Catering Guidelines
The Fairmont Orchid will contract all food and beverage. The Fairmont Orchid is responsible for the quality and freshness of the food served to its guests. Therefore, no food may be brought into the hotel from another source for consumption in our facilities. Due to current health regulations, food may not be taken off the premises after it has been prepared and served, nor kept for a future event. The State of Hawai’i Liquor Commission regulates all alcoholic beverage sales and service. The Hotel, as licensee, is responsible for the administration of these regulations. Therefore, no liquor or wine may be brought into the Hotel from outside sources.
A bartender employed by the Fairmont Orchid, must dispense alcoholic beverages served at our function spaces. In order to guarantee current menu pricing and product availability we require that all menus must be finalized a minimum of 4 weeks prior to your function date. Catering contracts, or Banquet Event Orders, will be issued for all organized food and beverage functions and a signature in acknowledgment of the arrangements contained therein will be required a minimum of 21 days prior to the event. Menus finalized less than 21 days prior to an event may be subject to a 10% price increase. A taxable 25% service charge and 4.7120% sales tax will be added to all food and beverage charges. The mandatory 25% charge is allocated as follows: 16% will be distributed to the service staff as a service charge (less the employee’s share of
employment taxes/withholdings) and 9% will be retained by the Fairmont Orchid as an administrative fee. This 9% is not a service charge and will not be distributed to the service staff. If you or your attendees would like to leave an additional amount of tip or gratuity for the service staff, please feel free to do so. If you have any questions regarding the administrative fee, please feel free to ask the Director of Catering and Conference Services. A $250.00 labor charge will apply to breakfast and lunch buffet functions with less than 30 guests guaranteed and dinner buffet functions with less than 50 guests, unless otherwise stated. Prices are subject to change without notice. The Fairmont Orchid will guarantee pricing 90 days prior to event.
Your Catering and Conference Services manager should be notified with a tentative estimate of your anticipated function attendance thirty days prior to the event. We request your final guarantee by 12 noon, 5 business days prior to the event. This will be considered a guarantee for which the Fairmont Orchid will prepare the appropriate amount of food and beverage for your guests. You will be charged according to the guest guarantee or the actual number served, which ever is greater. The Hotel will offer a 3% dry-set above the guaranteed number, and will prepare food based on the guaranteed number for each event.
Special Meal requests must be submitted as part of your function guarantee. These requests would include special meals for vegetarians and guests with dietary restrictions or food allergies. Any special meals ordered less than 72 Business hours prior to the event will be charged to the Master Account as additions to the guarantee. Kosher menus require minimum 3 weeks prior notice.
In the event that any of your guests have food allergies, please inform us of their names and the nature of their allergies, so we may take the necessary precautions to prepare their food.
Weather Calls: If the likelihood of rain is 40% or greater, or winds are forecasted to be in excess of 15 mph, the Hotel will strongly recommend an event be moved into back up space or to a different location. The Catering and Conference Service Manager will contact their client in advance to advise them of the any adverse weather conditions and Hotel recommendations. Please note that open flames are not allowed indoors; therefore, some cooking action stations must be
altered if the event is moved indoors.
The standard weather call schedule is as follows:
- Breakfast – final weather calls will be made the night prior by 7:00 pm. If last minute inclement weather hampers early morning function set up, the banquet captain will move the function to the back up location and notify the client.
- Lunch – final weather calls will be made by 9:30 am the day of the event.
- Dinner – final weather call will be made by 1:00 pm the day of the event.
In the event the client declines to move their function to a different location as recommended, and weather conditions require the function to be moved at the last minute or during the event, a $10.00 per person labor fee will be incurred. In the event the client declines to move their function to a different location as recommended, but requests tables, chairs and linen to be pre-set in back up space to shorten transition delays, a $7.00 per person charge will be incurred. As always, the Hotel reserves the right to move functions as necessary to maintain the safety and security of Hotel guests and colleagues. For safety reasons, no clear glass is allowed for use at beach function locations.
In accordance with Hawai’i Country ordinances, our outdoor event curfew is 10:00 p.m. At no time during the function is the noise level to exceed 65 decibels at a distance of 100 feet from the function. Hotel management will monitor this ordinance set by the Mauna Lani Resort Homeowners’ Association. All entertainers are required to follow the Fairmont Orchid established guidelines which are outlined in the Fairmont Orchid Vendor Guidelines. For events beyond 10:00pm, an enclosed indoor venue location is required.
The food and beverage prices are subject to a mandatory 25% charge and current State Excise Tax. The mandatory 25% charge is allocated as follows: 16% will be distributed to the service staff as a service charge (less the employee’s share of employment taxes/withholdings) and 9% will be retained by the Fairmont Orchid as an administrative fee. This 9% is not a service charge and will not be distributed to the service staff. If you or your attendees would like to leave an additional amount of tip or gratuity for the service staff, please feel free to do so. If you have any questions regarding the administrative fee, please feel free to ask the Director of Catering and Conference Services. The mandatory charge and associated taxes will be posted to your Master Account.
