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.

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• 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

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• 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.

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• 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

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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 

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