the home of a 930-m^2 marketplace, or agora.
Fusing hospitality with the retailer’s foodie
philosophy, the hotel has no in-room dining,
other than a curation of delicacies in the
minibar. Rather, it encourages guests to visit
the agora, where alongside a restaurant and
bar, one can find a baker, butcher, fishmon-
ger, greengrocer and of course, a deli. Guests
can purchase food to eat there or fill up
their basket and use one of the communal
kitchens on the upper floors of the hotel to
create their own epicurean Greek feast.
For outsider brands, the key to success
is to offer up an experience that delivers
beyond the aspirational design of a boutique
hotel or the predictable comfort of a big-
name chain. ‘The hotel industry has consist-
ently been reactive to guest needs and wants
since its inception,’ says Jon Quick, head
of retail at Brewdog, the craft beer brand,
which recently entered the hotel market
with The DogHouse near Columbus, Ohio
and is currently scouting another location
in London. ‘It’s this disparity between the
guest and the business that is being filled by
non-traditionalists.’ Connected to the brand’s
first US brewery, The DogHouse rooms
have windows that look out, not onto the
Ohioan countryside, but onto the floor of
the brewery. The hotel is explicitly for fans
of Brewdog – or at the very least of beer. As
such, the design is more directly linked to
Brewdog’s core branding. The hotel involved
many of the same vendors that built Brew-
dog’s bars, using concrete floors, unfinished
wood and draft dispense units in each room
to create a coherent look. ‘We really did build
32 individual bars inside a large building,’ says
Quick. The self-referential design supports
The DogHouse’s main aim of immersingpeople in the world of beer. ‘The second we
lose sight of our true mission in the hotel is
the moment we become a novelty,’ he adds.
Chauvin, of Fauchon, believes that in
order to avoid gimmicks you cannot simply
create a space that is geared towards selling
products. ‘The biggest risk is to make the
hotel in the shape of a retail store,’ he says.
Fauchon L’Hôtel, which was in development
for ten years, required a rethink of the brand’s
core elements. Rather than just replicate Fau-
chon’s graphic brand identity, the team had to
consider what they wanted the hotel to rep-
resent. Using the acronym GLAM, they built
a hotel concept based on Gourmet (offerings),
(urban) Location, Artisanal (touches), and
Mesdames (female customers). The result is a
luxury hotel that nods to Fauchon’s branding
without being overbearing, featuring flashes
of its signature magenta throughout and a
gourmet mini bar stocked with complimen-
tary Fauchon delicacies.
But more important than the free
gourmet goodies is Fauchon’s focus on the
intimate elements of service – like private
excursions in Paris, and an in-room dinner
service, where each course is brought up indi-
vidually as if at a restaurant for fine dining,
details that are often left out of a retail trans-
action. ‘You can have 100 rooms that show off
your products, but you cannot forget the soft
side of hospitality – the rituals and experi-
ences,’ advises Chauvin. Because like food
itself, where a transient moment of eating
can evoke a long-lasting emotion, a satisfying
hotel stay is ultimately about the memories
that linger long after you’ve checked out. ●
fauchon.com
brewdog.com
ergonfoods.comTHE DOGHOUSE,
OHIO
The Scottish beer brand’s first hotel was
constructed using many of the same
vendors that build its various bar venues,
and features rooms that overlook the
brewery floor.
brewdog.comWhat you can learn
from each brand
ERGON FOODS
Be hospitable to your prod-
uct, not just your guests
The Greek deli brand thought
about how its core offer –
high-quality produce – could
be consumed at various mo-
ments throughout the hotel,
from casual seating in the
agora to the guest rooms to
the top-floor kitchen spaces.
BREWDOG
Don't be afraid to put fans first
The cooperative brewery
embraced the fact that it had
already built a cult following of
owners-come-drinkers that would
welcome the very brand-forward
design of its hotel – which includes
beer fridges in all the showers.
FAUCHON
Translate your touchpoints
One of Fauchon’s key design
decisions was to reinterpret its
in-store experience as an in-
room Gourmet Bar – designed
by Roche Bobois – filled with
complimentary treats such as
pastry, chocolates and foie gras.
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