Food Costs

[brucecadle]

I'd love some feedback on what is a good food cost per guest/room per day?

 

[Morticia]

Where are you located? Food costs vary so much from area to area it's hard to say $10 and be done with it.
$5 here buys a loaf of bread. It doesn't buy a gallon of oj or a quart of strawberries.
What do you serve? Bacon and eggs or something more exotic? Do you have afternoon snacks? Is coffee and tea available all day for free?
All of that adds up.

 

[happykeeper]

Variable and not universal. I would say for that kind of number, you are best off using hotel percentages to identify a baseline. There is a lot more data on F&B % of the RevPAR than on a standard for small properties.
(F&B) revenue - Revenues derived from the sale of food (including coffee, milk, tea and soft drinks), beverages (including, beer, wine and liquors), banquet beverages and other F&B sources. Other F&B sources include meeting room rentals, audio-visual equipment rentals, cover or service charges or other revenues within the food-and-beverage department (includes banquet services charges). -
RevPAR (revenue per available room) - Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is the total guest room revenue divided by the total number of available rooms. RevPAR differs from ADR because RevPAR is affected by the amount of unoccupied available rooms, while ADR shows only the average rate of rooms actually sold.
Occupancy x ADR = RevPAR

 

[Arks]

Note on who this is: selfgrowth dot com/experts/bruce-cadle

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you.

 

[brucecadle]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.

 

[brucecadle]

Note on who this is: selfgrowth dot com/experts/bruce-cadle.

Hi Arks,
I do train business owners and entrepreneurs on attracting new business through free publicity but that's not why I joined this forum. I'm heading to Virginia for a final interview to manage a B&B.

 

[brucecadle]

Where are you located? Food costs vary so much from area to area it's hard to say $10 and be done with it.
$5 here buys a loaf of bread. It doesn't buy a gallon of oj or a quart of strawberries.
What do you serve? Bacon and eggs or something more exotic? Do you have afternoon snacks? Is coffee and tea available all day for free?
All of that adds up..

Morticia, based on geographical cost variables like you've mentioned, do you look for a percentage of room cost, ie. 5%, 10% of the room rate to cover all breakfast, snacks, beverages?

 

[JBloggs]

Note on who this is: selfgrowth dot com/experts/bruce-cadle.

Hi Arks,
I do train business owners and entrepreneurs on attracting new business through free publicity but that's not why I joined this forum. I'm heading to Virginia for a final interview to manage a B&B.
.

Hi Arks,
I do train business owners and entrepreneurs on attracting new business through free publicity but that's not why I joined this forum. I'm heading to Virginia for a final interview to manage a B&B.

Do they have records of the costs they have already used, since the new tax year is upon us they should have them from the past few years that you can see per person/per room breakfast costs. I would believe the owner of the B&B would tell you exactly what cost is allowable.
We are always skeptical of someone who appears avatar ready, it is not about you, it is about us. We have been used too many times.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[Morticia]

Where are you located? Food costs vary so much from area to area it's hard to say $10 and be done with it.
$5 here buys a loaf of bread. It doesn't buy a gallon of oj or a quart of strawberries.
What do you serve? Bacon and eggs or something more exotic? Do you have afternoon snacks? Is coffee and tea available all day for free?
All of that adds up..

Morticia, based on geographical cost variables like you've mentioned, do you look for a percentage of room cost, ie. 5%, 10% of the room rate to cover all breakfast, snacks, beverages?
.

Morticia, based on geographical cost variables like you've mentioned, do you look for a percentage of room cost, ie. 5%, 10% of the room rate to cover all breakfast, snacks, beverages?

If you are going in as a manager, the info should be available to you from the owner. I get you're trying to control costs probably to maximize your salary.
What you need to do is understand what your guests expect from their breakfast experience and then go shopping for those items in your area. Take some menus from the inn and shop online if you don't live there.
If the owners are spending more than 15% on food, that's really high. For us. In France it's a pittance!
But what you spend is going to be based on what your guests expect to be served. If you have a strong repeat biz and you suddenly go from 'all you can eat' to 'small plates' you'll have an insurrection.

 

[EmptyNest]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.
.

