Hotel Restaurants a Winning Proposition
The Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square has a new food-and-beverage outlet, Latitude 39 Restaurant & Bar, specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant began by offering daily breakfast service in May and plans to add lunch and dinner service in June.
Latitude 39 joins a winning lineup of named restaurants at these other M&R-managed hotels in New York: Allora at Le Méridien New York, Fifth Avenue; Ramerino Italian Prime at the Hyatt Centric Midtown 5th Avenue New York; and Goosefeather at the Tarrytown House Estate on the Hudson.
The restaurants all benefit the hotels, the owners and chefs who operate them and, last but hardly least, the hotel guests who dine in them. It’s a win-win-win.
Latitude 39’s owner-operators, Nordine Achbani and Mia Sedki Achbani, “have been wonderful to work with,” said Felix Maldonado, Holiday Inn general manager. “Their cuisine is excellent, and the décor very welcoming. Their success will be our success.”
Both leisure and business travelers benefit from having an attractive, quality restaurant on property. “On-site restaurants are a convenient option for guests who have had a long day of sightseeing, shopping or business meetings,” he said. “Or, they may be looking for a convenient spot to host friends, co-workers or clients while they are in town.”
Some restaurants can be accessed right from the hotel lobby while others have a separate entrance from the street. The Holiday Inn has both. There is signage in both the lobby and above the street entrance.
A number of M&R’s on-site restaurants offer room service during peak dining hours, while others will deliver meals to a guest room, not quite formal room service, but still a convenience.
In the case of relatively new hotels like the Le Méridien and Hyatt Centric, the presence of a well-reviewed restaurant is a win because it attracts local diners, curious about the restaurant, who may not otherwise be aware of the hotel.
“The additional foot traffic is helpful,” said Jeff Dziak, Le Méridien general manager, adding that the hotel’s midtown Manhattan location has become an increasingly competitive hotel market. “Anything we can do to build visibility in the local market is good,” he said.
