12 minute read
Experience Economy In Demand
Sahale Grill, Mt. Hood Meadows
Excelling at Connecting Your Brand Through Exceptional Experiences
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In their 1999 book “The Experience Economy,” management consultants James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II explored a new evolution in the U.S. economy. They argued that consumers were increasingly placing priority on meaningful experiences rather than the acquisition of goods. Ultimately, they believed that people would crave encounters and events that were transformational in nature and helped them achieve self-fulfillment.
Their observation still rings true today. Traveling to new or beloved places and consuming delicious foods and drinks have become a major priority for many consumers, especially younger ones. However, facing economic woes caused by the pandemic and inflation, Americans are looking to spend wisely and purposefully. How are Oregon hospitality companies providing experiences that are meaningful to the people who seek them — and how are they doing it despite staffing challenges and rising costs?
Mt. Hood Meadows has responded to the popularity of food and beverage experiences by planning several themed dinners over the past few years. Events have included a Hawaiian luau, morel mushroom brew dinner featuring PFRIEM beer, and a culinary tour of Mexico that included cuisines from several different regions.
The dinners are designed to be educational as well as fun. “I use a lot of the same techniques you’d use at home so I can show people they can do similar things as home,” says Executive Chef Matthew Grimsley, noting that he’s much more likely to grill foods than reach for a sous vide machine.
At the brew dinners, the brewery will share some information about each drink. Grimsley talks about the foods too and adds some personal touches. He might share stories about his travels to the region or tell a story about why the dish is meaningful to him. At one dinner, he topped a dessert with maple sugar and talked about going to visit his grandmother, who tapped maple sugar trees each spring.
The resort’s day-to-day dining operations have also changed to reflect the idea that dining is now an experience. The property used to have one sit-down restaurant “that used to be so slammed it was sort of a
cattle drive,” says Mark Fellows, director of culinary services. Today, the Alpenstube is supplemented by the new Sahale Grill, which offers upscale quick-service food. The Alpenstube was redesigned with one-third less seats and a more upscale menu, which the small kitchen can now produce. Eateries with different levels of service and types of food are scattered throughout the various lodges.
“We’re trying to satisfy every experience people are looking for,” says Fellows.
PHOTO VIA MCMENAMINS.COM PHOTO VIA MCMENAMINS.COM
Shannon McMenamin, part of the McMenamins group of restaurants, breweries, hotels and other hospitality venues, defines experience in hospitality as “something that’s different from what you have at home or in your day-to-day life.” The brand straddles the line between novelty and familiarity by maintaining some consistency across their properties (showcasing its signature artwork and menu at every venue) while still connecting each restaurant, hotel, movie theater or other property to the community in some way. For example, at the Kennedy School, which used to be an elementary school, many of the guest rooms/former classrooms in the English Wing are named after authors and books. The Gearhart Hotel reflects the inn’s coastal location.
McMenamins properties are an experience in and of themselves, but to encourage people to engage with them even more, the brand created a passport program. “We spend all of our lives immersed in our company culture and we know all these things we’re doing, but at some point, we realized other people aren’t thinking about it all the time,” McMenamin says, explaining the initial rationale behind the program. “People thought we were just this pub, then they get ahold of this passport and were like, ‘I didn’t realize what all you offered.’” The passport allows people to collect stamps as they visit different McMenamins locations. Anyone who buys food, stays overnight at a hotel, takes a brewery tour or tries a wine flight gets an experience stamp. No purchase is necessary; anyone can earn one by solving a clue or completing a specific task on the property. People can also get Just for Fun stamps for attending events such as brewfests, concerts and more. All of this showcases the many different aspects and experiences that people can have beyond just eating at the pub or staying overnight in one of McMenamins hotels.
Once passport holders visit every property, they become a “cosmic tripster” and can win prizes such as free hotel stays, invitations to exclusive parties, and happy hour beverage pricing for a year. “When we first launched the program, we thought maybe 20 people would do it,” McMenamin says. “Two hundred people completed it in a very short period of time. Now, we usually have a couple thousand people at the parties we throw every year.” Despite a $35 price tag for each passport, people sign up regularly, and many fill a passport repeatedly.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MULTNOMAH WHISK(E)Y LIBRARY PHOTO VIA COMPASSHOTEL.COM
Guests visit the Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library in Portland with the express purpose of having an experience. The membership-based restaurant and bar houses a collection of more than 1,500 whiskeys from around the world. Visitors can sample a flight of whiskeys, enjoy a few cocktails, eat dinner or try a food and whiskey pairing.
“What we do is very high touch and personal,” says General Manager Lani Sickman. “The experience isn’t about coming in and trying what everyone else has. It’s about finding what’s right for that guest.” A front waiter and back waiter work together to learn about each person’s expectations for their visit and deliver whatever they’re looking for.
This partnership is critical to the experience. “Everyone has their own thing they’re passionate about,” says Sickman. “It’s very normal to see that someone might ask their colleagues, ‘What do you think about this person’s request?’ It’s not about what I think is right, it’s about using all our resources to give the guest what they want.” The new Compass Hotel Medford by Margaritaville is all about fun and escapism, says General Manager Chris Miller. “We want our guests to feel they are in a different place, with a different vibe and energy than any other hotel or restaurant in the valley.” From the minute they walk into the brightly lit lobby and hear fun music blasting through the speakers, they should feel like they’re on a tropical island.
