Food for Thought

PROFILE Robert Juntke Vice President of Food & Beverage Europe, Middle East & Africa Marriott International

As Vice President of Food & Beverage for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Marriott International, Robert Juntke is responsible for overseeing the success of more than 3,000 venues across more than 1,000 hotels; a portfolio that includes some of the group’s most luxurious brands, such as The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels and the Edition label. His journey into hospitality began early, with an apprenticeship in his native Germany and a job as a waiter, followed by the decision to enrol in hotel school. He completed a bachelor’s degree in hotel management before moving into brand operations and area operations, and has been in his current role since 2019.

Upcoming Openings: Bling Tiger, The Ritz-Carlton, Baku (2022); Hedwigs, 12|14 Stradom House, Autograph Collection, Krakow (2022); Sushisamba, W Edinburgh (2023)

As Marriott International continues to strengthen its culinary offering, the group’s Vice President Food & Beverage Europe, Middle East & Africa Robert Juntke discusses regional trends, harnessing the power of tech and the future of the buffet.

Words: Shanna McGoldrick

Marriott International’s extensive portfolio includes some of the most recognisable luxury hotel brands in the business: from names like The Ritz-Carlton and St Regis to W Hotels, Bulgari and Edition, the group has perfected the art of creating upscale hotels with distinct personalities. It’s a philosophy that extends to its F&B offering, which spans casual breakfast joints and fine-dining venues, placing an emphasis on destination eateries that appeal to guests and locals alike. As Vice President of Food & Beverage for EMEA, Robert Juntke’s hospitality remit includes glittering rooftop bars in Dubai, beach clubs in Portugal and Michelin-starred venues across mainland Europe.

A GLOBAL APPROACH TO STAYING LOCAL

“F&B plays a major role for us; it accounts for a huge amount of our revenue shares,” explains Juntke. A large portion of Marriott’s offering, he says, is “locally-driven” which means balancing the expectations of residents in the surrounding community with the needs and desires of guests keen to enjoy regional cuisine. While the ratio of guests dining in-house is critical in resort properties and remote locations, he points out that it is also increasingly important in major cities, where choosing to eat at the hotel might not initially appear to be such a natural choice for guests. It is these locations, he says, where “we need to make more effort to convince our guests to stay with us and dine with us”.

These efforts range from marketing and promoting F&B venues independently from the hotel itself, to building separate entrances for eateries to create boundaries between various facets of the hospitality experience. “I welcome every guest and we want to make sure that our solutions are tailored not just to the hotel guests, but to the locals too,” says Juntke.

When it comes to tapping into wider F&B trends, Juntke believes that retaining a sense of place and perspective is important – and working across a region as varied as EMEA means that there’s no shortage of inspiration. One of the biggest current trends across the board – and an area in which Marriott’s hotels are responding successfully – relates to culinary clarity, he believes. “We are very aware that our guests would like to know what they’re eating, what the supply chain is and where we source our products,” he says. “We transparently share this with our guests on site and make sure that they understand what they’re eating.”

Another trend he is focusing on involves maximising the opportunities outside of the traditional restaurant and bar set-up, using spaces to host pop-up concepts and innovative F&B activations that not only add excitement for guests but generate revenue. “A pop-up outlet in

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underutilised space is something we can easily implement for a small cost and it delivers a great experience for our guests,” he points out.

THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY

If there’s one meal almost guaranteed to attract guests, it is, of course, breakfast – an area that Juntke and his team have prioritised fiercely so far this year. “Guests are super emotional about breakfast experiences at our hotels,” he divulges. “We have driven that experience the last couple of months – very much – so that we really have a great offer in our hotels.” He says guest feedback suggests that around 70% of customers are excited about the group’s breakfast offerings, highlighting that the morning meal provides further opportunities to diversify, get creative and tie the culinary narrative to broader trends or local narratives.

One of the biggest adjustments Juntke’s team has made to the breakfast strategy has been to offer hotels more flexibility in the post-pandemic period. “We’ve been very buffet breakfastminded – in this region in particular – so we have introduced more flexibility to à la carte breakfasts, which are enjoyed by many of our guests,” he says, citing the example of a recent visit to an Autograph Collection hotel in Spain, where a Spanish breakfast for two is served on a long wooden tray, adapting the buffet concept to bring it to the table, in effect. “Giving our hotels more flexibility in the style that they serve breakfast is critical,” he continues. “This enables the teams onsite to target the right clients and meet expectations. For example, brands like Edition exclusively serve an à la carte breakfast and are very successful with it.”

As for the future of the buffet breakfast, Juntke believes that logistical challenges and regional differences – not to mention personal preference and the element of unlimited choice – mean it may well be around for some time yet. “There are hotels that have huge volumes, and they probably need some kind of buffet offer,” he says. “The last thing guests want to do when they come for breakfast is wait, so a buffet can help in reducing waiting lines and waiting for meals.” He adds: “There are regions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa where breakfast buffets are expected – in particular in the Middle East.”

THE POWER OF TECH

Staying ahead in the modern F&B landscape means embracing evolving technology, and Juntke is keen to implement technical solutions throughout Marriott’s experiences. “There are a lot of innovative companies out there who offer amazing technology to improve dining experiences in our restaurants, and in the industry,” he says. “We monitor this carefully, continually evaluating and making sure that we work with those innovative start-up companies to some extent to help us to drive our business.”

The group is not averse to developing its own solutions, having launched its More Cravings app in the UAE this March. The app, which pools 300 restaurants and lounges from participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels across the region and offers users dining suggestions as well as discounts and partner promotions, saw 33,000 downloads in its first three months. Though there are currently no plans to expand it internationally, Juntke believes that major F&B hubs with high numbers of Marriott destination restaurants – such as Vienna, Berlin and London – present an opportunity. “We want to introduce an amazing solution for some of those key F&B markets we have on the continent,” he hints.

For now, his focus remains on driving progress and business across EMEA, and establishing Marriott venues as dining destinations in their own right. “People like to come for breakfast when they stay with us, but the challenge is always with lunch and dinner,” he says. “So that continues to be our focus: to make sure that we offer the right concepts in the right locations, that our hotels keep the momentum and keep being creative, that we’re being innovative and have the right people on board so that we’re just the best in the market.”