leading stout The company also holds a 34 percent interest in Moët Hennessy, which owns brands including Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.

Diageo plays a key role in the World Class Beverage Program, with 20 of its brands included across every IHG brand that serves alcohol. Smirnoff is the well vodka for all IHG brand hotels.

One of the company’s strengths is its geographic reach. Diageo operates in 21 markets around the world and has a presence in more than 180 countries. This decentralized model allows for greater agility and responsiveness and keeps the business close to the consumer, according to Christine Brennan, National Accounts On Premise for Diageo.

“Our guiding purpose is to celebrate life every day, everywhere, and we take this to heart,” she says. “Our motto permeates everything we do—how we relate to consumers, nurture our brands and support our retail and on-premise customers and employees.”

Leveraging its brands to provide fulfilling, loyalty-building experiences that resonate is the foundation of the business, she adds. “Consumers are always telling us things like, ‘My dad

drank Crown Royal, and when I became a drinking-age adult, we bonded over sipping Crown Royal together.’ We love to hear stories like that.”

Rich History Diageo is relatively young as a company, having been created in its current form only 19 years ago. Its brands and business, however, have a heritage that extends to 1749, when ancestor company Justerini & Brooks (blenders of the famous J&B whisky) began. Ten years later Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the now world-famous St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Many of Diageo’s distilleries were first fired up in the late 1700s, and through the next two centuries the company’s range of legacy brands and businesses continued to innovate and expand under various parent companies. In 1997, Diageo was formed through the merger of Grand Metropolitan PLC and Guinness PLC, creating a food and drinks conglomerate that included the world’s greatest collection of premium spirits and beers.

The name Diageo was coined from the Latin for day (dia) and the Greek for world (geo), complementing the new company’s motto. Between 2000 and 2002, Diageo divested its food interests, including Burger King and Pillsbury, to focus exclusively on premium beverage alcohol.

Great Match Innovation will continue to be the engine of Diageo’s growth, Brennan notes. “We are committed to identifying emerging trends, boldly innovating at scale and restlessly searching for new brands, products and line extensions to serve customers and consumers,” she says. “We are also excited about continuing to grow our successful, long-term partnership with IHG and its hotels. Diageo has been part of the World Class Beverage Program from the beginning. We’ve done great things together and look forward to collaborating on many more.”

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The Team at the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach has discovered...

The Bar’s The Thing T

he Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina, California, has the classic hotel double identity. On the weekdays, it’s a corporate hotel, hosting transient business travelers (LAX is only seven miles away), seminars and other meetings.

When Friday rolls around, however, the business suits are replaced with flip-flops and coolers, as leisure guests flock to the area to enjoy the South Bay’s premier beaches and iconic Redondo Beach Pier. The dual appeal results in year-round 90 percent occupancy.

So when it came to redesigning the food and beverage outlets as part of a comprehensive, $21 million renovation, the hotel and its design team faced a challenge: how to create concepts that would be fresh and appealing to both distinct markets?

Plans for the nearby remodeled restaurant, which will be completed in April, are almost as dramatic. The space is being converted into a multi-purpose area that will accommodate breakfast in the morning and meetings and social events such as receptions later in the day. Until then, breakfast is being served in the Harbor Bar + Bistro as well.

“Our hotel cried out for a lobby bar,” says General Manager Michael Payton, who has been with the hotel 4 years. “Long-time, regular customers have told us it seems like the Harbor Bar + Bistro has always been there. It’s a welcoming space where individual business travelers can get work done, corporate guests can wind down after meetings and families and friends can gather before or after a day enjoying area attractions.”

Mining the Trend

The answer was an innovative, strategic repurposing of a significant portion of the property’s spacious lobby as well as the previous Splash restaurant. A large, saltwater aquarium in the lobby was removed and the Harbor Bar + Bistro created from scratch in the middle of the resulting open space. Cool, contemporary and eyecatching, the bar is accessible on all sides and visible from the guest check-in area and elevators.

The Harbor Bar + Bistro has revitalized the almost 30-year-old property by capitalizing on the growing tendency toward replacing traditional, compartmentalized hotel restaurants and lounges with open bars that draw more traffic and produce a more profitable footprint, according to Adam Smock, IHG Corporate Manager, Food & Beverage, Upscale Brands.

