In Bangkok, the place I stay, it’s getting exhausting to maintain observe of all of the bar takeovers. There will be as much as 15 of those occasions—also referred to as “visitor shifts,” the place visiting bartenders from all over the world make their signature drinks at a bunch bar—going down every week. Not too long ago, Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, an award-winning spot within the Thonglor space, was internet hosting them on a weekly foundation, with 14 visiting bartenders in lower than two months. The multifloor venue Inside Bar, in the meantime, celebrated its anniversary in August by internet hosting 27 bartenders in a single night time. And Lennon’s, a vinyl speakeasy, had Opium Bar taking up its stations in December, regardless of Opium being only a 20-minute journey away.

It’s not simply Bangkok. At bars all over the world, visitor shifts have been a method for bartenders to trade information and introduce themselves to a brand new market. Usually sponsored by spirit manufacturers, the occasions enable producers to boost consciousness about their merchandise, whereas bartenders get to benefit from model advertising budgets. And, for the host bars, a visitor shift affords the proper alternative for the trade to get collectively of their area. These occasions appear to profit everybody, so what’s to not like?

“The just about nightly providing of visitor shifts stretches the trade skinny,” says Annabelle Joyce, a regional director for the hospitality group Lowder-Tascarella. These within the trade would possibly “really feel obligated to attend, regardless of hectic work schedules” and sometimes, the identical bars are invited—generally a number of occasions to a metropolis in a 12 months. They’re not all the time price all the trouble. “Within the brief time period, internet hosting plenty of occasions will deliver social media hype and model consciousness,” says Joyce, “however constant monetary success is achieved by providing high-quality, concept-driven experiences to loyal company.”

Presently, these loyal company are feeling the pressure. Throughout takeovers, most host bars don’t serve their typical menus, which signifies that prospects, who could not even remember {that a} takeover is scheduled for the night, aren’t experiencing the signature cocktails and the ambiance that they got here for. “We’ve beforehand obtained suggestions from company who traveled from overseas to go to us whereas internet hosting a visitor shift, solely to search out they couldn’t order our drinks,” says William Dibbayawan, who leads partnerships and activations for F*nkytown. The Bangkok cocktail bar has since adjusted this method; company can now order from the standard menu throughout takeovers. 

Chanel Adams, bar supervisor of The Bamboo Bar, additionally in Bangkok, believes a superb visitor shift begins from pondering past simply the visitor shift. “We have to ask: What particular worth will this trade create?” she says. “We have to reestablish function relatively than merely conducting occasions for their very own sake.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​”

Adams says that a method bars can do that is by advertising their occasions higher, with sufficient time for company to know what they’re in for. “Shoppers see a résumé of prestigious venues however miss understanding the distinctive perspective, specialised experience or persona that makes this explicit bartender price their consideration,” she says.

Earlier than a visitor shift takes place at The Bamboo Bar, Adams leads a roundtable, inviting members of Bangkok’s bar trade and visiting bartenders to be taught from each other. They talk about all features of the commerce, from recipe growth to social media branding. Not too long ago, for the bar’s sequence of visitor shifts themed round Worldwide Girls’s Day, bar managers, bartenders and model ambassadors from China, the Philippines, Malaysia and the U.S. talked about their bar applications and favourite underrated consuming spots, and so they shared native spirits from their house international locations.

The roundtable idea was an concept Adams developed with Tommy Wong of CMYK in Changsha, China. He says the roundtables enable members to share “important information on the best way to host company from two totally different cultures,” which “might help all bars to reinforce their visitor experiences.”

For some, nevertheless, applications outdoors of those pop-ups are the best way ahead. Bar Leone not too long ago debuted its paid stage program, through which younger professionals can transfer to Hong Kong and work on the world-renowned bar for six to 12 months, with the opportunity of becoming a member of the crew full-time. And Double Rooster Please, in New York Metropolis, held its Bar2Bar program in collaboration with Taiwan’s Moonrock final 12 months. Throughout the trade, Moonrock’s proprietor and Double Rooster Please’s flooring captain labored on one another’s groups for 2 weeks. The initiative provided an opportunity for “studying and long-term connections between hospitality groups all over the world,” says GN Chan, co-founder of Double Rooster Please. “We wished to supply our crew an opportunity to realize perception into their workflow, native elements, crew dynamics and the broader F&B and cultural panorama.” 

Nonetheless, regardless of the oversaturation, visitor shifts will not be going away anytime quickly. They may, identical to all features of the commerce, have to adapt to be able to keep related. “Visitor shifts are at their finest after they foster open-mindedness and real cultural trade,” says Adams. However “with out evolution, we danger exhausting each the expertise and the viewers.”