HOW THE HILTON OF COCOA BEACH ADDED TOP-LINE REVENUE EVEN DURING COVID-19

Driftwood Hospitality Management is renowned for their best-in-class service throughout the almost 100 hotels they own and operate. A leader in the hospitality industry, they operate hotels under well-known names like Crown Plaza, Hyatt, and Hilton. Most of their hotels are in the United States.

Regional Executive Chef Glenn Gilbert recently decided to add pizza to the menu at their Hilton Cocoa Beach location, wanting to offer more on-location options to their guests. Given the upscale, ocean-front atmosphere at Hilton Cocoa, he was determined to only offer the best quality to his guests.

When he had the opportunity to try Donna Italia pizza at a trade show in Chicago, he knew he'd found the perfect partner. After all, the founder of Donna Italia did spend an entire year searching for the perfect, 100% natural ingredients to use to make his pizza something anyone could be proud to serve. The end results give you pizzeria-quality results anywhere, without using preservatives, baking enhancers, or any added sugar.

"A big part for me is the dough. It doesn't taste processed like so many frozen pizzas do. It has a great flavor, and it's just a great product," Chef Glenn explained. Another great aspect is that they can easily customize the pizzas by offering their customers toppings like prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, and fresh basil. Classic pepperoni is also offered, of course!

Finding Donna Italia right before COVID-19 hit ending up giving him additional options right when they were needed most. "When COVID-19 first started, we were pretty much closed down. We even had to close down the kitchen, so we were only able to sell cold sandwiches, and now, pizza," Chef Glenn said.

Chef Glenn was able to continue serving the fresh-baked pizza with the kitchen closed down due to the professional stone pizza oven that Donna Italia supplies with their pizza program. The compact ovens can fit on any counter space, and he didn't have to hire new staff to cook the pizzas.

"The same person who does grab-and-go works the pizza oven. It's the same person who serves Starbucks and gelato. They're not a professional cook … It's [Donna Italia] something we can train them on in five minutes."

The quality and ease of preparation have allowed Glenn's staff to sell 50-60 pizzas a day, even during COVID-19. They've decreased the number of people ordering from outside restaurants by 50% with Donna Italia pizza, and they've done it with a product with a margin above 60%.

Right now, they use both our double-decker oven and our single-decker oven, with the single-decker being a great addition to their tiki bar.

"I can imagine when we get to 100% occupancy, we'll be able to sell 100 pizzas a night," Glenn said before continuing, "We can keep up with the minimum subscription requirements easily."

Until then, Glenn is glad to have found delicious Donna Italia pizza to help him please guests of all ages.