Subjects: What happens in Vegas gets written about here, folk devils and nitrous oxide, why it’s time to invest in racial equity in the hospitality industry, how to thrive and not just survive in a retention crisis, five sustainable lessons from sector leaders
Authors: Dan Brookman, Phil Mellows, David Dusangh, Karen Turton, Stephen Nolan
What happens in Vegas gets written about here by Dan Brookman
After a whirlwind tour of Las Vegas organised by Myles Doran in partnership with Propel (thanks to Jill Harrington), I’ve tried to summarise it below by breaking out the important bits that I took away. The caveat here is the volume of visitors is simply huge (39 million in 2022), which is matched by the budgets and operations. Many of these sites do upwards of $20m a year in revenue.
1. In the US, hospitality is a career. At all levels the team seemed to be passionate, knowledgeable and proud about their jobs (we met some incredible people at all levels). The unions are involved, which adds a level of operational complexity, especially when they have a mix of non-union and union. Some operators spread the tips across the whole of their operation (rather than just front of house), which means a kitchen hand might earn $34 per hour.
2. Overall, salaries are higher, and tipping is a big part of the mix (see point one). I spoke to a handful of front-line team members who all expressed a passion for their role and shared the depth of knowledge of the sector, and a career working around the world in different businesses.
3. The production and presentation play a massive part in the overall proposition in the entertainment venues. Budgets are not skimped here, every aspect of delivery is thought through and implemented. This ensures the prices can remain high (in the first nightclub, the door charge was $100 and each round of four drinks $100-plus).
4. Margins are high and space is at a premium. If concepts don’t produce the required yield, they are replaced with new ones.
5. Like most food trucks, the food courts have a menu of four to six items that do very well. This was the only place we saw kiosks where you could enter your mobile number to then collect the food when ready. None, though, will deliver the food to your table.
6. The property operators scour the globe for great concepts to either emulate or licence into their venues. It was good to see Seoul Bird within the food courts.
7. Loyalty and data are at the centre of each resort business. People love their points, will remain loyal and revisit to get the rewards. New entrants have massive budgets to try to win customers from competitive resorts. Cue the entertainment angle for drawing new visitors (some of whom are not visiting to gamble).
8. We are way (way) ahead in the payment space for contactless. Most places we visited printed out receipts for signature (potentially to do with tipping).
9. You queue a lot.
10. Most late-night venues work on a minimum spend for a booking, especially if it’s a group, and the buyout, where corporates take over an entire space, is high margin. Therefore, they have a big team and focus to win opportunities.
11. Las Vegas is getting less about the gambling and more about the experience.
My highlights
We did a lot – more than most people would do in a week – and this isn’t all of it. First night (we got off the plane at 10pm):
Zouk Nightclub – it’s an incredible light and sound set-up. The minimum spend was $3,000 for six people. My first round of drinks, two single spirits and mixers and two beers, came to $107. Security have pen torches they use for great effect to guide people around and accompany floor teams.
Omnia Nightclub – a real treat. Martin Garrix on the decks ($350,000 for the set). We were led very efficiently through the club (and some service areas) of 4,000 people to a VIP private balcony to watch the show by a team of three security. Honestly, it was quite a thing. Armed with pencil torches again, they effectively controlled and blocked and created corridors for us through people. There was incredible production, lasers, sound, light and intensity. I was disappointed (but not surprised) the crowd on the dancefloor was not dancing, simply just filming. Kids, eh? The balcony that Myles had secured would usually be a minimum spend of $10,000 and possibly higher on a night like we attended.
Day one
Oliver Lovat gave us an hour on the history of Las Vegas, from inception to date, outlining the key milestones. It was an interesting lecture and outlined the creation of Las Vegas and importance of the resorts.
Famous Foods Streets Eats – there was a very passionate delivery by Faud Roshan, director of restaurants at Resorts World Las Vegas, around the individual concepts and a glimpse into the volumes involved. Faud told the story of each of the brands in his food court. Many have been licensed from street food truck operators or small groups with great reputations.
Chris White – chief executive of Brooklyn Bowl, gave a guided tour of his massive complex that brings live music and bowling together, and the challenges around getting people up to the first floor. This place has had some major artists over the years and is vast, with bowling over two floors.
Tao Day Club – day clubs are as big as nightclubs here, and Tao, at 5,000 capacity, drives incredible revenue (when the sun shines). The pools aren’t deep and there are jacuzzies around the sides. Waiting staff deliver drinks and cabanas, and sunbeds can be rented out by the hour or day. There’s a DJ playing music from the moment they open to when they close. These places bounce.
