#Trending This Week - Happy Hour Is Helping Bars Wage A War On Inflation, A 100% Solar Run Hotel , F&B Meets NFT, And A Fun Hotel Room
Issue 114 • October 25, 2022
While Happy Hour might seem like a dated concept — it actually began back around Prohibition in the 1930s — it’s still going strong and has experienced a reinvention more recently (even though it is still banned in eight states - who knew?). Someone has actually succeeded in creating a hotel run 100% on solar energy, the culinary industry has decided to leverage the NFT craze, and the hospitality industry seems to think hotel rooms need to be more challenging and fun…go figure. Check it all out in our three-minute read below.
The Reinvention Of Happy Hour
Happy Hour means a variety of things to different people. For some it’s simply the chance to relax and have drinks after work. For others, it’s the golden hour to score cheap drinks and appetizers. More recently, it’s been an opportunity for a number of lounges to create an exclusive culture with specialty drinks and appetizers hoping patrons will experiment and order drinks they might never have tried. Yet with the price of a finely crafted cocktail upwards of $20 these days, the chance to offer consumers more affordably priced drink specials may be the best way to drive demand and increase business these days. As an added benefit, establishments are also viewing it as a great opportunity to create specials for surplus booze or food ingredients they need to move. Read more in PunchDrink here. Photo: Betty Turbo
This Hotel Runs 100% On Solar Energy
Here’s a hotel which really takes sustainability seriously. Puerto Escondido’s Hotel Terrestre is a sprawling series of villas which runs 100% on solar energy and has minimal impact on the local ecology. Fashioned from concrete and white mud bricks made by hand in Puebla, Mexico, the hotel features 14 villas spread along the coast. In order to optimize energy use, the hotel runs on a specific schedule for electronics such as pool equipment and relies on motion sensors for interior lights to help it consume less energy. Read more in Dezeen here.
How F&B Is Leveraging The NFT Trend
NFTs have taken the art world by storm, and the culinary industry doesn’t want to be left behind. Tom Colicchio and Spike Mendelsohn launched CHFTY Pizzas which, according to the website, “invites you to grab a virtual slice and connect with a community that is focused on joining holders with their favorite chefs and foods.” There are supposedly options to buy in and watch Chefs Tom and Spike do pizza demos in their kitchen right now while the in-person demos and opportunities are still “under development.” Now more celebrity chefs are getting in on the act, this time, with the goal of creating an exclusive Social Aid and Pleasure Club designed to support future disaster relief in Louisiana. Read more in Eater here and here. Illustration by Carolyn Figel.
Do We Need A Hotel Room To Entertain Us?
Apparently it’s not cool anymore simply to offer a really comfortable, well-appointed hotel room. These days, the room needs to do more. Marriott and TED have joined together to create “The Curiosity Room,” which is billed as the world’s most high-tech and fun room. Guests must answer a series of questions and complete a number of challenges to finish the game and win a prize. We’re told if you love escape rooms, you’ll love the Curiosity Rooms. What happened to just wanting to kick off your shoes and lie down after a particularly long travel day? Apparently there is a need to “crank up the fun factor with a stay in one of these ingenious tech-filled hotel rooms.” If anyone has experienced one, we’d love to hear about how it added value to your stay. Read more in T3 here.