Large-scale events and banquets bring their share of challenges. One of these challenges? Food waste. About 20 to 50 percent of the food ends up straight in the trash. This is not only detrimental to your wallet but also to the planet. A shame. It’s time to change that.

In this article, we’ll share some tips to help you communicate effectively and collaborate in the right way for banquet optimization. With both guest and client. This is how you make a difference!

Improve your guest’s engagement

Reducing food waste? You can’t do it on your own. You need the help of your guests. Therefore, improving guest engagement is essential. Fortunately, this is easier than you might think. Communication is key here.

Explain to guests that you are working on reducing food waste. This can be done in various ways. For example, engage in conversation with your guests. Or distribute attractive flyers to draw attention to the subject. Don’t forget to mention the reasons behind your ambitions. Need a little help? In this blog, you will discover everything about the impact of food waste happening in the hospitality industry. 

Change the conversation

When you talk about food waste (and especially reducing it), you quickly get branded with the eco-warrior label. And that’s a pity. A green heart can indeed make a big difference. Especially in the hospitality industry. Fortunately, there are other ways to convince clients of the importance of reducing waste.

Instead, talk about the financial picture. Creating financial awareness makes the impact of your actions much more tangible. A client feels this directly in their wallet. Indicate, for example, that food waste arises from spoilage or overproduction. This is missed revenue for the business.

You can also save quite a few euros, for example, on purchasing. You can then use this to invest in other service developments.

Communication with the reservations department

A close collaboration between the banqueting department and the reservations department is crucial. Ensure streamlined communication about expected guest numbers, dietary, and other specific requests. This not only helps in adjusting the amount of food that needs to be served but also in avoiding unnecessary surpluses.

An extra tip? If a reservation – for example, a meeting lunch – unexpectedly does not go through and the person who reserved the lunch forgot to cancel? Let them know. Send an email afterward, clarifying the impact. Mention, for example, how much extra waste ended up in the trash. 

Work with pre-orders for lunches

Is there a lunch on the agenda? This is a golden opportunity to reduce food waste. Do this by having the group pre-order their meals. This makes them responsible for their order. After all, one person eats – quite a bit – more than another. It’s your noble task to inform them about factors like portion sizes of dishes. This prevents guests from ordering too much or too little due to miscommunication. You read it here, communication is truly key.

An additional benefit: because you know what people want to eat, you can act faster and serve faster. Leaves more time to have a chat. About the environment, for example ;-).

Involve your employees in your Mission

The success of your green mission stands or falls with your employees’ engagement. Looking to increase that engagement? It’s simple. Make sure they know why it’s necessary to reduce food waste. Explain this using concrete examples to make everything as tangible as possible. Then let your colleagues come up with ideas themselves to get started. How about a cozy brainstorming session, with snacks and drinks? This also increases the team spirit.

Data is your best friend

Whether you need to convince your employees, your clients, or your guests… Data supports your message. You collect that data very easily with Orbi, our fully automated food waste monitor. It registers in half a second what you throw away, how much you throw away, and where it comes from. Handy!

Need a little extra help? Our team is here for you. Email your question to [email protected] or call us at +31302270651.