Superfrico – an entertainment restaurant and one of the trip highlights (for me). Professional entertainers juggle, strip, flip, cycle, slither and perform at ten-minute intervals through dinner. A little risqué, but not smutty. I thought it was quality and could imagine it working in the UK, potentially in family dining (without the strippers). A Mermaid was wheeled out on the trolley and started some banter with the person doing the wheeling about being eaten. It was a couple of minutes long and really witty, but you had to engage with it to enjoy it. Some of the group found it all a bit weird and tacky.
Barbershop – a speakeasy with an entrance through a working barbershop into a big live music venue. A cover band playing on stage, big production again, and a great atmosphere. This place was really rocking. An older crowd, and therefore less phones out!
Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub – a big stage show hosted by Tim Martino. Not my bag, but the club was jumping, and the production was excellent.
Day two
Proper Eats Food Hall – executive director Joseph Marcus guided us through his operation, including taking us back of house to see the prep areas. A very detailed tour of his impressive operation and hyper detailed. Referred to by his team as Chef Joe, he explained the operation as a “repeatable reliable machine”. I chatted to one of his team while we enjoyed the Pizzaoki, who had worked with Chef Joe before and had nothing but praise for him explaining that she turned up at work and knew exactly what was expected every day.
AREA15 – all I can say is “wow”. Michael Casper took us through this nine-figure entertainment complex. I tried my first VR experience with Simon Potts, Sam Brown, Katy Moses and Olga Pawelek, which frankly blew my mind. This place is an interactive art installation mixed in with entertainment and bars, with adaptable rooms for gigs and an outside massive tent for private events. It owns another 80 acres of land stretched out from the complex that’s yet to be developed.
Kitty Kitty – a small speakeasy in the food court at Resorts World with cocktails provided by Pernod Ricard (thanks) and a chat with Chris Rossetti and other industry insiders.
Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace – we went there for dinner with an all-you-can-eat buffet at $75 a head. There were crabs legs, lobster, steak, sushi, Chinese, basically anything you want and as much as you want. There was so much choice and so much waste. Our attentive waiters would clear your plate whether you’d finished or not if you even paused eating.
Delilah – this was another mind blowing experience in the Wynn Resort. This place is beautiful. It has incredible décor and production, cabaret dining and decadence. It was truly like stepping back into the 1930s. It is notoriously hard to get a table at peak times. If I ever get back to Vegas, I’ll be coming here for dinner rather than just drinks!
Day three
Peppermill Restaurant – an all-American breakfast (opened in 1972) that was open at 7am and full by 7.15am. A cocktail waiter resplendent in her cocktail dress, tiara and velvet gloves upsells Mimosas and Bloody Marys. The dishes are large and we ordered too much.
BrewDog – we visited the new bar for a guided tour by the general manager. It’s an impressive 30,000 square-foot space that will be brewing within the month. It has an impressive rooftop terrace and is adapting itself for the sports market, which is frankly ginormous in the US.
Circa Hotels Stadium Swim and Sportsbook – Vegas native EJ Stagner gave us a tour of this ridiculous rooftop swimming and bar concept with the biggest (and I mean the biggest) outdoor screen. This hotel was completed and opened in 2020, just behind Fremont Street. The design is sensitive to the surroundings with more of a 1970s vibe. The Mega Bar below really is mega.
To finish off, we headed to Fremont Street to see the original Las Vegas before the Strip took over. This is rawer and apparently a bit crazy at night, so one for next time.
In conclusion:
Yes, I would go back if I was passing through. However, I found a lot of it overwhelming. There’s nowhere to escape the noise (I’m showing my age) apart from your room. If you’re out, then you are in sensory overload everywhere you go. This is consumption on a massive scale. Watching people load plates at the Caesars Palace buffet and then seeing the plates of leftovers being discarded. The waste and the lack of any sustainability or environmental consciousness really makes you reflect. I’m sure that it’s there somewhere, but when I asked about reusable packaging I was met with a shrug.
We are way ahead on the tech – way ahead. It seems to be down to the payment side of things and tipping. But in a lot of venues, you hand over your credit card, they take it away to ring it up and then return with a signature receipt with a space for the tip. You write in the tip, add it all up and then sign it before returning it. It’s slow and laborious and seemingly added to the queues.
The resorts are sparkling, so clean and tidy. They are in use round the clock every day and have an army of workers keeping them going. But if you step outside, the infrastructure is tired. It’s not a place for pedestrians – I think I saw three cyclists. There’s a big crystal meth issue and homeless villages are a stone’s throw from these billion-dollar mega resorts. I guess it’s much the same in London and other cities – poverty and addiction exists next door to wealth.
