Experiential hospitality: Immersive design trends in 2025

Step into the future of hospitality, where 2025 isn’t defined as a year, but as an experience.

Cutting-edge venues are crafting immersive worlds around their customers, engaging all senses to create vivid memories and experiences.

 

This experiential revolution is reshaping how we connect with food and beverage, gaming and entertainment, and each other.

Paynter Dixon, the industry leader in delivering award-winning hospitality facilities, is bringing immersive and creative design principles to life.

#1 Multi-sensory impressions

Enter a venue where video walls curve through space, lighting instinctively changes mood with movement, and ceilings transform into starlit skies. This is the power of digital signage, dynamic LED lighting and projection mapping.

Beyond optics, curated soundscapes and bespoke scents weave an invisible thread. The atmosphere evokes delight, drawing on the sublime and subliminal.

In practise

West Tamworth League Club is a new breed of immersive venue engaging customers on arrival. Stage 1 of the major refurbishment showcases a new port cochere and foyer, incorporating soon to be completed garden walls, water features, and upgraded driveway.

The foyer features a video wall – among the largest in Australia – spanning 15 metres in length and 3 metres in height. A ‘backdrop’ to the main entrance, this centrepiece follows the wall contours to curve into the main corridor.

“We look at how the ‘wow’ factor – which is established on arrival – will flow through the venue,” says Andrew Neagle, Strategic Development Lead – Hospitality. “There is consideration of the overall layout, and the relationship between various spaces for optimal comfort.”

Strategically placed recessed ceiling domes throughout the main gaming room mimic skylights, utilising a dynamic yet subtle LED lighting solution to evoke various times of day.

Learn more about the project.

#2 The premium experience

Quality-built assets are behind powerful uplifts in club revenue says Andrew.

“Regardless of size, if your venue has a premium brand and offering within the local market, you will attract a premium customer with a premium spend.”

The tactile experience is shaped by high-end finishes, fittings and furniture. A sense of exclusivity frames the moment.

In practise

Nestled in the Sydney CBD and undergoing a major refurbishment, Club York is embracing the cosmopolitan ethos.

“Sydney is a global city with thriving international tourism,” says Angus Rimmer. “Our view is to create a premium offering that aligns with this status.”

Serving as a focal point, the new central bar and lounge feature marble surfaces, brass fittings, wood panelling and prominent fluted chandelier lighting.  Learn more about the project.

#3 Open kitchens and live entertainment

Masterchef introduced drama to the kitchen, sparking the modern era of food appreciation and literacy. Open kitchens and live entertainment are taking centre stage, blurring the lines between culinary artistry and theatrical spectacle.

Expressive plating, tableside cooking that ignites the senses, and cocktail mixology that dazzles with every pour. New restaurants, bars and venues are seeking design solutions which centre on the customer without impacting services and back-of-house operations.

In practise

Award-winning Lady Banks Rooftop Bar doesn’t rest on the laurels of breathtaking panoramic views from the city to the Blue Mountains. It’s a full-sensory affair with indoor and outdoor seating practically encircling the central cocktail bar and open pizza kitchen.

Meanwhile, outdoor barbecue grills and fire pits create ‘side shows’ of interest. Paynter Dixon’s design expertise was key to optimising the rooftop space of a commercial tower. Learn more about the project.

With flood damage triggering a major refurbishment, Lismore Workers Club seized the opportunity to configure dining and seating areas for sensory stimulation. Seating directly faces the open kitchen, while the adjacent open pizzeria – where dough spins through the air – competes for attention. Learn more about the project. 

#4 Hyper-local and cultural immersion

Gen Z and Millennials are leading a revolution for authenticity. Cultural immersion speaks to this need, connecting the individual to a tangible people and place.

Venues that embrace a hyper-local identity are building fierce loyalty within their immediate communities. The provenance of materials matter, from local stone and timber to re-used building and heritage items woven into the venue’s design.

Interiors become canvases for handcrafted décor inspired by local artists.

Cue the ‘hospitality as travel’ phenomenon – a chance to explore the world without packing a suitcase. Venues become portals to other cultures through events, live music and performance, traditional menus and imported beverages and mixes.

Flexible spaces are key to accommodating the breadth of activities. At the heart of it all, cultural immersion satisfies something primal: our yearning to explore, to connect, to belong.

In practise

Founded by migrants who fled their homeland after World World II, the Polish Club Ashfield maintains a rich cultural connection to the local Polish community.

The venue is located on the ground floor of a new mixed-use building comprising residential apartments on the storeys above. European heritage is brought to life – from art exhibitions and book launches, to folk dancing classes and painting workshops.

The bar pays homage to vodka (national drink of Poland) with almost 50 varieties on offer.

The venue’s engine room is a large commercial kitchen catering to large-scale weddings and cultural festivities alongside the daily service to private dining rooms, restaurant and an abundantly stocked deli. Learn more about this project.

Club Parramatta dives into the melting pot of diversity. Castle Hill RSL Group took the bold step to build a modern entertainment venue over 3 levels, offering a variety of dining experiences with 3 main kitchens and 3 bars.

All social arrangements are covered with multi-purpose functions and event spaces, both indoor and outdoor. Furthermore, the venue launched with a new brand that celebrates Parramatta’s ethnically diverse community. Learn more about the project.

#5 Competitive socialising

Today’s competitive socialising bears little resemblance to the traditional staples of billiards and darts.

The rise of arcade bars, escape rooms, and immersive pop-up events in the early 2000s revealed a widespread craving for interactive experiences over passive food and dining.

Fast forward to now, and Millennial and Gen Z customers are shaping the modern phenomenon around tech. Advances in digital gaming, augmented reality, and automated scoring systems have made interactive activities more engaging and accessible.

Ramp up friendly rivalries, adrenaline-laced feats, and bragging rights. Emotionally charged memories are the most powerful.

Games like interactive darts, augmented reality golf and virtual cricket – or anything you can swing a bat or stick at – have redefined what’s possible in a hospitality setting.

As health and wellbeing come to the fore, more consumers are choosing activities which complement their low alcohol beverages.

Many clubs have the enviable position of owning large parcels of real estate which – subject to balanced feasibility and assessment evaluations – have the scope to introduce incremental business models and revenue streams.

Paynter Dixon is working with city and regional clients to re-purpose existing and under-utilised space. The venue may choose to own and operate the activities, or incorporate third-party businesses into their existing business model.

Voice your ideas. Our Hospitality Team is here to listen. Contact Andrew Neagle today: andrew.neagle@paynterdixon.com.au