Jonathan Doughty is a global thought leader, consultant, speaker, moderator and C-suite executive in the foodservice and leisure sectors working around the world in retail, transit and leisure. In this issue, he speaks about a host of new experiences in the world of leisure.
This week has been utterly fantastic, off the scale and brilliant fun for me as I have been actively pursuing new leisure tenants for projects that I am involved with around the world. It has all been about the “practical” not the desktop “theory” of leisure, getting my hands dirty, trying things, visiting locations and yes, having a load of fun to boot! But isn’t that what leisure is all about?
Let’s just put this into some sort of context for you, the reader. Leisure is growing as part of the overall mix of shopping and mixed used projects. Leisure is important because it attracts guests at different times, extends the dwell and gives people other reasons to visit a location as well as being super complimentary to retail and other uses, including office. People need space to enjoy themselves and more now than ever, having an attractive leisure offer is key to the success of many re-positioning projects. What fun…
So, let’s get back to a week in my life, or more specifically last week. I flew into Amsterdam and enjoyed several locations in the city including the enchanting “Hasta La Vista Baby” a restaurant and rooftop bar at the Melia Innside, Amsterdam, the Upside Down, a really fun walkthrough experience perfect for instagramming and party people and then onto the All Out, owned by the same business just a few doors down. In one evening, I sang my heart out in the Karaoke, I played darts, shuffle board, embarrassed myself in the enormous ball pit and then finally had enough left to go on the shooting range and to have a go at “Sjoelen” a very Dutch version of shuffleboard. The time absolutely flew by and I can quite honestly say I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.
The next day I went to IAAPA Europe, a mega exhibition at the RAI in Amsterdam that promised a lot and delivered a lot. The numerous halls were packed with leisure operations, suppliers, equipment vendors and producers, consultants and operators from the largest rollercoasters to socks. Yes, there are specialist vendors and suppliers of socks to the numerous play areas that are now part of everyday life where shoes are not allowed. The designs were amazing and a far cry from the plain orange socks of my youth when I went on the old style trampolines. These were cool, luminous and desirable!
I met numerous suppliers who I saw at IAPPA in Vienna last year and who have taken the last 12 months to figure out how to take more of the market. Some have started operating as well as supplying which is a nice model for the landlord community and others have formed partnerships to supply and support companies that are operating. Now that is smart, as it almost guarantees the supply of the equipment, its maintenance and upkeep and a happy partner. As a landlord advisor we need this, as we need companies that can take leases and operate. If we get that, we can help them with the build out, the expansion and the development of their estate.
As IAAPA was drawing to a close, I flew from Amsterdam to Munich and then took a train to Dachau the next morning. I was there to visit the largest e-kart track in Germany, “Kart Palast” which has been trading for many years, but still manages to pull in the guests with its unique blend of 3 tracks, multiple food and beverage operations, snooker, pool, darts, crazy golf, arcade games and many other elements.
It’s in the middle of nowhere but that has not stopped it being successful. I drove one of the tracks and was impressed by the speed and acceleration of the e-kart, the handling and the way it almost silently went about its business. As I was congratulating the team on them, I was told they are being replaced by even better models in the next week. It seems that EV development is not just limited to road cars.
I returned to Munich that afternoon and went back to my hotel room to prepare for one of the ultimate leisure experiences, certainly in Germany, probably across Europe and still a leading experience worldwide… Oktoberfest.
I was told, when I enquired that the first Oktoberfest was held in celebration of the marriage of a Bavarian crown prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The festival took place from October 12–17, 1810, and included a horse race to mark its conclusion. What a fabulous event it has turned out to be with an incredible fairground, the famous beer halls and tents and the legendary Oktoberfest clothing, lederhosen and the joyous dirndl.
After a wonderful meal, including a lot of singing at Kafer, I explored the site taking some time to experience the enormous leisure site with friends, drinking in the atmosphere (literally) and playing all sorts of games and daring to try numerous rides. Over 200 years of leisure and still going… I just love leisure!
