Melia Hotels International : Meliá Hotels International and Eatable Adventures announce a start-up innovation contest for Food & Beverage

Meliá Hotels International, the leading hotel company in Spain, has announced the launch of the 'Meliá Challenge' together with the food business incubator Eatable Adventures. The competition is for start-ups and aims to find the most innovative solutions in Food and Beverage for improving the guest experience in hotels.

For Valentín Gómez Zavala, Global Culinary Director at Meliá Hotels International, 'Food and Beverage plays a fundamental role in company development and growth. Both local residents and guests in our hotels seek innovative and memorable experiences with the greatest possible degree of personalisation. Combining the challenges we face with the talent and agility of start-ups will allow us to continue to make progress In our F&B strategy and find innovative solutions that have a real impact on our guests' experience.'

For Oscar Torres, Global F&B Director at Meliá Hotels International, 'it is a challenge to find new business models in F&B and also in how we use technology and how we generate relationships between our customers and the dining experience that go beyond classic restaurant service'.

For Jose Luis Cabañero, founder and CEO of Eatable Adventures, 'partnership between major companies and start-ups has many advantages for both. Ideas such as the Meliá Challenge are key to boosting innovation and the growth of start-ups and the industry.'

Who is it for?

Start-ups with solutions that add value and respond to business challenges. Solid and committed teams focused on the hotel and F&B industries.

Focus

Meliá Challenge 2018 has its sights set on new F&B business models that guarantee improvements in customer experience, operations and profitability, in addition to the application of technology to the customer experience in the MICE and corporate travel segments, the creation of unique sensorial experiences and the optimisation of hotel and customer relationships.

When and how?

Candidates can sign up until July 15 through www.gastroemprendedores.es, with selection taking place in September. In October, the selected start-ups will present and defend their ideas before a committee consisting of executives from both companies. The committee will choose the finalists and the eventual winner will have the chance to implement their solution or service in the hotel company.

Meliá Hotels International has made significant progress in its Food & Beverage strategy, introducing innovative dining concepts in hotels and forming alliances with major partners such as the award-winning Torres brothers, Martín Berasategui and Ángel León, among others. The company aims to provide avant-garde F&B services that reflect the essence of the location, raise awareness about international cuisine or emphasise the importance of a healthy and balanced diet. As part of the strategy to position hotels as social epicentres in their destination, Meliá has also found its F&B facilities to be the best way to attract local residents to hotels.

In 2017, Meliá Hotels International supported the development of new F&B businesses and Eatable Adventures incubator programme and also hosted 'Gastropreneur' meetings. This entrepreneur community now has 12,500 members and has organised events attended by more than 1,000 people.