THE MODERN HOST’S NEW PLAYBOOK

By Erika Blazeviciute-Doyle, Founder & CEO of Drink Dry

There is a moment that happens more often than people realise. You sit down at a beautiful restaurant in Dubai. The lighting is perfect, the menu is thoughtful, the service is polished. Your friend orders a glass of wine. The waiter turns to you and asks what you would like to drink, and you say you are not drinking alcohol that evening. And then there is a pause. You are offered water or maybe a soft drink. If you are lucky, a mocktail that sounds like it belongs on a children’s menu. In that moment, the experience drops slightly. Not dramatically, but enough to notice. You feel like you have stepped out of the occasion, rather than being part of it. I have had that experience many times.

And then, on the other hand, I have also had the opposite. I remember going out for dinner recently with a friend and the waiter handed us both the drinks menu without hesitation. There was a dedicated alcohol-free section. Proper options. A 0.0 sparkling wine, a non-alcoholic beer, a few well-thought-out cocktails built with alcohol-free spirits. The waiter asked me what I usually enjoy drinking and recommended something that paired with the food I ordered. It felt exactly the same as ordering wine. No compromise, no awkwardness. Just part of the experience. That is the difference we are starting to see now. And it is changing the way people host, entertain and socialise altogether.

The new rules of hosting are not really about removing alcohol. They are about expanding choice. Whether it is a dinner party at home or a night out, people are becoming far more intentional about what they serve and what they drink. Hosting is no longer about simply opening a bottle of wine and calling it a day. It is about creating an experience that works for everyone at the table.

I see this a lot in real life. Friends inviting people over will now often ask in advance who is drinking and who is not. There will be a couple of bottles of wine on the table, but next to them there will also be a good quality alcohol-free alternative. Not hidden away, not treated differently, just part of the same set-up. And the interesting part is that even the people who do drink alcohol will often try the alcohol-free option as well. Not because they have to, but because they are curious. This is where the shift is really happening. It is no longer a binary choice between drinking and not drinking. It is about having flexibility. A glass of wine followed by a non-alcoholic alternative. A completely alcohol-free evening without feeling like you are missing out. That sense of freedom is what is driving the category forward.

For hospitality, this presents a very real opportunity. The UAE has one of the most advanced dining scenes in the world. The level of detail that goes into food, interiors and service is exceptional. But for a long time, the non-alcoholic drinks offering has not kept up with that same standard. And the reality is, consumers have moved on. People are no longer satisfied with sugary mocktails that do not complement the meal. They want something that feels considered. Something that matches the quality of the food and the overall experience. I always say that a non-alcoholic drink should not feel like a compromise, instead it should feel like a choice.

The venues that understand this are already seeing the benefits. They are not just adding one or two token options to the menu. They are investing in the category. They are training their teams, thinking about food pairings, presenting the drinks properly. And most importantly, they are not segregating the experience. If a guest orders a non-alcoholic drink, the service should feel exactly the same as if they ordered a glass of wine. Same level of attention, same storytelling, same confidence. That is what elevates the experience because ultimately, this is not just about what is in the glass, it is about how people feel. If someone walks into your venue and feels like they are part of the occasion regardless of what they are drinking, you have done your job properly. If they feel like an afterthought, you have missed an opportunity.

But even more importantly, it is an opportunity commercially as much as experientially. There is a large and growing audience that is either not drinking at all or choosing to drink less. If you are not catering to them properly, you are simply leaving revenue on the table. What is often overlooked is that this is not about replacing alcohol sales, it is about adding to them. A guest who is not drinking alcohol is still sitting at your table. The question is whether they are spending on a premium drink or defaulting to water or a soft drink. When venues get it right, they are able to increase their average spend per guest without increasing footfall. A well-priced alcohol-free sparkling wine, a crafted 0.0 cocktail, or a premium non-alcoholic beer all carry strong margins when positioned correctly. Multiply that across a table of four, or across a full service, and it becomes very real, very tangible revenue.

I have seen this firsthand with our hospitality partners. The moment they move from offering “an option” to offering a proper selection, the numbers follow. Guests stay for another round. They order a second or third drink. The occasion extends, and so does the spend. And importantly, this does not cannibalise alcohol sales. More often than not, it complements them. One person at the table might still order wine, while another orders a premium alcohol-free alternative. Both contribute to the bill. Both feel equally part of the experience.

We are still early in this journey, especially in this region. But the direction is very clear. Hosting is becoming more thoughtful. Social occasions are becoming more inclusive. And the definition of what makes a “good drink” is expanding. Alcohol is no longer the default, it is simply one of many options. For me, that is a very positive shift. It does not take anything away from the experience. If anything, it adds to it. Because the best kind of hosting has never really been about what you are pouring. It has always been about how you make people feel when they are sitting at your table.