Wallet-friendly food with high-quality service: To attract a younger set, hotels offering cheaper dining options
Top: A view of Teppan, a restaurant in 322 Sowol-ro at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. The new restaurant is part of the hotel’s plan to bring in younger guests by offering a more affordable menu with prices similar to some restaurants found on Gyeongridan-gil, the trendy area where the hotel is located. Left: JW Marriott Dongdaemun has been running a food truck called “What the Truck” outside of its hotel lobby serving sweets and non-alcoholic beverages. Middle: Park Hyatt Seoul offers wine by the glass for those looking for more affordable options to pair wine with their food. Right: Grand Hyatt Seoul has opened a new flower shop, Fiori, and offers a small-size hydrangea bouquet for 5,000 won. [EACH HOTEL]
Many of Korea’s luxury hotels are trying to change that widespread idea by offering new restaurants and events that are more affordable. In the hopes of alluring more young people or groups unfamiliar with what is offered, the reasonably priced restaurants invite newcomers to come in and grow into the habit of “hanging out” at a hotel.
The Grand Hyatt Seoul, located close to trendy Itaewon and Gyeongridan-gil, central Seoul, both of which are known for their good restaurants and bars, is taking the most direct approach.
After three months of renovations to its Japanese restaurant, the hotel now has a collection of four restaurants under the name 322 Sowol-ro, which is the address of the hotel. When visitors walk down to the entrance of 322 Sowol-ro from the hotel’s lobby, they are greeted by a street sign which gives the feeling that they are walking into a space separate from the hotel. The hotel even calls it a food “alleyway” as it hopes people see it as a restaurant in the trendy Gyeonglidan-gil area, not as part of a luxury hotel.
“We wanted to make the restaurants feel more like one of the restaurants out on that street,” said Kim Young-ok, a communications manager for the hotel.
“We hope this restaurant district takes away any outdated image that many young people might have of the hotel and brings in new guests that have not experienced our top-notch service.”
The “alleyway” has a total of four restaurants: a steakhouse called Steak House, a sushi bar named Kauri, a Japanese style gastropub called Tenkai, and Teppan, where a teppan (iron griddle) is used to cook food. The food has also become more affordable. A burger from Steak House is 26,000 won ($23.14) and a plate of steak starts at 36,000 won. At izakaya-style Tenkai, diners can get their skewers for around 5,000 won, while a lunch set menu starts from 50,000 won at Kauri. Teppan also has a variety of a la carte menu items starting at around 30,000 won. It also offers a glass of Dom Perignon, the prestigious Champagne that’s rarely served by the glass, for 60,000 won for those who want to experience the luxury drink.
Besides restaurants, another eye-catching and nose-attracting place is the flower shop located by the entrance of the so-called restaurant alleyway. Different from the expensive yet fragile flowers and plants many hotel flower shops sell, the hotel decided to bring a greater variety of both affordable and pricey offerings for customers. A hand-tied stem of dried hydrangea, which usually goes for around 10,000 won, is sold for 5,000 won here.
Park Hyatt Seoul in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, lowered its food prices in February, hoping to attract more people to its restaurant Corner Stone.
“Since our room prices are high and it might be not as accessible to many, we decided to make our restaurants more affordable so that people can enjoy a bit of luxury,” said Moon In-young, a communications team manager for Park Hyatt Seoul. It decided to offer over 40 wines by the glass for customers who don’t want to order an entire bottle. A glass starts from 15,000 won. Sought-after pasta dishes start at 18,000 won, and lunch sets start from 48,000 won.
While some try to lure people inside the hotel to inspire them to become familiar with hotel life and eventually make them into a new generation of loyal customers, others like the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in central Seoul and the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul take a slightly different approach. They are using space outside the hotel to hold wine fairs or other events so that people who regularly pass by can take a look and eventually make their way inside the building.
The JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul launched a food truck named “What the Truck” right outside its lobby in August and started serving a non-alcoholic mojito for 6,000 won and ice cream for 4,000 won. The hotel will host Wine and Busker from Oct. 21 to 23 where visitors can taste wine with a 20,000 won entrance ticket. Many bands will join to play music during the three-day event.
“Although we don’t have detailed statistics for how many more people have come to visit the hotel after we started doing these kinds of events, we believe that these events get people’s attention and keep bringing people back,” said Kim Hee-sun, a communication’s official for the hotel.
“The key here is making the hotel a somewhat friendly and comfortable place rather than an intimidating space.”
The Sheraton Grande Walkerhill holds a Wine Fair right outside of its building every year. The event has become a hotspot among youngsters who go to taste unlimited amounts of wine. This year’s event starts on Saturday, and the hotel will set up stations with arcade games for added fun. The entrance fee is 25,000 won.
BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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