Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Welcome to captain conversations. This one's a little different. This week, we spent two days at the foster Hospitality Tech expo in Excel. As you can hear from my voice, lots are talking. And some of best moments happen on stage.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So in this episode, we are playing three of them. The first one is Tommy Gi from Honest burgers on building a tech stack that earns its keep. Then onto the well seasoned team hosted by Pete, on building a pre opening team without hiring anyone. We then finish with the awesome, even Alana from serve on why your menu might be turning away more guessing you things. Grab a coffee, and let's get into it.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Good morning. 64.6%. That was the percentage of calls we've answered last year across 46 on burgers. No calls we've answered well. Calls we've answered at all.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: More than one in three got nowhere. Now nobody was ignoring that. Nobody knew about it. The phone system knew, but nobody asked the question. Now I'm going to pretend every single one of those calls where amidst revenue opportunity.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Some of them were suppliers, some of them wear scammers, some of them call back later. But until we measured it, nobody owned it. And the first twin wasn't buying new tech. It was gained the tech. We were already paying for, showing us where the operation was leaking.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Most operators don't needs a new dashboard. Needed one useful number owned by someone that can change what happens tomorrow. You've got that number two in your systems. Because in your time, margin potentially guessed because nobody owns the question. That's what today is about.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Making every system on its key. Hi. I'm Tommy. I've been in operations for fifteen years before I move to the dark side of tech. And today, I run data and systems for 46 restaurants.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: With on his burgers. I've also founded Tommy Tech, hep helping all the business lads operators, choose the right tech or fixing the one they already got. Today, I'm speaking from the operator table. The side of the table that has to make this stuff work on a Saturday night. By the end, every system you pay for should have one decision attached to it.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Buy it, run it, or bin it. Here is a five side group. It's fictional, but every decision are really enough. The boss kept failing during service, so they replaced it quickly. A chef found a rot app that was better than a spreadsheet.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Accounts brought in an a hr platform, and that Hr platform had another rot module attached to it. Reservations came with a Crm, stock was set up by a very strong ops manager that has since left the business. Loyalty came with a marketing plan and a free Ai trial quickly became a paid subscription. Now every decisions made sense at the time and that's the point. Stocks don't get messy because people are careless.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: They get messy because some civil decision pilot over time. Until here, a module there. And three years later, you're running a stack than no one designed. Now do you know exactly how many systems you pay for? Don't answer that.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Do you know when your boss renew? Don't answer that either. And could you name the owner and the result of each system you have and correctly pay for? No nobody build this. It just accumulated over time.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Now let's put a price on that tech tag. Look at the road None of them looks scary one by one. And that's the trap. Add them together and software alone becomes 50 to 85 k. That's for five sites.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: That's 11 invoices, different terms, different dates, different owners. And that's why the total get missed. Then you got the cost attached to your revenue. Cart fees 1.3 to 1.8% in that example of all your taking. If it's relevant to you, you got the ag 25 to 55% of every single order they deliver.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Don't add those those percentages together, turn them into pound value and add them to the software bill. That is your true cost. Then you got the cost that never appears on invoice implementation time. Manager's time, training, rec keying the data after one platform to another, failures during service or simply a rollout the Netherlands. Every role is a contract.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And every contract needs one owner and a result and a decision date. So the fix starts with an audit. Five questions. One, what does the system do? What's the job of it?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Two, what does it really cost you every single year? Three, who owns it and who actually uses it? Four, what results prove that it's worth paying for. And five when is the notice deadline? Start with your bank statement or your car statement, not for memory.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And try to answer those five questions. I'll give you ours, not a client on his very. At one point, we had monday.com, notion and click up. Three tools. Three very good reasons.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Three different ways where we're definitely going to run projects. Well, we run them on excel, email on a group chat. Nobody uses those. Nobody logged in, but we kept paying for those. And you goes scribe, we used to write our Sop and troubleshooting using scribe.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Different story. We use it very well for two years. He did a job very well at a time. Then Ai made writing guides a breeze easy. The word moved on.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But it's still on a cal statement. Question three question three. Catch the first three, who actually uses it. No one. Question four, catches scribe, our results worth paying for.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Sometimes a system never gets. Use or adopt, sometimes the war just moves on. On a bank statement, they all look exactly the same. A direct debit shows that the product exists, not that someone uses it. If you can't answer those questions, don't cancel it tomorrow.