In addition to the bar itself, the area features popular and inviting communal tables as well as cozy booths and individual tables that provide a sense of privacy for dining. Connectivity is everywhere— both the bar and seating areas feature an ample number of USB ports and electrical outlets.

“People are automatically attracted to areas where they see other people gathering,” he says. “Creating a bar-centric atmosphere tends to have a positive impact on business. In the first few months after the Harbor Bar + Bistro opened in September, it generated triple the revenue of the previous concept.”

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Payton adds, “The results have been fantastic! Pre-renovation, about 29 percent of our guests used or went to the bar. Now it’s close to 55 percent.”

The increase is particularly significant given that the Crowne Plaza sits in the midst of an abundance of local and chain restaurants and so gets 90 percent of its F&B outlet business from in-house guests.

Listening to Customers To keep the vibrancy going once customers reach the bar, Outlets Manager Natalie Salyers and her team have turned up the volume on color and taste. “We use the freshest ingredients, like our beautiful California fruits—limes, berries, pineapples and house-made mixers.

We offer a menu of small plates and light items, since we have minimal space and don’t have a full kitchen. But we work to have something for everyone and to incorporate what our guests want into what we deliver.

Our team is trained to continually ask for feedback.”

Staying attuned to guest desires during the bar’s initial weeks has led to some important tweaks. One example: the Harbor Bar + Bistro opened without a draft beer system, which guests subsequently asked for. “The first several days after we put a draft system in place, sales went through the roof!” Salyers says, adding that overall F&B revenues have increased 48 percent since the bar’s opening.

The F&B team, which includes a mix of seasoned employees as well as more recently hired members, has adapted to the new physical environment and accompanying way of doing things, says Salyers, who herself has been with the hotel six years. “We shared the vision of the

future and what we are creating through the new concept with our team. They’ve seen the guest response and experienced higher tips.

Now they are excited about what they do and proud to work in the ‘best bar in the area.’”

An Unexpected Bonus The new bar is creating momentum that begins when guests arrive and carries through into some unexpected areas, Payton notes.

“Guests see the bar the minute they walk in the door and are drawn to it because it’s such a great gathering place. Some stop by after checkin and grab a cocktail to take to their rooms,” he says. “If a guest’s room isn’t ready when they arrive, we invite them to have a drink on us at the bar while they wait.”

The resulting halo effect on guest satisfaction has been a welcome surprise, he adds. “Our satisfaction scores have gone up since the Harbor Bar + Bistro opened. It has improved our value perception— guests feel they are getting more for their dollar even if they don’t go into the bar.

“And this secondary effect is spilling over into the rest of the guest experience. The bar is making it easier for our catering team to sell weddings, which are an important part of our events business. Clients love that their wedding guests can stop in for a cocktail before or after the ceremony or reception. The bar is allowing us to move the guest across the whole spectrum of what we have to offer.”

The Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina enjoys a prime location that attracts both business and leisure travelers.

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In our occasional series profiling leaders within the IHG owner community, we asked the 2016 Chair of the IHG Owners Association about his experience with food and beverage and for his thoughts on the role of F&B for IHG’s brands.

Steve Ehrhardt INNOVATING TO MEET GUEST NEEDS 10

Steve Ehrhardt knows first-hand about the foodservice industry. In fact, he cut his teeth on it.

Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri, he spent his teenage summers working in the family business: operating a number of Hardee’s franchises around the city.

“My dad bought his first franchise in 1959, ” says the 2016 Chair of the IHG Owners Association. “I was running shifts and opening stores by the time I was 15 or 16. It’s a challenging business. The experience taught me a lot about how to engage and motivate employees, work with the public and stay in touch with the competitive landscape. I developed management and people skills that I use now in my own business.”

His family sold the fast food outlets in the mid-90s to focus on the hospitality industry. Today Ehrhardt is owner and operator of Lebanon, Missouri-based Ehrhardt Properties and SJS Hospitality, with 10 extended stay and limited service hotels in Missouri and Oklahoma. He is also is part of a family business that operates a portfolio of 27 properties.

develop unique product offerings and deliver them in a unique way to differentiate our brands.”

