Hospitality Story
By Jacqueline Perry

Corporate luncheon goers, birthday banquet celebrants, Sunday brunch regulars, newlyweds and other local hotel guests are never cited as the primary reason for hotels on Guam to stay in business. In fact, it is the island’s about-one-million annual visitors that are the island’s hotels’ raison d’etre.

However, one would likely be surprised to find out just how much the island’s leading hotels depend on local business to support their properties’ facilities — specifically, food and beverage outlets.

Many of Guam’s hotels experience a lunch rush from the local community. The word-of-mouth acclaim that can make a given restaurant a favorite of the lunch crowd can only be brought about by the outlet’s topnotch food, quality and service.

The Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort is a beautiful addition to Guam’s hotel inventory. It has aesthetic appeal throughout the resort and is also the newest of Guam’s hotel dining facilities.

The Sheraton’s banquet rooms are the largest available ballroom style accommodations on island and the hotel can provide an experienced staff equipped to handle the requirements of the largest guest list.

“Sixty percent of our total food and beverage revenue comes from local consumers,” says Thomas H. Son, brand marketing/public relations manager of the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort. “And 70% of our revenue in the banquet department is from our local consumers. A big portion of that is from local weddings and local corporate events.”

Son says that the Sheraton makes it a priority to ensure that the local community continues to take pleasure in all that the hotel has to offer. “We create many local promotions, specifically tailored to our local clientele,” he says. “Our local consumers now are very sensitive and price conscious, they know exactly what they want as far as quality and value,” and the Sheraton is intent on delivering on those expectations, he adds. According to Son, the Sheraton’s primary competitors are the Westin Resort Guam, the Hyatt Regency and the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa.

While the large hotels would not be on Guam if not for the off-island visitor market, Son emphasized the significance of the Sheraton’s local customer base. “We can’t just depend on the tourist market especially now that the market is very unpredictable with all the unfortunate calamities and the current economic situation,” he says. The hotel works hard to attract local customers even without the recent downturn in tourist arrivals, he says.

“Our La Cascata Buffet Restaurant is very strong with our local market,” Son says. “Our food selection is very competitive as far as value and quality. In addition, we offer food that specifically targets the local palate.”

The banquet business accounts for 31% of the Sheraton’s total food and beverage revenue, and brings in about $2 million to $2.5 million per year. “We see an increase in the banquet business in relation to the military buildup because of our roles in such events as the annual industry and economic forums,” Son says. “The unique facilities and ballroom give us a unique competitive advantage. In addition we’re able to transform and convert some of our unique features and facilities as a venue to offer to our guests.”

In the future, the Sheraton is looking into possibly expanding the food and beverage business by developing different creative ways for outsourcing.

The Hilton Guam Resort & Spa maintains a commitment to sales products only available to the local community. “We provide various specials and promotions that only the local market can enjoy,” says Crystal P. Sablan, marketing communications manager at the Hilton. “We are also part of the Premier Club which offers discounts to members of the club — a majority of them being local guests.”

“The local market is very important. Hilton has always been a part of the local community from its charity events to dining and room specials,” Sablan says.

The Hilton boasts the Islander Terrace as a local favorite. “We offer a wide buffet spread of nightly themed dishes,” Sablan says. “The most popular night for the local community is our seafood night. Roy’s [Restaurant] is another local favorite.”

Aside from restaurant business, the Hilton is grateful for the number of corporate functions, local organization meetings, and also birthday and wedding occasions. “The Hilton has a strong presence in the local community and we see locals coming back to have more than one function with us, from having their baby’s christening [celebration] here and then that individual has [his or her] wedding here — it’s a tradition,” Sablan says.

“The Hilton has always been a strong supporter of the local community and is always giving back from various events raising money for local charities to local food & beverage and rooms specials. There is always something special happening at the Hilton,” Sablan says.

According to Soo Oftana, director of marketing of the Guam Marriott Resort & Spa, the objective for the Marriott is to deliver superior service to the local community in order to continue to enjoy its business.

“While the Marriott features fewer restaurants than most hotels, it does place a lot of pressure on its premiere steakhouse, the Manhattan,” she says. “The Marriott Café has also garnered some attention for its locale and affordability.”

“While the outdoor barbecue flair of the [Marriott Sunset Barbeque] attracts more visitors than locals, it is among the most reputable of outdoor barbecue dinners on the visitor-evening-dining circuit,” Oftana says. “[And it is] the one that promises the most quality service.”
The Marriott has seen a great deal of banquet business in past years and, according to Oftana, “banquet sales have done extremely well.”

The Guam Marriott, last holiday season, hosted the Continental Airlines Christmas party, a highly anticipated banquet commitment, though budgetary constraints have come into play due to the economic decline.

Oftana explains that although times are trying and sacrifices have to be made, it is personal relationships that will help ensure that clients’ needs are met in order to continue important business relationships.

The Marriott is committed to fostering its interpersonal relationships with local clientele so that the whole community can take advantage of the services offered at the hotel, Oftana says.

Sophia Chu, director of marketing at the Hyatt Regency Guam says, “The local market has always been a very, very important component of [the Hyatt’s] food and beverage outlet [business]. A lot of what we do is with the local market in mind. We always try to have what the local market will enjoy.”

The latest local promotion is “The Vino Club.”

The Vino Club target locals with an affinity for wine and also those who wish to learn more about wine. “We feature signature chefs, who pair food with wines and create specialty meals and promotions,” Chu says. “The Hyatt entertains several local organization galas for nonprofits and other organizations, and many others, especially with holiday events. We always target corporate accounts for their needs.”

“A large part of our food and beverage is our local clientele. It is at least more than half of our business,” Chu says.

“Al Dente is very popular for lunch, dinner and for smaller events,” Chu says.

The Hyatt is known for its generous Sunday Brunch that still attracts people by the hundreds, Chu says. It now has upgrades that include a fresh-baked-goods oven and crepe station without a price increase.

Each of Guam’s large hotels say that they expect at least 50% of their food and beverage business to come from those living on the island. Clearly, the facilities would not be on Guam without a significant visitor market, but the hotels have diversified and bolstered revenues with income streams that originate with locals. Local residents, by the same token, find that they have access to a variety of dining choices and event-venue options only made viable by the business of visitors from off-island.