They are building more attractions, more resorts, more stadiums; we got taxis pretty much everywhere (as well as doing 25,000 steps each day). To counter (but not solve) this, Elon Musk is building an underground network of tunnels that will connect up the city. The resorts, though, will need to build their own sub stations.
A big thanks to the hospitality operators in the city that made us very welcome, and thanks to Myles for organising the trip.
Dan Brookman is chief executive of Airship and Toggle and took part on the Propel study tour to Las Vegas this week
Folk devils and nitrous oxide by Phil Mellows
On Monday, the government announced a ban on nitrous oxide. It extended the current law against supply to one of possession of a substance that was known as laughing gas when my childhood dentist used to knock me out with it before performing unspeakable acts on my gums. And on the streets today, known simply as “nos”.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) was quick to welcome the news. Chief executive Michael Kill cited a “long-standing battle with the sale and use of this drug”, with problems including anti-social behaviour and organised crime as well as littering. The latter makes nitrous oxide use especially visible in the form of the small silvery canisters that are discarded once the gas has been decanted into a balloon for inhaling.
No doubt late-night operators are at the sharp end of this, and under pressure from the police. There’s no question either that recreational use has escalated over the last couple of years. Up to a million people, mostly 16 to 24-year-olds, are now believed to be partaking. It does mystify me though how anyone could imagine banning it will achieve anything – apart from making the situation worse, as drug and alcohol prohibition invariably does.
Charities that work with drug users are worried about the impact of criminalising possession, and the government has ignored its own team of experts, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which recommended that it should not go ahead with the ban.
Everyone will be concerned about the harmful effects of excessive use of nitrous oxide, but that goes for the excessive use of almost anything, including alcohol. And you’ve got to inhale a lot of “nos” before it does any damage. According to Professor Harry Sumnall of the Public Health Institute, doing yourself serious harm involves consuming “hundreds of canisters” in a week and repeating that over a period of “several weeks or months”.
It would surely make more sense to tackle these extreme users. For the vast majority of those found in possession, a criminal conviction will bring far greater harms than what they’re inhaling. And we know, or should know by now, prohibition rather than squashing organised crime plays into its hands, creating an illicit market for fresh exploitation.
That’s what happened when the United States prohibited the alcohol trade 100 years ago, and it’s what is happening around illicit drugs today. Criminalising one more substance isn’t going to help.
Nor does it make it easier to deal with the underlying issues. We need to be able to talk to people about the dangers of excessive use, and that’s hard when you’ve just made them criminals. And if you deny the market for nitrous oxide, you make it harder to regulate and control it – by banning the larger canisters that are appearing which encourage excess, for instance.
There are already laws against anti-social behaviour, and if the police aren’t enforcing them, giving them an extra job to do is going to make it less like they will. As for littering, how about more bins and a bit of encouragement for a younger generation already environmentally aware that they should use them. Except you’ve just criminalised them.
One particular problem with outlawing nitrous oxide is that it has so many uses beyond recreation, not only in medicine but in food manufacture, aerosols and rocket science. Making sure this can continue will be a major challenge for legislators, involving heaps of red tape.
So why is the government doing this? Like most drug and alcohol policy, it’s political. And in this case, I’d argue, blatantly so. The Tories are facing defeat at the next election and are looking for simple populist measures that allow them to say they’re taking firm action when, in reality, bans like this achieve nothing and risk making matters worse.
Strictly defined, moral panics like this involve targeting and stigmatising a section of the population. The full title of Stanley Cohen’s 1972 original study of the phenomenon is “Folk Devils and Moral Panics”. Then, the devils were mods and rockers. Today, it’s “nos” users. In the 2000s, it was binge-drinkers on alcopops. All youth sub-cultures construed as a threat to civilisation, whatever that might be.
For those in the business of selling alcohol, it’s worth noting that governments typically seek to curb these problematic behaviours through regulating the substances these “devils” use, rather than addressing the complex roots of the issue and implementing proper solutions that are invariably difficult and expensive.
Phil Mellows is a freelance journalist
Why it’s time to invest in racial equity in the hospitality industry by David Dusangh
I read with interest the piece in Friday Opinion from Louisa Davies, co-founder of the consultancy SISU, a few weeks ago. Louisa’s piece explored the need to work towards equity and inclusion for women and ethnic minorities within the hospitality sector, and it couldn’t have chimed better with the work we at Ben’s Original have been doing with Be Inclusive Hospitality over the last year, as part of our work to offer everyone a “Seat at the Table”.