IHG looks to the Owners Association to help keep fingers on the pulse of guests’ changing food and beverage needs and desires.

“The consumer is continually evolving, and that has shaped the F&B experience across most of IHG’s brands. Grab-and-go outlets complement sit-down restaurants to give guests a choice. The growing importance of the bar as a high-visibility guest gathering place is changing how we view the potential of the lobby area.”

Collaboration between the IHG Food & Beverage and Brand teams and the Owners Association has produced structures and initiatives that both strengthen operations and increase guest satisfaction, from the Holiday Inn® C.A.S.H. program to the enhanced Express Start™Breakfast Bar.

Ehrhardt is opening a Hotel Indigo in Tulsa in 2017, his company’s first full-service hotel. “This is out of the norm for us, and we’re excited about the project,” he says. “The brand parameters offer a lot of flexibility to create a local experience unique to the market. We’re confident it will perform well.”

“The way the Association works with the company now is highly productive,” Ehrhardt says. “We have a great rapport, and we are actively involved in developing innovations and testing concepts.

That results in a much greater sense of engagement with our hotels’ brands, in food and beverage as well as every other area. The process helps guarantee a positive outcome for product and service elements that become standards.”

On Top of Trends

Attuned Consumers

His background in both industries has given Ehrhardt a keen appreciation for the critical role food and beverage plays in the overall guest experience.

Despite his years spent in and around foodservice and hotels, Ehrhardt himself doesn’t cook. “My wife, Donna, our teenage son, Jack, and I enjoy eating out, and we do it a lot,” he says. “We love a well-prepared meal and seek out the places that do it best. I like to think that helps give me direct insight into the guest’s perspective on F&B expectations.”

“We’re in the business of creating and managing expectations, and F&B helps us do that,” he says. “It gives us the space to innovate,

Candlewood Suites St. Robert, Missouri

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Winning Big IHG® Rewards Club Point Incentive Programs Improve Breakfast HeartBeat Scores

There’s nothing like the prospect of becoming a millionaire to motivate us to spring into action.

Here’s a rundown on the contests and the winners:

The Americas F&B and Brand teams found that to be true when they launched a series of incentive programs in the second half of 2015, several with prizes of up to one million IHG Rewards Club points. Created as a key component of the IHG Breakfast Battle Plan, the contests challenged hotels across three brands—Crowne Plaza®, Holiday Inn® and Holiday Inn Express®—to boost their Breakfast HeartBeat scores by the greatest amount during the promotion period.

Crowne Plaza Better Breakfast Millionaires Incentive

To appropriately handicap the competition, properties were grouped into two categories: those whose breakfast HeartBeat scores were already at 80 or above, and those who began the contest with scores of 79 or below, with equal prizes for the winners in each.

All together, nearly 7 million points were given away in the contests.

There were three big, million-point winners in the Crowne Plaza contest, which ran during five months of the brand’s peak season. A total of 181 hotels in the Americas region participated.

Criteria—Regular Contest: Greatest improvement in YTD HeartBeat score vs. the prior year during the promotion period, June 1 through October 31, 2015.

Winners: Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach & Marina Category: Hotels with a score of 80.0 or above

And did the enticing IHG Rewards Club points carrots produce results?

Unequivocally—breakfast HeartBeat at hotels with scores below the threshold of 80 were up 2.1 percentage points for the entire Americas region from September to December 2015.

Crowne Plaza Kitchener-Waterloo Category: Hotels with a score of 79.9 or below

“The Millionaire incentive programs, together with the other activities, tools and processes we’ve provided to help move the needle on breakfast satisfaction metrics, have made a big difference for the many hotels that participated,” says Patti Javer, Corporate Manager, Food & Beverage Holiday Inn Express, Extended-Stay Brands, Army Lodging. “We are confident the new best practices that hotel teams have put in place to raise their HeartBeat scores will have a sustained positive impact on guest satisfaction.”