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It just means you have some digging to do. That every system gets a decision by run or bin. By when the problem is clear. Someone owns it and the numbers work. But before you sign, ask two more things, how does the data get in and out sign And what happens when you live?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Run when people actually use it, the data is reliable and someone reviews a real result on a real date. A login tells you someone went into the platform. He doesn't tell you he actually create value. Bin when the tool is duplicated, unused unknown or it's no longer solving a problem. Sometimes ben really means rene renegotiate.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You might still need the products, but you might not need the current price, the current term or the current service model. No, whatever the decision give it a date. Otherwise, die becomes permanent, run, just becomes a habit, and bin only happens when finance spots the direct debit on a statement. And that's the framework for the rest of the session, a reason to buy a number to run against an evidence to bin or renegotiate. Now, you'll hear two pitches out there today.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You've got the all in one, but that's everything. And then you got the best of breed for its trouble. Both can work, All in one is usually where most businesses starts. Now. It makes sense.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's one contract, one owner, one room map, share data. The problem comes when the business needs something that all in one can provide or come well. And this is where you start seeing the warning signs, you know, managers recurring information to another platform reports arriving too late. One week module blocking the rest or creating a manual walk around. For every system you add to your stock creates another need for integration.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Someone has to own the integration. Someone has to watch the integration, and someone has to fix it when it breaks mid service. Make sure you asked those questions before you commit. Now, how many sites you have can be a clue. Three sites with delivery, kiosks, and a central kitchen, I need way more integration that a 15 sites operator that has a very simple operation.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So don't split the stack because it delivers grown up because it's cool. Split it when fixing it by hand, cost you more that invest into integrations. All in one works until the data has to move. Now here's a rough guide. Those are not rules.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Is just some reference points. Around three sites, protect the core operations. Parts and payments, then Rot and basic hr, accounts, reservation, and if it's relevant to your business delivery. Stock at this point can still be a solid spreadsheet run by very good chef. It's fine.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: A spreadsheet with an owner is better than a system than nobody maintain. Then around 10 locations. Coordination starts to heart. Payroll issues will repeat. Raw control gets harder.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So you probably need to invest in a proper workforce management. Stock and purchasing needs a central grip, you need one central menu that you push to all your platforms, you need consistent training and consistent internal communication. And reporting needs to lens before the decisions are taken. You're now replacing the foundation. You're adding capability and when complexity shows up.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Around 25 locations Control becomes the problem. Invoice automation saves you real time admin, forecasting becomes useful. As long as the inputs are goods, and someone actually acts on it, of course. And by now, someone needs to own that stack. The emissions, data flow, renewal, what happens when key people leave.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Find your colon. Now Look to the one on the right. This is not your shopping list. This is your next problem to test for. And what this out of all of the three?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Anything you buy because the competitor has it? Anything owned by the business. Anything that needs clean data that you haven't got. Yet. Your three sites stuck might look like the ten one.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Your 25 sites tag my look, like a three one. Sites count start the conversation. Complexity move you left or right. Build in this order. Don't buy the top of the tower before the bass can handle it.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Now assign contract and a successful launch. Doesn't mean the system work. Every system needs a named owner, not a department's, one person. Someone I can answer the question what actually changed last month. Then watch the adoption and the real workflow.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Our managers actually following the new process are they using the new system like the should? Or is there still old spreadsheet open right next to their computer. Protect the data too. If the inputs are poor, the best reporting tool in the world, will still give you very, very confident, rubbish. Then review the results after 30 after ninety days and before you're notice that deadline.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: If the numbers haven't moved, ask yourself why? Is that a setup? Is that a training? Is that a process? Or is that the the product itself?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Plan for the owner leaving. Write down the setup, the permissions, the integrations and the vendor contacts. Too many system die when one capable person walk out the door. If the owner leaves, the system should not live with them. Now, some products are very good products, just bought at the wrong time.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Loyalty needs to wait until guests and transaction data are good enough and usable. Kiosk can wait until you got a real throughput issue to fix. And a data platform can wait until you've have outgrown your reports, and your systems are cleaning enough to trust what comes out of them. Those are conditions, they're not rules based on how many sites you have. Then you got the buying red flags.