As commercial strategy continues to evolve across hospitality, one area remains significantly less mature than Rooms Revenue Management: Food & Beverage.

During this interactive roundtable session, participants from hotels, commercial teams, operations, and revenue management backgrounds came together to explore a simple but provocative question:

What followed was a lively discussion that challenged traditional thinking around restaurant operations, pricing, menu design, profitability, and the role of technology in shaping the future of F&B commercial strategy.

Where Are We Today?

The session opened by asking participants whether F&B Revenue Management was already being practised within their organisations.

Most agreed that while some revenue management concepts exist within restaurants today, they are often fragmented and operational rather than strategic. Typical measures included:

• Table turnover
• Average spend per guest
• Occupancy and covers
• Promotions and discounts
• Basic menu engineering

Participants recognised that unlike Rooms Revenue Management, there is rarely a structured commercial framework that brings all these elements together into a unified revenue strategy.

The Starting Point: Menu Engineering

Menu engineering quickly emerged as the foundation of F&B Revenue Management.

Participants discussed the importance of understanding menu performance not just by sales volume, but by balancing profitability and popularity.

The conversation explored the classic categories of:

• Stars
• Puzzles
• Plow Horses
• Dogs

Attendees shared experiences around identifying high-performing items, reviewing underperforming dishes, and understanding whether menu changes should be driven by profitability, guest demand, operational complexity, or a combination of all three.

The group generally agreed that many restaurants focus heavily on revenue generation while overlooking the commercial opportunities hidden within product mix and contribution margins.

Can Dynamic Pricing Work in Restaurants?

One of the most debated topics was pricing.

Participants discussed whether the hospitality industry is ready to adopt dynamic pricing within restaurants in the same way it has become accepted within airline and hotel room pricing.

While examples from international markets were shared, there was healthy skepticism around guest acceptance, particularly in markets such as Singapore where pricing consistency is closely linked to trust and value perception.

Several viewpoints emerged:

Some participants believed dynamic pricing is inevitable as technology advances and demand forecasting improves.

Others argued that guests would react negatively if staple menu items changed price frequently.

The discussion eventually shifted toward a more balanced view: rather than fully dynamic pricing, many opportunities already exist through:

• Time-based offers
• Seasonal menus
• Promotional pricing
• Bundling strategies
• Product positioning

Pricing flexibility has a role to play, but guest trust must remain at the centre of any strategy.

Menu Design: More Powerful Than We Think

A particularly engaging discussion focused on menu psychology.

Participants explored how menu layout, descriptions, placement, and visual design influence purchasing decisions.

One observation generated significant interest:

Are restaurants unintentionally training guests to become price-focused?

The group discussed how guests often look at prices before they look at value, and whether menu design can shift attention towards product appeal, experience, and perceived value instead.

Examples included:

• Strategic placement of high-margin items
• Use of menu “hot spots”
• Product storytelling
• Dish naming conventions
• Simplified menu structures

Participants agreed that menu design should be viewed as a commercial tool rather than purely a branding exercise.

Guest Behaviour and Market Differences

A recurring theme throughout the session was that F&B Revenue Management cannot be approached in isolation from guest behaviour.

Participants highlighted significant differences between:

• City hotels and destination resorts
• Local diners and hotel guests
• Luxury and lifestyle segments
• Different cultural and geographic markets

The discussion reinforced that there is no universal solution.

Commercial strategies that work in a destination resort with limited dining alternatives may not work in an urban environment where guests have access to hundreds of competing restaurants and delivery options.

The group concluded that guest segmentation must play a much larger role in future F&B Revenue Management strategies.

The Challenge of External Competition

Participants also explored the increasing influence of delivery platforms and external dining ecosystems.

Many questioned whether hotels should continue trying to compete directly against food delivery platforms or instead look for partnership opportunities that preserve guest convenience while still maintaining commercial participation.

The discussion highlighted that the competitive landscape for restaurants has fundamentally changed, requiring hotels to think differently about convenience, accessibility, and guest choice.

The AI Question

Given the broader conference focus on AI, participants naturally turned their attention to how emerging technologies might influence restaurant revenue strategy.

The discussion identified several areas where AI could support F&B operations:

• Demand forecasting
• Menu engineering analysis
• Guest preference insights
• Pricing recommendations
• Promotion optimisation
• Revenue performance monitoring

At the same time, participants cautioned that restaurant purchasing behaviour remains highly emotional and contextual.

The group agreed that while AI will become a powerful decision-support tool, human judgement, operational knowledge, and guest understanding will remain critical.

Key Outcomes from the Roundtable

By the conclusion of the session, several points of consensus had emerged:

• F&B Revenue Management already exists — but often under different names and in disconnected practices.
• Menu engineering is the most practical and accessible starting point for organisations beginning their F&B Revenue Management journey.
• Pricing opportunities extend far beyond discounts and should include demand management, bundling, product positioning, and value creation.
• Guest behaviour and market context must remain central to any commercial strategy.
• AI will accelerate decision-making, but successful implementation will require balancing data insights with human understanding.

Most importantly, participants agreed that F&B deserves a seat at the commercial strategy table alongside Rooms, Revenue Management, Sales, and Marketing.

The discussion demonstrated that many of the principles that transformed Rooms Revenue Management over the past two decades can be applied to F&B — not by copying rooms practices directly, but by adapting commercial thinking to the unique dynamics of restaurants and guest dining behaviour.

The session closed with a shared sense that the industry is only beginning to explore the true potential of F&B Revenue Management, and that significant opportunities remain for hotels willing to approach restaurant performance through a more strategic commercial lens.

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This article is drawn from a roundtable discussion at HSMAI APAC Commercial Strategy Conference 2026 on 15-May at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.