Value Versus Glamour

I was recently in a meeting where the topic of "glamour" came up in relation to the look of a new restaurant or facility. It started me thinking: In times like these, do people want glamour, or do they want Spartan, economic or just fun?

At this very moment, I am making a dining decision. It is going to be made first and foremost by how much value I get out of the experience. Value is quality of food and service in relation to price, and how will I feel when I walk out. Glamorous, which these times are not, gives us some relief for an hour or two and, like a massage, give us the rejuvenation to continue on. Value then is heightened with glamour, or call it drama, if you like design that transports your customers out of reality.

The second question that came up was: How can I afford it? Take a look at your bottom line and calculate your payback. I was speaking with a large financial organization that owns many hotels and they said that they were reticent to spend now because times were bad. Well, how long to plan, how long to build? How long does "long" last and should you be planning hotel restaurants for when bad becomes better, and maybe good. But even experts like Nouriel Roubini think that the economy will be turning around in a year or so.

I don’t want to belabor my point, but when times are bad gloom seems like it will go on forever. It probably won’t. Should you be prudent? Yes. Should you be plan full? Yes. But consider this: If you could get a jump on you competition by creating a more interesting restaurant for people to relax and enjoy themselves in–in other words creating more value for them–that value will really payoff when these economic times turn around.

Time and again even a small facelift will raise sales and check averages so that the cost is negligible compared to the outcome. Take a look at a restaurant below that has gone through three facelifts over the years–but the concept, price points, sales have remained relatively similar. The look of this space has been updated to maintain sales over the past 15 years.