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It duplicate something you already got and already paying for. Simple changes are charge by the vendor. The contract runs longer than the evidenced. You sometimes end up saying a three years commitments based on a thirteen minutes demo. All the vendor cannot clearly explain what happens when you want to leave and you want to get your data with you.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: None of those is an automatic no. But it means stop and price the risk. Buying the right tool three is too early, it's still the wrong buy. Not ninety seconds on Ai because it it doesn't deserve ten minutes, and everyone talking about Ai two today and keynote. During your buying process, starts with the results faster invoicing, better forecast, fewer missed calls, quicker review replies, then ask whether Ai can improve that result.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Enough to justify the change. It still needs a good input. It needs a clear decision in is a owner, and needs a way for a human to challenge the outputs. Bad sales data, plus Ai Just gives you the wrong roast start... Don't sorry.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: The wrong router faster. So when the vendor says Ai, ask three things. What changes for the manager on a Monday morning. What happens when it's wrong, and how will we measure the difference? Ai sits on top?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It doesn't hold anything out. By the outcome. Don't just buy the word. Now you don't need the procurement department, you need a simple, repeatable process and enough discipline not to fall in love with a demo. Number one.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Write the problem down before you speak to vendors. Number two. Build the must have with the people that will actually be using the system. Know the niche cases that are specific to your business. Three, score every vendor against the same list.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: If a feature is on the road map. Image means it's not available. Number four, run your real scenarios through the system. And speak to other operators about your red flags. Don't just ask whether the vendor is nice.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Five negotiate before you pick the winner, the term, implementation, price cap, data access and how you exit. And is one rule I really like. Don't change the scoring after the demos. That's how shiny feature. You never ask for becomes an essential.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: This is procurement discipline. For small medium sized businesses. And if this is a decision you can defend. Now, I'm an operator, I'm not a lawyer. But this full commercial question I want answered before I sign anything?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Term, how long are you committing for? And what happens if implementation fails or the product never really reaches why what it was supposed to do? A discount does not always justify a longer term. Notice. 90 there's notice or reduced for twelve month.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: That notice deadline is your real decision date. Put it in your calendar the day you sign. Uplift. Retail price index plus two. That sounds harmless when you see it, buried in page four.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Which Rp, which month is there cap? Exit what data can you get back when you leave? In what format how quickly at what cost? And what happens to all your history within the system you're living. Now, nobody reads page four of contracts, but page four really decides the relationship.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Read those sentences out loud. In front of your team. If your ops team cannot explain what they mean, you probably haven't fully understood the risk here. Now everything here is met up, read your own contract. And obviously gets your lawyer advice and that one.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But it's a small uplift, and this is what actually does to your wallet. So you sign for a thousand pound per month. The contract says, Rp plus two. Now Rp is 4% in this example. So this is your increase.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: 6% every year. Year one, You bet 12 k. Year two, 12.7 k. By year three, it's 13 and half k. Across three years, it's 2.2 k above the headline you actually signed for.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Now apply the same logic to every single contracts you have in your stock. And for your information, Rp is not always 4%. In 2023, in January, it hits 13.4%. So check which month your contract ends. Now, why if you're already stuck with your system or with your vendor.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Don't promise yourself an easy. But start improving your position. Don't start with a threat to leave, starts with the, document all the contagious. The support response time, the mis deliverables. All against what the contract actually promised, then read your termination terms before you act.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: A supplier failure might give you leverage, where it doesn't always give you an instant right to cancel your contract and get... The get legal advice before you do anything. Finally, negotiate before the notice deadline, while both sides still have an option. Maybe the answer is a price freeze, maybe it's a shorter 10, maybe it's a service credits. Maybe it's a proper delivery plan by the vendor or maybe it's a clean exit.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Living is one outcome, but better term in better performance can be another. So on monday the morning, do five things. Count your subscription from your bank and car statements, not just from memory. Find every notice deadline and and add them to a shared calendar. Pull your call answer rates.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Or whatever number is hiding in your systems. Ask every system owner, Who uses it? And what results it changes. And write the program down before you book your next demo. Five actions, few hours of your time, known your software.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: The qr opens a ready email Already made email to me. That will set... I well, I will send you a free stack audit and a free contract checklist. And if your systems are getting in the way, This exactly what I do at Tell take. Come to me.