Marriott eyeing food and beverage as revenue driver in Korea

By Kang Seung-woo

Taking a closer look at the Korean hotel industry, gone are the days when a hotel was just a place to bed down.

Rather, it is increasingly serving as a venue, where guests can dine, drink and party as well as sleep.

Buying into the trend, Peggy Fang Roe, chief sales and marketing officer (CMO) of Asia Pacific at Marriott International, is putting a heavy focus on food and beverages as a revenue driver in Korea and other Asia Pacific countries.

“In Asia, 40 percent of our revenue comes from food and beverages. That includes restaurants, bars, catering and weddings,” Fang Roe said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul.

“That is different than anywhere else in the world. It is not the same in the United States and Europe. As a result, we focus a lot on making sure we have right chef's quality, and execution like food quality.

“They are a really big focus.”

In most markets for hotels, it is mostly about rooms, but Asian countries, including Korea, are an exception, she noted.

“We do both (food and beverage as well as rooms). Now in Korea, particularly, I think I work more at the Asia-Pacific level, looking at what programs can we put in place to drive loyalty or which restaurants should we feature?” said the CMO, who took charge in 2013 after assuming key positions within the organization, such as vice president of Global Operations and vice president of Brand Management.

In line with her focus, the U.S. hospitality company has introduced the Marriott Gourmet Journey Culinary Festival in Korea, expecting it to showcase the most unique food and drink experience across Marriott hotels, including JW Marriott and the Sheraton, in Korea throughout the year.

According to her, the festival lets guests experience authentic Korean cuisine, based on the Marriott International's core value in food and beverage, “Go Local,” and it began with “Summer 8” at Tavolo24, an all-day restaurant at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square, July 2. It featured healthy summer-themed food and beverages, composed of the freshest seasonal local ingredients from the nation's eight provinces.

As part of the culinary festival, the Sheraton Grande Incheon is now offering a summer BBQ festival, while the Sheraton Seoul D Cube City will present a seafood and sashimi promotion in September.

Along with them, the JW Marriott Seoul is scheduled to reopen Aug. 20 after an eight-month renovation and Fang Roe has pinned high hopes on the property's food and beverages.

“When the JW Marriott Seoul reopens, culinary is going to be a huge focus as I saw a couple of concepts that are still under development. There are some unique concepts in that hotel,” she said.

“In fact, I was trying to figure out which one was going to be the most popular and I think all are going to be.”

Marriott committed to women empowerment

The hotel company established a Women's Leadership Development Initiative in 1999, intended to increase the presence of women in the highest levels of management and in other key decision-making positions.

“The focus on women in Marriott is actually not about women, it is about parity. So it is about giving everyone in the organization an equal opportunity to get any job and get equal pay because we believe that when there is a nice mix of gender, culture and etc., the company will have a better performance,” she said. The CMO is an executive sponsor of the initiative.

To this end, Marriott International has held a conference every year.

Now, the company's efforts directed toward women's empowerment are expanding into Korea and other Asian countries.

“Here in Korea, we have 21 hotels and we have two female general managers (GMs) _ one at the Courtyard Seoul Botanic Park and the other at the Four Points by Sheraton Gangnam,” she said, adding that there was one female GM in Japan and one in the Philippines also.

“Japan, Korea and the Philippines have traditionally less female GMs positions, but now I am really excited to see that we have more women coming in the pipeline.”