Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management Students Generate Buzz for Humber Room as a Campus Dining Destination
By: Kelly Johnston, Part-time Instructor, Hospitality - Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management program
On March 29th, the third semester Marketing 225 class of the Hospitality - Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management program organized a series of on-campus activations at Humber North Campus to raise awareness and promote dining at the Humber Room for lunch.
The Humber Room is a hands-on teaching restaurant where students receive training in both front-of-house and back-of-house operations, including serving, bartending, menu planning, and food preparation, located right on the Humber North Campus.
The goal of this assignment for the student groups was to capture the attention of students, faculty, and visitors on campus, raise awareness about the Humber Room as a lunchtime dining option, and encourage them to explore the daily rotating menus and make reservations for upcoming lunches.
To tackle this challenge, each of the five student teams set up tables around the campus and created activations to attract passers-by. Drawing on theories and concepts learned in class about marketing, customer behaviour, and what motivates people to buy a service or product, as well as their creativity and ingenuity, the teams employed various strategies. These included games, content on digital screens, flyers and handouts, eye-catching table displays depicting the dining experience at the Humber Room, Humber Room uniform attire, treats, and even free coffee in one case.
The students were enthusiastic and competitive as they aimed to engage the most interest from passers-by in the Humber Room during the activations. The smiles on their faces on the morning of the event showcased their enjoyment of this hands-on experience of applying what they have learned in class so far this semester.
The final step of the project was a written report in which the teams detail how they came up with their concepts, their experience interacting with potential customers, and the results they achieved such as reservations made, and reflections on what they could do differently next time.
The students' efforts in promoting the Humber Room as a dining option were evident in their creative and engaging activations. This hands-on experience provided them with valuable practical applications of their classroom learning and showcased their marketing skills in action.
Lunch at the Humber Room, anyone?
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