Retail, Meet Hospitality. Hospitality, Meet Retail.
How to leverage community & design to sell an on-brand curation of products.
Morning! It’s not abnormal to see a “gift shop” at a property. Or a cafe. Traditionally amongst name brands in hospitality, these experiences can be outdated and boring. In some cases, these spaces are subleased out to other retail brands and operators to take on. But, boutiques aimed at more discerning travelers staying for the experience rather than just a place to sleep are adding a new revenue stream and reaffirming their brand positioning.
The hospitality brand’s identity will create the opportunity for new product offerings. For example - if the property is outdoorsy, wellness-focused, or food-inspired. Or, if it’s a heritage-inspired motel chain or a newly developed modern & simplistic design.
Many hospitality brands share their customer base and values with like-minded brands. This allows their property to serve not only as a community center and gathering space but also as a place to eat, drink, and discover a curation of products you’d only expect to find on Instagram or online. South Congress Hotel in Austin carries a selection of Le Puzz, Vacation Inc, Areaware, Salt & Stone, and more.
Offering a shop to guests allows the Hospitality brand to become a consumer product brand itself. Which, is what I do all day long with partners of Openhouse like Faraway on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Let me know if you’d like to see our recent work, lots of great projects in the queue for this summer.
This topic reminds me of my summer job in college working for a fisherman (Captain Gus) who made smoked bluefish dip for restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard. My job was to turn the smoked bluefish into a dip and then distribute it across the island to businesses. I fulfilled POs with paper invoices and kept a mostly cash accounting.
Every weekend we did a farmers market. Our product at the farmers market was fish. One of our top sellers was merch. The logo and branding were awesome. It turned out to serve as brand marketing and was seen all over the place. Not to mention the revenue it brought in. Smoked bluefish is great. A good brand identity for said smoked bluefish? Even better.
So, who’s doing this? I listed a few properties that have a unique identity and are increasing their brand touchpoints through consumer products.
Tourist - Check out their shop.
Nomada - Check out their shop.
Anvil Hotel - Check out their shop.
ACE - Check out their shop
Bunkhouse - Check out their shops.
El Cosmico - Check out their shop
In these examples, you see a perfectly executed relationship between hospitality and retail. A thoughtful collection of products that mirror the look and feel of the entire stay. It’s a very graphic design-heavy task to create these thoughtful brand touchpoints that can make a stay even more outdoorsy, wellness-focused, food-inspired, and more. Not to mention, way more fun 🤠.
Till next time!