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Now let me take you back to 64.6%. That number was already sitting inside our systems. The missing piece was a ownership. Nobody owned the question, So nobody solved the problem. Every system needs four things, an owner, a job, a number and a decision date.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Bytes for risen, run it against a number. And if he stops earning his skip, fix it or renegotiate it before you bin it. This is how you build a tech stack on purpose not by accident. Thank you.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's actually to joining everyone. This session is entitled, we don't to pre being seen without hiring anyone. And a little bit background before of us all met, basically on a consultant and they started about seven months ago. It was the first ten weeks stage basically just got talking. Projects.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Henry was actually number 25 you sign up. And then Gabrielle is about 300. So not quite. And then, dan came along with a, a really interesting top project, basically kicked off the this, project side of the of the platform. So this is all about the programs arms, which is the venue music building, and, yeah, how it came about and the in the j bid on.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So so let start off by and introducing with house, Gabrielle Maybe?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Hello? I'm Gabrielle Good. I've been in hospitality marketing for about thirteen years. I've done... It...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Most of that has been in house So I've managed all 42 sites of the Iv collection. I've done private members subs. I've done had premium Italian bra. I've done food halls, and I became a consultant to and another half years ago. And this is my third nod in that period of time.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So... But the first one on last season.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Hi, Emily. I, also about a decade in the fancy industry, mostly in the private member's spouse. And I went freelance surname this year. We've joining obviously really soon. After you launched I'm started what down team on the Gripper Isles in the tat space.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Hello, everyone. I'm Dan. So I was client number one on the platform. And we're a property development and investment business in London. This is our first part, the programs in Earl field.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And Liam, we're doing two things differently. One thing is we the consciously made a decision to go down and roots of just having consultants work for us in the pre opening phase. And secondly, we are Ai first as a business. So we're very focused on making sure that we we understand and use Ai to make the better business essentially.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Brilliant. Thanks, guys. So, yeah. Probably the first question for you down. Where it'd be idea and inspiration for, for the broker arms come

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: from, well, a very not not of a huge facts story, but we been developing an best in London in, number of different types of property. The hospitality industry interest us because there's a really opportunity. There's a real opportunity way how I think to do things slightly differently. The assets are cheap, which is obviously also quite important. And running it is difficult, and we we acknowledge and understand all of that.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But we do think that if we get this right, we can create something that earl still needs, quite part of London, loads of people perhaps loads of really nice spaces. But struggling because they're running in in my opinion in a in a way that they need to we need to kind of re look at, and we need to find ways of, reducing the cost of running these places and ways that we can we could increase their revenue. So we we're looking at folks hospitality venues for a couple of years before we made the decision to actually focus on it. And that... So this is our first one.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Great. And when you say Ai first and day one? What does that actually mean on I'm sort of practical in day to day database? What do you do differently though?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Well, this start with is, like, these Ai, and that was the first thing I did. But... No. I mean, Ai first is a mindset. From it in my opinion to start its a mindset.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: A decision, the businesses make to focus on what they can do either quicker or better with Ai and with the technology that is evolving so quickly. So mindset first, and second is capturing data everywhere. Just talking to find the crowd who talked about millions of data points. You know, you'd be collecting data for years. Using it, understanding it and throwing insights from it is is where Ai can put, I think businesses in a, in a, in a different, in a different kind of, I guess, revenue opportunity.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So capturing data for us means better decision making understanding customer experience in a different way and really focusing on what is essentially a I completely ground technology that is going to change everyone's lives, hopefully, in a good way.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And you said you save about 50 or 60 k of the pre opening cost through innovative uses of? What did you channel that? What did you channel those phones into?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Well, that's a good question. I mean, but I know the customer experience. So we're we're not trying to change the way across experience the venue. We're we're really focused on making sure that humans are providing the customer experience, obviously. But, yeah, Put putting that money back into the customer experience rather than having to spend it on something that is how comm, like, for example, it might take ten hours to do some research.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Oh, on

