Trends we spotted | Week 49
8-12-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about an AI-powered wine wall with facial recognition security and Pringles Passport attempts to satisfy a nostalgia for traveling.
Last October people could dine on board the world’s largest passenger aircraft, an A380 at Changi Airport. Would that satisfy your nostalgia for traveling a bit? And KFC introduced autonomous rolling chicken-dispensing pods in China, completely contactless.
At Pizza Hut you could enjoy a plant-based sausage, Beyond Italian Sausage, in the U.S. and Pancheros Mexican Grill introduced their ’12 Days Pancheros’ Holiday promotions. Inspiration for restaurants with take-out or delivery!
We spotted the MyPanera Coffee subscription a couple of months ago and now an European brand, Espresso House also launched a flat rate for coffee. Inspiration for other coffee corners? Especially if you have many people working at your location.
Dutch Television channel KRO-NCRV and restaurant chain Resto VanHarte are organizing a grand Online Christmas Dinner together. Inspiration for your country?
Sustainability: IKEA announced their plan to make 50% of their food menu plant-based by 2025 and we have spotted a new sustainable design for the seating at Schiphol Airport, called Blink. Interesting read for other venues.
Claridge’s Christmas Tree 2020 | This year’s theme: Art Deco
7-12-2020
Claridge’s, London’s legendary Mayfair hotel has unveiled its much anticipated Claridge’s Christmas Tree 2020 in the hotel lobby. This year the landmark hotel has drawn on its rich and glamorous Art Deco design heritage evoking the Roaring 20’s, a time when people were looking for a symbol of hope and happiness post World War One. As London looks for a beacon of light amidst the trials and tribulations of this year, the message seems very fitting as we once again hope for better times to come.
The Claridge’s Christmas Tree has long symbolized the start of the festive season in the capital, drawing visitors and Londoners alike to admire its magnificent design. This is the 11th year that Claridge’s has invited a longstanding partner and friend to reinterpret the tree in their own distinctive style. We wrote about a couple of them because we love the inspiration they offer, on the level of decorating but also in choosing to cooperate with the designers. Check out the trees by regular guests and designers Christian Louboutin, Diane von Fürstenberg and even Karl Lagerfeld.
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The Berkeley unveils ‘Winter at The Garden’
1-12-2020
On Thursday 3rd December, as The Berkeley reopens its doors to all, the hotel will reveal a new festive addition: Winter at The Garden. Following the summer sell out success of The Garden and now reimagined for the winter months, this culinary terrace spot will consist of five cosy wooden cabins, each seating up to six diners. These cabins, glittering with flickering candles, will be decked with wreaths courtesy of McQueens, and surrounded by a forest of fir trees and fairy lights. Guests will be armed with blankets and heaters to keep warm. A menu of alpine specialties, built around a showstopping raclette grill, will delight eager guests after weeks of eating at home.
The UK is getting out of their lockdown tomorrow December 2 just after midnight, at that moment the country will go back to a three tier system. Only if you’re located in a tier 3 region, the restaurants and pubs aren’t allowed to open. London for example is located in a tier 2 region (most regions are tier 2), the rules here are: ‘Pubs and bars can only open if they serve substantial meals. Alcohol can be served with that meal. Pubs and restaurants must shut at 23:00 GMT, with last orders at 22:00 GMT.’ We wish that this was the case here in the Netherlands as well!
Trends we spotted | Week 47
24-11-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week among others articles about, Eataly in London and Bee Approved, a 100% vegan, gluten-free & organic alternative to honey.
In the food delivery section we spotted Pickup Pods by Minnow, contact-free food delivery and pickup solutions developed in the US and in New York, Eat Plantega. This company offers vegan foods in fridges in bodegas.
A company in Belgium created the FagronLab™ UVGI-80 Air-Sterilizer. It does a full cleanse of contaminated environments, via the elimination of virus and bacteria spread in the air through aerosols. And trust in how you clean the surroundings is very important according to this online survey: ‘Dining Habits 2020’ by Lightspeed.
KFC has unveiled its Next Generation Prototype restaurant that puts digital and contactless experiences front and center and we spotted the cutest ‘Charcuterie Chalets’ on Instagram. Might be inspiration for your Christmas dinner!
DOT Groningen presents the largest Christmas bauble in the world despite COVID-19
16-11-2020
The largest Christmas bauble in the world will rise again this year in Groningen. On Sunday December 6th, starting at 5:00 PM, no less than 6,000 LED lights will be lit at DOT Groningen. The initiators worked for weeks to get the lights and a completely new “Christmas bauble hook” ready on time and to attach them to their dome. The dome, with a diameter of 26 meters and a height of 19 meters, is the largest Christmas bauble in the world.
