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such as waffle or specialty pretzel shops, and more outdoor dining, including food trucks on skis that are hauled part way up the mountain. “Some places have a long ski run down to get to the lodge, so resorts are bringing food up the moun- tain,” Ireland said. Technology Integration “Menus have all gone digital,” asserted Ireland. “It all goes back to staffing. Staff- ing is such a big issue, if you can avoid going through a cashier, it helps.” He said some resorts have tried surge pricing (raising prices on weekends and busy times) with mixed results. Others are experimenting with on-hill ordering— skiers and riders order on their phones and pick up at the lodge. “It works real- ly well at some resorts; not so much at others,” he said. “It’s all evolving. They’re trying to integrate [on-hill ordering] into their existing technology systems.” Eyes on efficiency. At Boyne Resorts, Barbier said the company is expanding
self-service kiosk ordering. Brighton Resort, Utah, added a third kiosk this year; kiosk ordering is included in the design of the company’s new Tennessee Sky Park restaurant, and self-service technology will be in any future venue design. Big White has invested heavily in Toast, a cloud-based point-of-sale, across all seven of its outlets. “The new tech- nology comes with the added versatil- ity of handheld tablets that our servers can use directly at the table to speed up the process of sending orders to the kitchen, picking up the next course, or taking payment,” Hanna said. “All this is expected to translate into fewer mis- takes, quicker bill times, and faster turn- over.” Big White’s coffee shop will also implement a printed label for each cup ordered to streamline the process and “reduce the wastage on drinks that cus- tomers mistakenly take as their own.” Inventory controls. In the back of the house, Hanna said Big White will utilize Optimum Control this season, an auto-
mated goods-tracking platform that will give the resort real-time data on the cost of goods per outlet. McPartlin said Lake Louise has also been refining inventory controls and exploring for future implementation technology solutions like kiosk ordering and online reservations. The resort treats each outlet independently to improve service and efficiency. “From a marketing perspective, in summer in particular, we approach our F&B outlets as their own attractions in and of themselves,” he said. Waste Management Sustainability is another top focus with- in ski resort F&B operations. Kirkwood, which diverted 12 tons of food waste last season through its food digester, will continue to expand those efforts this season, said senior commu- nications specialist Carly Mangan. “New guest-operated sorting stations will be introduced in the Village to replace regular trash cans this season, and our
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