Each November, the hospitality world waits for a kind of industry oracle. One who isn’t part of a research firm or think tank, but from a San Francisco marketing agency that knows how people actually eat, drink, and travel. AF&Co.’s annual Hospitality Trend Report has, for 20 years, predicted what will shape the year ahead in food, beverage, travel, marketing, and design. And, more often than not, they’re right.

If you’ve recently noticed pistachio popping up on menus from Los Angeles to London — in gelato, pastries, even cocktails — thank AF&Co. founder Andrew Freeman and his team. They named it the “Flavor of the Year” for 2025, just as restaurants and global brands began embracing the so-called “Dubai Chocolate” craze. In previous years, AF&Co. foresaw the rise of ube, the virality of quesabirria, and even the return of martinis.

From PR to Prediction

Freeman founded AF&Co. two decades ago, after a long career spent at the intersection of hospitality and storytelling. A New York native, he cut his teeth in iconic dining rooms like The Russian Tea Room, The Rainbow Room, and Windows on the World before moving west to lead public relations and strategic partnerships for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. There, he helped shape one of the industry’s first genuinely inclusive hospitality brands, long before “lifestyle hotels” became a category.

When he launched AF&Co., it wasn’t simply another PR firm — it was a creative consultancy built on insight and intuition. The agency has since helped launch more than 500 hospitality concepts across the U.S. and built lasting partnerships with some of the industry’s most admired names. But its most recognized export isn’t a campaign, it’s a forecast.

The Making of a Movement

Now produced in partnership with the creative agency Carbonate, AF&Co.’s Hospitality Trend Report has evolved into a 100-plus-page cultural and business compendium. The process is part fieldwork, part foresight: a full year of research into what guests are craving, how they’re traveling, and what they’re sharing online.

As Freeman explained in a recent interview, “Guests are choosing carefully where and when to go out, so you’ve got to make some noise to catch their attention.” It’s a sentiment that perfectly captures the report’s purpose: to help operators stand out in a crowded and constantly shifting landscape.

The report’s credibility has made it essential reading not only for restaurateurs and hoteliers but for journalists and marketers as well. The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and Better Homes & Gardens are among the many outlets that cite it each year — a reflection of AF&Co.’s knack for seeing what’s next before it hits the mainstream.

What’s Ahead for 2026

While the full 2026 report won’t debut until November 6, Freeman and his team have hinted at emerging patterns. Expect a renewed emphasis on guest empowerment and personalization, where diners and travelers co-create their own experiences, from build-your-own tasting flights to spa rituals designed around individual mood or energy.

AF&Co. also anticipates that authentic, social-media-savvy design will continue to dominate, but with a more grounded aesthetic: spaces that feel personal and story-driven rather than engineered for likes. The conversation around sustainability is likewise evolving, now framed as part of a larger pursuit of wellness, comfort, and value.

And as younger generations approach travel and dining more fluidly, traditional categories continue to blur: restaurants behaving like clubs, hotels like homes, and brands expanding into lifestyle ecosystems. Freeman captured this shift years ago when he observed, “One’s age, financial status or location no longer dictates whether they will visit your establishment… Guests are looking for more multi-faceted unique experiences, and sometimes those are conflicting.” That duality — the desire for comfort and novelty, consistency and surprise — remains the through line of the 2026 forecast.

The Bigger Picture

Freeman believes these changes are not just cyclical but cultural. “As we live our lives perpetually online,” he said when introducing last year’s report, “people are craving immersive, real-world experiences that are both meaningful and transportive — and it’s an opportunity for restaurants, bars, and hotels to think beyond the ordinary.”

That, ultimately, is what AF&Co.’s trend report delivers: not a list of fads, but a roadmap for relevance. Each insight is paired with strategic guidance on how brands can connect more deeply with their audiences — whether through storytelling, experience design, or simple, human hospitality.

Now entering its eighteenth year, the Hospitality Trend Report stands as both a time capsule and a forecast. It's an annual reminder that while tastes evolve and technology accelerates, what guests really seek is connection. And that’s something no algorithm can predict.

The AF&Co. + Carbonate 2026 Hospitality Trend Report is available for purchase at afandco.com as of November 6.

Photos by Kristen Loken, unless otherwise noted