Calling a hotel a “box” has gratefully become dated nomenclature because developers, designers and operators have realized lifestyle must truly dictate today’s hotel design. Hotel spaces, both public and private, are being designed and merchandised more creatively to differentiate products, drive trial and hopefully generate new loyalty. Similarly, F&B directors are being charged to look more and more outside the traditional restaurant’s four walls to find new ways to drive F&B revenue, if not completely turn traditional F&B on its head. The lobby social movement, for example, has spawned different menu and service approaches, as well as presented additional opportunities to monetize underutilized spaces, add much-needed energy to public spaces that tend to bring in more locals for F&B spend, as well as create buzz and some social media moments.
Thinking outside the box is where it is at for hotel F&B and HOTELS reached out to some of the thought leaders and risk takers to see what’s new outside the traditional walls of the dining rooms. Here is a mix of what we found.
Accor keeps surprising
Ten years ago, no one would have accused AccorHotels of being on the edge. How times have changed and even more so for the Paris-based operator than with its newly announced brand, Jo&Joe, a mash-up of private-rental hostel and hotel formats in the economy space.
Part of what makes this disruptive concept noteworthy is its approach to catering based on based on research and in-depth analysis into, that’s right, millennials’ aspirations.
The Jo&Joe Playground will be an interconnected space, always with an outside area, be it a garden, a rooftop or a community vegetable patch. This is a space where guests and locals can meet with plenty of opportunity to eat, drink and participate in events. The lobby is connected to these areas and there is no partition from the Playground area as it is designed as an interconnected space. The Playground includes: The bar, which is central to the Jo&Joe social experience. It has high design, is visible from the street and serves local and craft wine, beer and cocktails, as well affordable craft cuisine.
Jo&Joe will offer a range of simple, affordable and authentic restaurant concepts with a warm atmosphere: grill, open flame barbecue, wok or wood fire pizzas. This area will feature a lineup of events and activities with local team members, Townsters or Tripsters presenting the city’s sights, playing music or doing yoga, for example. A key ingredient is the Talent Stage, an open stage for all artists to share in the collective atmosphere, as well as eat and drink.
The Jo&Joe Happy House area is a private area where guests can relax, work, cook or wash their clothes, just like at home. This area is not open to the public but it does include a collaborative kitchen, which offers guests a showcase for their culinary talents and a stage for sharing their best recipes. Guests wanting to keep their budget under control can use the space to cook meals, just for themselves or for a whole group.
AccorHotels’ luxury Sofitel brand is launching the Le Gouter offering in lobby, lounge and bar areas every afternoon from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with the classic afternoon snack enjoyed by French children known as the after-school Le Gouter. This is an opportunity to bring an added French flare to the guests experience with classic French pastries and sweets as well as hot beverages, primary chocolate but also a coffee and tea selection.
Maximizing lobby social
New York-based lifestyle hotel virtuoso Ian Schrager has called today’s lobbies “Starbucks on sterioids,” gathering places ripe for generating incremental revenue, and more and more operators are cashing in on the evolution of lobby social spaces.
The Ace in New Orleans, for example, has a lobby bar that offers drinks and food all day long. Management staffs the lobby accordingly with bartenders, servers, etc. Since it offers free public wi-fi, edgy Ace tends to find that people will utilize the lobby for work during the day, perhaps grab some coffee or a bite, too, and then transition into after-work cocktails and meetups with friends. Additionally, Ace usually has regular lobby programming such as DJ’s playing music most nights.
At the Ace in NOLA, an intimate performance space just off the lobby offers a drink menu.
Ace tries to design the lobby to be an open, inviting space, almost like a living room and serves to attract the general public, and all are welcomed as it wants to be perceived as a gathering and meeting place. Again, in New Orleans, management has culinary partners in the form of James Beard-nominated chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, who put together a food and drink menu served via the lobby bars. The result is a menu on the same caliber as what’s served in the restaurant.
At Soho House Chicago, The Allis occupies the lobby area and serves as a social space for meetings, a meal or cocktails. The concept was so well received by guests that management just recently expanded the space into the mezzanine level of the building.
The open-layout room includes an open kitchen with a wood-burning oven, along with a large, eat-in bar/workspace, exposed concrete beams and large windows. Couches and lounge-style chairs along with a large communal table offer space for guests to work and play. For those looking to sit for a meal, restaurant-style tables and seating at the kitchen bar are also available.
Power outlets, designed for guests to plug in and stay awhile, are located at almost every nook and cranny of The Allis – built into the king’s table downstairs and even in the large sofa upstairs, for example.
