Inspiration and Information for your Tabletop

Perhaps it's the type of people who travel and stay in hotels, maybe it's the overall nature of the industry, or it could be a simple shift in demographic preference. The reality is, more and more consumers are demanding sustainable and eco-friendly practices in hotels, including in buffet and banquet-type services.

People love positive experiences -- a personal touch, a one-on-one conversation, or even an added layer of hospitality.

Pretend you're in a new city on a Sunday morning. You're looking for a great place to grab some breakfast downtown, so you have a few options. You can check with your hotel's front desk to see if they have any recommendations, or you can pull out your phone to see what Yelp! has to say. Inevitably, you're looking for those five star reviews.

Design matters.

But in an era when hospitality companies are being squeezed by home stay options and younger demographics are more attune to how it impacts experience, design matters now more than ever.

Buffet service requires a lot of moving parts and pieces, both literally and figuratively. In some cases, serving stations need to be set up inside for breakfast configurations in the morning and are then moved outside for a wedding reception in the evening.

Chafing dishes come in various shapes and sizes with a whole range of features and options. As a result, selecting the right chafer can be a complicated choice, but it's an important one nonetheless.

Building a better buffet begins with a few basic concepts. Check out this animated roadmap, and see how you can up your buffet game.

When you think of buffets, you think about the ability to serve large groups of people quickly and efficiently. While this is a positive for operations in the buffet or banquet business, it also poses several issues, especially in terms of warming.

In the foodservice business, there are certain things you just have to spend money on, but are linens one of them? Losing the linens in your buffet business could save you thousands.

Whether you're hosting an awards evening for hospital administration, creating the perfect space for wedding receptions at your hotel, or feeding an army of golfers after a country club fundraiser, there is more than one way to set up your buffet. And you're probably wondering what method is best.