Welcome! You are buying or becoming an innkeeper at a VA inn? Please share if it works out. Lots of us here from VA.

 

[MtnKeeper]

This varies greatly depending on:
1. Plated breakfast where you control the cost per person or a full buffet
2. Locally sourced ingredients, organic or just regular breakfast food
3. Buying at local markets or buy large enough quantity to get from say a Sysco
4. Is your property higher end and guests are expecting a gourmet breakfast = more $$
5. Are you doing afternoon treats?
6. Costs vary greatly depending on geographical location -- an island, mountain location, city, etc.
So I'd say that everyone here probably has a very different breakfast cost. The best thing would be to have the owner go over what they currently serve, how that's working and what they are paying. Then you can use your expertise to suggest how/where to save money.

 

[Morticia]

There is also software you can buy that does all the calculations based on the recipes.
If you search for 'food cost calculator' I think a couple of options come up.

 

[happykeeper]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.
.

So this is a salaried position as an innkeeper?
Welcome BTW

 

[brucecadle]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.
.

So this is a salaried position as an innkeeper?
Welcome BTW
.

Hi HappyKeeper,
It is a salaried position as Innkeepers/General Managers. Small, 5 room B&B in the Blueridge Mountains.

 

[JBloggs]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.
.

So this is a salaried position as an innkeeper?
Welcome BTW
.

Hi HappyKeeper,
It is a salaried position as Innkeepers/General Managers. Small, 5 room B&B in the Blueridge Mountains.
.

Hi HappyKeeper,
It is a salaried position as Innkeepers/General Managers. Small, 5 room B&B in the Blueridge Mountains.

We wish you all the best.

 

[happykeeper]

Bruce, this is a forum for innkeepers if you are a vendor/resource, then you need to disclose that. It is not a good thing to try and come through the back door and makes us mistrust you..

Hi Breakfast Diva!
My wife and I are going to a B&B in Virginia next week for a final interview. The owner leaves the menu up to the Innkeeper so I am trying to learn as much as possible.
.

So this is a salaried position as an innkeeper?
Welcome BTW
.

Hi HappyKeeper,
It is a salaried position as Innkeepers/General Managers. Small, 5 room B&B in the Blueridge Mountains.
.

Sounds like a nice opportunity. Glad to hear it is salaried. I was worried it was going to be one of those deals where the costs come out of what you bring in.

 

[Kay Nein]

We boast of a southern country breakfast, no foo-foo stuff here. We have guests often tell us that we feed too much, but I'm not about to change what's been working. Our owner originally told us that he wanted food costs at $2 per person or below (three years ago when we took over). I've estimated we hover between that and $2.50 per person. We don't do buffet or fancy stuff, buy in bulk when things are on sale, buy some items from wholesale clubs.

 

[Morticia]

We boast of a southern country breakfast, no foo-foo stuff here. We have guests often tell us that we feed too much, but I'm not about to change what's been working. Our owner originally told us that he wanted food costs at $2 per person or below (three years ago when we took over). I've estimated we hover between that and $2.50 per person. We don't do buffet or fancy stuff, buy in bulk when things are on sale, buy some items from wholesale clubs..

$2?!? I have people who drink that much in coffee and juice! Add scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, garnish, fruit, yogurt, jam, butter, cream, milk, cereal and one person is way over that.

 

[gillumhouse]

We boast of a southern country breakfast, no foo-foo stuff here. We have guests often tell us that we feed too much, but I'm not about to change what's been working. Our owner originally told us that he wanted food costs at $2 per person or below (three years ago when we took over). I've estimated we hover between that and $2.50 per person. We don't do buffet or fancy stuff, buy in bulk when things are on sale, buy some items from wholesale clubs..

I spend more than $2 just in juice and fruit (and that is with often being able to get berries on the sale shelf at the Produce store). A baked oatmeal has a layer of red raspberries, a layer of blackberries, and then blueberries before I add the oatmeal. Eggs have been as much as $2.49 a dozen. Even a sausage & biscuits is almost $5 just for the sausage. Wow! $2 to $2.50 per breakfast? I bow to thee having seen (and enjoyed) what you serve.