Aspectos a considerar
Capítulo 3 La respuesta educativa al alumno sordo
3.2 Decisiones a tomar en la programación de aula
3.2.2 Propuestas de actividades con apoyo visual
A comparison of competitive catering services reveals trends in private party for-mats, cuisine menus, themes, and entertainment concepts. The introduction of new theme and menu ideas into the catering market can create customer inter-est. Customers who use catering services on an ongoing basis are constantly looking for original ideas to highlight both business and social functions. The win-dow of opportunity for new and established catering businesses exists in the identification of unique cuisine, entertainment, and theme concepts that result in high-quality food and service at a reasonable price.
Prospective caterers can use the information on the competition survey form to identify the direct competition and determine how their catering services can compete in the established marketplace. An understanding of why customers choose a certain caterer and facility is important in identifying the services or fa-cilities needed by both customers and the community. Price is the primary de-terminant in the decision-making process for most customers. When, however,
Analyzing the Competition
65
Style of Catering Operation
Full-service restaurant ____________
Hotel food-and-beverage facility ____________
Catering hall ____________
Independent caterer, delivery only ____________
Country club ____________
Access to major roads ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Available parking __________________________________________
Problems in locating _______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Services
Catering services in-house___________________________________
Outside caterer allowed _____________________________________
Meal services available: breakfast ___________ lunch____________
dinner _________ coffee service _________ other _______________
Full or limited liquor license _________________________________
Table-service styles _________________________________________
Entertainment_____________________________________________
Business-meeting services___________________________________
Conference and convention services __________________________
________________________________________________________________
Concept and theme party services____________________________
_________________________________________________________
Cuisine specialty___________________________________________
. Figure 3.1 ,
SURVEY OF COMPETITIVE CATERING OPERATIONS
the pricing structure for similar services is reasonably close, customers consider four additional major factors:
1. Availability 2. Location 3. Facilities 4. Service
Facilities
Number of function rooms __________________________________
Total available seating ______________________________________
Breakdown of seating by function room _______________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Decorative theme __________________________________________
Condition of exterior facilities________________________________
Condition of interior facilities ________________________________
Dance floors: portable ________ built-in ________ size___________
Bars: portable ___________ built-in ___________________________
Floor plans available _______________________________________
Availability
Heavily booked ________ Some dates available_________________
Many dates available _______________________________________
Heaviest booking period ____________________________________
Service Reputation
Food service: good ________ average ________ poor ____________
Party-planning service: good ______ average ______ poor ________
Theme parties: good ________ average ________ poor___________
Entertainment: good ________ average ________ poor __________
Meeting services: good _______ average _______ poor___________
Overall follow-through: good ______ average ______ poor ________
Invoicing and billing: good ______ average ______ poor _________
Pricing: competitive _________ high _________ low _____________
Marketing Materials
Maps to location ___________________________________________
Other ____________________________________________________
Copies of attached _________________________________________
Completed by _____________________________________________
Date _____________________________________________________
. Figure 3.1 , (CONTINUED)
. AVAILABILITY ,
Customers have generally identified a specific date when they begin to plan a pri-vate function. Although they may have taken the precaution of choosing two or three alternate dates, one date is clearly preferable. The catering service that can offer both price and availability on the primary date will receive first considera-tion.
. LOCATION ,
In the United States, because most guests drive to private parties, access to major transportation routes, personal security, and availability of parking influence the selection of the final location. Outstanding facilities or locations are often a pri-mary factor in the customer’s decision. The ballroom of the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California, shown in Figure 3.2, is a historical structure and over-looks the Pacific Ocean. The ballroom offers a spectacular ocean view, and the interior of the room itself is an elegant setting. While the location of the property requires travel to a remote setting, customers are more than willing to accept the inconvenience in exchange for the facilities and the ocean view.
Analyzing the Competition
67
. Figure 3.2 , HOTEL DEL CORONADO BALLROOM
(Courtesy of the Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado, California)
. FACILITIES ,
The specific needs of a private party can be the determining factor in the final selection of a facility. Social functions often require reception areas or outdoor settings for cocktail parties. A variety of function areas, dance floors, seating ca-pacities, audiovisual equipment, and special-functions planning are just some of the facility demands customers may consider necessary to the success of their events. Tents, as shown in Figure 3.3, are a popular alternative function area for
. Figure 3.3 , TENT FACILITY
(Courtesy of Aztec Tents and Events, Torrance, California)
catering events. Whether permanently attached to a hotel facility or set up tem-porarily for a specific function, tents have significantly widened the scope of available space for private functions. Tenting is used for sports events in open areas or to create a function space adjacent to private homes, museums, and other venues.
