Dose of Design & Tech #02

Hi friends 👋, Welcome to another dose of design and tech in the hospitality world with Hotel Network Community (49K subscribers)! but before we start, I just want to highlight that thousands have been killed by the huge earthquakes that hit Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria. Donate to help children if you can.

Ok, let’s get to it.

☼ IS IT TRUE? “The tour-operator model is dead, much like the travel-agency model is dead. No one under 40 buys a tour package or goes to a travel agency any more. They do it themselves.” Share your thoughts.

☼ 53 Restaurant Ideas for 2023 by “Now, if we throw reason out the window and dare to dream, our grab bag of ideas for 2023, some 53 of them. Should you be declaring your own New Year’s predictions — or resolutions for that matter — in the coming days and weeks, feel free to crib as needed.”

☼ You can blame all the governments and fashion brands in the world for climate change but taking a printed receipt every time you go shopping is honestly a really stupid automatism that we should all stop. Operators also have huge responsibilities for not modernising their tech. E.g: Quipo is the most ecological and economical solution for the dematerialization of receipts and we love the new branding!

☼ It’s a Bavarian Wirtshaus called ROSI that I wanted to highlight today. That said, Rosi prefers to refer to itself as a “neo-tavern” due to its distinctive approach to food, blending tradition with lab-like explorations, and recipes from Markus’ own mother with dishes for German kings. The restaurant has just received a new identity from Yan-Co Studio, a design practice based between Zurich and Athens.

☼ THE EMBASSIES is a global serviced living concept for lifestyle-driven grown-ups and radically changes the narrative on ageing presenting a new way to grow old. The concept includes an international network of individually curated communities in the world’s greatest cities providing all amenities and services for its members, residents and guests. 8 am: Yoga & Fitness - 9:15 am: Breakfast - 10 am: Out in the world - 4:30 pm: Book club - 6:00 pm: Artists talk! Who would not want that?

☼ Should we feel optimistic about the hospitality industry?

I’m always optimistic. We may be experiencing a huge challenge right now but I think brands with a story have the means to survive and thrive. The incentive to travel is smaller than it used to be. No one wants to stay in a standard, sterile business hotel. Hospitality is transforming but we’re still here to create special moments instead of just offering a place to spend the night. Share your thoughts.

☼ Front of House (FOH) is the internet’s one-stop shop for digital collectibles from the best bars and restaurants anywhere. Founded by food lovers, FOH collaborates with food/bev operators to create one-of-a-kind NFTs designed to let their regulars wine and dine online and make the web3 space more digestible. The visuals are a nostalgic wink to 90’s web experience, using vibrant RBG colours, friendly logos, animated grids, retro ad typography and bold collages of floating food. It is a whole digital experience, aiming to merge the inherent humour of food and the weirdness of internet culture.

☼ Not really a big fan of chatGPT as of yet but Lunchbox recently shared a pretty exciting summary for restaurants to explore using this technology. They have even developed their own AI food generator…I work with fantastic food photographers and the level of AI is not great. However, it does open the door for small business to improve their social media presence at low/no cost.

☼ One of the first, if not the very first Diner in the world, was established in Rhode Island USA in 1892. Walter Scott was the owner and it is said his most popular item at the time was a Chicken sandwich. Something that has inspired the visual identity of Road Diner.

☼ The shift from online to bricks and mortar can be daunting; it requires cash and a stomach for risk. Leap, a retail platform, bears some of that burden, leasing shops in up-and-coming streets and offering new brands a space. Something BOXPARK has been doing for a while, but Leap also hires staff and helps with the fit-out and supplies checkout software, all with a flexible exit date. The deal? Leap takes 10 per cent of sales while its chosen brands cover rent and running costs.

☼ Pop up Grocer’s founder Raye describes her concept as a “discovery space for new and emerging brands”, but it’s perhaps best explained as part-consultancy, rather than a straight-up store. She aims to act as a bridge for emerging food, drink, health and beauty brands to help them eventually get listed in the likes of Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic and Harrods.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, Romain Baron (DM if you have questions or want to share a dose of design and tech in the new issue)