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: A loved market, that could be done in thirty minutes with three different Ai model for asking different questions. And, therefore, you have nine and a half hours time back to do and use in in in different ways, And there's not obvious sometimes where the where the cost savings are. But you know, just in that example the the amount of time you can get back to using some other part of the businesses is. It's fairly important. And is he gonna girls talk at all or...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah I

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: think Desperate for hear from them. But, let's move on to that.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Because... You're assembled the team of fractional, which is quite an unusual way of doing it. Do you wanna talk about how you? Yeah. How you selected and and the...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah Sure. And then...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Okay. I I'll tried to people quick. So we were the first project on well season, and I've been Lip. So I have no experience in hospitality in February my only experience was drinking of the right side of the bar.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But we made the decision. So we decided that we need to find a team to help open our first venue. I contacted some agencies. And there was something that just wasn't And come a small businessman. You know, I like entrepreneurs.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I like that kind of eye. And I found well seasoned and post projects and immediately have 10... I think actually 20 20 different proposals. From Gabrielle from emily and from others. And I used Ai a lot to to to look at what those proposals meant to dig into the detail, to produce, I guess, they're kinda shortlist.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It was it was a quite an intense process because it imagine there's a lot of data coming through. It would have taken me three or four times as long I think today if I haven't used something like Claude that has the context to our business. Yeah. Understand what we're trying to achieve. It was identifying gaps in the proposals, it was making recommendations.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It was it simplified the the the process significantly. Had increased quality without without a show without,

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: you know, and brilliant. And then so one of the first vp had was, Emily, on the, sort of memberships the tech stack, side Of I things. Emily, do you wanna talk talk about your, yeah. How you found working on this project and it's, previous projects that you worked on?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Simply three but tech back tunnel been fighting for me and most of the day day would be working around that fine with. The way forwards for business to be able to ensure they're being at the customer experience that we were evolving that it's the with legacy tech that was really difficult. We didn't have any demonstrations sort a layer and newer attack or task making sure the impact yeah customer or didn't mean the operators were sat in front of computer small. So in this, we got to have a completely bag slate. And that allowed us, well, there's so much and offer.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So we have to have quite a strict criteria that we wanted to make sure I'm fit into. And we also have the benefit having an Ai focus some an Ai, that's what, I guess here is, Brian, he has made this process so much easier as well because the possibility is are really endless with with his knowledge and one of the requirements we make sure we have was everything that I Apis, which does allow us to kind of do what we want some products a bit fun of the do that biggest. Must learning have really being able to stress my knowledge of support of the machine learning the parents nissan.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: K because you're... As understanding, you're building on lots of your tech stack in house using Ai. And mixing it with some vendor walk tools as well. How do you sort of decide what you buy in from least vendor versus what do you try build in house yourself?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I would see that my default but always paid to buy And I think you can absolutely. I've done a move with the speed I can be off. And I think that that we could get ourselves ourselves to attract. We don't need to well, this some amazing products. So we think something that's really very robust that's took test time.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Again, was a criteria for us and in terms of looking at, how long the product been around how stable with the company that you're looking out where they looking a couple of years or whether about to people tell any of those. With all information that we use or decisions. So there's definitely is still... There's no threat in people like, blue things people. I think that buying It's still the right move.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I think what I've found is that we can extend things a bit better than, even building, being able to do that so quick to me out of whereas he's speaking my more time.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And I guess you can also, sort try building it yourself, and then you've always got callback of of of buying enough shelf, but it's I guess it's good to have that. I guess, both options should

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Think obviously nothing's gonna be perfect what he needs, but we can utilize on the ways of being able to customize things in certain ways. Said always in, like, stay standard as much can because customer customization you need to probably stand the line, but There's certainly. To be do a bit better now, I think you can put things to play a lot over as well.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: K. Thanks. And move on to Gabriel. Of what's your... What's been your involvement in the project?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You wanna talk about how you go into it and, at your your your role evolve?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. So I came onto the project quite early, and my involvement is basically been from the very beginning. So brand concept, marketing strategy development. A little bit of Charlotte had or already come up with the concept I didn't she and done a lot of the audience research and things like that. It was just more about I then took Ai, and what Charlotte had found about the audience and the concept to create a marketing strategy that could be...