Hotel secrets

I have access to the backstage areas at hotels when I work. In one place I was waiting for the elevator and noticed the menu for the resturaunt laid out on the wall. What the food was to look like, what the measurements for the recipes were, how much it cost to make the dish, and more importantly, the cost to the customer.

So the bacon and eggs I had for breakfast that cost $13.00, costs $1.50 to make. The Eggs Benedict, for $15.00 costs $.98 to make. I looked at the menu in awe comparing the cost to make it to the price for the consumer. Most every dish was about 10% of the cost to the customer. It was shocking.

But the Hotel does have costs I'm not including in the food. The cost of the land in Tahoe or Beverly Hills, the cost of the building, electricity, management, workers, etc. It all adds up into a price that the hotel and customer finds reasonable. If the customer was unwilling to pay the price, they would turn around after seeing the menu, and go to Dennys. If no one goes to the resturaunt, they change their prices or close.

It's all economics.