The latest research from leading commercial real estate and investment management firm, JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc.), demonstrates that some significant shifts are occurring in travelers' preferred styles of dining, drinking and snacking.
It's estimated that foodservice outlets and social hubs could potentially generate 50 percent of a lifestyle hotel's overall revenue. Hospitality operators can no longer afford to approach their food and beverage offerings as an afterthought, as these increasingly become differentiating factors in a market where non-traditional accommodations, like Airbnb, are on the rise.
We spoke with Edouard Schwob, Executive Vice President at JLL and an asset manager for some very high-end hotel properties worldwide, about the trajectory of food and beverage(F&B) trends in the hospitality sector.
He identified three key aspects of the industry where waves of change can consistently be observed.
Firstly, casual experiences and diverse food interactions are being preferred over more formal fine-dining, without consumers being willing to sacrifice quality. People are looking for more approachable concepts, but that doesn't mean that they'll be satisfied with menus that are anything less than edgy and innovative.
As "foodies" become more and more prevalent, and gourmet items can be procured from such humble venues as food-trucks, many hotels are finding that they must upend their traditional F&B models in order to remain relevant.
Modern tastes, especially among Millennials, tend towards open spaces that feature a wide range of fare options, leading to the installation of multi-vendor food halls where standalone eating establishments once reigned.
Schwob named London's The Ned hotel as a prime example of an upscale, open-concept dining space, which houses eight restaurants within a nearly 10,000-square-foot historic banking hall. Each distinctive eatery occupies a designated space, separated by the hall's 92 verdite columns and rows of original walnut-wood banking counters.
Whereas in the 1990s and 2000s, massive brand-name restaurants dominated the landscape, hospitality properties are now partnering with local restauranteurs to develop one-of-a-kind, destination-specific dining concepts.
The impact of social media and the "Foodstagram" fad has no doubt contributed to feeding the public's heightened desire to been seen and served as unique, and its demand for more authentic and unusual dining experiences.
This leads to a discussion of another societal shift involving today's tech culture and its impact on the foodservice space. It's tied closely to an evident increase in "bleisure" travel and the fact that, as more and more people are working remotely and outside of a traditional office setting, the hospitality landscape must transform itself to accommodate peoples' hybrid work-meets-pleasure getaways.
Because of this phenomenon, hotel providers find themselves facing competition from players that weren't previously even involved in the hospitality market, Schwob has observed. This means, not only from online room-rentals like Airbnb, but also remote-office providers such as WeWork and Convene, which are bizarrely encroaching into the accommodations sector.
Because they can set up their "offices" anywhere, travelers are looking for high-tech lobbies, meeting rooms and dining areas that can easily double as co-working spaces.
As a result, hotel lobbies and dining venues are being overhauled to provide versatile spaces that can evolve throughout the day; serving as, say a coffee house or breakfast area in the morning, an efficient workspace or luncheon lounge during the day, and a place to party or wind down at night.
Schwob said that British hotel brand, Hoxton, already does a fantastic job of incorporating flexible workspace, and it's expanding upon its existing model with the introduction of "Working From", a new co-working space concept where home comforts meet hotel-style living.
JLL's foodservice report also points to Moxy, Marriott's new hotel chain created in answer to the Airbnb movement and aimed at Millennials, as a perfect example of a brand whose properties provide 24-hour coffeehouses and bars in welcoming co-working spaces, in lieu of a formal dining concept.
Lastly, experiential dining has become a growing commodity within the hotel sector. Again, big-name brands are being phased out because people are looking to do more than just eat when they go out. They desire a sense of purpose when choosing an establishment and are seeking personalized experiences in places that have their own distinctive identities. Visitors want to connect with their destinations' communities and be treated like a local when they enter a bar or eatery, according to Schwob.
By extension, diners are looking for venues that offer something beyond just the eating or drinking experience, giving rise to what JLL has termed the "Dinertainment" trend. People are looking for special moments, personal interactions, or something else that adds layers of complexity to the dining experience.
Hotels are collaborating with external restaurateurs, including not only Michelin-starred and celebrity chefs, but also edgy, "cool" chefs with big social-media followings, to create one-of-a-kind culinary experiences.
Interactive dining experiences-such as Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen concept, currently at Caesar's Palace Bluewaters Dubai and Caesar's Palace Las Vegas-which place chefs themselves in front of guests while they prepare dazzling dishes, are gaining popularity.
With "Chef's Tables" showing up in many new concepts, chefs can be seen spending less time behind the scenes and more moments interacting with diners, as kitchens adopt less linear formats than have been traditionally adhered to.
As we head into the turn of a new decade, it remains to be seen just how strong these current food-and-beverage trends will hold within the hotel and resort space, and which will continue to morph into something altogether different.
It seems, however, that the common driver underlying customers' decisions is the desire to be seen as special or unique, and catered to accordingly. A one-size-fits-all approach just isn't going to cut it anymore and, with more travelers venturing out into the marketplace than ever before, the current course of public preference presents hospitality operators with some interesting challenges and opportunities.
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