Our particular focus is upon achieving racial equity. Nearly one in five hospitality workers in the UK are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, but the majority are working in lower-paid jobs. This is especially true when it comes to black hospitality workers, who are one of the groups least likely to be in the highest-paid roles, and second most likely to be in lower-paid roles.
In research Be Inclusive Hospitality conducted last year, black respondents were most likely to believe that ethnicity has hindered their career progress, with more than two in five (43%) believing this to be the case. Why does this matter? Well, I’d like to think that readers would all agree that individuals – no matter what their background or colour – deserve the right to equal opportunities to fulfil their personal and professional potential.
But while doing the right thing is of utmost importance, there’s also a purely business-focused rationale. Hospitality job vacancy rates are still 72% higher than pre-pandemic levels. If the sector is to future-proof, it must harness thinking from a broad set of skill sets and backgrounds, at every level, and provide the support and opportunities to allow ethnic minorities to thrive.
In this context, there is an opportunity for the hospitality industry to take action to create a more diverse industry from top to bottom, with no glass ceilings for anyone, and where anyone can fulfil their potential. Whatever role one plays within their business, there’s always some way we can be allies to those from less privileged and represented communities.
Louisa’s piece set out some helpful advice, from addressing discrimination to alleviating cultural barriers. Our focus through the Bens Original “Seat at the Table Fund” is on providing black hospitality workers with the skills and knowledge needed to push their career to the next level.
Black hospitality workers are least likely to have access to opportunities that would support career progression such as a coach, sponsor, development scheme or qualification. To help overcome this barrier, we’ve just welcomed our “Class of ‘23” to our skills and mentorship programme. The candidates have now enrolled on selected courses offered by the culinary institution, Leiths School of Food and Wine.
The programmes range from shorter, specialised courses that run over a couple of days to longer, accredited professional courses that run over a ten-week period. Participants are also able to benefit from three hours of mentorship over the course of three months via Be Inclusive Hospitality’s proven scheme to provide support, knowledge sharing and personal development.
We know this is just a small starting step, but it’s helping those taking part to build their skills, CVs and learn from those who have made it in the industry. We hope it will aid them to access promotions, new, high-quality jobs or opportunities to establish their own food businesses – and that they in turn can become mentors and encourage others to do the same.
We know systemic change won’t happen overnight, but everyone can be an ally and play a role. By doing so, we can together create a future where everyone can thrive for the good of individuals, society and business. We are now looking ahead to develop the 2023 programme as we go into the second year of our commitment to keep creating more equitable opportunities for people who will positively influence the future of our industry.
David Dusangh is general manager of Mars Food Europe
How to thrive and not just survive in a retention crisis by Karen Turton
If people problems are taking over, there ARE ways to address the issue. First, understand the changing landscape, then take action. Read on to find out how.
The world has changed
In the 1990s, things were very simple. No internet, no mobile phones, pay packets came in brown envelopes and people did what they were told. Paper-based, cash heavy and endless audit trails. The power sat with the manager – customers got what they were given.
In the 2000s, things were still relatively simple. Social media, apps and tech were all in their infancy. Managers lived and died by 32-point customer journeys and mystery shoppers. Power still sat with the organisation and the manager.
Now we are in the 2020s and technology has changed everything. It’s not what you give me, it’s how you make me feel. It’s experience, not service. Instagram-ready menus; personal recommendations; on-demand TV, food and even work. The power balance has shifted to the customer and the employee.
On top of that, we moved into the fourth industrial age in 2015. The world is digital, cloud-based, personalised, flexible and person-centric. It’s now our job as leaders to engage our teams and customers, not the other way round.
Who are we engaging?
Ten years ago, there were 4.8 people for every job. Today, there is one person per vacancy, and those that you get through the door might not be the best candidate for the job. It’s time to stop talking about recruitment and start talking retention.
In seven years’ time (2030), almost 70% of workers will be under 40 (Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha). Only 30% will be Baby Boomers or Generation X. Our responsibility is to set them up for success. Empowering and enabling them so we all thrive, not just survive.
What can we do to thrive?
1. You probably have a recruitment team, but what about a retention team? Companies like Sky TV and British Gas recognise the value of keeping people rather than replacing them and have retention specialists to hold on to them. A whole team might be too much, but how about investing a retention champion in every venue whose job it is to support the team, build relationships and stop people walking out the door?
2. Are you training people or helping them learn? To manage the increase in national living wages this April, it’s reported that a business turning over £20,000 will need to generate an additional £2,000 revenue to stand still. How will you do this? How about unlocking untapped revenue in your people? Train them on company time to do things how you want you to do them. Technical skills, processes and company basics. Then allow them to learn.
