Imagine you’re on a work trip and you’re booked in for a night at the nearby premium hotel.
It’s been a tiring week, and you’re looking forward to popping down the pool before an early night for some well earned shut-eye.
The next morning, you wake up still tired from the day before and you’re in desperate need of a good cup of coffee. You’re faced with three options:
- Brew a muddy cup of the instant coffee sachet sat on the dressing table, paired with a cup of long-lasting UHT milk.
- Venture down to the breakfast bar for a Café Latte from the tired automatic coffee machine filled with beans roasted so dark they nearly break the laws of physics.
- Open up Google Maps on your phone and search ‘specialty coffee shop near me’, pack your things and head out for a delicious start to the morning.
Doesn’t sound like the premium hotel experience you were expecting, does it?
With so many options available now including local cafes serving delicious brews at half the price, hotels just can’t afford to serve anything less than delicious.
Hotels should be asking themselves: Why should our customers tolerate bad coffee?
The answer: They Won’t. They will simply find better coffee elsewhere.
So, continue reading this blog post to learn how to fix the main issues getting in the way of great hotel coffee, and how hotels and hotel chains can start encouraging their visitors to stay longer, spend more, and come back for another cup.
1. Quality Coffee Beans
The world of coffee is incredibly diverse, with origins and roast profiles to suit the taste preferences of everyone.
It’s important to choose a coffee (or a range of different coffees) that appeals to the target audience and amplifies the brand and reputation of your hotel. That’s why we offer 20+ different coffees under various brands, from the specialty grade coffees with interesting fruit-flavour notes to the darker roasted traditional Italian blends.
Before selecting your coffee, make sure to try a wide range of coffees including different origins, blends and roast profiles to narrow your choice down to the perfect bean.
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2. High Quality Machinery
To brew consistently great coffees, it’s important to invest in high quality machinery that you can rely on. Though keep in mind that not every hotel will have the same requirements from their coffee machines.
There is no one coffee machine that fits every situation perfectly. In fact, many hotels will require a variety of machines to serve coffees across the hotel such as in the café area, at the breakfast bar, the conference rooms and the bedrooms.
Is there a breakfast bar where customers will help themselves to a coffee? Batch brewers and automatic espresso machines are your best bet. Will you have a friendly barista serving the coffees? Then go with a traditional espresso machine.
Read more – How to Choose a Coffee Machine for your Business.
3. Staff Training
Even with low-quality equipment at their disposal, a skilled barista is able to produce incredible coffee for their guests. Now pair that experience and knowledge with a great machine and delicious coffee, and you’re off to the races.
Having well trained staff is the missing ingredient for many hotels when it comes to coffee, as otherwise they will not be able to get the best out of their machines. Thankfully, a little bit of training goes a long way.
Once your staff have a handle on the basics of brewing delicious coffee, your hotel can rival the local specialty coffee shops and impress guests with a tasty brew every morning.
Consider enlisting yourself and your staff on a SCA Barista Training course to aid the longevity of your machines, and significantly increase the quality of your coffee.
4. Maintain Standards and Consistency
Training your staff and equipping them with high-quality machines and delicious coffee is the ideal starting point for your hotel.
However, it’s important to face the reality that staff turnover can be an issue in hospitality, and even your best staff may not be as passionate about coffee quality as you are.
That’s why it’s important to provide your staff with the necessary standards and guidelines to help them create an excellent experience for your customers every time.
This can be achieved through our Brand Champion programme. In collaboration with you, we’ll develop a Brand Manual that sets out everything your staff need from drink recipes, to brand guidelines upselling and promotions. This Brand Manual can then be used across hotel chains to maintain quality and consistency across multiple sites.
It’s also important to regularly become your own customer, and judge your coffee offering from the eyes of your hotel visitors.
This is something we provide through our Brand Champion programme, regularly visiting our hotel customers to provide advice and retraining where appropriate, and sending ‘mystery shoppers’ to provide feedback on drink quality and the overall customer experience.
5. Specialty Coffee for the Bedroom
We all know the feeling of not being able to get up out of bed until you’ve had a morning coffee. Most of your hotel guests will crave a coffee before venturing downstairs, so it’s important to offer coffee in the hotel bedroom.
Nespresso-compatible pods are the ultimate form of quality meeting convenience, especially with many third party coffee roasters now offering their own coffee pods.
Replace those stale packets of instant coffee with freshly roasted and sealed instant coffee pods, available in full recyclable aluminium pods. Check out our recommended specialty coffee pods
6. Seasonal Drinks Menu
As much as it pains us to admit, not everyone loves coffee. Many of your regulars will instead go for a cup of tea or a juice in the morning, so it’s important to offer something for everyone.
Moreover, you can increase customer satisfaction amongst your coffee-drinking regulars by offering something new every once in a while.
Consider offering a changing menu of seasonal drinks to capitalise on changing trends and seasonal tastes, such as ice lattes in the summer and pumpkin spices in the festive period.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, serving high-quality coffee is essential for hotels to meet the expectations of their guests and stay competitive in the market.
By following the tips outlined in this blog post, hotel chains can elevate their coffee offerings and create a memorable experience for their customers.
At Bridge Coffee Roasters, we understand the importance of serving exceptional coffee, and we’re here to support hotel chains in their journey towards coffee excellence.
So, why wait? Get started today to enhance your hotel’s coffee experience. Request a free sample of our coffee brands and discover the difference high-quality coffee can make for your guests.
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