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: That could work with a growing tech sack a could be bought, but also Bill. And I think from previous projects that I've worked on, you definitely create your marketing strategy, a little bit around the tech stack and what the capabilities of that tech can do. And kinda try and make your customer fit in with the tech stack and a lot of what you're marketing is enabled by that tech stack puts the here brings a whole different ballgame game because the possibilities are endless. And it's more about actually listening to your guest and a lot of what I've tried to do over those last few months is really learned for what the guests wants and then build the marketing strategy around that, which is what we should be doing. Right?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Like not having bought tech platforms, dictate what you should be offering. See yeah, you tried

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: to build at marketing back shots you around now. And what

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: sort of features and and and ideas of you been a I've it's been enabled because of that sort of approach where you

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: can the

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: half

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: system. We have used a lot around it is around Crm strategies. So really identifying, like, audience segments and how best to segment outcomes to attract what they're going to need, working with the joy that is Brian, he has built our landing page in our website purely using Ai platforms, and he knows that a lot more about that than I do. But, like, really call the stuff on the website, like, it your offering on the website is personalized or can be in the future, personalized to what demographic you are, and what you're interested in and what time of day it is and what you're likely to want at that time of day what day part what day of the week. It's not just one size fits all website.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's okay. I can see this kind of person, and it's this time of day. Here's what you could want. And in a place like Earl, which is where we're a lord. The demographic set is so very.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And so you could be a guy that's just finished football going for a beer with your mates. And the website will tell you or kind of assume who you are and what you're after. Smile room to a pot for me. It's a coffee and a pastry for a a local mom that Puts meeting or... So it's it's more around personalization.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I really care about the human experience and the customer experience and this set of tech is made that so personalized. If when yeah. That's really, really exciting.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's yeah. I think it's really interesting with. Ai, like, from a... I guess, for both of you from a, like, a consultancy viewpoint. You see Ai is a threat to your roles in future, do see it more as, like, a tool that you can sort of master their and enables you to do your role even better.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Definitely, a all for sure. I think it can definitely help us to extent. It's all gonna take you it can it sell the human out of it is quiet. But, yeah, But we can we can move quickly on things If I wanna put something into and I can do it lots speaker now. I have

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I saw it as a threat initially because we're all used to working in in the way that we've been unit working for, however long you've been in doing what you do But and it's hard when the stakes are so high, and you're launching a pump for someone to learn and to adopt a new way of thinking and working when you've got to deliver something at the end of it, but actually, as soon as we started working in this way, it just made totally sense.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And the probably question began actually. Did the as a opening timeline being reduced dramatically because of the... Because of the Ai and, like, consultant that approach?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. I mean, we have opened yet. But from acquiring the building to open touch wood if there was anything around with d six mars. It's a it's a very constrained timeline, and there's a lot of things that... Could still go wrong.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But we've been able to do things much. And it's only really when you start to really experiment with what's possible with the Ai first thinking. How can we solve this problem How can we do this using the technology that can do it either quicker or better. And, you know, we're... I think we need to acknowledge the, Ai is still kind of very early on in it's, you needs, develop.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Today is the worst could never be. And but it's not that bad, it still makes mistakes, it still needs human touch, but when you properly, it can be completely transformative. And one thing about the, hospitality industry this. Kind of new to me was the kind of the experience is, the the the field the touch and the experience that hospitality experts have is super important, but that's not scalable. And so being able to kind of, find a way of, providing a solution to that.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Is is quite a challenge. Particularly in... No Like Gabrielle World, which is marketing, which is very less data driven than I, but finding ways of kind of throwing those two pieces together is is is an ongoing challenge and something that we acknowledge that... We we're gonna need

