We continue on Food &Beverage (F&B), that part of the budget that’s difficult to estimate and track because of all the variables. This time we explore the various components of each meal.
At the very least F&B is composed of two parts – the food and the beverage. Depending on the event the F&B selection will change as will the budgeting.
For illustration purposes let’s use a simple morning break of granola bars and coffee. The granola bar can be ordered based on consumption but the coffee must be ordered by the gallon. If I add fruit to this morning snack that cost might be a fixed rate per bowl. So in this simple scenario I have three distinct parts – the granola bar, the coffee and the fruit—each with a different type of budget configuration.
Next let’s look at a reception where we offer a cheese tray, hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, a carving station, hosted wine, beer and soft drinks, and a cash bar for hard alcohol. This F&B event fees breaks down as follows:
Cheese tray – fee based on per person
Hors d’oeuvres – flat fee based per tray or per piece
Cold hors d’oeuvres are less expensive and may come in larger quantities per tray
Hot hors d’oeuvres cost more and may come in smaller quantities per tray
Carving station – cost of meat plus hourly fee for carver (type of carver—chef or server also has an impact on price)
Hosted soft drinks – on consumption
Hosted beer – on consumption but in some situations must purchase remaining bottles from opened cases.
Hosted wine—on consumption but in some situations must purchase remaining bottles from opened cases plus a corking or pouring fee
Bartender – hourly rate per bartender (most venues often require a minimum number of hours)
Cashier – hourly rate per cashier
So even in this basic scenario I have eight line items. Because of the variables of cost and quantity per tray of the hors d’oeuvres I would make each type of hors d’oeuvres a separate line item so I could have five or six more line items. All these parts comprise a single reception for a conference that may have 10 other F&B events.
Breaking down each F&B event allows us to better see the various parts that comprise it as well as the formulas that determine how costs are determined. Other than “packages” in which venue charge a flat rate per person for the meal, reception or break, most F&B events are a hybrid of consumption, per person, fee per quantity and hourly rates.
Food and Beverage is an important line item on your conference budget. Getting to that line item requires a lot of work on the back pages of the budget. To facilitate better budget estimation it is best to establish each F&B event as its own sub-total allowing you to budget each F&B event separately to account for its various parts and the method used by each part in determining cost.
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