Editorial Board   Guest Author

Mr. Clarke

Troy Clarke

Food & Beverage Director, Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston

Troy Clarke is passionate about food and beverage. He recently joined the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston as Director of Food & Beverage. In this role, he oversees all food and beverage operations at the hotel, including the hotel's extensive banquet operation for conferences, weddings and social events; ArtBar Restaurant & Patio; the culinary team, the pastry shop, the beverage team, mini-bar, and in-room dining for the property. The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston features 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and 400 luxurious guest rooms at its location on the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge. On a day to day basis, Mr. Clarke manages budgets, forecasting, menu development, payroll, creative direction and operational opportunities for an $8.4 million operation for Sonesta. This gives him plenty of opportunity to use his strong leadership, innovation and quality control skills. His strategic thinking has made him a leader in hospitality food and beverage, always seeking new trends to share with his team to aide in their growth and development, as well as showing how important knowing who and what you are is to the continued success of your establishment. Mr. Clarke has over 17 years experience in food and beverage with prior management roles at Loews Miami Beach, the Pfister Hotel, Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Ritz-Carlton Boston and the Westin Copley Place Boston. Through the years he has worked in all aspects of food and beverage, from washing dishes, waiting tables through banquet manager and outlets manager. In each position he found the opportunity to continue with his education as a sommelier - a personal passion through the years. Mr. Clarke is active in several professional organizations, including membership in the Society of Wine Educators, the United States Bartenders Guild, Guild of Sommeliers, American Sommelier, and is also a Hotel F&B Council Member. He is a candidate for Best Sommelier in America 2011.

Mr. Clarke can be contacted at 617-806-4301 or tclarke@sonesta-boston.com

Coming up in September 2019...

Hotel Group Meetings: Uncommon Destinations

The last few years have been good to the Hotel Group Meetings industry and that trend is expected to continue into 2019. Planners are brimming with confidence due to an expanding economy and increased job creation, which typically results in a boost in corporate meetings. Given this promising outlook, planners are trying to outdo themselves to satisfy the high expectations of their clients. One notable trend is to integrate unusual settings into the meeting experience, hosting groups at local zoos, aquariums, museums, event centers, or other outdoor facilities. The goal is to embrace uncommon destinations, rather than a typical hotel conference room, so that meetings can be memorable, unique and stimulating. This is also part of another trend which is to support all things local - from hosting events at landmark city venues; to catering through local restaurants, food trucks and microbreweries; to hosting off-site excursions like agri-tours, athletic events or scenic 5k routes. However, though the setting might be spectacular, there are still some bedrock components that must be provided to ensure a successful meeting. Free, high-speed Wi-Fi is still one of the most requested services. Planners have to make sure that a comprehensive communication infrastructure is in place so clients can easily connect - and stay connected - to the network throughout the entire meeting experience. Also, technology tools can be used to streamline the booking, registration, and check-in process, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) materials can be utilized to ensure seamless access to conference events. There are also numerous software tools that encourage audience participation, as well as integrating polls, Q&A, surveys and games into speakers' presentations. The September Hotel Business Review will examine issues relevant to group meetings and will report on what some hotels are doing to promote this sector of their operations.
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