• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Food & Beverage: The Aramark Era begins

Rick said:
This is such a boring narrative now. Yes they provide food in prisons, they also provide catering in a myriad of other locations including schools and sports stadiums. It's the nature of modern business, diversification makes complete sense - products and offerings are tailored appropriately. One assume they no longer serve gruel in prisons ... but if they did, that isn't going to be on the menu at Alton Towers (although you could argue it may well be an upgrade vs. some of the current offerings).

It is, perhaps, an admission that the food offerings aren't something that they excel at and outsourcing to a company that has it as part of their DNA is a sensible move. It's no different that outsourcing of your digital services like ticketing.
Click to expand...

Outsourcing ticketing is a little different as that requires technology most companies won’t have access to without the outsourcing.

Outsourcing food provision reduces your risk as a company but it’s something you can provide and by outsourcing it you now have 2 companies who need to make a profit from the sales so the consumer gets a harder hit.
 
@Dave I fundamentally disagree - you can home grow a digital ticketing service, many parks have done so to varying degrees. Accesso are making money too, of course - very few services in a park are provided singularly.

In the 'glory days', Tussauds had a third party operate food services whilst leveraging a brand and supply chain from another third party.
 
If they wanted to keep food in house they could have done it with the right recruitment.

They obviously feel this is easier and like much of the business decisions taken of late.... less risky.

Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
 
F&B recruitment may as well have been outsourced with the amount of agency staff they've been using the past couple of seasons.
 
At the end of the day, it's the way Merlin have gone - especially at Alton Towers. It's all part of the "downsizing" of the resort post-2015.
  • Alton Towers Transport removed and replaced with brought in D&G buses
  • Steady reduction in food outlets and subsequent food outsourced to Aramark
  • Massive increase in external food providers for events
  • Outsourced rides (Retro Squad)
  • Largely outsourced halloween attraction (Invitation)
  • Outsourced light event for Christmas
  • External security used increasingly
Of course, we can also point to these calamities:

  • Housekeeping was outsourced but was then brought back in house due to 'issues'
  • Burger King had dreadful guest feedback at one stage which partly led to food being brought wholly in house (with exception to Eastern Express due to halal)
We'll see how long this Ara-lark lasts.
 
I notice on the menu uploads that appeared on TS Facebook page earlier that Corona pint is £6.50 but 1/2 pint is £3.10. 2 1/2 pints please, but put it in a pint glass😂. Not the first time their math has been wrong on beer pricing between 1/2 and full pints. No doubt will be corrected now.🤔
 
A varied and decent food offering should be a businesses number one way of creating secondary spend and more profit from visitors after they've paid to get in. The fact they've outsourced the lot including the hotels speaks volumes.

I know it's easy to criticise our local parks but it's staggering to me as I've visited more and more European and American parks that the ones with the least options food wise now is constantly the UK parks.
 
I think things will be different next year with the GP. The cost of living crisis didn’t really bite many of us until the winter months and it will hit many more next year. People won’t have the disposalable income to spend next year and will be looking for value for money and a good experience - I can see lower visitor numbers next year, less hotel guests and worse Tripadvisor reviews.
 
Rick said:
@Dave I fundamentally disagree - you can home grow a digital ticketing service, many parks have done so to varying degrees. Accesso are making money too, of course - very few services in a park are provided singularly.

In the 'glory days', Tussauds had a third party operate food services whilst leveraging a brand and supply chain from another third party.
Click to expand...

The infrastructure for self operated F&B is very well established with companies like 3663. It’s a world of difference to staff your own food outlets and to build your own IT infrastructure.
 
I think this is being made out as a major turning point, but to me, the perpetual denigration of food quality and choice combined with price increases seems like just another disappointing step in the F&B decline.

For 15 years, prices have risen, choice has dwindled and quality has dropped. This is just a slightly larger and more noticeable single step in the decline.
 
venny said:
I think this is being made out as a major turning point, but to me, the perpetual denigration of food quality and choice combined with price increases seems like just another disappointing step in the F&B decline.

For 15 years, prices have risen, choice has dwindled and quality has dropped. This is just a slightly larger and more noticeable single step in the decline.
Click to expand...
100% agree. And in fairness, if this wasn't happening and on the first day of next season prices had jumped 10% that wouldn't really be a big deal given inflation is beyond that currently.

To be clear, I'm not excited about Aramark but what they're replacing is _so_ poor I don't really understand why it's worth being upset about.
 
WillPS said:
100% agree. And in fairness, if this wasn't happening and on the first day of next season prices had jumped 10% that wouldn't really be a big deal given inflation is beyond that currently.

To be clear, I'm not excited about Aramark but what they're replacing is _so_ poor I don't really understand why it's worth being upset about.
Click to expand...

I expect without Aramark though it wouldn't have been a blanket 10% increase and instead they may have reviewed the actual costs of making items and the margins involved and created sensible pricing. Setting a dish at £17.05 is just weird, most would go for £16.95 or £17, or work out the cost of the steak and chips then set an appropriate price.
Whereas right now Aramark appear to have just taken whatever AT were charging at added their own blanket increase, so I would expect to see genuine inflation increases as well before the new season.
 
jon81uk said:
I expect without Aramark though it wouldn't have been a blanket 10% increase and instead they may have reviewed the actual costs of making items and the margins involved and created sensible pricing. Setting a dish at £17.05 is just weird, most would go for £16.95 or £17, or work out the cost of the steak and chips then set an appropriate price.
Whereas right now Aramark appear to have just taken whatever AT were charging at added their own blanket increase, so I would expect to see genuine inflation increases as well before the new season.
Click to expand...
Possibly. But then inflation means that on current trends stuff will be 3-4% more expensive again in March. I can see why an operator might do a 'knee jerk' bump given the rate everything is rising currently; it's lazy but as we all know they will get away with it, very few will compare the price of a hot dog visit to visit and even if they do it's very much the way of things presently.

I'm somewhat indifferent to it all, when I was growing up and we went to the theme park (I say the because it was only ever the American Adventure, Alton Towers was too expensive!) my parents would make a pack up, because they couldn't afford to buy a meal and get us in. I don't think a hike from £6.50 to £7.20 makes any difference in terms of attainability. If anything I'd like to see the prices moved up further and the quality improved.
 
WillPS said:
I'm somewhat indifferent to it all, when I was growing up and we went to the theme park (I say the because it was only ever the American Adventure, Alton Towers was too expensive!) my parents would make a pack up, because they couldn't afford to buy a meal and get us in. I don't think a hike from £6.50 to £7.20 makes any difference in terms of attainability. If anything I'd like to see the prices moved up further and the quality improved.
Click to expand...
At a child in the 90s we did the same, went to Drayton Manor as it was cheaper (and wristbands meant not everyone needed to pay for rides) and brought sandwiches with us.
But they as a young adult in the 2000s I went to Alton Towers several times and did get food there, usually Pizza Hut express or KFC to start with, then Pizza/Pasta buffet or Rita's/Woodcutters once that opened. I do remember initially Rita's ribs being pretty good and felt nice having waited service at the park.

In terms of the current price hikes it varies, £7 for a rollover hotdog is ludicrous. But £16 for pizza buffet including soft drinks is pretty good and comparable to Pizza Hut. Similarly £17 for steak is OK really but £1.65 for a small tub of Pringles is silly.
 
AstroDan said:
If anybody wants to see the current rep of Aramark - go read their Facebook status and the subsequent comments...
Click to expand...

Intrigued, but there seems to be loads of aramark accounts and can't find what you might be referencing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top