Nightclubs are out. Board games are in. What does that mean for hotels?
The fastest-growing trend among young professionals isn’t bottle service or DJ booths.
It’s chess, cards, and board games, played in beautifully curated spaces, with good drinks, good music, and better company.
A Financial Times piece recently called it the new nightlife: friends swapping techno for Scrabble, cocktails for chess clocks. And it’s not niche. Sales of adult board games have climbed nearly 30% in the last five years.
Why it matters: this is an open goal for hotels.
We’ve built our spaces around lobbies, lounges, restaurants, and rooftop bars, yet so many of these sit underutilised outside peak dining hours.
The opportunity?
Transform them into social game salons: a new kind of cultural hub where guests and locals gather not just to eat or drink, but to play.
Think about it:
– At Aman, it would feel meditative, with handmade wooden boards, played in candlelight with tea pairings.
– At Faena New York, it would be theatrical, bold sets, surreal backdrops, negronis with custom dice.
– At The Mark, it would be chic, fashion-collab decks, martinis on silver trays, discreet competition in velvet booths.
– At The Peninsula, it could be heritage, mahogany tables, hand-painted sets by local artisans, paired with classic cocktails.
Every brand could filter this trend through its own lens. And guests would pay not just for drinks, but for participation in culture.
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For Hospitality Leaders:
Don’t think of it as another F&B activation. Think of it as a Games Club:
1. Open, not exclusive. No membership fee, but gaming clubs, with a calendar of hosted evenings, curated, elevated, repeatable, instilling that sense of belonging.
2. Partner-led. Collaborate with local game designers, artisans, or cultural brands to create bespoke sets or limited-edition nights.
3. Layered revenue. Pair games with cocktail flights, tasting menus, or themed snacks. Small checks stack when people stay 3–4 hours instead of 45 minutes.
4. Social stickiness. Few things photograph (and share) better than unexpected settings, imagine chess on the rooftop with skyline views, or mahjong at sunset by the pool.
This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about creating the new rituals of belonging.
Because here’s the truth: when your hotel becomes the place where people come to play, they’ll keep coming back. Not just for the rooms. Not just for the food.
But for the feeling of community your walls contain.
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Closing Thought
The hotels that win with Gen Z and Millennials won’t just be beautiful, they’ll be social operating systems.
Nightlife is being rewritten.
The question is: will your property host the next Games Club… or watch your guests play somewhere else?
#HospitalityStrategy #LuxuryHospitality #ExperienceDesign #GuestExperience #HotelLeadership #EmotionalROI