The property’s focus on experiences helps it differentiate itself from local competitors. “We know travelers, business and recreational, have a lot of options in Medford, but not one like ours,” says Miller. Visitors can swim in the pool or lounge on the pool deck, play games like cornhole or Jenga on the lawn, sit at one of five firepits, play a round at the Bear Creek Golf Course and bowl at Roxy Ann Lanes, all without leaving the property. If they’re looking for other adventures, staff members are trained to instruct them on where to go for things like wine tasting and hiking.
Staff retention and training is critical to providing quality experiences for guests. Mt. Hood Meadows has a three-pronged approach to decision-making: how will choices affect team members, guests and the overall company? “We’ve focused much more on the team in the last few years,” Fellows notes. The resort chooses to start base pay quite a bit above the local minimum wage. “The high cost of labor means we’re taking care of our team and giving them a wage they can live on, and that means we can get more talent. They’re our most important asset.”
Fellows is careful not to burn out existing team members, especially since recruiting new people is extremely difficult right now. “We were short on team members last year like everyone else, and we had to adjust operations accordingly to take care of our team,” he says. For some nights in January, all the foodservice operations were closed down so employees didn’t have to work double shifts and extra days to stay open. The Alpenstube shuttered for two days a week all the winter season so folks would not have to work six or
seven days a week. Other operations were limited at times as well so as not to burn out the team.
“We didn’t try to stretch them too hard, which they noticed,” he says. “We need people to come back and work for us another year.” Plus, he adds, “Happy team members make happy guests. If they’re all tired and burned out, they’re going to get short with guests and not give the experience they should.” The strategy seems to be working. Grimsley has established a core group of 20 people that work at the resort year-round and a fairly predictable group that comes back when the restaurant expands by 40 or 50 people seasonally. The Compass Hotel uses a philosophy it calls FINS during training. “That is a focus on fun at work, involving the guest, navigating the now and the Margaritaville state of mind,” says Miller. The latter, he adds, “is all about keeping a positive attitude, striving to exceed guest expectations and being a brand ambassador to make sure every guest, every time, enjoys all that we have to offer.”
McMenamin says the key to staff training is providing enough information that employees can help people and follow company guidelines, while at the same time empowering them to work with people in their own way and with their own voice. “We’re conscious about not wanting our staff to sound robotic,” says McMenamin. “And, what you can get in two weeks of training is nothing. It’s the tip of the iceberg. We teach them how to get the answers if they don’t have them, and that it’s OK to say you don’t know and you’ll go find out. We also emphasize that their job is to take care of people and focus on their individual needs.”
Even for seasoned bartenders, the Whisk(e)y Library’s training is long. Employees need to know the inventory, the company’s process but also, perhaps most importantly, what their role is and how they collaborate with their colleagues to provide the best service possible.
Sickman points out that staff training call also be an employee benefit, which helps with recruitment and retention. “We provide weekly education, mostly about spirits and what we have, because it’s a considerable amount to know about,” she says. “We also cover service hospitality and what it means to provide an experience here. Between the amount of time we spend on education with our staff,
“The high cost of labor means we’re taking care of our team and giving them a wage they can live on, and that means we can get more talent. They’re our most important asset.” - MARK FELLOWS Director of Culinary Services, Mt. Hood Meadows
as well as providing a lot of coaching and training along the way, we end up being able to have more longevity with our staff, which creates a better experience for our guests.”
Fellows believes demand for experiences is high as people continue to engage in “revenge travel” and activities that were constrained during the worst of the pandemic. “That demand has always been there, though,” he says. Their brewery partners have been having good luck with experiential events for years.
Grimsley doesn’t blame COVID for making experiences king. “It’s more of the generation we have right now that are more into experiencing different things. I think that carries over to their parents too,” who seem increasingly interested in trying new things rather than ordering the same drink or dish every time they visit a hospitality company.
To him, the proof that demand for experiences is strong lies in the fact that Mt. Hood Meadows continues to sell out its dinners
and fill its dining rooms. “People don’t look at prices on menus,” Grimsley says. “It’s more of ‘I want it and I want it now’ society. Sticker shock isn’t there.”
Sickman believes the desire for experiences has increased over the last year. “After the shift toward counter service models during the pandemic, people are missing hospitality,” she says. “They’re missing the experience of being brought to a table and really have someone talk you through your dining experience or your beverage selection. People really want that, and I don’t think it’s ever going to go away.” The Library’s goal is to stoke curiosity and use spirits to take people on a journey. “The reason we love whiskey so much is that these bottles represent different stories and different places and different cultures, and it’s really fun for us to find ways to help people connect to that,” says Sickman. It’s harder to take that journey sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by your own collection — and more fun to travel virtually with people who care about the subject as much as you.
Providing that level of experience is getting harder, Sickman acknowledges, due to issues with staffing and inflation. The Library has coped by “really staying committed to our values around how we view hospitality and putting that experience first,” she says. “No matter what we do, we’re always still thinking about whether the guest is having a great time and feeling like they’re getting this special experience or achieving their goal.”
This mindset is critical for the hospitality company of the future. “I think the times of cookie-cutter hotels, with the same beds, same service levels and nothing different to experience, are over,” says Miller. “I think especially after COVID and the lockdowns, people are eager to get out and have new experiences. If you aren’t looking at that as a business, you could miss out on those guests.” Make sure that doesn’t happen by finding meaningful experiences that connect your guests to the community, your brand and each other. SOPHIA