From November 1 through December 31, 2015, the one hotel or resort with the greatest improvement in Overall Breakfast Experience score earned one million points. The winner was:

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Criteria—BONUS Incentive

Crowne Plaza Annapolis

Holiday Inn Express Breakfast Bar Host Competition Breakfast Bar hosts had the chance to shine in the Holiday Inn Express incentive program. Twenty hotels each were awarded 100,000 IHG Rewards Club points for a total prize pot of two million. Each hotel split the winnings between two of its Breakfast Bar hosts. All Holiday Inn Express properties in the U.S. and Canada participated.

Criteria—Greatest improvement in YTD Overall Breakfast scores in HeartBeat from September 1 to December 31, 2015.

Winners: Category: Hotels with a starting YTD score of 80.0 or above Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fraser - Winter Park Area, CO Holiday Inn Express Madison, GA Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Worth North - Northlake, TX Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mobile West - I-10, AL Holiday Inn Express Denver Aurora - Medical Center, CO Holiday Inn Express Albuquerque N - Bernalillo, NM Holiday Inn Express LaGrange, GA Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Seguin, TX Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Orange City, FL Holiday Inn Express Pittsburgh - West Mifflin, PA Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Milledgeville, GA Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt. Juliet - Nashville Area, TN Category: Hotels with a starting score of 79.9 or below Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlottesville - Ruckersville, VA Holiday Inn Express Memphis East I-240, TN Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Sweetwater, TN Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Dahlgren - King George, VA Holiday Inn Express Saint Simons Island, GA Holiday Inn Express San Antonio - Downtown Market Area, TX Category: Top two performing hotels with highest YTD scores at the promotion’s end Holiday Inn Express & Suites Youngstown N (Warren/Niles), OH Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sharon-Hermitage, PA

Holiday Inn Breakfast Team Competition The Holiday Inn version of the incentive program mirrored that of the Holiday Inn Express brand, though the 100,000 points per winning property were split among each hotel’s breakfast staff. All Holiday Inn properties in the U.S. and Canada participated.

Criteria—Greatest improvement in YTD Overall Breakfast scores in HeartBeat from September 1 to December 31, 2015.

Winners: Category: 12 hotels with a starting YTD score of 80.0 or above Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Tupelo North, MS Holiday Inn Port Arthur - Park Central, TX Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Cincinnati - Eastgate (I-275e) Holiday Inn San Francisco Airport, CA Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Scottsdale North - Airpark, AZ Holiday Inn Williamsport, PA Holiday Inn Valdosta Conference Center, GA Holiday Inn Youngstown South (Boardman), OH Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Ocean City, MD Holiday Inn Norwich, CT Holiday Inn Marquette, MI Holiday Inn Austin Midtown, TX Category: Hotels with a starting score of 79.9 or below Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown, NY Holiday Inn Louisville East - Hurstbourne, KY Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Tampa N - Busch Gardens Area, FL Holiday Inn Franklin - Cool Springs, Brentwood, TN Holiday Inn Allentown Center City, PA Holiday Inn Reno - Sparks, NV Category: Top two performing hotels with highest YTD scores at the promotion’s end Holiday Inn Morgan City, LA Holiday Inn Resort, Panama City Beach, FL

Back By Popular Demand for 2016 Improvement in the Breakfast HeartBeat scores, together with positive response and high levels of engagement from the hotels, has prompted the F&B and Brand teams to repeat the IHG Rewards Club points incentives this year. Specific details and timing will be announced in the second quarter.

“We know that breakfast can be a game-changer for these three brands; that’s why it’s one of our five F&B Winning Metrics for 2016,” says Gretchen Hazel, Corporate Director, F&B Programs Center of Excellence.

“The incentive programs motivate the hotels to stay focused on providing a consistent, satisfying breakfast experience to our guests.”

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C.A.S.H.

Co nsi n. sten y In a cy. Amb d i l ience. Service. Ho

Leadership Summits

Powered by

Co . nsi Inn sten y a cy. Amb d ience. Service. Holi

T

he comprehensive new C.A.S.H. program was created to boost guest satisfaction with the food and beverage experience at Holiday Inn® hotels, while reducing costs and generating increased revenue.

The Americas Food & Beverage and Holiday Inn Brand teams partnered with the IHG Owners Association Holiday Inn Food & Beverage Task Force to develop the new program, after more than 18 months of consumer and operational testing across 100-plus hotels.

