Hospitality industry digitising, but far from exploiting all benefits

Entrepreneurs miss opportunities in efficiency and personalisation

Digitisation in the hospitality industry is in full swing. Four in five hospitality entrepreneurs in the Netherlands now use an online reservation system - and it shows. For instance, more than a third (35%) experience fewer errors in reservations. Yet a large group of entrepreneurs is still far from exploiting all the advantages these systems have to offer. Think of automating communication, minimising waiting times or personalising service. This is according to a collective survey by checkout and payment platform Lightspeed (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD) and reservation software Zenchef among 250 hospitality entrepreneurs in the Netherlands.

Data remains untapped

Access to real-time data is seen by 67 per cent of hospitality entrepreneurs as essential to the day-to-day running of their business. Nineteen per cent of operators find that automated communications, such as reservation reminders, help reduce no-shows and improve guest satisfaction. Fourteen per cent also report that their seating arrangements have become more efficient and waiting times shorter, thanks to the use of technology.

Yet 11 per cent do not use this at all. In practice, this means that many entrepreneurs make decisions without using insights that are available. 

Personalisation still far from being the standard

An online reservation system offers restaurants valuable data to serve guests more personally, but that potential remains largely untapped. Only a third of restaurant operators (33%) use reservation data daily to personalise service. Nineteen per cent do so weekly. But a quarter (25%) do not use it at all.

The entrepreneurs who do use this data are mainly putting it to:

• Addressing guests by name (26%)
• Register dietary requirements and allergies (26%)
• Offer regular guests their favourite table (19%)
• Make suggestions based on previous orders (13%)

Emine Youssef, Regional Director Benelux at Lightspeed, also sees that entrepreneurs are often not yet using digitalisation to its full potential: "Many hospitality entrepreneurs are already using technology, but there is often even more to be gained from it than meets the eye. By deploying data, things like no-shows can be reduced, errors reduced and staff and tables scheduled more efficiently. It also creates great opportunities to approach guests more personally and increase sales. The tools are there - now it is mainly a matter of using them in a targeted way, in a way that suits one's business and ambitions."