3 Reasons to Invest in a Pizzeria Uno Hotel Conversion Franchise

Pizzeria Uno, the neighborhood pizzeria franchise known worldwide as the birthplace of Chicago-style deep dish, is ready to establish itself in a brand new industry: hospitality. Coming off the heels of three massively successful hotel conversions earlier this year, the brand is ready to partner with additional qualified and passionate hotel owners across the country who are looking to bring a beloved and well-known brand into their establishment. As pent-up demand for travel picks up following the COVID-19 pandemic and the pizza industry booms all over the country, the time has never been better for hotel operators to optimize their food and beverage program with a Pizzeria Uno restaurant conversion. 

Here are three reasons hotel owners should invest in a Pizzeria Uno conversion in 2022. 

Increased Food and Beverage Revenue

The Pizzeria Uno team designed the conversion strategy to help hotel operators make the most of their food and beverage program. “At the end of the day, hotel owners desire more sales from their F&B program,” Frederick said. “We have a great solution: bring a well-known pizza brand to the hotel.”

With a Pizzeria Uno restaurant in their hotel, operators will have the opportunity to tap into several previously unavailable revenue streams, Frederick says. These include increased revenue from dine-in for hotel guests, take-out for hotel guests, take-out and/or delivery sales from the local community, and dine-in revenue from people in the surrounding area who typically would not come to dine at a hotel restaurant. Additionally, the hotel-based restaurant may benefit from group sales, as Pizzeria Uno has a well established group sales team and system.

“When people travel, they want a memorable dining experience, and pizza has always been the number one option whether it’s dine-in or takeout or delivery,” said Frederick. “But hotel owners usually watch all this take-out and delivery business come into their hotel from outside restaurants, and they don’t get a nickel. Additionally, local members of the community very rarely visit a hotel restaurant for dine-in service. So, we came up with a way to help hotel owners tap into those revenue streams.”

Opportunities can apply to those interested in converting their current hotel restaurant to a Pizzeria Uno branded restaurant, hotel operators building out new hotels and restaurants, or owners of existing hotels that are adding a restaurant for the first time. There are even opportunities for hotels that don’t have a kitchen because Pizzeria Uno provides a superior frozen product from their Uno Foods division. 

Offering a Product that Everyone Loves

Since opening its first location nearly 80 years ago, Pizzeria Uno has solidified itself as a piece of pizza history, recognized as the true birthplace of Chicago-style deep dish. Today, Pizzeria Uno is known all over the world due to its iconic menu and authentic brand name, meaning hotel operators have a rare opportunity to become part of that legacy and sell a product everyone loves.

“While the heart of the Pizzeria Uno menu is our signature, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and our Chicago-style thin crust, there’s something on our menu for every diner,” said Fredrick. “The menu focuses on premium pizzas made with the best ingredients and dough made from scratch daily. But with the presence of healthful salads, a variety of appealing appetizers, and entrees that range from chicken to steak to seafood, customers can satisfy almost any craving. We also have a manufacturing plant that sells frozen pizza and calzones to grocery stores, sports clubs and various other outlets.” 

With this beloved offering in place, Frederick says hotel owners can enjoy lower customer acquisition costs and a higher capture rate. Consumers already know this brand, which means hotel owners can gain additional guests due to the presence of a nationally known and respected restaurant brand. 

“If I open a new pizza restaurant in a community, I have to win customers,” said Frederick. “But if a customer is traveling and staying at the hotel, they are already in the lobby and don’t want to go through the hassle of searching local places that will take longer and may not taste as good as Pizzeria Uno. By opening a Pizzeria Uno location in their hotel, operators have a reliable way to provide their guests with a great experience and great pizza.”

Inexpensive Conversion and Lower Food Costs 

In addition to increased revenue, Pizzeria Uno can provide hotel owners with a stronger ROI due to the concept’s uniquely low start-up costs. Since hotel operators likely already have most of the equipment and kitchen in place, Frederick says conversion costs are minimized compared to opening a new restaurant. Hotel owners will also likely lower their overall food costs just by virtue of selling pizza, which is uniquely low-cost compared to other cuisines.

“We are a great solution for hotel owners up and down their economic ladder,” said Frederick. “We also have an existing infrastructure that helps franchisees with the supply chain, marketing, training, technology, build-out, ongoing operations — every aspect of the business. We don’t mark up costs from our vendors and in these times, having a supply chain team and national buying power that can help in an inflationary environment is key. We are sourcing for quality and price, and pizza already has one of the lowest food costs.”

Now, with a tremendous amount of white space available, Frederick says Pizzeria Uno is one of the few nationally-renowned pizza concepts with room to grow all over the country. 

Looking ahead, Frederick says interest is already snowballing amongst hotel owners, and the pipeline is filling up quickly as the Pizzeria Uno team aims to become the preferred pizza brand within the lodging industry. 

“We are very excited about the success we have already seen with our hotel conversion strategy,” said Frederick. “The time has never been better for hotel owners to invest in a Pizzeria Uno restaurant conversion, join a brand they can be passionate about, and make more money.”

For more information on investing in a Pizzeria Uno franchise, visit https://unofranchise.com/.

About UNO Pizzeria & Grill

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation includes 80 company-owned and franchised UNO Pizzeria & Grill restaurants located in 18 states, and the District of Columbia, India, and Saudi Arabia. UNO is all about connecting people over pizza – from its famous Chicago Deep Dish, which UNO invented in 1943, to its Chicago Thin Crust, to its gluten-free and vegan pizzas. The Company also operates Uno Foods, a consumer packaged-foods business that supplies supermarkets, airlines, movie theaters, hotels, airports, and travel plazas with frozen UNO branded products. For more information, visit www.unos.com.