Pavel Novák, Head of Office Agency at Savills, emphasizes the importance of catering for office tenants: "Catering is a key factor for office tenants. When searching for new office spaces, we increasingly delve into considerable detail with companies regarding where employees will dine, whether there will be a canteen in the building, and what options will be available during the workday, including specific conditions and options." Tomáš Šimon, Operations and Finance Director at SCS Software, which relocated into the Roztyly Plaza building six months ago, confirms: "We knew that there were no restaurants within walking distance, so from the beginning, the high standard of the future canteen was crucial for us, which we specified in the Lease Agreement. However, it is not only the quality and price of meals that are important, but also the offer variety."

Lenka Preslová, Commercial Director at Crestyl, adds, "We have received feedback from tenants that they prefer the option of dining directly within the building.” However, she also points out, "When a building is still under construction and we don't yet know who the tenants will be, it is difficult to hold individualised discussions about dining and the canteen setup. This is because the disposition and space usage are often planned three to four years before the building is completed. The final form is usually determined only after companies have moved in, allowing us to monitor their interest in catering together."Tomáš Šimon further comments, "If people are dissatisfied with the canteen, they can spend a lot of time travelling for lunch, which can impact work efficiency. To minimise this, we focused on including a large kitchen with a dining area in our new office plan, where employees can heat up meals from home or from the increasingly popular commercial meal boxes. Our company has 360 employees is still growing. Their satisfaction is very important to us. We even have our own nutritionist, provide free coffee, tea, and fruit and organise our own health days with lectures." And Filip Sajler, Founder of Perfect Canteen, notes, "Our goal is to cater to the needs of all companies as much as possible. In a single-tenant building, customised catering is simple, but in a multi-tenant building with differing needs, compromises must be made."

Meal prices and menu diversity
Although the food offer is still expanding, according to Perfect Canteen's data, demand has remained virtually unchanged over the past 8 years. "There is a growing demand for healthier and more diverse meals. In reality, the same dishes, especially fried ones, as for example fried cheese, continue to be the most popular choices," says Filip Sajler and predicts: "The price of the lunch menus will continue to rise, as they reflect increasing costs of energy, services, labour, and raw materials. Food is at the end of this chain". This situation also affects the current effectiveness of meal voucher systems. Tomáš Šimon points out that, unlike previously used meal vouchers with significant usage limitations, the meal allowance i.e., a financial contribution directly included in wages is now available. "However, it would be worth adjusting the calculation of the tax-exempt allowance to better correspond to the high prices and cover a larger portion of the lunch cost than it currently does," adds Tomáš Šimon.

Impact of the pandemic on catering planning
The pandemic significantly affected the daily operations of offices and catering services. Companies faced fluctuations in employee attendance, which continue to influence the demand for catering services. "Before the pandemic, physical office occupancy was around 70%, but during the covid it dropped to 20-30%. Now, we are at 61%, with Fridays remaining the weakest days. These fluctuations have made long-term planning of catering services more challenging for all parties," says Pavel Novák. This development has introduced new challenges in catering planning. "During the pandemic, we adopted a flexible approach, similar to the coworking model. We continue to apply this approach today, allowing us to better respond to fluctuations in the number of diners. We also see a new interest in the so-called “meal boxes”, through our new solution, Eat Smart - smart fridges offering great food from Cibule Bistro," confirms Filip Sajler.

Catering will remain a key factor for companies when deciding on office spaces. "The future of corporate canteens will be increasingly influenced by trends such as meal personalisation and efficient data utilisation, possibly incorporating artificial intelligence. New catering concepts are emerging. With data, canteen operators can better predict demand, tailor offerings, and provide smart and sustainable catering that enhances employee satisfaction," concludes Pavel Novák.