Market Trends

👨‍💻 Today's hotel guests seek emotional connections during their stays, beyond just accommodation. Implementing brand standards ensures consistent quality across properties, without stifling staff creativity. Well-designed standards enable staff to respond authentically within a brand's structured framework. Training, including technical aspects and role-play scenarios, empowers employees to handle various situations confidently, maintaining the brand promise while adding personal touches. Effective standards become invisible to guests, highlighting genuine care and emotional authenticity in service, which is the essence of exceptional hospitality.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor, has worked with Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and with Restaurant Hospitality since 2016. He wrote The New York Sun’s "Kitchen Dish" column (2005-2008), reported from Thailand for Manager magazine and Asia Times, and was an ABC News runner during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Thorn, a Tufts University graduate and Le Cordon Bleu-trained, won the 2006 Neal Award and was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014. His food expertise spans French cuisine and Asian culinary trends.

🛀 Showcasing transparent bathrooms, Dezeen's lookbook includes a variety of designs. In Kyoto, 07Beach designed a house where the bathroom opens to a courtyard for "open-air bathing." Husos architects replaced partitions with transparent walls in Madrid, creating a communal bathroom space. Taiwan's Cats' Pink House by KC Design Studio features a bathroom with dimmable pink glass. House in Nagoya, Japan by Suppose Design Office, has a bathroom viewable through glass walls. Tokyo's The Life apartment by I IN uses reeded glass to allow light into a windowless bathroom. Blueberry Nights hotel in Tbilisi, Georgia, designed by Sandro Takaishvili, offers slightly separated bathrooms for a cinematic feel. Vibo Tværveh cabin in Denmark, by Valbæk Brørup Architects, includes a wet room that opens to the outdoors. These examples redefine privacy and space usage in residential and commercial properties.

📅 Jason Himber, CEO of MINA Group, details his evolution from fast-food franchises to a fine dining empire. He shares leadership insights, the significance of being overprepared for success, overcoming challenges, and strategies to combat imposter syndrome, all while emphasizing the leveling playing field hospitality provides. Relevant to anyone in the hospitality industry seeking to enhance their business and leadership skills.

🏦 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts partners with NILE Hospitality LLP for the expansion of the Microtel by Wyndham brand in India, targeting 40 new hotels by 2031. The collaboration marks Wyndham's eighth brand in the country and will focus on Tier II, III, and IV cities, with the first openings planned for 2025. Each hotel will have a minimum of 50 rooms. The company, which currently operates 60 hotels in India, aims to grow by 25% within the next 18 months. Wyndham franchisees can leverage nearly $325 million in technology investments and a Wyndham Rewards program with 110 million members.

🏷 TAPIS Studio unveils the NOMAD Collection, a line of rugs inspired by the Greek concept of 'aesthesis', designed to offer a multi-sensory experience. Creative Director Micael Carvalho emphasizes the collection's intent to reconnect individuals with nature through sensory engagement. Designs infuse cultural and natural scents like vetiver, fig, and patchouli into visual and tactile forms, incorporating new shapes and bold patterns suitable for various interior styles. The collection aims to bring the essence of remote cultures and nature's beauty into homes, elevating comfort through nature-inspired elements.

📖 Dezeen collaborates with SketchUp to start a Design Workshops video series featuring designers like Julien Sebban and Tola Ojuolape. Launching in two weeks, the series will showcase Sebban's Uchronia, a Paris-based practice, explaining the creation of a 70s-themed bar interior using SketchUp. Sebban won emerging interior designer at the Dezeen Awards last year. London-based Ojuolape, also an award nominee, will share a library design proposal for Clerkenwell, London. SketchUp, by Trimble, is widely used for various 3D design projects.

🏨 STAAH, a hospitality company, hosts a Weekly Hotel Industry Quiz designed for both seasoned hoteliers and those new to the industry. The quiz aims to sharpen knowledge and stay updated with industry trends. Participants can join weekly and engage with a variety of questions about luxury hotel brands and hotel software. The quiz also invites sharing among colleagues and promises new quizzes each week for continuous learning.

🍺 BrewDog, in its 2023 financial report, disclosed a pre-tax loss of £59.2m, which widened from £30.5m in the previous year. However, revenue increased from £321.2m to £354.6m, and underlying trading EBITDA improved from a £12.8m loss to just £2.5m. CEO James Arrow, who succeeded co-founder James Watt earlier in the year, reports a significant operational efficiency improvement. In the first half of 2024, BrewDog achieved EBITDA positive trading with revenue reaching £137.5m. The company's global bar sales rose by 12.3% in 2023, and they continue to expand internationally, including new markets like Thailand.

🍋 Yuzu, a citrus fruit with a tart yet sweet flavor and a distinctive floral aroma, is gaining traction in the US, featured on 5.9% of restaurant menus, marking a 29% rise in four years, according to Datassential. Its juice is used in various drinks and Japanese ponzu sauce, and it's increasingly adopted in desserts, marinades, and other sauces, particularly by independent and fine-dining venues. The fruit is most popular among Asian consumers.