Join bar design specialist Tobin Ellis as he shares insights on how the design + build industry in hospitality has changed in the past 10 years, where it is quickly moving to, as well as best practices in design that lead to improved beverage quality, increased throughput, reduced buildout costs, greater employee retention and better guest experiences. Tobin will share insights from his 20 years of designing, building, opening, consulting for and operating bars all over the world for clients of all sizes, including Hilton Hotels, Marriott, Starbucks, T-Mobile and Caesars Entertainment.
Tobin Ellis, Hospitality Design Specialist, BarMagic
Tobin is a design and operations specialist with a combined 29 years in hospitality operations and 15 years in hospitality design whose work focuses on integrating the development, design, and operations processes. Since 1997, Tobin has helped develop hospitality concepts and designed bars from Honolulu to London, New York to Johannesburg for clients including The Starbucks Coffee Company, MGM Resorts, Marriott-Ritz Carlton, Caesars Entertainment, Hilton Hotels, Ford, Panasonic, Ace Hotels, Gaylord Hotels, Grand Wailea Resorts, and many more.
Called “a shot of adrenaline” by the New York Times, Tobin was born in Silicon Valley and raised in Upstate New York where he first made a name as a 6-time national bartending champion and world-renowned bar and hospitality trainer who now travels the world speaking to designers and operators on holistic high-volume hospitality design– a functionalist and collaborative approach to designing and scaling hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, corporate and retail spaces that seeks to balance discovery, immersion, and experience with throughput, profitability, and culturized hospitality.
Tobin’s body of multi-disciplinary work has helped win a slew of accredited hospitality awards including Best Hotel Bar in Las Vegas (2005), Best Lounge in Las Vegas (2005), Best Cocktails (2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), Best Hotel Opening (2011), 2nd runner up in PDCA’s PIPP Design Awards (2014), a 2015 GOOD DESIGN Award for his signature line of underbar equipment, and finalist in the 2016 FCSI Americas Innovation Showcase for Product of the Year.