The “C.A.S.H.” acronym represents the overarching principles that will power all Holiday Inn food and beverage programs going forward: Consistency—Menus with proven, classic guest favorites Ambiance—Casual, flexible, vibrant spaces to eat, drink and socialize Service—Friendly, welcoming service that guests will remember Holiday Inn—Continuing the tradition of excellence in F&B Two components make up the C.A.S.H. initiative:

• The new C.A.S.H. Dinner & Bar program • The C.A.S.H. Breakfast program, which is built around Start Fresh, the replacement for Best-4-Breakfast Holiday Inn hotels in the United States and Canada must enroll in the C.A.S.H. program by June 30, 2016.

Required Training To help hotel leadership understand how to successfully run the C.A.S.H. program and maximize its potential, the 14

IHG teams have developed a series of two-and-a-half-day, instructor-led training events. These Leadership Summits comprise three parts: • Opening half-day: A session on 2016 brand initiatives for General Managers, followed by a welcome reception open to all participants.

• Day One—full day: Overview of the C.A.S.H. principles and introduction to the new Start Fresh breakfast program.

• Day Two—full day: Introduction to the new C.A.S.H. Bar & Dinner program and Bar Management 101.

Leadership Summits are scheduled in six cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, with two back-to-back Summits conducted in each location. The first sessions took place last week in Buena Park, California, and the second round will be held in San Antonio in late March.

Waivers Permitted General Managers are required to attend the half-day brand session, and all hotels must send representatives to the Start Fresh breakfast portion of the Leadership Summits.

A hotel may opt out of the C.A.S.H. Dinner & Bar Program training only if it meets one of the following criteria and has a new waiver approved: • Guest Love Dinner score of 75 or higher • Third-party leased restaurant with a score of 75 or higher for Guest Love Dinner •S igned participation agreement for Burger Theory or Sporting News Grill with a Guest Love Dinner score of 75 or higher

Properties with any of these qualifications must apply for a new waiver through Merlin (filed after January 1, 2016). This waiver will replace any on file and will ensure the waiver is tied to the proper Brand Standard. Hotels should submit their Brand Standard Waivers online and attach requests to Brand Standard 383060.

Virtual Classes for Pre-work To ensure all participants are fully prepared to get the most from the on-site events, they will be required to attend a series of three, 90-minute virtual event classes the week before their scheduled Leadership Summit. In these sessions, the participants will complete assignments to set the stage for the upcoming instructor-led training.

Costs and Credits The cost for participating in the full, 2.5-day Leadership Summit training is $1,190. Hotels qualifying to attend only the half-day brand session and Fresh Start instructor-led training session pay $595. NOTE: Pricing increases on March 15, 2016, to $1,590 for the 2.5-day Leadership Summit sessions and $795 for the 1.5-day version.

Here’s how properties can earn training credits for their participation: • For the 1.5-day Leadership Summit (earning potential: 3 credits)—Two attendees from the hotel (the General Manager and a Food & Beverage representative) must attend each of the following: - The virtual event training series the week prior to the instructor-led training, to earn one credit.

- The half-day, on-site brand session and Fresh Start breakfast session, to earn two credits.

• For the 2.5-day Leadership Summit (earning potential: 4 credits)—Again, two attendees from the hotel (the General Manager and a Food & Beverage representative) must attend each of the following: - The virtual event training series the week prior to the instructor-led training, to earn two credits.

- The full Leadership Summit (all sessions), to earn an additional two credits.

How to Register Enrolling in the C.A.S.H. Leadership Summit training is a twopart process. Hotels should: • Step One: Visit the Americas F&B website: ihgfbamericas.com > Brands > Holiday Inn Hotels; click on the C.A.S.H. icon; scroll down and click on the Registration link. Select the desired city and dates for your on-site session.

• Step Two: Return to the C.A.S.H. page on the Americas F&B site as in Step One and click the Virtual Event link to be taken to MyLearning within Merlin to register for the appropriate Virtual Event class series.

“The C.A.S.H. program is about providing hotels with a proven set of tools, supported by enough flexibility to cater to specific market needs,” says David Neves, Corporate Director, Food & Beverage, for the Holiday Inn Brand Family, Extended Stay Brands and Army Lodging. “It’s about giving each hotel the support needed to deliver consistent, profitable, F&B experiences to our guests, from morning to night.”