Big brands jump, too
Lobby social is not reserved for uber-hip brands like Soho House and Ace. Next year, Hilton Garden Inn will build upon its position in F&B by amplifying its social spaces to provide guests with community areas featuring new F&B offerings, ranging from healthy or indulgent grab-and-go items, small plates, locally sourced food and craft beers. “The offerings are designed to reduce owner costs, increase ROI and drive guest loyalty while appealing to today’s traveler,” said John Greenleaf, global head of Hilton Garden Inn.
At Hilton’s emerging economy Tru by Hilton brand, the lobby is the F&B space. In its lobby Hive experience, the “Eat” zone provides flexible seating to allows guests to enjoy the complimentary breakfast, coffee or tea or purchase treats, drinks and light meals from the market. Bar chairs at the community table provide further alternative dining seating. The “Top It” breakfast bar offers 30 sweet and savory items, ranging from customized bagels, donuts, Greek yogurt and oatmeal.
“The new reality is that many consumers now prefer to eat in more casual and social environments,” said Jonathan Wilson, vice president, Product Innovation and Brand Services at Hilton. “They want to eat at times that work for their schedules (often outside of traditional meal periods), they want to multitask and accomplish other tasks, and they want to be in a lively environment.”
Again, Wilson used Tru by Hilton as an example: “We’ve designed the brand itself around this new social and casual proposition. Tru’s lobby area will function as a social hub where guests can gather, eat, drink, work and play, removing the need to reserve space for a dining-only facility. Coined ‘The Hive,’ this space is all about being able to socialize or be ‘socially alone.’”
From an operational perspective, maintaining these casual food and beverage markets is not very different from traditional dining facilities, according to Wilson. “We’re also developing these concepts with scalability and flexibility in mind, so owners can implement the option that makes sense for the location, guest traffic and lobby size,” he added.
Taking the lobby experience to an extreme is Surfers Paradise, Australia-based Mantra Group, who’s Peppers Dockland in Melbourne has merged its reception, bar, restaurant and meeting space into one open-plan area (the hotel bar is actually an extension of the reception desk). The idea was to create a space befitting an urban, upmarket boutique Peppers CBD hotel.
Mantra Group designed an environment that seamlessly flows from the moment of entry and shares energy/buzz between its different elements. It creates a strong sense of welcome – guests are immediately greeted and invited to take a seat throughout their arrival and check-in. They can immerse themselves in the environment and watch the barista/food and beverage attendants in action.
The mixed-use Peppers space is accessible and outwardly social where no one looks or feels out of place. At any one time, this area can be accommodating a business traveler working on a laptop/tablet, a group of friends relaxing over a meal, local office workers having a business meeting over coffee or a couple enjoying a getaway. It provides a central hub for people to gather.
Sometimes it’s simple
At Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok Resort & Spa, Mauritius, the open lobby eliminates traditional boundaries and starting in May 2016 the F&B team began using the overflow space to increase Sunday brunch capacity to 450 covers instead of 350.
The lobby acts to become an extension of the restaurant and further serves as a gathering space and social hub.
That extra revenue associated to the brunch is approximately €5,000 (US$5,439) per brunch. The entertainment from the Belvedere is visible from the lobby and drives an additional €2,50 (US$2,720) per brunch as guests prefer to relax enjoy the entertainment while having some drinks.
Maximizing good space
Yet sometimes, a lobby is meant to be a lobby and perhaps under-utilized F&B space can be reconsidered for special events and new opportunities.
Such is the case for Carneros Resort and Spa Executive Chef Aaron Meneghell, who has taken a huge interest in enhancing the Napa, California-based property’s F&B program to complement and showcase where the property is located, especially by incorporating ingredients from the onsite farm and garden. To that end, the resort now hosts the Carneros Supper Club, a new quarterly series to highlight local winemakers and the season’s best ingredients. The first event with 66 covers sold out as soon as they began promoting it, Meneghelli said.
Chef Meneghelli is partnering with local winemakers in the region alongside a six-course family-style dinner in the Hilltop Dining Room, which is typically only open for resort guests during breakfast/lunch, daily poolside service or private events. But the chef wanted to create a new culinary experience to draw in locals and make available for resort guests if their reservation is during that time frame.
The event begins with a welcome reception on the Hilltop patio overlooking the surrounding vineyards and mountains. They are invited to bring a bottle of wine of their own to be shared among other guests throughout the harvest-themed dinner.
“The Supper Club objective is to reach locals to see the property as opposed to just coming to our restaurants,” Chef Meneghelli said. “We could get 85 seated at US$110 per person and food costs are only in the high 20s with little wine costs. We could get 50% profit. It is priced a bit high, but it’s fair. Serving family style helps with costs, which are lowered even further by using our garden. We could do up to 100 covers in summer when we add outdoor seating.”