01 | 12 | 2022

Eatertainment, a new experiential concept in hotels and restaurants

The hotel and restaurant industry is constantly looking for innovation. Today, dining is becoming an experience in its own right with concepts flourishing a little more every day. Eatertainment is an experience that combines food and entertainment. Cuisine is entering a new dimension between leisure, show, atmosphere and gastronomy.

During a conference at the last EquipHotel show, Dan Cebula, founder of Depur expérience, Augustin Rousseau, from Bouygues immobilier and Yariv Abehsera, from Compagnie des Alpes, presented the new trend of eatertainment, during an exchange moderated by Sabine Durand, editorial director of Néo Restauration .

The origins of the rise of eatertainment

The rise of eatertainment is relatively recent; it comes above all from a desire for entertainment, to forget the daily life in crisis for several years. Attacks of 2015, COVID crisis or climatic problems, the young clientele wants to take their mind off things by mixing catering with other entertainment such as sports or even gaming.

Dan Cebula, founder Depur Expérience explains the reasons for the success of eatertainment.

Eatertainment, a desire for entertainment to attract clientele

Eatertainment is a real experience, a unique moment to live. The offer is segmented by "lifestyle" more than by other criteria such as CSP. The objective is to unite a clientele around a passion or a theme. This can be done at the level of a hobby or a concept. Since the Covid crisis, there is a desire to come together to share even stronger moments, with family or friends.

Whether in restaurants, hotels or even airports, it is essential to create spaces with character with the mission of draining people into new places.

Examples of concepts mixing catering and entertainment

There are many examples of concepts around eatertainment. Yariv Abehsera, from the Compagnie des Alpes, presents the one of their latest hostel, opened last winter in Risoul, with the aim of giving young people a taste for the mountains again. To do this, they had to innovate, offer new atmospheres and experiences.

Combining gaming, sports and catering to attract Millenial's

Young people are a strategic target for catering in general. For the future of the hotel and restaurant industry, we must capture this new generation. But to do this, we need to innovate and revolutionize habits. For example, to make millennials want to come to the mountains, we are creating hostels with activities to suit their taste. Coliving, cooking to share, video game animations are all found in a space dedicated to young people.

It is important to make every square meter of the building profitable and to offer animations in summer and winter. For the Compagnie des Alpes, the objective is to attract young people who do not necessarily ski (about 25 e the clientele).

For Yariv Abehsera it is necessary to focus on the short circuit and authenticity to retain customers in accordance with ecological issues.

The principle of coliving for a local and warm approach

Augustin Rousseau, from Bouygues Immobilier, is working on the development of Coliving residences in France.

The objective: to offer housing to young people in activity and nomadic workers with spaces (coworking, bar, restaurant, relaxation area) that promote meetings.

The idea is not to create soulless chains, but rather a local presence with short and eco-responsible circuits.

The stakes of eatertainment

Culinary experience, show, new experience, eatertainment proposes concepts to build loyalty among a young clientele by offering socialization, sharing and meeting.

Today, the palettes of experiences are infinite and it is important to stand out in order to continue to exist.

The CSR dimension of these places can also be put forward, with a real desire to create authenticity in atypical spaces.