FOOD & BEVERAGES
a new bar and lounge ), and focused on offering an upscale and highly curated in-room dining menu . Since the hotel is located within a former Coca-Cola bottling plant and there is a food hall just across the street , it didn ’ t make sense to open up a traditional restaurant , Isbell- Williams says .
“ What we did need , however , was a lounge ,” Isbell-Williams adds , as the hotel ’ s Sundry & Vice cocktail lounge , isn ’ t yet open . So , Isbell-Williams and her team looked at the beautiful , under-used spaces , and they created a lounge within the building ’ s old accounting room , which has a historic safe as a focal point . “ We brought in a mobile bar cart , and it became a speakeasy lounge ,” she says . “ Now , we ’ re using this concept for special events , for cocktail hours , for corporate events or for weddings .”
When the hotel opened , events were already booked , and they ’ re continuing to grow . “ Meetings are definitely coming back ,” Isbell-Williams says . “ But one thing we have had to keep in mind , is very often , the event that people are coming to is the first time they ’ re meeting together .”
“ Corporate and association events have returned , and demand is strong ,” Don Cesar ’ s Cepero says .
“ We are fortunate that we have been able to sell our meeting space as normal ,” The Industrialist ’ s Giger adds .
Lapin says that while there ’ s certainly been a backlog of catered events , he hasn ’ t seen conventions yet return to Las Vegas , Chicago , New York and other big cities .
Weddings are also growing , especially with the backlog of such celebrations that were cancelled last year . “ We are currently seeing weddings any day of the week , with Fridays and Sundays remaining very popular ,” Cepero says .
Nunziata says that he ’ s seen a shift to more weekday celebrations “ as remote work offers more flexibility for scheduling ,” and he ’ s also seen the size of gatherings shrink .
“ We ’ re seeing a significant demand for celebratory experiences across our resorts ,” Chung says . “ We are seeing an even greater demand in guests wanting to commemorate these moments with completely custom dining experiences .”
Celebration extends not just into events , but also into bars and restaurants . “ Signature cocktails seem to be all the hype right now ,” Giger says .
All in all , the paradigm is shifting in a positive direction , and most hotels feel optimistic . “ Six months ago , they said nobody would ever shake hands again or go to a concert or go to a buffet , and categorically , none of these things are sure today ,” Lapin remarks .
The Rebel Room at The Industrialist Hotel , a Marriott Autograph Collection property in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
102 hotelsmag . com September / October 2021