Hotels Tap Into Projected $2.1 Billion CBD Market
Last year, luxury edibles brand Lord Jones announced a partnership with the boutique hotel group Standard International to open a dispensary retail shop in the lobby of the Standard Hollywood hotel in Los Angeles.
The partnership plans to launch the Lord Jones line of gumdrops, caramels, chocolates, and chews in the nation’s first hotel-based dispensary later this year, as California laws now allow for recreational use by adults. However, the new adult-use California regulations are complex and are taking time to implement. In the meantime, Lord Jones and other cannabis brands are offering CBD-infused treats in upscale hotels in New York City and beyond, offering guests a new way to ease stress and unwind without the psychoactive effects of THC.
CBD on the Room Service Menu
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is non-psychoactive. Its soothing effects may include pain relief, reducing inflammation, calming stress and anxiety, and aiding sleep. After a long, stressful day of travel, CBD edibles and topicals could be just the ticket to help an adventurer unwind. And according to Forbes, the CBD market could grow to $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020—so it’s no wonder that the hospitality industry is cashing in.
At the James Nomad hotel in New York, guests can order from a CBD tasting menu created by cannabis chef Andrea Drummer. Drummer is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, and started experimenting with cannabis infusions in the kitchen as a way to relieve her own joint pain. At the James Nomad, her menu of CBD snacks and late-night bites includes comfort foods like spicy meatballs (15mg CBD) and tater tots with sriracha mayo (10mg CBD). The menu also features a list of CBD-infused beauty products like eye serum and lip balm. Items are priced at a premium, with a butter lettuce salad (20mg CBD) going for $20.
The Standard Hotel, which has locations in New York and Miami as well as in Los Angeles, stocks its mini bars with CBD-infused Lord Jones gummies. And at the Petit Ermitage in West Hollywood, chef Christotel Tan hosts pop-up dinners with a seven-course menu featuring dishes such as CBD-infused duck confit and asparagus with monkfish cheek and CBD puree.
A Growing Segment of the Cannabis Market
It’s not just hotels hopping on the CBD bandwagon. Cafes, bars, and restaurants are incorporating CBD into cocktails and menu items. Vegan ice cream shop Van Leeuwen — with locations in NYC and LA — has a CBD chocolate fudge sundae. Spas are offering CBD treatments including massages and manicures. Retail and service industry offerings of CBD are growing quickly, despite the legality of CBD falling into a grey area in some states.
It’s important to note that doctors warn that there has not been enough research to determine a safe dosage of CBD oil, especially in food. Be sure to ask where the CBD you’re being served is sourced from (you want it to be from America, at least!), and pay attention to how you feel after consuming it. Perhaps you’ll have the best night’s sleep ever in that comfy hotel bed with crisp, clean sheets.
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