Hamburg: "Then hopefully people will put their cell phones aside"

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They are among the well-known makers in the city and know the trends in nightlife and events.

For us, the three entrepreneurs dare to look ahead to 2021.

Bars: more enjoyment, fewer cell phones

Uwe Christiansen has been anchored in the bar scene for more than 30 years and has even secured a place among the 200 bar legends in the world in the cocktail encyclopedia “Difford's Guide”.

In “Christiansen's” on the Kiez it has become unusually quiet in the past few months due to the corona restrictions.

“The word guest can be found in gastronomy - and it hurts when they stop coming,” says Christiansen.

He has been through many changes in the bar industry, the biggest one so far has been the advent of cell phones.

“Communication has changed since then.

It used to be more direct, more personal. ”In Corona, he now sees the chance that the type of communication will develop differently in the future.

“People will need to go out again, meet others and then hopefully approach each other more openly and put their cell phones aside.” Selling drinks away from home is not the future, however.

"We recently saw how quickly such a trend can disappear with the sale of mulled wine."

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He is counting on the fact that the step back to normality will be successful in the coming months - although by far as before.

In his opinion, however, it is certain that the clientele will be different: “There will be fewer business travelers, musical visitors, trade fair visitors and Hamburg visitors and fewer customers who have an after-work drink after their day-to-day work because they were in the home office. “He already noticed a change during the lockdown:“ I've never sold so many high-quality champagne cocktails as at this point in time. ”The enjoyment is now more in the foreground than a drink that fell quickly.

In addition, the customers were generous.

“For many, things went on normally during Corona.

You have no financial losses, you even save, since travel and other expenses are eliminated.

That will probably continue ”, Christiansen hopes.

Hotels: outdoor is the key

Private hotelier Kai Hollmann ("Gastwerk", "25hours", "The George", "Superbude", "PierDrei") also remembers the popularity of his guests, especially regarding the hygiene concept.

“A sign that it can work if you keep everything.” Due to the booking situation, January to March 2021 will mean difficult times for hoteliers again.

"But I am positive about the vaccine, because it is a ray of hope for the entire leisure industry."

He sees Easter as the time when things can slowly start again.

With the spring weather, the outside areas come into focus, and they will play a greater role in the future in terms of gastronomy and celebrations such as weddings.

"It is best to be prepared for any weather outdoors, as life will take place outside more - due to the fear of being infected inside," says Hollmann.

That is why he is investing around 100,000 euros in his hotels in this area.

The WLAN network is also being expanded.

“When I travel less, then I at least want to have it nice and have a hotel experience,” says Hollmann, who relies heavily on the experience factor.

Kai Hollmann saw himself more as a crisis manager than a private hotelier in the past few months.

But he is in good spirits that things will get better from Easter 2021

Source: Fortune Hotels

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But the competition is growing.

Hollmann predicts problems for 2022, as there will be an oversupply in Hamburg.

“It is important, and this also applies to 2021, not to sell yourself below value.” The top prices of 2019 for a hotel room in the Hanseatic city will no longer be achieved, “but it should still be a fair price”.

Demand could only rise again from 2023 at the earliest, provided that people have been sufficiently vaccinated by then.

Events: Charity as the most important support

In the future, Sören Bauer can imagine working with a mobile laboratory truck and PCR tests in order to organize events more safely.

"Things like permanent seats at a dinner gala, air-purifying filters and contact tracing will remain," he says.

Bauer has been in the event industry for more than 25 years, and he believes that the need to meet and talk to one another increases with the longer periods of non-contact.

He differentiates between three types of people: "Some are over-anxious, others behave irresponsibly and the third group is aware of the risk of infection."

Event professional Sören Bauer can imagine that the event season will be postponed.

More events in spring and summer, such as balls.

From autumn it will be quieter

Source: Bertold Fabricius

The latter are then the ones who will be the first after the lockdown - which, according to Bauer, will last until March 2021 - that he hopes will run out.

Whether live or streaming event, a mixture of both is popular.

“There are trade fairs, for example, that work well online.

This can also work for networking events, but only as a bridge.

In the long term, what counts is direct contact, direct experience. "

It's like football: whether the fan is sitting on the sofa at home or on site in the stadium, that makes a big difference. Bauer's theses: Events are becoming more valuable, the guests more exclusive, and the number of participants smaller. Also, because costs are being saved, it will no longer be possible to put everyone on the guest list. It would then be possible to buy a ticket, for example. What will remain are charity events: “There will always be people who want to do something for others. You can do that with a clear conscience, ”he believes.