To F&B or not to F&B? Food and

TO F&B OR NOT TO F&B? FOOD & BEVERAGE IN GLAMPING

BY TODD WYNNE-PARRY

“The s’more is a fireside staple that provides great enjoyment for kids and couples alike.”

Green Rock Retreat Chef Brooke Lawernce and Founder Tory Junkin

© Emily David

The question of whether to provide food and beverage (f&b) service or not has varying degrees of challenges to operators. On one end of this challenge spectrum are small, lower price-point operations that are near local f&b establishments. These properties may find this question almost irrelevant as the number of guests is too low to warrant such a service or guest demand for this service is non-existent due to the proximity of local providers or both. These properties typically encourage guests to prepare for the absence of this service by bringing their own coolers and provisions and providing a list of recommended local restaurants and watering holes. While these operations may provide well appointed, glampingstyle accommodations with luxury bedding, the absence of at least some level of f&b service, there is limited “glam” in this version of glamping.

On the other end of this challenge spectrum would be the ultra-luxury outdoor hospitality found at properties such as Camp Sarika at Amangiri or The Resort at Paws Up. These properties still have their challenges, but there is no question of whether to provide f&b service or not. The guests at these properties demand a very high level of f&b service. They believe that an essential part of the outdoor hospitality experience is Instagrammable meals prepared by world-class chefs and the best ingredients possible. In addition, they expect that there will be service personnel to deliver their meals, snacks, or drinks to their dining table, safari tent, or poolside. The real challenge for these properties is finding staff that can deliver the level of f&b service found only in major cities or world class resorts.

What lies in the middle of this spectrum is where the question gets more difficult. For operations that lie somewhere in the wide expanse between a budget campground and a ultra-luxury nature-based resort, it is difficult to balance the needs of the guests with the ability to deliver the appropriate level of f&b service with at least some level of profit. The f&b question can be put into two distinct buckets: groups and free individual travelers (“FITs”).

In the case of groups, f&b service can essentially be off-loaded to an event organizer and/or caterer. The key here is to ensure that the caterer is familiar with the site and facilities that are on hand well prior to the event. Savvy operators, such as Tory Junkin, founder of the Green Rock Retreat located north of Bend, Oregon have a short-list of chefs that work with retreat facilitators to custom design the event’s f&b experience. Tory only uses three trusted chefs that are all familiar with the retreat’s kitchen and its cooking and storage capabilities. This familiarity allows these chefs to deliver flawless culinary experiences for their guests. For new operators anticipating a significant events business, it is essential to develop both the catering kitchen facilities on-property and the relationships with local chefs and caterers who will be delivering this service.

For FITs, the operator must accurately identify the guests’ f&b needs as well as what is possible to deliver with the available staff, existing facilities, and local environment. Listening to the guests, whether through surveys or on-line reviews is critical in identifying the f&b needs. Once that is understood, developing the f&b service plan can be tailored around these needs. For instance, at the Green Rock Retreat, guests were noting that they would have liked cooking facilities to prepare their own meals. However, the dry high desert environment dictates that campfires must be restricted to the communal fires at the central outdoor lounge area. As such, guests are restricted from cooking at their individual tents. As a workaround, Green Rock Retreat guests can utilize a sign-up sheet upon check-in for times to cook at the communal outdoor kitchen.

Another example is The Fields of Michigan located in South Haven, Michigan, where founder Irene Wood has developed a winning approach to the f&b experience. Her property provides a fully prepared breakfast included in the room rate and served in their communal lounge. Lunch items are found in the resort’s merch area refrigerators. A prix fixe dinner is provided every other night which guests can reserve up to two weeks out from check-in. This structure allows Irene to coordinate staff for the dinner nights generally inline with heavy check-in days. The concentration of guests around the dinner evenings enhances her beverage sales as well as the gratuities necessary to compensate the required extra staff. These smaller properties have found creative ways to provide great culinary experiences that are both sustainable and exceed the guests’ expectations.

Larger properties and the multiple location, national outdoor hospitality brands have also found ways to meet customer f&b demands while remaining in the black financially. A breakdown by meal period of some of the current f&b service concepts these operations utilize is as follows:

Green Rock Retreat

BREAKFAST

This meal period is most popularly treated as a cost of goods sold. That is, it is provided as part of the room rate. In this manner, it typically consists of a coffee/tea service but may also include a selection of locally sourced bakery items, individually packaged yogurts, fresh fruit, juices, etc. In some instances, at properties where a full commercial kitchen exists a warm meal may also be served during set times similar to a B&B format. Alternatively, several operations ask upon check-in for your preferred breakfast selection and a breakfast box or bag will be at your tent or awaiting you in the lounge in the morning. This last

option was a particularly useful approach when Covid restrictions and perceptions did not favor communal food service.

LUNCH

The general focus of outdoor hospitality is that guests are out exploring the area during the day, so there is rarely a lunch meal service option. However, many operators will prepare lunch boxes for a fee. Others will have on-hand lunch items such as cheese boards or charcuterie refrigerated and available for grab-and-go.

The Fields of Michigan

DINNER

This meal is the most difficult one and the one that really challenges many operators. If a kitchen and chef are part and parcel of the destination’s DNA, then providing dinners each night during high season, or at least most nights is usually part of the offering. For those operations without this infrastructure, promoting local establishments, bringing in a mobile food truck, or holding special culinary evenings on weekends and holidays can suffice. If these ideas do not work, but guests have access cooking facilities either at there accommodation or at a communal BBQ grill, providing pre-packaged meal kits that are simple for the guest to prepare can positively add to the experience.

The Fields of Michigan © Emily Hary Photography

OTHER

The s’more is a fireside staple that provides great enjoyment for kids and couples alike. There is a plethora of great artisan kits on the market, while providing a tidy profit. In addition, a selection of locally produced food and beverage items in your merch store is a great way to support the local community and offer guests a taste of the region.

When adding f&b service, regardless of the solution, a major challenge lies in the guests’ expectation. That is, guests paying $250-$800 per night or more, tend to expect a strong f&b experience even in small remote corners of the country. Therefore, quality control and excellent simplicity (i.e., limited menu items each of high quality as opposed to a large menu of mediocre items) will be essential. Thus, it is essential for the operator to communicate in all marketing materials and pre-arrival communications exactly what is to be expected in relation to f&b offerings.

Whether to f&b or not to f&b is not an easy question. However, providing the appropriate f&b service is a key element of differentiation between simply offering accommodation and providing the outdoor hospitality guests envision their glamping experience to be.

Green Rock Retreat

About Todd G. Wynne-Parry

A seasoned leader in the hospitality industry, Todd has over 30 years of hotel development experience, having held senior leadership positions at several major hotel brands and most recently AutoCamp and Two Roads Hospitality. A dual-citizen of the US and Australia, Wynne-Parry has lived and worked in the U.S., Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom. He was instrumental in the development efforts for IHG, Starwood and Marriott in the Asia Pacific region and for Two Roads Hospitality globally. He began his career as a hotel consultant in the San Diego office of Laventhol & Horwath, the predecessor to Horwath HTL. He is now Managing Director of Horwath HTL and leads the Outdoor Hospitality practice for North America. Horwath HTL is the largest independent hospitality consultancy with 52 offices worldwide.

Todd earned an MBA from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management and sits on the advisory council of the American Glamping Association. In his spare time, Todd enjoys fly fishing and exploring the western US in his 1953 Airstream.