SUNY Oneonta - Oneonta, NY

The SUNY College at Oneonta’s 250-acre campus overlooks the scenic Susquehanna River Valley in central New York about halfway between Albany and Binghamton. Founded in 1889, the University is a four-year, liberal arts school with a population of 5,600 students. Porter Consulting completed a study to evaluate concepts in the three primary campus dining centers and evaluate the meal plans to determine how to maximize flexibility and provide outstanding service to the students, faculty, and staff while protecting the predictable revenue base and identifying opportunities to generate new revenue.

An intensive market research effort was undertaken that included personal interviews with key members of the administration, focus groups with resident students, non-resident students, faculty, and staff, and a complete tour of the campus. Recommendations included enhancing menu offerings and adding a second convenience store on campus. We also recommended that the College restructure its meal plan program to permit greater flexibility for students to spend their declining balance dollars in foodservice operations on campus. Unfortunately, the contractor was not capable of embracing our recommendations, and food quality declined. Students rebelled by picketing and boycotting campus dining, at which point, we were called back to campus to manage the RFP process.

After pre-qualifying bidders, Porter Consulting managed the RFP rebidding process through foodservice contract negotiations and secured an exclusive beverage agreement. Since our last visit to campus, there has been a net increase in revenues over and above what was previously garnered from foodservice operations.