Hotels get into the fresh juice craze

Fresh squeezed orange juice just won't do for some hotel guests these days.

The health-conscious traveling public now wants healthy juice concoctions with ingredients such as kale, red beets, ginger and carrots. Fresh juice stores are becoming almost as ubiquitous as Starbucks, and hotels are seeing an opportunity.

"If you look at hotels overall, they're starting to be much more lifestyle locations," says Joe Pawlak, senior vice president at Technomic, Inc., a consulting firm for the food service industry. "Fresh is a term that really resonates strongly with consumers. Hotel players are jumping onboard."

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Some examples:

• Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants recently launched a fresh juice menu with three blends made from local fruits and vegetables. Being Green, for instance, is a mixture of cucumber, celery, spinach, kale and lemon. Now available at 10 Kimpton properties across the USA, the program will roll out to all hotels nationwide later this year.
• Several Four Seasons hotels across the country have fresh-juice menus. The new Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, opening this August, will have a made-to-order juice and smoothie bar at its restaurant Ravello. Ingredients will include broccoli, cucumber, spinach, peppers, pineapple, leafy greens, celery, pear, and ginger.
• Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara has a "Farm to Straw" juice program at Fins, the organic juice bar at the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club. The bar uses ingredients from local farms that are either certified organic or working towards certification. The menu rotates about every six weeks to stay fresh.
• The Fairmont Washington, D.C. has the "Strawberry Shrub" shot on its menu. It is a mixture of strawberries, parsley and apple cider vinegar, which executive chef Mark Timms calls cleansing.

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The juice menus are an extension of hotels getting better in recent years at helping travelers stay healthy on the road. They've offered healthier menus and improved fitness facilities. InterContinental Hotels Group is even introducing an entire brand focused on wellness and fitness called EVEN hotels.

"Travel can be extremely taxing on the body and can really throw a wrench in your fitness routine and diet habits," says Frank Kawecki, director of restaurant operations for Kimpton. "Introducing the juicing menu is another way to help our guests feel good and stay on track while staying with us."

Kawecki says the properties with the juice programs are seeing an uptick in revenue. Orange juice usually sells for $5 while a vegetable juice starts at $8. Sales of orange juice are slightly down as guests opt for vegetable juice instead, he says.

He doesn't expect the juice craze to die down anytime soon.

"We don't see juicing as a fad even though it is a trend right now," he says. "We know our guests are interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle while traveling."