Taking the world of hospitality to the next level, digitally

Be My Guest. Created by digital branding agency Born05 - part of the ACE digital creative network. For several organisations within the hospitality and leisure sector. These organisations have joined forces and launched the Hospitality Pact. Their objective: to develop sustainable solutions for today's and tomorrow's job market challenges. Be My Guest is the first campaign - targeting a young job-seeking audience to create overall awareness of the hospitality industry and everything it has to offer. It features a digital platform that brings together in-depth information and job vacancies under one roof. In a way that appeals to this particular audience.

Background

The Dutch hospitality industry faces significant challenges. Perceptions of bad wages as well as the impact of the global pandemic have resulted in a growing shortage of staff. Also, many professionals no longer see hospitality as a viable career option. 

Therefore, several hospitality brands decided to unite in an effort to rekindle interest in the industry and highlight all its positives. The interactive platform created by Born05 showcases the best the hospitality industry has to offer. The agency has aggregated a wealth of information to help users explore future educational and career opportunities in hospitality.

The initiators of the ‘Be My Guest platform’ are HMSHost, Heineken, Bidfood, Sligro, Restaurant Company Europe, KHN, Bram Ladage, Postillion Hotels, Febo, ISS, Stayokay, Albron, Stichting House of Hospitality, NH Hotels, Hutten Catering, Vitam Catering, Temper, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, De Beren and Coca-Cola.

The Output

Born05 paid special attention to colours and styling for the different hospitality environments. Creating a great interactive experience as well as a user friendly platform - making it accessible but also durable. 

They created James: the embodiment of a great host. He guides visitors through the wonderful world of hospitality - from high quality video to interactive elements. The platform provides tools to dig in and explore what hospitality is and what it offers, including interviews, information about education as well as current vacancies. Be My Guest can be considered as the one-stop-shop when curious about or considering a career in hospitality. 

Behind the scenes: the creative process

The concept of Be My Guest originated from a brainstorming session where the team was casually playing around with words: most of that initial idea came to life. They created the concept art for host James with the AI-tool Midjourney - including different worlds from drive-throughs to hotels. And the AI-generated host was also used for casting. 

During production Born05 worked with a virtual set-up, recreating the world in 3D and projecting it onto a giant HD screen in the studio. Thanks to this technique, they could control many elements without having to organise a multi-day shoot.

Behind the scenes: sharing the challenges

The Born05 team had six weeks to design and produce all - from strategy and concept to the development of a visual identity, a user-centred platform design and video production with virtual production techniques (a collaboration with Bruut Amsterdam). An extremely tight timeline given the amount of custom content required.

One of the challenges was a song for one of the videos. An interpretation of a particular Disney song was considered. An obvious choice but one that had to involve approaching Disney's legal team. Conclusion: too risky and not enough time. Therefore, they had to compose an entirely new song, including music and lyrics. Thanks to Born05 creative team member Fred, the song is now a classic inside the walls of Born05.

A cool looking platform. Very well crafted. High-quality interactive videos done well. Animations and hover states feel snappy. Transitions are seamless. Design is on point. Refreshing for a hospitality recruitment platform. Dutch Digital Design curators