The RFP Is the Strategy Document, Not the Purchase Order
Most dining RFPs are written to compare providers. The strongest ones are written to define an institution's expectations first, then invite the marketplace to respond to them.
When a university leads with a clear picture of the experience it wants students to have, proposals become comparable, negotiations become simpler, and the resulting contract becomes measurable.
If your RFP does not describe the program you want, you will receive proposals describing the program providers prefer to sell.
1. Start With an Independent Assessment
Before writing a single requirement, establish the baseline: participation, meal-plan economics, retail performance, catering, labor structure, food cost, facility condition, technology, satisfaction data and contract compliance.
An honest baseline protects the institution twice — it prevents solving problems that do not exist, and it makes provider claims verifiable later.
2. Engage Stakeholders Before the Document Exists
Students, faculty, staff, admissions, athletics, student affairs, finance and facilities all experience dining differently.
Collect their input early, then translate it into requirements. Stakeholders who see their priorities reflected in the RFP tend to support the outcome.
3. Define Scope Deliberately
Resident dining, retail, catering, concessions, convenience, franchise brands, vending, athletics and summer conferences do not have to travel together.
Deciding what is in scope — and what is intentionally excluded — is one of the highest-leverage decisions in the entire process.
4. Write Evaluation Criteria Before Proposals Arrive
Weighting should be established, documented and agreed upon in advance. Consider:
- Program
Culinary vision, concepts, menu strategy and student experience.
- People
Management team, staffing model, training and retention plan.
- Financial
Commissions, fees, guarantees, meal-plan structure and escalators.
- Capital
Investment, amortization, ownership and end-of-term treatment.
- Technology
POS, mobile ordering, data access and reporting transparency.
- Accountability
KPIs, remedies, reporting cadence and governance.
5. Normalize the Financials
Providers structure proposals differently on purpose. Commission rates, subsidies, investment amortization, inflation assumptions and pro forma participation must be restated into a single comparable model.
Without normalization, the most attractive-looking proposal is often simply the most optimistically assumed one.
6. Interview for Delivery, Not Presentation
The team in the room should be the team on campus. Ask for named leadership, retention history at comparable accounts, transition plans and specific examples of commitments made and kept.
7. Negotiate the Contract You Will Have to Manage
Every commitment that matters belongs in the agreement: capital schedule, KPIs, reporting, audit rights, open-book provisions, staffing levels, remedies and exit terms.
Promises made in a presentation are worth exactly what the contract says they are.
8. Plan Implementation Before the Award
The first 100 days shape perception for years. Transition planning, communication, hiring, training, facility work and measurement should be agreed before the contract is signed.
