In Bangkok, the place I stay, it’s getting laborious to maintain observe of all of the bar takeovers. There will be as much as 15 of those occasions—also referred to as “visitor shifts,” the place visiting bartenders from around the globe make their signature drinks at a bunch bar—going down every week. Not too long ago, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, an award-winning spot within the Thonglor space, was internet hosting them on a weekly foundation, with 14 visiting bartenders in lower than two months. The multifloor venue Inside Bar, in the meantime, celebrated its anniversary in August by internet hosting 27 bartenders in a single evening. And Lennon’s, a vinyl speakeasy, had Opium Bar taking on its stations in December, regardless of Opium being only a 20-minute journey away.
It’s not simply Bangkok. At bars around the globe, visitor shifts have been a means for bartenders to alternate information and introduce themselves to a brand new market. Usually sponsored by spirit manufacturers, the occasions permit producers to boost consciousness about their merchandise, whereas bartenders get to make the most of model advertising budgets. And, for the host bars, a visitor shift affords the proper alternative for the trade to get collectively of their house. These occasions appear to learn everybody, so what’s to not like?
“The virtually nightly providing of visitor shifts stretches the trade skinny,” says Annabelle Joyce, a regional director for the hospitality group Lowder-Tascarella. These within the trade would possibly “really feel obligated to attend, regardless of hectic work schedules” and sometimes, the identical bars are invited—typically a number of occasions to a metropolis in a yr. They’re not at all times value all the trouble. “Within the brief time period, internet hosting plenty of occasions will convey social media hype and model consciousness,” says Joyce, “however constant monetary success is achieved by way of providing high-quality, concept-driven experiences to loyal company.”
Presently, these loyal company are feeling the pressure. Throughout takeovers, most host bars don’t serve their typical menus, which implies that prospects, who might not even remember {that a} takeover is scheduled for the night, aren’t experiencing the signature cocktails and the ambiance that they got here for. “We’ve beforehand acquired suggestions from company who traveled from overseas to go to us whereas internet hosting a visitor shift, solely to search out they couldn’t order our drinks,” says William Dibbayawan, who leads partnerships and activations for F*nkytown. The Bangkok cocktail bar has since adjusted this method; company can now order from the same old menu throughout takeovers.
Chanel Adams, bar supervisor of The Bamboo Bar, additionally in Bangkok, believes visitor shift begins from considering past simply the visitor shift. “We have to ask: What particular worth will this alternate create?” she says. “We have to reestablish function moderately than merely conducting occasions for their very own sake.”
Adams says that a technique bars can do that is by advertising their occasions higher, with sufficient time for company to know what they’re in for. “Shoppers see a résumé of prestigious venues however miss understanding the distinctive perspective, specialised experience or character that makes this explicit bartender value their consideration,” she says.
Earlier than a visitor shift takes place at The Bamboo Bar, Adams leads a roundtable, inviting members of Bangkok’s bar trade and visiting bartenders to be taught from each other. They talk about all features of the commerce, from recipe improvement to social media branding. Not too long ago, for the bar’s collection of visitor shifts themed round Worldwide Ladies’s Day, bar managers, bartenders and model ambassadors from China, the Philippines, Malaysia and the U.S. talked about their bar applications and favourite underrated consuming spots, they usually shared native spirits from their house nations.
The roundtable idea was an concept Adams developed with Tommy Wong of CMYK in Changsha, China. He says the roundtables permit members to share “important information on the right way to host company from two totally different cultures,” which “may also help all bars to boost their visitor experiences.”
For some, nevertheless, applications exterior of those pop-ups are the way in which ahead. Bar Leone lately debuted its paid stage program, during which younger professionals can transfer to Hong Kong and work on the world-renowned bar for six to 12 months, with the potential of becoming a member of the staff full-time. And Double Hen Please, in New York Metropolis, held its Bar2Bar program in collaboration with Taiwan’s Moonrock final yr. Throughout the alternate, Moonrock’s proprietor and Double Hen Please’s flooring captain labored on one another’s groups for 2 weeks. The initiative provided an opportunity for “studying and long-term connections between hospitality groups around the globe,” says GN Chan, co-founder of Double Hen Please. “We needed to supply our staff an opportunity to achieve perception into their workflow, native elements, staff dynamics and the broader F&B and cultural panorama.”
Nonetheless, regardless of the oversaturation, visitor shifts should not going away anytime quickly. They may, similar to all features of the commerce, must adapt with the intention to keep related. “Visitor shifts are at their finest after they foster open-mindedness and real cultural alternate,” says Adams. However “with out evolution, we danger exhausting each the expertise and the viewers.”