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Of

PROMOTIONS WINTER TO SPRING

GREY GOOSE

®

As the seasons change, upscale brand IHG hotels are offering or participating in promotions that feature products hailing from different countries and hemispheres.

Winter Delights

Winter delight cocktails.

Braving chilly nights and wintry weather deserves a reward, and the Hotel Indigo® brand has come up with just the thing for its hotel guests.

A trio of Winter Delight cocktails feature GREY GOOSE, the chic, delicious vodka from France, together with all the yummy ingredients that make winter bearable. The Chocolate-Orange Fantasy is designed to bring back childhood memories of orange creamsicles, combining the vodka with Grand Marnier, almond milk and heavy whipping cream, finished with a dollop of orange marmalade and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside is made for sipping and snuggling. Hot chai tea is flavored with GREY GOOSE, pear purée and cranberry juice, sweetened with just the right amount of agave nectar and topped with whipped cream, cinnamon and orange-and-clove garnish.

For a cocktail that kicks, bar patrons can check out the Spiced Apple Mule.

Made with GREY GOOSE, unfiltered apple cider, lemon juice, bitters and a float of ginger beer, this unique version of the Mule is served in the traditional copper mug to enhance flavor and aroma.

The promotion runs from January 11 to March 31 at Hotel Indigo hotels in North America. The properties received a promotion kit including menu inserts showcasing each cocktail, coasters, recipe cards and a program execution guide.

Bar and restaurant staff also were invited to play in an incentive program, receiving one contest entry for meeting minimum specified sales in each of the three months of the promotion, one for each additional 10-count of the Winter Delight cocktails sold and bonus entries for featuring two or all three of the cocktails at the same time rather than staggering them throughout the promotion period.

The entries were placed in monthly contest drawings for an Apple Watch.

Featuring GREY GOOSE® Vodka

Winter delight cocktails.

Featuring GREY GOOSE® Vodka

Spiced Apple Mule.

Ready for a Mule with kick?

Check out our version, made with GREY GOOSE Original Vodka, unfiltered apple cider, lemon juice, Angostura bitters and a float of ginger beer, served in a traditional copper mug.

Certainly not your average spiced apple cider!

Snuggle up to this spiced, cranpeary warmer and you won’t even know it’s winter! Made with hot chai tea flavored with smooth, GREY GOOSE Original Vodka, pear purée and cranberry juice, sweetened with just the right amount of agave nectar.

We top it with fresh whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and orange-andclove garnish. The perfect sipper for a chilly day.

Winter delight cocktails.

Enjoy responsibly.

Featuring GREY GOOSE® Vodka

Enjoy responsibly.

Chocolate-Orange Fantasy.

This dreamy drink will bring back childhood memories of orange creamsicles. Made with GREY GOOSE Original Vodka and Grand Marnier, blended with almond milk and heavy whipping cream. We sweeten it with a dollop of orange marmalade and add chocolate sauce to the rim of the glass for the perfect finishing touch.

Enjoy responsibly.

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside.

and Grapes Earning a Trip to Chile W DO YO U GET TH The ideal growing climate provided by the cool, steep slopes of the Andes ERE? Mountains, coupled with a centuries-old viticultural tradition, have positioned Chile as one of today’s foremost wine-producing regions.

HO

The con test challe nge is to team to generat motivate e sal your in your restauran es of Caliterra wines t, bar an catering d banquet/ during the promotio n represen period that t the gre atest increase ov year’s sal er the prior es competin among all g hotels.

Caliterra win the World es are Class Beverag e Pro house win gram es for the InterCon tinental , Crowne Plaza an d Hotel Ind igo Hotel brands and includ e:

Now Food & Beverage Directors at IHG upscale brand hotels in North America have the opportunity to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime educational trip to the Chilean vineyards in a new incentive contest sponsored by Caliterra Wines.

Caliterra Reserva Chardon nay Merlot Caberne t Sauvign on

The 2015-2016 World Class Beverage Program introduced Caliterra as the house wine for the InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza® and Hotel Indigo brands.

