In November 2017, the Timberhouse Bar at Park Hyatt Seoul, Korea, replaced its live music with a vinyl station. Three months on, it is a tremendous success, says Thomas Harlander, the general manager of the hotel in the Gangnam area, the capital city’s trendy entertainment neighborhood, which has a close association with music. A new group of music lovers has been attracted, and, overall, turnover has doubled.
Investment included closing the bar for a month for soft refurbishment, by ongoing design house Super Potato. Equipment had to be purchased, including a pair of amplifiers that produce 300 watts of amplification per channel and two digital decks offering high-res support. The collection of vinyl for the hotel’s deejays to choose from is now over 2,000 (average cost of each record is US$30).
Despite these costs, Harlander wants to grow to 5,000 albums. He is ecstatic about the success of this new look, and the number of regular customers is building up with every week. The 185-room hotel, owned by Hyundai Development Company, has been hosting two major music sponsors during PyeongChang’s Winter Olympics, which end on Sunday.