AI: The hospitality sector is going digital, but is not yet making full use of the technology

By: Emine Youssef, Director of Hospitality for Western Europe, Lightspeed.

The hospitality sector has been at the heart of a digital revolution for years. Booking systems, till software, stock management and payment solutions: data is everywhere. Yet one problem persists. Because although business owners have access to more and more figures, finding the right insights often remains time-consuming and complex.

That now seems to be changing. With AI, the focus is less on collecting data and more on understanding it, interpreting it and turning it into concrete actions.

There’s plenty of data, but what do you do with it?

A survey by Lightspeed of 200 hospitality business owners in Belgium shows that technology is now firmly established in the sector. For example, 39% uses wireless payment terminals, 46% use smartphones to take orders, 46% use booking apps, 58% use QR menus and 42% use kitchen displays. Business intelligence tools and analytics dashboards are also on the rise: 26% of hospitality business owners make use of these.

More than a quarter (26%) of hospitality business owners now say they use AI tools in their work. This shows that AI is rapidly gaining ground, but at the same time is still at a relatively early stage.

The missing link: from data to insight

The challenge for business owners does not lie in collecting data, but in translating it into concrete actions. Many hospitality business owners recognise this: there are plenty of reports and dashboards, but it takes time to make the right connections.

This is precisely where AI comes into its own. Whilst reports mainly present historical data, AI helps to identify patterns more quickly, answer questions and make recommendations.

So not as a replacement for the business owner, but as a digital assistant that helps to process information and make more informed decisions regarding product range and planning.

Great potential, but still rarely used

In practice, we are seeing hospitality business owners increasingly use AI for all sorts of tasks: for example, writing marketing copy, analysing profit margins or optimising menus. Staff planning and stock management can also benefit from more accurate forecasts.

Nevertheless, there is often still a gap between potential and actual use. AI tools are often separate from existing systems, meaning that business owners still have to switch between different platforms. And that is a major bottleneck in a sector where speed is crucial.

The next step: AI that works alongside us

That is why the focus is now shifting towards integrated AI solutions. Instead of standalone tools, AI is increasingly being built directly into existing systems, such as the till platform.

A recent development is LightspeedAI, an AI layer within the till system that allows hospitality business owners to ask questions about their own data in everyday language. Instead of ploughing through reports, they receive immediate answers to questions such as: ‘Which dishes generated the highest profit margin this month?’, or ‘Why was yesterday’s turnover lower?’.

The main difference, therefore, lies in speed and accessibility. By converting data directly into actionable insights, it becomes easier to make adjustments even during a shift, rather than waiting until afterwards to analyse the data.

What does this mean for business owners?

AI is changing the way entrepreneurs work with data. Not by providing more figures, but by making the right insights available straight away.

This also calls for a different way of working. Entrepreneurs who use AI successfully do not treat it as a replacement, but as an extension of their own expertise.

It is expected that AI will continue to evolve from a tool into a system that offers suggestions on how to run their business and identify new opportunities.

For hospitality business owners, this means one thing: those who learn to use various AI tools now are laying the foundations for working more intelligently with data. After all, the data was already there. It’s just that the insights are finally within reach.