As worldwide new luxury hotels and resorts are constantly coming up in every major business and resort destinations, especially always with new, modern and updated designs and concepts, the following points should get your attention:

Newer concepts in hotel food and beverage such as grab-and-go options and Instagrammable moments are expected to get attention in 2019, but there’s still room for a traditional sit-down dining experience, sources said.

The way in which guests want to receive meals is a bit different for each guest, and hotels look to cater to as many of those options as possible.

Authentic, well-concepted restaurants that create Instagrammable experiences are more relevant than ever.

Generic grab-and-go markets without identities and a specific story or point of view will see diminished sales.”

Many hotels see a lot of demand for grab-and-go meal options. Many guests nowadays want food selections that are quick so they can enjoy more time outside at the beach and around the pool. Based on this trend, lots of luxury resorts recently introduced grab-and-go healthy breakfast bowls, such as the overnight chia bowl and the acai bowl at our Gelato & Co. outlet.”

The experience

Creating an experience through F&B will continue to be important in 2019, and how it’s done depends on the hotel, the location and the target audience.

Click here to read ways to create F&B concepts that fit the hotel, market, guests

Guests are looking for local and non-local experiences that are authentic, and they’re willing to spend more for that experience. Coffee and morning restaurants and cafes need to become more craft in not only their design but in their coffee and food options,” he said.

It is important to create a guest experience where they leave the restaurant with a unique story to tell their friends and family, and take with them fond memories of their visit. Although our restaurants are located within our hotel, we want to be able to create the same wonderful experience for our guests that they would find in any successful freestanding restaurant environment.”

Guests of today want background and storytelling when dining in a hotel restaurant. They want to learn the origin of the ingredients in their meal, know about the farm where it came from and about the farmer, bio-background etc.

Restaurant tech

The hotel industry is trying to innovate every part of the hotel experience, which includes restaurants. As such, technology is becoming increasingly important in hotel F&B.

Many global operating luxury hotel chains continuously evolve and innovate their restaurant experience.

Technology gives us the opportunity to be more visual when showcasing menu items and services, and it’s something we are implementing into our guest experience by using more digital screens to display menus and including more imagery for guests to select from our offerings.

Restaurants also benefit from online reservation platforms that make it easier for guests to book their dining experience from a mobile device. Lots of 5 star properties want to be front-runners now on when it comes to implementing the latest innovations.

Some are introducing a service button for guests around the beach and pool area, which they can use anytime they need immediate server assistance. This will give their staff the opportunity to enhance the guest experience and work more efficiently.

There’s also been a rise in off-premise delivery, through services such as Grub Hub or Uber Eats. More hotels are preparing meals and having them delivered this way, catering to people who want to enjoy restaurant-quality food while sitting in front of Netflix.

Hotel restaurant layouts

Some hotel restaurants are integrated with the lobby while others have more of a standalone restaurant feel. This is a emerging trend for hotel restaurants that are a mix of both.

Guests will begin noticing more unique hotel restaurant offerings, more food hall-esque style options and fast, casual experiences built into the public areas. Some will replace the grab-and-goes; some will allow guests to experience a variety of foods and flavors at approachable price points and without the classic server experiences.

The typical hotel lobby and hotel restaurant that ticks all the boxes will fade away over time.

Cuisine types

Cuisine is trending toward meals that cater to dietary restrictions, sources said.

Many restaurants will start creating “fully-integrated menus” that accommodate people with common allergies such as gluten, peanut and lactose, to avoid giving customers with allergies “the impression they are missing out.”

Numerous Executive Chefs & F&B Managers are seeing a “vegetable movement,” in which a larger portion of the menu is dedicated to vegetarian options, with a focus on unique cauliflower dishes.

Dishes with African, Israeli and Middle-Eastern influences are also becoming popular in restaurant cuisine.

But still Asian & Chinese street food will take over the scene in 2019, “introduced through culinary pop-up events or by shifting the restaurant concept to Asian inspired street food.”