Specific products included are Caliterra Reserva Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Introduc ed in the 2015-20 16 World Class Be verage Pro these dis gram, winning tinctive, award win es we carefully selected re fit with as a perfe the exp ct ectation requirem s three up ents of guests of and scale bra IHG’s nds.

The contest challenge is to increase sales of these Caliterra wines in the hotels’ restaurants, bars and banquet/catering functions by the greatest amount during the promotional period versus the prior year’s house wine sales for the same timeframe.

Wine

WIN FOR TH A TRIP TO CH ILE E 2016 WINE HA RVEST!

Would yo u like to experie nce the beau first-hand ty, cultu re and exc ite the Chile ment of an wine harvest?

HERE IS YOUR OPPORT UNITY!

The Wo rld Class Be ver Program age team is please d to announ ce that Program partner Caliterra Wi is sponsor nes ing an incen tiv program e for F&B tea ms InterCon at tinental , Crowne Pla and Hotel za Hotels in Indigo the United Sta the first tes in quarter of 2016.

The Food & Bever age Director (or their designa te) of ea ch of fiv winning e ho to partic tels will be inv ite ipate in a once-in- d lifetime ed athe exquis ucational experi ence at ite Calite Colchag ua Valley rra Estate in the of Chile.

The five top-producing hotels among the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo properties competing will be named winners. Winning properties will be able to choose an individual to attend this exciting trip. To be eligible, hotels must have the three Caliterra house wines in inventory during the entire promotional period in 2016.

The contest begins in late March and runs through the third quarter of 2016, with the incentive trip taking place early in the fourth quarter. Hotels will receive full details within the next few weeks.

The prize trip will consist of a five-day, all-expenses-paid visit to Chile’s capital city, Santiago, and the nearby Caliterra Colchagua Estate. The itinerary includes a horseback tour of the estate’s vineyards and a presentation about the winery, together with tastings and pairings for various Caliterra wines. For the second leg of the trip, the five winners will visit the Caliterra cool climate vineyards in the Leyda Valley, returning to Santiago for an overnight at the InterContinental Santiago. On the final day, the group will enjoy a Santiago city tour before heading to the airport for the return flight.

To participate in the contest, hotels must provide monthly POS reports showing sales of the designated Caliterra wines for the promotional period as well as house wine sales for the corresponding period in 2015. Sales data should be submitted to mark@imiagency.com

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S F E I R B E G A R E V E B Holiday Inn® Burger Theory Named VIBE 2016 Vista Award Finalist

IHG’s “bar-centric” Burger Theory concept for the Holiday Inn brand caught the attention of judges and was tapped as a finalist in the 2016 VIBE Vista Awards competition.

The annual VIBE conference, held last month in San Diego, is the premier on-premise beverage conference for chain beverage executives. The Vista Awards recognize the top beverage programs for hotels, cruise lines, casinos and multiunit chain restaurants.

The innovative, in-hotel dining outlet that looks and feels like a trendy restaurant was recognized in the Best Beer Program category. The entry focused on the “star of the bar”—Burger Theory’s 12-tap array of standard and craft beers, including local brews, coupled with its deep bottle selection. The premise centered on the perfect pairing of outstanding beers and the concept’s extraordinary gourmet burger lineup that anchors the menu, with each component driving sales of 18

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the other. To date, hotels with the Burger Theory concept are experiencing increases in both overall F&B revenue and beverage sales in the range of 15 to 22 percent for each. IHG is the first hotel chain to offer a branded burger concept.

Vista Award entries were judged based on how well companies have created positive initiatives that spark beverage sales, launched innovations that contribute to operational efficiencies and implemented training and service programs that lead to the highest quality standards and operational practices.

“With only 15 Burger Theory outlets open and operating at this point in the concept’s development and rollout, we were delighted to receive a nod, if not a win, from the judges,” says Mike Lewis, Manager, Food & Beverage Concepts, for IHG. “Burger Theory is a perfect match for our Holiday Inn customers, and early indications are that it has tremendous potential to perform extremely well for the brand.”

AVERO: Analytics Made Easy The F&B team has partnered with AVERO, the industry leader in food and beverage data analytics, to test new analytics software for IHG hotels.

