While the eatertainment category took a hit pre-pandemic, it has experienced a significant uptick in recent years. In this article we talk about key trends that are driving hospitality growth in 2024; eatertainment being one of the highest growth categories.
Three Trends Driving Hospitality Growth in 2024
While the eatertainment category took a hit pre-pandemic, it has experienced a significant uptick in recent years. A few things are driving the category:
Consumers are eager to get more social and are willing to pay a premium for experiences that allow them to get off the couch and back in touch with friends, co-workers and family. Venues that offer social entertainment, like pickleball, bowling, axe throwing and a host of other activities, are on the rise.
A glut of post-pandemic retail spaces that can be snapped up at low cost and can support the larger spaces they typically require. “Experiential retailers are rewriting the retail playbook, transforming traditional shopping venues into imaginative destinations that share more in common with theme parks than department stores, [commercial real estate firm] JLL reports.” Source
A wave of innovators are injecting a new lease on life into malls and other large vacant spaces with a gamut of attractions, from sports venues to interactive displays.
Higher F&B costs driven by inflation that are driving traditional hospitality operators to pursue profit-generating strategies. “Eatertainment labor costs are lower and the amusement side is 80% profit,” said Robert Thompson, founder of the break-the-mold eatertainment concept of the pre-pandemic era Punch Bowl Social. “When you combine casual dining’s intense cost pressures with what is now more than a decade of consistent psychographic data stating modern generations have an appetite for experiences and will spend more to dine with them, it’s created an eatertainment perfect storm.” Source
GoTab is at the forefront of driving innovations in this category. We help operators deliver seamless F&B and entertainment experiences while driving profit-saving efficiency in the back-of-house. Learn more at https://gotab.com/business-type/eatertainment-pos
Tap Room Playbook Episode 2:
When you really think about it, with everything managers need to do in a tap room, the hospitality aspect is often overlooked.
Situated “in the heart of it all, yet tranquil enough to make you feel away from it all too,” The Limelight Hotel Snowmass offers 99 hotel rooms and 11 residences, as well as footsteps-to-gondola access in winter and summer — right in the middle of Snowmass Base Village.
The Situation
Especially over the last few years, the Limelight Hotels IT team had witnessed a significant shift to contactless technology in the hospitality industry. After evaluating friction points in the guest journey, aligning with modern technology platforms in their restaurant was determined to be an effective way to offer elevated contactless dining experiences to their guests while also evolving their technology platforms to continue to support long-term company goals. Limelight Hotel partnered with GoTab to provide an enhanced on-demand dining experience on par with the brand’s reputation for exceptional guest service.
The Solution
Reducing Staff Touch Points Without Sacrificing Guest Experience
Guests are now able to begin a tab from their room or the property’s restaurant by scanning a QR code, texting a link to friends or family members on the ski slope to add in their orders, then meeting up together at the patio or lodge to enjoy their meal and après ski festivities without interruption. By streamlining tasks like inputting orders and processing payments, this eliminates friction for hotel staff and allows them to focus on delivering renowned guest service for a memorable experience. Since partnering with GoTab, Limelight Snowmass has consistently seen higher check averages and sales.
“We found the Point of Sale platforms we were looking at offered the guest and staff limited opportunities to further reduce touch points or improve the traditional restaurant experience. The GoTab platform enabled the guest to take an active role over the flow of their experience while simultaneously reducing touch points and further streamlining restaurant operations.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group
According to the Limelight Hotels team, some of the other platforms that were evaluated were either missing some of the pieces they were looking for, had weak customer support models, or had little willingness to develop integrations to existing hotel platforms already in place. To that end, GoTab integrated with cloud-based platform, Infor. Together, GoTab and Infor are providing dynamic solutions to support central, efficient service across hotel amenities and deliver exceptional guest experiences.
“Previously, guests would call down to the restaurant to begin an order from their room or while they were out enjoying the ski slopes. Using GoTab, guests can now place orders from anywhere on the resort, giving them the on-demand service they want without interrupting their day. GoTab empowers us to give control to the guest, reducing touch points and streamlining overall restaurant operations, making Limelight Hotel the resort of choice for Snowmass.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group
Since introducing GoTab, The Limelight Hotel has seen a consistent level of upsells and items sold per check resulting in additional revenue capture. They have been able to maintain service levels in their restaurants during periods when there was reduced staffing available without significantly diminishing the guest experience.
The Benefits
Eliminate Phone Orders – Take Orders from the Slopes. Guests can start a tab from their room or on the mountain without interrupting the flow of their day.
Future-Proofed Technologies – Delivering elevated contactless ordering via integration with the Infor hotel management platform.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
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