17
Feb

Hospitality Consultants in Asia Pacific

Hospitality experiences should captivate, welcome, inspire and engage.

Hospitality revolves around people, making it an incredibly interesting and lively field to work in. Everything in hospitality is determined by customers and how they like to interact with their environments ー especially from a travel perspective ー meaning that shopping, dining and entertainment are always changing to keep up with the times.

hospitality

Why are hospitality consultants so important?

The success of hospitality outlets like restaurants, bars and hotels is rooted in the creation of unique, memorable experiences. With Millennials and Gen Z overtaking preceding generations as the biggest spenders, the experiential approach that characterises hospitality has been transcending the borders of this industry and has started to infiltrate all sectors of retail.

This is why hospitality consultants are so important: to create retail and F&B spaces that make an impact on visitors, a great deal of research into consumer behaviour, cultural influences and buying habits is required along with expert knowledge and guidance to ensure the customer is always placed at the center of the experience while maximising ROI for brands and businesses.

Retail vs hospitality and transactions vs experiences

What is the relation between hospitality and retail? Both have the same objective: selling a product. While the path taken to achieve this goal has not always looked the same for hospitality (service-driven) and retail (product-driven), the two roads are moving closer and closer to each other.

The rise of e-commerce has sparked a retail revolution, motivating many brands to make an online mind shift and incorporate digital platforms in their transactional channel. This movement, in turn, has brought about a monumental change in the way businesses in the retail industry go about to engage shoppers and build brand image.

They have, no doubt, borrowed a page from the hospitality book by taking to an experience-focused model that, like Gen Z and Gen Y, values experience over transaction.

To achieve this, the goal should be designing restaurants, bars and coffee shops that offer more than just a space to eat or drink, or stores that serve more than a mere transactional function. There is a need for community hubs that foster socialisation and engagement, unique experiences that build brand recognition and encourage high returns, and beautiful, innovative designs that not only maximise spatial potential but also captivate customers.

Hospitality consultation in APAC

Asia Pacific is one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world. Between East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, we deal with an incredibly wide demographic range. Because designing localised customer experiences is key to attracting Millennials and Gen Z, it is important to remember: what works in Europe of America, won’t fly in every part of the world.

Southeast Asia is a particularly popular destination for travelers and digital nomads, leading to an increased ratio of expats to locals. This creates the challenge of catering to both locals and foreigners by balancing the scales between an authentic celebration of local and a broader approach to globalised experiences. To find the right balance between local and global, we need to understand our target customers and their expectations from brands and hospitality experiences.

The top 10 hospitality trends to look out for in 2020

  1. Data-driven personalisation
  2. AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants
  3. Mobile bookings, communication and payments
  4. Bigger and more diverse F&B offerings
  5. Holistic approach to health and wellbeing
  6. Organic dining
  7. Sustainability and eco-friendly design
  8. Unexpected partnerships between brands
  9. ‘Celebrity’ collaborations with brands
  10. Localised experiences

Do you want to revive your hospitality outlet or disrupt the industry with a brand new concept?

At Ground Control Retail, we bring a combined experience of over 50 years in the industry to work with and guide stakeholders in the hospitality field to kickstart or reimagine their businesses according to changing customer demands and new emerging trends. We have led businesses with more than 300 outlets across the Middle East, Asia and Asia Pacific and are trusted by industry leaders to take the steer on rollouts that create memorable customer experiences and achieve superior returns.

Contact us today to discuss how we can transform your business!