Ms. Roberts

Food & Beverage

How to Install a Hotel Pantry For Under a $1000

By Janine Roberts, Director of Sales and Marketing, Tradavo

Hotel pantries are an enormously popular and highly profitable offering for thousands of Select Service and Extended Stay Hotels who offer their guests that added convenience of onsite shopping for snacks, quick meals, beverages and forgotten amenities. Programs like Marriott’s “The Market” and Hilton’s “The Suite Shop” bring guests added convenience, while adding millions of dollars to Revenue and Profits for their brands.

And while many of these programs are national programs that are developed and supported at the corporate level with standardized layouts, millwork and planograms, adding a pantry offering to your hotel does not require a lobby renovation or an exorbitant budget. Hotel pantries consist of a few must-have items that can be leased or purchased inexpensively and very quickly for managers who want to add $ to their Sales Per Occupied Room numbers.

To get an entire pantry installed, really requires no more than a 6’ space on a wall, about a $1,000 in shelving and fixtures, and an onsite engineer with a drill and a level! This entire investment can literally be recovered in your first 60 days of sales.

Location, Location, Location

Your first step toward offering a hotel pantry is to identify a space in your lobby suitable to offering a hotel pantry assortment. This may be on a wall in your lobby, in an under-utilized business center, or even on an empty wall behind your counter if you are concerned about theft. Items you should consider when you select a space are:

1. Proximity and clear view to the front desk to deter shoplifting and easily monitor out of stocks.
2. Electrical outlet that will allow you to plug in a refrigerator without stringing extension cords.
3. High traffic area – making sure that it is highly visible to guests who might otherwise head out the lobby door to spend their dollars at a convenience store instead of at your pantry.

Selecting Fixtures that Fit the Lobby and the Brand

Once you have selected an ideal location for your pantry, you will need to bring in the appliances and fixtures to fit your space. This can be accomplished for under $1,000 if you know what you are looking for and where to find it.

Items to consider when selecting fixtures:

1. What is my budget?
2. What finish will best complement my hotel’s existing woodwork and appearance?
3. How much space do I have to work with?

The first order of business it to find a refrigerator for beverages. Beverages are both your biggest sellers and your greatest profit margin. The average 16 oz soda can be purchased from a beverage distributor for less than $1.00 and will sell for $2.50 in virtually any hotel pantry. But refrigerators are expensive! The average 24” display refrigerator costs over $1,000.So how do you avoid this huge expense? Sign a contract.

Contact your local Pepsi or Coke distributor to set up an account with them. Let them know that you need a refrigerator to offer their products and they will bring you a free display refrigerator for your hotel pantry. There’s a catch – of course. If you accept a sponsored refrigerator from one of the major beverage brands, you can only offer that brand’s products in the refrigerator. So, if you select Pepsi and accept a Pepsi refrigerator, you can only offer Pepsi products in your refrigerator including their sodas, energy drinks, juices and waters.

Selecting Shelving that Sells

Next, you need the right shelving to display your snack products and quick meals in an appealing, organized fashion. There are a few affordable options to accommodate the look and feel of your lobby while offering ample display space for a wide assortment that will result in the revenue goals that make the program worthwhile.

Option #1
A modern bookshelf in a wood finish that matches the wood trim or other millwork in your lobby is a fast and cost effective solution to offering a hotel pantry for your guests. Purchasing a 36”w x 72”h x 12”d bookshelf makes a hotel panty quick and easy to install and costs as little as $100 to purchase. An excellent option is the Better Homes and Garden bookshelf offered on Walmart.com. Be sure that the shelving itself is a minimum 12” deep. Otherwise, you will not be able to get enough product in any given row and restocking will become a burden.

Option #2
Another solution is the pre-fab cabinets option at your national hardware store like the Wood Craft storage cabinets offered at most Home Depots in white and espresso finishes. These modular options offer cabinet/storage space below for convenient storage of back stock items and (3) shelves on top for displaying product. They are available in 24”w x 12”d modules that cost about $85.00 each. Purchasing two tops and two bottoms and placing them side by side allows you to offer plenty of display and storage space in a small space for a VERY small investment.

