In Bangkok, the place I dwell, it’s getting arduous to maintain monitor of all of the bar takeovers. There could be as much as 15 of those occasions—often known as “visitor shifts,” the place visiting bartenders from around the globe make their signature drinks at a number bar—happening 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 night time. And Lennon’s, a vinyl speakeasy, had Opium Bar taking up its stations in December, regardless of Opium being only a 20-minute trip away.
It’s not simply Bangkok. At bars around the globe, visitor shifts have been a manner for bartenders to alternate information and introduce themselves to a brand new market. Usually sponsored by spirit manufacturers, the occasions permit producers to lift consciousness about their merchandise, whereas bartenders get to reap the benefits of model advertising budgets. And, for the host bars, a visitor shift affords the right alternative for the trade to get collectively of their area. These occasions appear to profit 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 infrequently, the identical bars are invited—typically a number of instances to a metropolis in a yr. They’re not all the time price all the hassle. “Within the quick time period, internet hosting a lot of occasions will deliver social media hype and model consciousness,” says Joyce, “however constant monetary success is achieved by 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 clients, who might not even bear in mind {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 obtained 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 a great 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 reasonably than merely conducting occasions for their very own sake.”
Adams says that a method 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 persona that makes this specific bartender price 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 focus on all elements 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 Girls’s Day, bar managers, bartenders and model ambassadors from China, the Philippines, Malaysia and the U.S. talked about their bar packages and favourite underrated ingesting spots, and so they 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 contributors to share “important data on tips on how to host company from two completely different cultures,” which “may also help all bars to boost their visitor experiences.”
For some, nevertheless, packages outdoors of those pop-ups are the best way ahead. Bar Leone just 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 workforce full-time. And Double Hen Please, in New York Metropolis, held its Bar2Bar program in collaboration with Taiwan’s Moonrock final yr. Through 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 wished to supply our workforce an opportunity to achieve perception into their workflow, native components, workforce dynamics and the broader F&B and cultural panorama.”
Nonetheless, regardless of the oversaturation, visitor shifts are usually not going away anytime quickly. They are going to, identical to all elements of the commerce, must adapt as a way 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.”
