Beyond the Hotel Minibar: Win the Experience Economy with Game Tables

With a skyline punctuated with world-class accommodations, how can hotels in the Lion City stand out in the competitive landscape of Singapore’s hospitality industry?

Be it corporate travelers, staycationing families or millennials, everyone is searching for more than just a place to sleep. It’s all about memories and moments, beyond the standard lobby bar, thread counts and marble bathrooms. 

Today’s guests are looking for an experience. 

Why Hotels and Resorts Should Have a Game Table 

Modern game tables - pool tables, foosball, or table tennis tables - are visual, interactive centrepieces that can set your hotel apart and make your traveller’s stay a unique recreational experience.  

Hotels don’t buy pool tables - they buy guest experiences.

Integrating game tables to your hotel, resort or cruise can increase the perception of value immediately. When a guest checks into your hotel lobby, pool, foosball, and table tennis tables are visible center-pieces that signal your hotel is forward-looking and exciting. 

It shows that you care about how guests feel, not just how they sleep, which can be a crucial differentiator in a city where a new boutique hotel seems to open every quarter.

In the digital age, a hotel's greatest marketing asset is its guests' social media feeds. Through a wide range of aesthetically pleasing game tables, no paid advertisement can replicate the authentic, peer-to-peer marketing.

When guests post “Instagrammable” photos of themselves while tagging your hotel with a beautifully designed pool table against the Singapore skyline, that's the best endorsement.

Speak the Language of your Guests: Fun

Imagine your hotel becoming part of the holiday itinerary itself. Because guests spend 30 - 60 minutes around game tables, you can increase the dwell time of your hotel. 

Creating an ‘Outdoor Social Gaming’ zones for guests can make a 2-night stay feel longer and more meaningful, and offers opportunities to impress and increase retention. 

Strategically placing game tables for hotels, resorts and cruises at key locations can maximise their utility. Here are some ideas on how game tables can integrate easily into your overall spatial concept for a breathtaking guest experience.

a. Rooftops and Pool Decks

Singapore’s tropical climate is one of its greatest assets, and rooftop bars are already a staple of the skyline. However, many of these spaces are under-utilised during the day or early evening. Enter poolside entertainment for hotels and resorts.

Installing weather-resistant pool tables or foosball tables on rooftops or adjacent to swimming pools transforms these areas into 24-hour social anchors. Imagine a guest taking a break from sunbathing to play a quick game of pool with a drink in hand.

b. VIP and Club Lounge Access

Nothing says sophistication and approachability than a high-end pool table in a VIP lounge. To compete for the corporate traveler, game tables in hotels and resorts also enhance high-end suites that offer high-net-worth individuals a private space to unwind.

And it’s not just individuals. Your hotel's corporate groups can also extend their networking events or corporate retreats to interactive activities - take the discussion from a stuffy meeting room to a game of table soccer on a foosball table in your business lounge!

c. Family Recreation Rooms

For families, a hotel recreation room with game tables is a lifesaver, where kids can be kept entertained without needing to leave the premises. Friends and families would appreciate the effort to offer family-friendly hotel amenities without venturing out of the premises.

This is relevant given Singapore's hot and wet climate, as well as for cruises where inclement weather can limit the range of activities.

In an era dominated by digital devices and individual screen time, indoor play area with game tables also offer a communal experience: build bonding moments, create memories, and help bridge the generation gap. 

Besides public recreation rooms, hotels can also enhance luxury suites with high-end in-room game tables, justifying charging premium rates to affluent guests.

d. F&B Outlets

Game tables are not just amenities, but are also revenue generators. Imagine a pool table in a guest bar, which naturally drives F&B sales. A guest who sits down to play a game is statistically likely to stay longer and order more than a guest simply passing through the lobby.

Fun without Frills: 5 Considerations for a Hotel Games Table

It’s usually all fun and games, until something breaks! The last thing you’d want is for a game table to be damaged and turn into a white elephant - a wasted investment.

Even if it doesn't break down, low-quality game tables that need to be supervised all the time can take up precious resources. Durability, weather-resistance, safety, space-saving and aesthetics that you can consider in high-quality game tables for hotels, resorts and cruises.

Durability and Weather Resistance

Commercial game tables must be robust enough to withstand heavy play, weather-resistant, and have anti-theft qualities.

• Sturdy Hardware: Opt for tables with heavy-duty hardware that make them a worthwhile investment - stainless steel frames that can withstand rough play and heavy duty wheels on table tennis tables, movable parts like the rods on a foosball table, or slated pool table surfaces that can last 10-15 years.
• Anti-theft: Durability also includes anti-theft and vandal-resistant properties that ensure tables aren't easily damaged. For example, some table tennis tables feature immovable legs and fixed metal nets for vandal- and anti-theft protection.
• Weather-resistance: With open spaces like rooftops and swimming pools, all-weather game tables would be on hoteliers minds, especially in Singapore's hot and wet climate. Water-resistant tables offer the flexibility to be placed both indoors and outdoors without worry of corrosion or wood peeling even when placed in the rain or encountering spillage from drinks. But more importantly, they offer all-round play for guests who can engage in fun be it rain or shine. 

An institutional table tennis table that possesses all three qualities is the Cornilleau 510 Campus ping pong table (image below). Besides being fully weather-proof, it has fixed metal legs that can be stuck directly to the ground and has fixed metal nets that prevent theft and damage.

Safety

For families with young kids, the good news is that gaming tables come equipped with safety mechanisms for peace of mind. 

For example, non-protruding rods for foosball tables ensure kids are safe, while our curated range of table tennis tables come with rounded corners as well as safety locks that prevent crashing.

Space-saving: Empty Space to Fun Place. 

White transforming under-utilised spaces into vibrant recreational hubs can seem like a dream, the practical reality can be quite different. Simply, hotels in Singapore face space challenges in the land-scarce city, unlike overseas resorts in Bali or Phuket,

Herein lies a simple but powerful solution: the convertible game table. These multifunctional game tables come with table tops that convert between pool and dining (or conference) tables in seconds, saving precious space. With a thin cabinetry, they also offer ample seating for 6-8 pax - perfect for gatherings and meetings in corporate lounges

Many also come in smaller sizes of 7ft, offering a right balance between play quality and compactness. . These qualities are evident in the 7ft Montpellier Dining Pool Table (image below), an all-in-one table perfect for play, work and dine.

Gaming the Experience Economy

To conclude, Singapore’s hoteliers must recognise that the room is no longer the product - the experience is. By strategically placing game tables in rooftops, poolside decks, VIP suites, and family rooms, hotels can effectively curate a social atmosphere that appeals to the modern traveler, one that sells itself.

Game tables such pool tables, foosball tables and table tennis tables invite connection, transforming guests into active participants, and a surest way to ensure they never want to leave your hotel, cruise or resort.