Hotel Case

After much searching and deliberating on the term “foodie” I found the best working definition to grasp the word; “A person that spends a keen amount of attention and energy on knowing the ingredients of food, the proper preparation of food, and finds great enjoyment in top-notch ingredients and exemplary preparation. A foodie is not necessarily a food snob, only enjoying delicacies and/or food items difficult to obtain and/or expensive foods; though, that is a variety of foodie. (Urbandictionary.com)” Sadly enough this word has replaced the respectable ones such as gastronome and epicurious, or maybe these words are just to serious sounding to entice people to call themselves by those names.

Who are the foodies though? This is a difficult demographic to follow, because it transcends all ages, wealth, areas, and ethnicities. It is said that thirty one million US adults (fourteen percent of the population) fall into this category ( So to define a foodie in point of demographics we need to look at a nation or union filled with them, France and the European Union are the comparisons in this regard. In the EU people avoid the grocery store and prefer the market place; fast food is limited if not restricted in some of these countries; and people actually tend to enjoy their food and the time eating it, instead of gorging down the super-sized meal in the vehicle. This demographic of the foodie is actually a reemergence of people actually appreciating their food in America; horribly and slyly enough this had been killed by the grocery store and corporations like McDonalds.

The amazing thing about the foodie trend is the willingness to spend and the amount more is quite significant. We look at the average American who spends less than ten percent of their income on food (The Omnivores Dilemma) while a foodie might or will spend twenty percent or more. Why is food worth so much more to these people? It is simple because the foodies appreciate the art, flavors, or the all out dining experience. Chefs are enthusiastic about these foodies because as artists nothing is better than seeing the customer staring at a dish, taking pictures (even though sometimes not dining room appropriate), and the look on their faces when taking that first delectable bite that is priceless.

These components add up to an exceptional dining customer. This is why the hotel industry needs to embrace these foodies, especially the local ones. In a city like Miami where occupancy rates can fluctuate anywhere between ninety percent and up in season to a dismal forty in the off season how do you keep the restaurants running with out laying off staff? Simply attract the foodies not only because their willingness to spend, but also their word of mouth advertisement. Look at hotels like the Setai on South Beach it is so busy during season that they hire extra employees for the kitchen and open a second restaurant on premise called the Grill. While during