Option #3
Your third solution is to purchase a framed section of slatwall to mount to the wall. To go this route, you will need to purchase the slatwall, slatwall hooks, and shelves. Companies like Displays2go.com have fully finished 48” wide slatwall displays (approx $500 delivered) and 48” wide laminate shelves (approximately $25 ea delivered) that sit on metal brackets (approximately $4 ea delivered).**Slatwall sections and shelves can be purchased in a variety of colors with the most popular being maple, oak, mahogany, black and white.

Notice in the photo, this hotel went with Option 3 in a maple finish which allowed them to offer 50 individual products in a 4’ x 4’ space and opted for the Pepsi branded free refrigerator. Their entire fixture cost was just $750 - including the shelf management system that sits on top of their shelves to create neat rows and push product forward allowing a wider assortment in a small display space.

Be sure that your onsite engineer mounts the slatwall to studs NOT just into drywall with anchors. The shelves become very heavy when the products have been loaded on top. Also be sure to order 3 brackets per shelf for a 48” wide section. Place one in the middle of the shelf and the other two on each side about 6” from the edges. Smaller slatwall sections are also available to offer a wide assortment of the best selling Convenience Valet products for your guests. A 24”w x 48” h slatwall section provides enough room to very neatly offer the top 20 amenities and Over-The-Counter medicines. These products are blister packed and peggable so all you need is the slatwall and (20) 6” peg hooks (which can be ordered with your Convenience Valet products) and you have an entire amenities offering that will be highly popular with your guests.

Regardless of the fixtures that you choose, it is essential to order a shelf management system like the ones offered by RDC Cytex out of Houston, TX. Their plexiglass organizers are barely visible, fit on any flat shelf (must be 12” deep or more), and allow you to offer a wide variety of products in a small space.

Ready, Set, Sell

Your last step is purchasing the inventory that you are going to sell. There are basic categories you always want to offer:

1. Sweet Snacks – Candy, Chocolate, Gum, Mints, Cookies
2. Salty Snacks – Chips, Crackers
3. Healthy Snacks – Nuts and Mixes, Energy Bars, Lite Popcorn
4. Quick Meals – Shelf stable, microwaveable and Ready-To-Eat offerings like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Starkist Lunch to Go, Campbell’s Soup at Hand
5. Amenities – OTC Medicines, Travel Size Sundries, Batteries, Cameras

It is best to find a distributor who specializes in the smaller quantities and specific products that hotel pantries require. A quick Google search for “hotel pantry distributor” will offer you a selection of local and national distributors that offer snacks and sundries distinctly to the hotel pantry retailer.

Now, you are ready to go! Be sure to have retail prices ready the moment your delivered products arrive. Display these on a wall next to your Market in a frame – avoiding stickers and labels whenever possible. If available, be sure to enter your inventory into your POS system for quick and easy purchases when your guests arrive.

A hotel pantry can pay for itself quickly with minimal investment, maximum returns and increased guest satisfaction! So, do your homework. Compare fixture prices and seek freebie leases whenever possible. A well laid out pantry requires a well laid out plan – but the outcome is a whole new revenue source and a brand new convenience for your guests to provide them with the best stay possible.

Janine Roberts, Director of Sales and Marketing for Tradavo, a retail services company specializing in design, optimization and supply needs of the industry. She works to improve retail profits and the automate management of hotel lobby shops. Janine developed and implemented the Retail Services element of Tradavo to provide hotels assistance in selecting, merchandising and effectively pricing inventory. She also created the highly successful Grand Opening Program to help general managers preparing for a grand opening and to launch their retail operation. Ms. Roberts can be contacted at 303-883-2335 or jroberts@tradavo.com Extended Bio...

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