March 29, 2021 Jena Tesse Fox | Hotel Management

Casual restaurant chain Bennigan’s is bringing its virtual kitchen concept to hotels. The company has opened its Bennigan’s On The Fly at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center and Hampton Inn in Coralville, Iowa, and at the Holiday Inn in Dubuque, Iowa, under a licensing agreement with Kinseth Hospitality Cos., a hotelier and franchisee of Bennigan’s.

The new virtual kitchen model lets hotels sell food and drinks from Bennigan’s menus for delivery or takeout to both hotel guests and area residents. For hotels with established restaurants, Bennigan’s offers a licensing option to add the Bennigan’s On The Fly menu to their already existing menus.

The franchisee investment for the Bennigan’s On The Fly concept is meant to be more affordable than a prototypical Bennigan’s. The virtual kitchen model can also be operated out of an existing commercial kitchen with a shortened lead time over new construction. To incentivize additional development for this nontraditional franchise option, Bennigan’s is offering discounted franchise fees, reduced royalty fees and waived marketing fees for qualified hotel operators.

Since its launch, Kinseth reported that its partnership with Bennigan’s On The Fly has significantly contributed to both hotels’ revenue per available room, growth and occupancy, according to Bennigan’s.

Bennigan’s has more than 100 locations open, under contract and in development.