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: to do. You know? And then the plans to open more sites. Is that right?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Not today? See I understand guys.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. And what would you... What would you say, are the key things that you do differently on the hypothetical site number two? That you've learned this sort of Ai fractional driven approach to the to the broker.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You didn't tell me you're gonna ask me that question. Did you. It's a good question. I think put the kind of we're revolving quite quick and we're understanding and learning new things every day. There are things that we...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I think we've done wrong. Because of this Ai first think are you're always gonna mistakes. But I think we would have probably spent more time on developing some of the clean the visual assets. But only being able to mock up a building with what it might look like like that, made me think that it was easy, to make a change. And it's not easy.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So I guess kind of Ai first needs to also be aware that it's not gonna solve every problems straight away. So I think we we we would do a few things slightly differently. We've maybe be more aggressive in some areas in terms of its use. But, yeah. I think, come November will have much clearer picture on, exactly what that might look like.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And yeah, Just remind us where Where is the department went went post the night?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's anyone from South London? Thank you. Thank you. Have one potential guest. So the club is in Earl Field.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You may have heard of it near Wimbledon Wong? Hello? And you wanna wait? No. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Let me go. Two zero four ga lane. Sw184ed, programs, sw18.com, the grover arms. That's good. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Is you're welcome. K. Yeah. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: There we go. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And then so final one for each of you. What would your sort of one line advice to somebody thinking about going down with his approach for their own for their own opening.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I mean, I think but it might even be more relevant to the girls to talk about the kinda of well seasoned platform than but yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: It's obviously that just trust... There's like a beam of trust received trusting in Ar just in the brakes says trusting any ex got forwards and and yeah I'd say just the your judgment is correct when you're choosing someone. And then it we will all pass together and create you.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I think it makes total sense. I think if you're... When you're making a launch budget, you always attribute a a large percentage of that to your head count. This way of working, and we all like flexibility and in a large budget, especially, you need different special at different times, and you don't necessarily need them from a permanent person. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And so this enables you to to pick us up and drop us when you want to for the benefit of the project. So I think this is definitely the future of how you build teams in a... In a pre launch period.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And are you seeing more operators sort of switch to that mindset in in in the whole market?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Definitely, in the clients that I'm working, We have a especially in a post Covid world, we have all learned the benefits of flexibility, and that shouldn't necessarily be seen as a threat to you as the can't... As a consultant either or a permanent person if you're willing to adapt with. With that and roll with the punches and adapt your offering accordingly. I certainly I'm selling the benefit of their consultant to clients on that basis is it.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I don't mind if you drop me after six months because as long as I've given you effort to see well I've been with you, that's great for me, but I know that you would always need me permanently. And hopefully, I'll see you again in the future. So.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. And I guess that's the the great thing about... You can generally hit things up with a consultant you used to work with. Even if you've just got, like, a sure, you know, amount of work to be whereas a, I guess, an x employees. He's probably gonna be less amenable to, like, Definitely Yes.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I'm sorry. I don't mean to talk so long. That also no one marketer, apart from Kieran Bailey is good at eye everything. Yeah. And where I lack expertise.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Another house marketing consultant or another architect consultant We'll have a special in a different area. And you can utilize that as an operator. To say, okay. That's your area. Yeah.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: That's your area. I'll bring you in an it just makes that one project, a super project because saying she could have the best of everyone.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Because I think Dan, use it for consultants and you ended up hiring for this project or with very different specific skill sets.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I think it's six since call for roll season.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Death. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I think that's a really interesting approach you've been able to get such a niche still but you probably wouldn't be able to if you were hiring, say, like your full time off director or a full time marketing direct you. Would you have gone for a more for a generalist?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I mean, I think Our our, choice at the time was do we use an agency or do we use individual consulting? So yeah, they the question around the agency, which I need spend some time thinking about, and I spoke to agencies was that we felt that some of the skill sets would likely be delegated to junior roles. The I also like the the fact some of the some of the team had work together before, and also that there was a crossover with skills. So We got some... I think the challenge that you get in some areas.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Sometimes you have a difficult conversation, but what's good is that if two people have for a view on the same thing, you will often come to a better outcome than it is just someone's own decision. And so having, like, experts in each of the different areas was was and still is and will be truly useful.