These are quotes from a study on 15 developers and hotel owners we undertook a couple of years back. We asked them if they had the right amount of F&B space. Seemingly, a simple question but the answers revealed probably one of the greatest challenges that we face with large-scale developments.
- 'Too much space’ - you're spreading dining covers thinly across a hotel or a mall
- 'Too little space’ - and queues start to form
- 'Wrong place’ - you're relying heavily on guests seeking you out as a destination
In our study, over 75% reported they had the wrong amount of F&B space and an F&B mix that didn’t match the guest profile.
Increasingly, developers, mall owners and large hotel owners are realising these fundamentals have to be addressed and that we have moved on from the mantra of ‘location, location, location’.
So, who works out the all-important amount of space, locations and mix? Is it the asset owner, the architect or the kitchen planner? At Keane, we advocate using our proprietary behaviourally-driven space model to work out the optimal number and type of restaurants, cafes, bars, pop ups etc.
The key output from the model is GLA/space by F&B category and the model can also be used to derive the recommended number of F&B venues and estimations of projected revenues. Picture this; revenue projections driven by the way people behave rather than $ per square metre.
We’ve used this approach on a number of large malls, mixed use developments and hotels in the Middle East and it works.
And, proud to say that our space model is currently driving the development of a large number of the giga projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, shaping the future of the nation.
Interested to know more? Get in touch today and we’d love to chat.