Harvard Business Review reported that 55% of teams learn from each other. Our teams will learn in their own time if we give them the digital tools and knowledge sharing platforms to do so. And they’ll do it unpaid if you teach them what they want to learn. Imagine the eager kitchen porter desperate to get on the chef line, but you’ve no time to teach them? Imagine they can access menu training in their own time and come ready to show you how hungry they are to progress? Now imagine they do that on the day three chefs call in sick?
3. There’s no such thing as common sense! If you’re getting frustrated with Generation Z for not having “common sense”, stop! What might seem obvious to you – clearing glasses on your way past, for example – is not obvious to them. You need to set them up for success by being explicit in your instructions. Try it and see. Tell them what you want and how you want it doing, and they will do it.
4. When was the last critical thinking course you did, if ever? The explosion in data requires critical thinking skills many don’t possess. It isn’t taught, yet we expect managers to interrogate data, join the dots and come up with solutions. We need to equip them with the ability not just to identify outcomes, but spot opportunities and drive improvement.
5. Competitive advantage is not just a concept. Most of us know what it is in principle, but what about in practice? In simple terms, you need an edge to succeed, and it needs to be razor sharp to stand out. And every single person who works for you needs to understand what it is. Otherwise, how can they deliver it? Individual clarity on why your guests should come back to you time and again means setting your team – and your bottom line – up for success. Drive performance through your people and you will make sure your business is future-fit, not past perfect.
Karen Turton is the founder and chief executive of entrepreneurial learning consultancy, Purple Story
Five sustainable lessons from sector leaders by Stephen Nolan
Last month, I had the pleasure of hosting a business leaders’ dinner at Hawksmoor’s incredible Wood Wharf restaurant. Joined by guests from across the hospitality sector, a number of topics were discussed around the table, including what sustainability means to different businesses, the importance of engaging staff with the process and deciphering the upcoming reporting regulations. Here are five takeaways from the session.
1. Benchmarking is the start of your sustainability journey
“The problem with sustainability is that it’s so enormous and, we were trying to work out who we work with and who helps us on our journey.” If you don’t know where to start, begin by measuring your environmental impact. That way, you can set targets and track change over time.
“Having clear environmental KPIs and targets has been really important, because it’s given us a structure that points us all in the right direction. It helps us understand our priorities and provides clarity about what we’re working towards.”
2. Do the right thing for your business
There is a line to tread between doing what is right for the environment and running a profitable company, and the “right” actions can vary hugely between businesses.
Keep your sustainability purpose simple so you can focus on doing the right thing, whatever that might look like, based on the key areas that matter to you, your staff, your investors and your customers.
As one attendee stated: “If you can’t explain in 15 seconds to a consumer why your business is good, then who is still listening?”
3. There is a clear economic case for sustainability
“It should never be profit or purpose,” one guest declared. “If you get things right and hit the sweet spot, it ought to supercharge both.”
Now is the time to combine green initiatives with the idea of growing a business and making money. Another participant added: “We previously thought that there’s a bottom-line cost to trying to do things decently. Now we feel the opposite, that there is a commercial benefit to it.”
Purpose and profit no longer have to be in separate silos – committing to a sustainable way of working can be fundamental to growth. And making sustainable changes needn’t be at great cost. One business spoke of “low hanging fruit”, improvements that cost nothing to implement and have even freed up costs to spend elsewhere.
4. Sustainability means more to staff than consumers
Hospitality venues provide people with escapism, so the threats of the climate crisis are not necessarily top of mind for customers when eating or drinking out.
However, a common thread from leaders was that staff want to work for companies that are actively trying to make a difference, and not just declaring wishy-washy sustainability statements without anything substance. “Purpose is important for staff, but it has to be an organic thing that is part of the culture and DNA of the company.”
5. Regulations are coming, but don’t panic!
We concluded by looking at upcoming regulations. The UK is yet to introduce mandatory environmental, social and governance reporting requirements, but legislation is expected in the next few years, and greenhouse gas output will be a key part of measurements.
If you’re already taking actionable steps to reduce your business’s environmental impact, then don’t panic! You’re on the right track. Measuring progress along the way will put you in good stead for the future.
Improving the sustainability of a business is a complex, multi-faceted task, and one guest reminded us that, “perfect is the enemy of great”. The fear of not having the perfect solution shouldn’t stand in the way of trying to make sustainable changes now.
Stephen Nolan is chief executive of Nutritics, the company behind Foodprint