AVERO Slingshot® is a cloud-based, SaaS analytics platform that turns mounds of data into clear, actionable insights. Designed specifically for the hospitality industry, Slingshot is a software add-on to the hotel’s existing POS. The platform is designed to provide easily accessible data to take the guesswork out of decision-making and help F&B directors and managers with everything from increasing sales and controlling costs to improving server performance.

The powerful Slingshot analytics engine slices and dices data in an infinite number of ways and is intelligent enough to provide only the insights needed, in a simple, easy-to-use format. Users can set custom date ranges and filter data by meal period, revenue center, employee class and more to get a day’s or year’s worth of information on the fly.

Nineteen InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza® and Holiday Inn® hotels have been selected to pilot the platform in 2016. IHG is fully sponsoring the first year’s costs associated with the program.

“It’s a breeze to find out where our sales stand at any given time of day,” says Danny Estevez, F&B Director for the InterContinental Miami. His property and the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport participated in an initial trial of the Slingshot software. “I can look up who my star employee with the most sales is and break that information down to see how many chef specials he or she sold for the day.”

“As we strive to be the #1 hotel company in the world, we continuously look for opportunities to improve our performance in different areas,” says JeanPierre Etcheberrigaray, Vice President, Food & Beverage, Americas. “We believe this exciting new platform has the potential to make a measurable difference for our hotel F&B teams. We look forward to working with our pilot properties to fully test its viability in our hotels.”

Keeping Wine Temps Right Full-service IHG hotels have responded positively to the F&B team’s new handbook for maintaining wine at its optimal temperature. The “Wine Temperature Guidelines for Serving & Storing” brochure was recently sent to F&B Directors in the U.S. and Canada as part of a kit that included posters and other tools to help hotel teams protect this valuable asset.

The Guidelines are also posted on the IHG Food & Beverage website under Tools > 3 B’s.

The new resource is a handy, easy-to-use reference that lists the ideal temperature range—neither too warm nor too cold—for serving wine in three categories: • Light, dry whites, rosé and sparkling wines • Full-bodied whites and light, fruity reds • Full-bodied reds and Ports The Guidelines also include general instructions for how to serve wine. A separate section addresses the proper storage of wine, offering proven rules of thumb for temperature and humidity as well as recommendations of proper equipment for both storage and service.

To determine return on investment for equipment purchases, the brochure provides step-by-step instructions for conducting an audit of the hotel’s inventory of wines in storage and those awaiting service.

OPTIMAL SERVING TEMPERATURES

19

The Official Magazine of the World Class Beverage Program

Thank you to all our World Class Beverage Program Partners!

• Anheuser-Busch-InBev (ABI) • Bacardi, USA Inc. • Beam Global Spirits • Boston Beer Company

Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray | Vice President, F&B Americas Laura Luley | Office Manager/Communications, F&B Americas Mark Greenhalgh | IMI Agency Ann Wilson | Writer & Editor Silvermoss | Creative Direction & Layout World Class Beverage Program Contact/Support:

770.604.8283 | laura.luley@ihg.com

• Brown Forman • Constellation US • Constellation Brands - Beer Division

The World Class Beverage Program Family

• Francis Ford Coppola Winery • DFV Wines (Delicato Family Vineyards) • DIAGEO • Duckhorn Vineyards • E & J Gallo • Folio Wine Estates • Heineken USA

The World Class Beverage Program Family of Bra

FBamericas.com

FBamericas.com

The Official Website of the IHG F&B Community The Official Website of the IHG F&B Community IHGBeverage.com has been updated and expanded and is now at:

www. IHGFBamericas.com

• Hess Collection Family Estates

Wor

World C

• Miller Coors • Moët Hennessy • Patrón Spirits • Pernod Ricard USA • RÉMY COINTREAU USA, INC. • Ste. Michelle Wine Estates • Treasury Wine Estates • W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd. • Seaview Imports

SPIRITED SPIRITED

The Official Magazine of the World Cl

The Official Magazine of the World Class B www. fbconfitdential.com

• Jackson Family Estates • Copper Cane Wines • Wagner Family of Wine • One Hope • Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery • Stoli Group (USA), LLC • Davos Brands And a special Thank You to Three Ravinia Drive Suite 100 Atlanta, Georgia 30346 www.ihg.com