How do I set up a cost pricing model for a hotel where...

Why hotels need a different cost pricing model

A hotel isn't a regular restaurant. You're dealing with overnight guests who eat, walk-in diners, room service orders, complimentary breakfast, and staff who handle both front desk and F&B duties.

The three cost categories for hotel F&B

Break your costs into three distinct buckets:

• Pure F&B costs: Ingredients, kitchen staff, F&B manager
• Shared costs: Reception, housekeeping, building expenses, general manager
• Room costs: Housekeeping, linens, room maintenance

Your F&B pricing should only include the first two categories. Room costs belong with accommodation pricing.

Step-by-step cost price calculation

Start with your raw ingredient costs per dish. This follows standard restaurant costing:

Next, add your shared costs. Figure out what percentage of total shared costs should go to F&B. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, hotels generating 60% room revenue and 40% F&B revenue typically allocate 40% of shared costs to their F&B operations.

Different prices for different situations

Create separate pricing for:

• À la carte restaurant: Full cost price plus margin (standard restaurant approach)
• Room service: À la carte price plus 15-25% surcharge for delivery and logistics
• Breakfast included in room rate: Breakfast cost price built into room pricing
• Half board packages: Dinner cost price integrated into total package price

Food cost percentages for hotels

Hotels often run slightly higher food cost percentages than standalone restaurants because:

• Breakfast items have high food cost (bread, spreads, fresh fruit)
• Room service requires extra logistical expenses
• Lower volumes compared to specialized restaurants

Typical food cost for hotel F&B: 32-40% (compared to restaurants: 28-35%)

Separate administration for F&B and rooms

Keep your F&B revenue and costs completely separate from room revenue. This gives you visibility into:

• Which part of your hotel generates the most profit
• If your F&B operation stands alone profitably
• Where you need to make changes if results disappoint

Tools for hotel F&B cost tracking

A food cost calculator helps you monitor F&B costs separately from room bookings. You can build recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and room service to see what each service actually costs you.

Note: Most restaurant cost tools work for restaurants and smaller hotels (up to 3-4 stars). Large hotel chains typically need specialized hotel management systems.

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Sources consulted

• EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
• EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
• EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
• NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
• NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
• Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
• FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
• BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source

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