Hospitality is Hot and Your Brewery Needs to Pay Attention
According to Google Trends, “hospitality” is hot.
On July 27, 2025, it hit a peak score of 100, the single highest point in the last five years.
Hospitality searches peaked on July 27, 2025 — the highest point in five years.
But what does that really mean? Google Trends doesn’t show the exact number of searches. Instead, it measures how popular a term is relative to itself over time. For all intents and purposes, hospitality is having a moment, and you should care.
In 2020, the average Google Trends score for “hospitality” was 36.2. It rose slightly in 2021 to 39.9, then jumped to 49.8 in 2022. The climb continued, reaching 55.2 in 2023 and 58.3 in 2024. So far in 2025, the average is 72.1, its highest level yet. Hospitality is not just trending upward, it is becoming a dominant focus for businesses everywhere.
Why This Matters for Breweries and Taprooms
It is no longer just about the beer. The winners today are those creating experiences that guests crave. Whether or not we have been using the word hospitality, that is the business we are in. The competition is not just to be someone’s favorite brewery, but to be their favorite destination.
Search data shows this shift clearly. Guests are not only looking for a pint, they are thinking about the entire taproom experience.
The Rise of Families and Community Spaces
Searches for “family friendly brewery” were almost nonexistent in 2020, averaging just 1.6. By 2023 and 2024, they climbed to nearly 18, and in 2025 they have already jumped to 25.7, the strongest interest we have ever seen.
Then, in early July 2025, searches for “kids in breweries” hit an all-time high. These trends show that guests increasingly view breweries as community spaces, not just places to grab a drink. Hospitality extends to who feels welcome, from beer nerds to families.
Who’s Hungry?
And what do families and friends love to do together? Eat.
Searches for “brewpub” exploded in 2021 as people returned to local destinations after COVID and have stayed at historically high levels ever since. Guests are actively seeking breweries that serve both beer and food, and they expect an experience that delivers on both. The more boxes you check, the longer guests will stay and the more they will spend.
As my son believes, brewpubs are just better restaurants. And he is not wrong.
It’s the Little Things
Even something as simple as a beer flight tells this story. Google searches for “beer flights” hit their five-year peak the exact same week that hospitality spiked. This reminds us that guests want more than a pint. They want a moment of discovery, connection, and yes, hospitality (see the reasons why we love flights here).
Here is why it matters to your bottom line:
Suggesting a flight makes guests over four times more likely to order one.
When staff ask and the guest orders, average spend jumps 35% from $49.75 to $67.34. 1
The takeaway is simple. Intentional hospitality actions lead directly to more revenue.
The Bigger Picture
While the concepts I’ve shared with taprooms since 2017 are rooted in hospitality, it wasn’t a word I used much early on. My focus has always been on engagement and experience. I credit Will Guidara and Unreasonable Hospitality for pushing the term into our daily language and making it part of how we talk about creating memorable guest moments. (Note: The phrase “unreasonable hospitality” also reached a Google Trends high on August 17, 2025.)
Guests are surrounded by the word hospitality. They see it in ads, hear it in conversations, and feel it when they travel. By the time they walk into your taproom, they already have expectations. It’s up to you to create an experience that lives up to what they’ve been promised.
Why Hospitality Is Hot Right Now
Why is hospitality, especially in beer, so important at this moment?
Here’s why:
COVID changed us. Those years reshaped habits. With limited dollars and limited outings, people became more selective about where they spend their time and money.
It is no longer just about the beer. Guests expect WOW experiences that include great beer, engaging staff, and memorable atmospheres.
Money matters (duh!). Breweries are looking for ways to get current guests to spend more while also attracting new ones. Hospitality is the tool to deepen connections and grow revenue.
Let’s close with a quote from Will Guidara: “Hospitality makes people feel seen. If it's not, it's just really good service.”
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¹ The data was collected from a set of 1397 unique taproom visits from January 1, 2024 to August 23, 2025. Each tab represents 2 guests and includes tax and tip.