BevX 2024: Tempo by Hilton Caters to Modern Travelers

Tempo by Hilton made its debut in summer 2023 with the contemporary 661-room Tempo by Hilton Times Square hotel. The latest brand from Hilton — a BevX Award winner for Best Single-Concept Hospitality Beverage Program — targets a growing segment of “modern achievers” who seek a hotel experience that reflects their ambition. 

Tempo’s Food and beverage offerings focus on the lifestyle of the brand’s guests — youthful, adventurous travelers who are discriminating and mindful of what they put into their bodies. These consumers want to see brands they’re familiar with and will spend more on beverages they perceive as higher quality. 

With or without spirits

The Spirited vs. Free-spirited cocktail menu consists of nine signature drinks, each available as either Spirited (with alcohol) or Free-Spirited (without). The Tempo by Hilton team used four creative filters when developing these cocktails: wellness (ingredients such as activated charcoal and blue spirulina powder), ease of execution, eye-catching presentation and an uncompromised guest experience. 

The Black Is The New Pink cocktail, for example, is made with Patrón Reposado tequila, Montelobos mezcal and Stiegel Radler Grapefruit beer in the Spirited version, and non-alcoholic Lyre’s Agave Blanco, Lyre’s Traditional Reserve and Fever Tree Sparkling Grapefruit in the Free-Spirited option. 

For the Plot is one of Tempo by Hilton’s spirited or free-spirited cocktails.

The Amalfi Toast, with Tito’s vodka, white cranberry juice, Lyre’s Italian Orange and Aperol, is a top seller, says Kevin Quinn, the Tempo brand’s director of food and beverage programs. So is the Lady in Rouge, with Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose vodka, Lyre’s Pink London Spirit, coconut water, sparkling wine and hibiscus flower.

Equal billing, distinct presentation

The cocktail menu design clearly communicates to guests the flexibility between the Spirited and Free-Spirited cocktails, with both options shown side by side. When presenting the drinks, Tempo bartenders distinguish the alcoholic versions by using a different color cocktail napkin or coaster.

This is important to Tempo for a few reasons, Quinn says. “We want to make sure we deliver requested alcohol — or non-alcoholic — preferences accurately, with the care like we would handle an allergen request.” It also allows the team members to offer second or third beverages in the same style proactively, “which we hope supports a bit more seamless service as well.” 

The Lovelorn Lounge at the Tempo by Hilton in Nashville.

Some other concepts, such as Highball at Times Square and Lovelorn Lounge in Nashville also follow this coaster/napkin approach with their respective restaurant coasters, where dark is for spirited cocktails, and lighter for free-spirited drinks, he says.

Adventurous wine and beer options

The compact wine list showcases eight carefully chosen wines from five suppliers that represent a range from the intriguing (Vision grüner veltliner from Broadbent Selections) to the more familiar (Four Graces pinot noir from Foley Family Wines). 

Temp took an equally thoughtful approach to the beer selection. The on-tap offerings include staples such as Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra and Modelo Especial, as well as enthusiast favorites like Dogfish Head Citrus Squall and Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing IPA. 

Bartenders and servers received extensive on-site training prior to the opening of the Tempo by Hilton Times Square.  Additional tools and resources include digital recipe cards posted to the Hilton intranet site, The Lobby, with links to the recipes also contained in the brand’s operations guide. 

Pocket-sized, printed recipe cards include both a single-build and batch-build version, providing hotels flexibility based on their specific location’s clientele and demand. Both digital and printed recipe cards include a QR code linked to a training video.

Recipe cards and training emphasize consistency in the new signature cocktails as well as the classics, “so we have great options for all guests,” Quinn says.

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