The lobby bar: it’s what may be your guest’s first impression as soon as they enter your space. We want to make sure it is an inviting area- encouraging your guest to come, relax, and enjoy a cocktail or two. As we have talked about before, we want to make sure your guest’s eyes are drawn to the bar area, encouraging them to socialize and spend extra time (and money, of course) in your hotel bar!
We need to make sure we are leveraging the lobby bar, in a post pandemic world, to enhance the aura of our space and maximize revenue as well.
If done so correctly, the lobby bar can become a place for guests, and a place for locals to have a nice night out. The décor of your lobby bar depends on your brand and your budget, but we always want to make sure as soon as we walk into the hotel- our eyes are directed to the bar.
The smell of food and drinks should feel inviting to your guests. Leveraging the five senses encourages them to enjoy a drink or snack during their stay. The food can be light or shareables from an adjacent restaurant. Nothing needs to be too complicated, it’s simply to add socialization and a great “vibe” to your lobby area. Another necessity is music. The music needs to be lively, warm, and suitable to all listeners. If you can have live music, even better!
The design of your space is equally as important. While it has been encouraged to physically distance everyone, we still want to create a space where people can socialize rather than feel isolated. To do this, we must keep in mind the guidance of our state or city, but we can still create a spot for socialization. Something I have seen beautifully done in many hotels are small vignettes of some chairs and couches for smaller groups of people to gather all in different spaces while remaining distanced from other smaller groups of people.
Lighting is also a great way to make a space feel intimate. Use various sources of dim and warm lighting to make your lobby bar feel private, yet sociable making it an enticing space for guests to relax and enjoy their evening.
