Banquet dining is no exception to the laws of evolution. Hotels that emphasize creativity and quality in plate presentation and ingredients will capture the lion's share of banquet business in their market. The industry is trending towards consumer expectations that they will enjoy a better banquet experience at a good hotel, than at an independent restaurant. It's a cyclical trend; in the past, consumers expected the best food to be found in hotels, where the owners and managers could better afford to hire, train and retain skilled employees.

To become competitive, independent restaurants increased their emphasis on quality and personalization of banquet menus. They became specialists at off-premise catering as well, capturing a share of the market that had traditionally been the purview of hotels. To cut costs, hotels began to serve more formulaic banquet menus, stereotypically know for their starch and "rubber chicken." The hotel became the venue of choice for event planners that wanted to save money and serve safe, if somewhat bland, fare to banquet attendees. They lost much of their off-site catering business, as well as rooms revenue from lost attendees who neither ate nor stayed at the property.

Today, hoteliers know that to be competitive, they must ...