Omni Hotels chose to bring its food and beverage management within the company in an effort to improve service standards and avoid the pitfalls experienced by other hotel chains in the form of lost opportunity and revenue. According to Omni Hotels, most hotel restaurants do well at lunch and dinner. However, third party contractors tend to be less focused on other aspects of the business, such as breakfast, guestroom dining and catering.

"By managing restaurant operations from within the company, we can control all of the components of the business and in turn better serve our customers," says John Hopkins, senior vice president of operations for Omni Hotels. "There are service holes when you contract out restaurant operations. We want to fill these holes."

In addition to undertaking full management of all its restaurant operations, the company plans to develop a collection of food and beverage outlets that project the look and feel of individually unique, free-standing facilities to address the sophisticated dining demands of Omni Hotels customers. The company-wide food and beverage upgrade is part of Omni Hotels' $300 million capital improvements program.

Highlights of Omni Hotels' food and beverage program:

• Omni Royal Crescent Hotel, New Orleans: Christino's, an eclectic, Mediterranean restaurant featuring Tuscan cuisine
• Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.: upscale chop house under development which will replace the hotel's existing French bistro
• Omni Interlocken Resort, Denver: Meritage, a lodge-inspired restaurant specializing in wild game cuisine
• Omni Parker House, Boston: pub-style "Bostonian" bar under development, will feature its own street entrance
• Omni Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, Ind.: 40 West Coffee Cafe -- gourmet take-out market and coffee bar

Christino's Restaurant at the Omni Royal Crescent Hotel in New Orleans following a facelift and menu change as part of Omni Hotels' chain-wide program to upgrade restaurant facilities, bucking the trend to contract out food and beverage operations. ...

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Omni Hotels is a privately owned chain of 43 first-class and luxury hotels and resorts located throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Omni Hotels properties offer four-diamond services ranging from gourmet dining, fitness facilities, tennis, golf, wine tastings, tours of local attractions, music festivals and children's activities.