Who are your guests?
Assess who the majority of your customers are. Are they children or adults? Are they in the area for business, tourism, conventions or something else?
What conveniences do your guests currently have in the hotel and surrounding areas?
Are there nearby convenience stores and supermarkets, tourist shops, specialty chocolate shops etc.?
Where will you present the products?
A lot of minibar is based on impulse and convenience so the more visible items are the higher sales will be. When a guest opens the minibars it should be clean, neat and inviting. The product should be easy to view and easy to reach for impulse buying. In some minibars products fit into the bar, however many have a basket or sensor tray, cube on top, or a dry drawer.
How will you present products?
It is optimal that all products are visible, clean and attractive that identify with your property brand.
What products should you offer?
This is the fun part… find a good balance of sweet, salty, healthy, signature, branded and fulfilling needs.
- SWEET: Jelly Belly, Gummy Bears, Snickers, M&M’s, Cookies, Chocolate Covered Almonds
- SALTY (Nuts): Cashews, Almonds, Peanuts, Mixed Nuts, Pistachios
- SALTY (No Nuts): Pretzels, Cheezy Crunch, Pringles, Chips, Late July Cheese Crackers.
- BRAND RECOGNITION: Pringles, Snickers, Clif Bars, Kind Bars, M&M’s,
- HEALTHY: Trail Mix, Granola, Kind Bar, Power Bars,
- SIGNATURE: Logo Items, Kits, Regional Items, Spa Items, Eco Friendly, Organic
- NEEDS: First Aid Kit, Intimacy Kit, Toothbrush Kit, Shave Kit, Sewing Kit
Your minibar menu:
When printing your menu for the rooms keep it a generic as possible. By doing this, it is much easier to make changes when needed. For example if you just have cookie, chips or healthy bar it is easy to go from a chocolate chip cookie to a shortbread cookie or a power bar to a Kind bar if you see the trends are changing or the item is not moving like you though it would.
Monitoring your minibar:
- Check the expiration dates often
- Order correct quantities
- Don’t be afraid to make changes to your product mix to maximize the number of turns. Phase out items that don’t sell well.
- Monitor trends, guest feedback, discrepancies.
- Train Employees to check for tampered items, check dates in the room and upon receipt from vendor, clean and dust for best presentation, turn all labels facing guest, replace the correct items every day, make sure menu is current and clean.
Shelf life:
Products have varying shelf lives. Six months should be the minimum shelf life. Any less than six months and some rooms will not turn the product, and then you have to pull outdated products which affects labor, time and money. Packaging, product category and the packaging process will determine the shelf life of the product you use. Chips, Cookies and popcorn usually have short shelf life while chocolate, nuts, and beverages have longer shelf lives. Cello bags, boxes and cans offer barriers to protect freshness of products. Products that are nitrogen flushed normally have double or more the life of products that are not flushed. An example would be our Banana Moon Can line. We also use nitrogen flush bags inside most of our box line products.