Sales Mix meaning in hospitality

Sales mix is the proportion of different products or services a hospitality business sells. It's the split of total sales across different menu items, room types or additional services. For a restaurant it might be the percentage of starters, main courses, desserts and drinks. For a hotel it could be the split between standard rooms, suites and add-on services like spa treatments or room service. Knowing your sales mix helps you see which products are working and which need to be improved or removed.

The sales mix is a powerful tool for hospitality managers. It gives you insight into customer behaviour and helps with pricing and inventory management. By looking at your sales mix you can see what your most profitable products are and focus on promoting them. It also helps with menu engineering so you can position high-profit items in key positions. For hotels, it helps with room allocation and package deals. With this knowledge, you can make data-driven decisions that will increase your bottom line.

Let’s say you're the manager of a boutique hotel with a rooftop restaurant. Your overall revenue is steady but profits are declining. By looking at your sales mix you see that your high-margin signature cocktails are not selling as much as you expected and beer sales are up. With this information, you decide to retrain your staff to upsell the signature cocktails and create a happy hour promotion featuring these drinks. You also see that your premium suites, which have a higher margin, are underutilised. You create a weekend package deal that includes a stay in a premium suite with a complimentary signature cocktail. After implementing these changes you see an increase in your profit margins without increasing overall sales volume. This is an example of how understanding and acting on your sales mix can directly impact your business profitability.'