In addition to good food and drinks, DOT is a multifunctional company, where hospitality and variety in the programming for young and old are central. And the initiators also came up with a Drive-Thru-experience for this year and together with three other authentic restaurants they created the #ChristmasBaubleBox: The culinary December gift for companies and for families at home.
CityHub just opened its first international location in Copenhagen
3-11-2020
CityHub, the award-winning champion of smart city travel, opened its first international location on the 8th October 2020 in the diverse Vesterbro neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. CityHub Copenhagen marks the beginning of CityHub’s European rollout, following recent global financing from Dutch banks NIBC and ABN Amro.
“CityHub Copenhagen is our largest location yet, and the first milestone towards international development. A city known for its pioneering design and hospitality excellence, Copenhagen is a perfect fit for the brand,” asserts CityHub Co-founder Pieter van Tilburg.
Trends we spotted | Week 44
2-11-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week, links to articles about the hotel arrangement by Hotels.com offering a place to literally ‘hide under a rock’ during the 2020 presidential election. Although we hope that everybody allowed to vote will support their candidate!
The Former chief design officer at Apple will design ‘the next generation of Airbnb products’ and a link to an article about The ‘Don’t Call Me Chicken’ pizza by California Pizza Kitchen.
In New York the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop will open, it will be the first ZHI restaurant and they will be offering a special crossover. Also serving a crossover is Papa John’s: Double Cheeseburger Pizza!
Sensory Inc., an artificial intelligence provider in Silicon Valley, is debuting the alpha release of its artificial intelligence enabled virtual assistant. No more touchscreens at kiosks! And as flying taxis inch closer to reality, companies are scrambling to develop infrastructure.
‘Gordon Ramsey Burger’ will soon be available at Harrods, it’s the second location of his gourmet burger restaurant, the first one is in Las Vegas. And Japanese robots serve soft ice cream!
Nxt Museum | The first new media art museum in the Netherlands
16-10-2020
Opened on August 29, Nxt Museum in Amsterdam. Visitors can immerse themselves in the futuristic world of the first museum dedicated to New Media Art in the Netherlands. Their inaugural exhibition is ‘Shifting Proximities’. The museum is located in the up-and-coming North of Amsterdam and it presents eight large-scale, multi-sensory art installations, four of which have been commissioned by and are premiering at Nxt Museum. Each of the multi-disciplinary installations has been created in collaboration with local and international artists, designers, technologists, scientists and musicians, fusing creative ideas with pioneering academic research and technological innovation.
For those who love new art installations the Nxt Museum is a new ‘must visit’ museum in Amsterdam. So the moment you can safely travel to Amsterdam after Covid this museum must be on your bucket list! We have really enjoyed our visit to the Van Gogh exhibition in the museum L’Atelier des Lumières in Paris, an art installation that gave an insight in a couple of paintings with technology. The first exhibition in Nxt Museum looks much more futuristic though! In the first couple of weeks they welcomed some 4.500 people to enjoy the installations.
Great Scotland Yard hotel | Announced a ‘Grand Unlocking’ this September
1-9-2020
The Great Scotland Yard hotel, part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt is one of London’s top 5* hotels and has announced plans to reopen with a ‘Grand Unlocking’ on Monday 7th September. The hotel is located in Westminster. The re-opening of the hotel will coincide with the launch of a new seasonal snack menu alongside its signature cocktail menu at The 40 Elephants, the destination bar in the heart of the hotel, which will be open to both guests and the public throughout the week.
Trends we spotted | Week 35
28-8-2020
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week, a link to an article about the changing view on hospitality due to the pandemic, apps are getting more and more important. But also a campaign by Airbnb in the USA to offer online experiences at home, led by artists around the world.
Great design for the new Starbucks location in the Circles Ginza Building in Tokyo, it features a ‘Smart Lounge’ to work in! And are you a member of a book club that had to stop meeting because of the pandemic? Check out the online ‘Words & Wines’ book club!
Just Salad is the first U.S. restaurant chain that carbon labelled its menu. London has a the first float-in cinema in the UK and in the V&A museum an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ exhibit will open March 2021, fall down the rabbit hole!
A glimpse inside the new Felix Roasting Co., known for its specialty coffee (like the ‘espresso tonic’ and the hickory-smoked s’mores latte), at 104 Green Street in SoHo!