. SERVICE ,
The reputation of a catering service for providing quality product, timely deliv-ery, special customer attention, and creative events influences the customer’s de-cision to select it. Customers consider all of these factors, when making their decision as seen in the following two examples:
Catering Service A: This company can provide service and facilities to match customer needs but does not have the preferred date available.
If the customer is flexible with respect to the date, service and facilities will generally be the deciding factors in the decision.
Catering Service B: This company has an excellent location and is available on the preferred date. The facilities are not exactly what is needed but can be adjusted to the function. In this case, location and availability should sway the decision regardless of the compromise on facilities.
Community .,
Economic health is the single most important community factor affecting the success of a new catering operation. While fast food and casual family restau-rants are considered necessary expenses by many people, full-service restaurestau-rants and catering services are not. These businesses are supported by expendable in-come availability that, in times of economic recession and uncertainty, bein-comes unavailable.
Communities, as well as individuals, adjust their dining and social activities according to the current economic situation. The U.S. economy in the last part of the 1990s flourished. As a result, both personal and community incomes rose, as did expendable income available for increased social activity.
Since 2002, however, many state and local governments are experiencing budgetary problems, forcing them to make significant cutbacks in both services and employees. It will be ill advised for these governments to support catered events such as awards dinners, employee picnics, and business functions when the job stability of many of their employees is questionable. On the other hand, economic difficulties can create the need for alternative funding for many com-munity services, offering a potential market for catering operations with creative and unique special-event and fundraising ideas.
Commmunity
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., Labor
The availability of labor that is both skilled and able to work the flexible hours re-quired by catering services is essential to the success of a catering business.
Restaurants have full-time staff on call to work at catered functions. Independent catering businesses, however, operate with a skeleton staff of full-time employ-ees supplemented by part-time help as needed. While this practice reduces the cost of employees significantly, a ready source of labor is always questionable.
The two major classifications of labor that fulfill catering-service needs are kitchen personnel and service staff. Chapter 10 discusses hiring and personnel concerns at greater length.
Labor is one of the most critical supply areas in the foodservice industry for the first part of the twenty-first century. Trained waitstaff is difficult to find and retain. Labor turnover is often high, depending on the type of foodservice oper-ation, geographical locoper-ation, and average age of the staff.
The benefit of flexible hours and the guaranteed earnings offered by cater-ing work is valued by every age group in the labor pool. Employees who work on a continual part-time basis generally know in advance when functions will be held and can accept work according to their personal schedule, taking into ac-count the needs of family, education, and other jobs. Wages paid by catering serv-ices are based on federally mandated guidelines. Gratuities are charged as a percentage of the price of the food and beverages served and are divided equally among the servers.
Location .,
As location is a significant factor for the catering business, an off-premise cater-ing company such as About Thyme, the case study in this chapter, relies on out-side (external) facilities for function locations—private homes, country clubs, public facilities. The primary consideration about location for off-premise cater-ers is the distance that must be traveled to function locations.
On-premise catering companies must consider how guests will access the cility and the location of other businesses offering catering services. Catering fa-cilities with unique locations or decorative themes can often be located close to competitive businesses without directly competing for customers. Hotels and restaurants offering catering services often have an established customer base.
The decisions of restaurants and hotels to renovate or build new facilities should be based on a market survey analysis and feasibility study to determine the time line for a return on investment (ROI).
. FEASIBILITY STATEMENT ,
An integral part of a development proposal for either a new catering business or additions to an existing business is to determine the feasibility of making a profit.
Owners and managers need to estimate the amount of revenue and profit that can be achieved by these efforts based on the projected volume of business.
While a restaurant can forecast the volume of business based on the num-ber of daily meal services and estimated table turnovers calculated according to the number of operating days annually, a catering business must forecast future business and have a function history. In addition, it must also identify the num-ber of catering functions available to be booked within the target area. This be-comes the projection for new business development. Forecasting is based on the number of functions, group size, and average check rather than table turnovers and daily receipts. Catering facility space is often left unused. The challenge is to capture as many catering sales opportunities as possible while maintaining a standard of quality and profitability.
The feasibility chart in Figure 3.4 is a format for projecting catering food-and-beverage revenue. When attempting to determine the feasibility of adding cater-ing services, estimatcater-ing new business can be challengcater-ing. The more complete the information, the more accurate the revenue estimates. The discussion of breakeven point analysis in Chapter 7 provides the basis for calculation of total operating costs. The chart in Figure 3.4 is based on 300 operating days.