The Lobby Bar is Back with a Vengeance

Call it wishful thinking, but we’re hotly anticipating the steadfast return of the hotel lobby bar scene now that COVID-19 is fading away. In fact, we predict that such outlets stand a good chance at becoming big attractions in the year ahead, with hoteliers able to use them to differentiate their marketing approach and garner more bookings.

The lobby bar (or rooftop bar) is a point of pride for many properties, and rightfully so as these outlets engender local buzz and amplify the sense of place for incoming travelers. First impressions as they are, it’s one thing to approach the front desk to check-in with music billowing the halls from a nearby lounge with most tables occupied by chattering patrons. It’s a whole other to be greeted by an empty hall.

Both of us have long been big fans of the multitude of upscale and hobnobbing lounges that hotels have painstaking created because of the attention to detail in the décor, F&B, theme and overall vibe at these establishments. They are often attractions in their own right. Importantly, and in contrast to an empty lobby when checking in, this ‘scene’ acts to boost overall guest satisfaction and word of mouth to draw in more paying guests.

The pandemic sadly shuttered many of these outlets, and the lack of foot traffic can make a place feel deserted and less welcoming. While traveling during the pandemic to some hotels known in the past for their exceptional bars, we can definitively say that such buoyant bar scenes were poorly missed. Without the hubbub, something feels off; it’s a void that bleeds into the hotel experience, subtly diminishing one’s appreciation for the guestroom product or other amenities.

What we’re seeing on the ground right now, though, tells a different story – one of revival. With many lobby bars setting up gated entrances to check vaccination status, this conspicuous security chokepoint now elicits an air of safety, so much so that patrons are increasingly confident about returning to the pre-pandemic lifestyle of gathering at kinetic, close-quarters abodes. Barring a major surge in virus caseloads that hammers this renewed spirit for socialization back down to its 2020 levels, our forecast is that the lobby bar only gets busier and busier as global travel resumes.

How do you take advantage of this emerging renaissance? How do you restart a beverage-driven establishment to be both quantifiably profitable and work intrinsically to boost room reservations? In balancing these two potentially upsides, the latter is one that may not be readily measurable but is perhaps the more critical of the two insofar as driving total revenues for the property and giving your property a zero-base marketing tool.

It’s no longer just about thinking of your bar or restaurant as a siloed revenue generator, but in its contribution to TRevPAR (total revenue per available room). Does the lobby bar encourage more room reservations? Can the lobby bar positively influence TripAdvisor scores? Are there certain guest profiles that would be more inclined to spend at the lobby bar, thereby giving you a more detailed lookalike audience to hone your marketing efforts? These are a few cross-departments questions to ask.

Design is critical here as your restaurant or bar has to be ready. If you have a renovation planned, the winter is the time to do it before what may be a great summer of travel come around May 2022. Then besides having such an operation already in place (big CAPEX is not exactly on the table at the moment) or making the binary decision about whether to reopen, most crucial is having the right staffing. Labor shortages be as they may, a lack of workers severely limits your topline sales from this outlet, as well as perhaps forcing you to reduce its hours.

To contend, our top recommendation on the labor front is: less is more. Food menus should be uncomplicated with only your bestsellers to thus limit requirements on the kitchen and speed up table turns. Likewise for beverages, it’s easier to crack a beer bottle or pour a glass of wine than to prepare an elaborate cocktail, even though the latter may have a price point set at several dollars above such simpler options. While indeed cocktails help to differentiate your product in a unique way, it’s a balancing act because of the time drain involved, which may in turn cause patiently waiting patrons to not be so patient anymore and lead them to go elsewhere for the next round.

Next, from a design perspective, less is also more as you may be contending with backlogged workorders and supply chain issues that might make complex décor purchases harder to implement. Most guests would simply be happy just to have a home base option at their disposal!

Some hotel brands – many right here in Canada – have great bar components and are poised to make it big as travelers return. In a positive feedback loop sort of way, we stress that it’s not just the prospects of some marginal ancillary sales but how a lobby bar can halo back onto the experience for overnight guests to subsequently drive more loyalty and bookings. And that’s ultimately what hotels need right now, so consider how your bar, or any restaurant outlet for that matter, can work holistically towards rebuilding your guestroom bookings where most hotels make the majority of their profits.