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. Although, yeah. I I that's it's pretty a really interesting chat. Does anybody have any questions for, Dan Emily Gabriel?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: No? How do we go?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So I'm a I'm a little bit shy. But now, I wanted to ask nick, So I in tune capacities work as a consultant, and then I'm a software sales right up with the hotel industry. So for you guys, obviously, there must be a lot of tension between wanting to be retained as freelancers. And also kind of, you know, wanting the perm of a the permanent position within the company, like the group answer these projects, how as consultants from consultant cons told. How do you kind of I guess you how do you handle that kind of lack of certainty about what might come six times down the line because originally, you said, you know, Ai is the worst it will be today.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Forever. It's just getting exponentially better and I come a revenue consultant? Hotel turning away from us saying we can get pricing done by Ai. How you guys just on a personal level, how do you deal with that uncertainty?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Is a good question. And I think the part what I have found since the coming consultant is that you need to just be comfortable with the uncomfortable. And you need to adapt and realize that permanent seeing in a role is not necessarily the future. Nothing we... I don't know about what you found.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But I've enjoyed my role in the last two and a half years a lot. Is that there is a lot more than I have kind permanent roles. And I don't think I'm naturally adapted to that way of life. I'm a project based person, and I have found a better way of life as a consultant. So I'm much happier.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: This is really new me. So, like, this is January. I made a decision mode for it after ten years somewhere. So I'm probably great Naive and bit green. I definitely much prefer.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Be someone that kind of covered so much over those ten years and not really knowing what my role actually was. So coming out that this, I can kind of, I can enjoy different parts and I work with projects actually really well for me. But I'll come back to you it, like, easily today.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And I would just say that Emily has sent me a proposal about how she might wear with us at the end of the project. So being proactive. I'm also knowing that Ai is getting hurt. People will always remain at as part of the decision amazing process. We will always...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You know, until universal basic income comes in and lets us lie back and enjoy the sun all day. We'll always enjoy interacting working with people. Tech technology is enabler. Ai right now is an enabler. People will always matter and bit people will always matter more than mediocre to people.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Thank you. Else?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: You don't strike me as a man who's kind standing and steel. You strike me as a fellow who sees opportunity and wants to do more and more. Do you feel that at some point, you will be the first puck business with ten twenty sites who is still operating in this way. Do you

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: think that opportunity exists. 100%. I think the opportunity exist. Yeah. I mean, we're looking at an industry where the markings are, razor are thin.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Where a small reduction in cost or a small increase of revenue makes a big difference. And this is not gonna be an easy journey for us, but we do think that hospitality in general is undergoing change. We're not we're not Sydney pretending that this is an industry that's flourishing anymore. People's habits are changing. The demographic is changing what's important to the younger person is changing.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But there will always be a fundamental requirement to interact and have experiences and enjoy spaces and people. We're looking at the growth mara arms in a number of different ways. But what is certainly understanding if a slightly different model that will open early and closely, and we'll offer different things to different people at different times, whether that's a model that could work. We... We know we're not doing anything completely new to start with.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But we do know that if we get this right. Yep. But... Yeah. There's absolutely no reason.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: No reason why this wouldn't be something that grew.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And just a follow on.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Halt Thinking says we'll talk about kind of culture sit, this would not work from a culture fit perspective. You've gotta a can get about culture ad. So how do you kind of look at amazing consultants like genuinely very good at what you do. How you make sure that they're are adding to the culture that you're trying to build within its first pop and the business moving forward.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And know they're again we actually were having your conversation about this. The... I I I think that the art might be quite selfish, but I I'm drawn to people who have a similar view on business and the way they've problem to solve that I do. And, you know, having a, kind of an attitude that I think is it's a good question. I really...

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: To be honest Actually just forgotten what the question was, what I'm trying to think about the answer. Thank you. Home karen.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Kieran, you and I to come from exactly the same world. We are emotional feelings driven people who are trying to drive the human experience. Pubs have been around since the medieval times, and they will always be relevant to our lives and how we're trying to use Ai to optimize that human experience to provide it on a way that will allow hospitality to thrive going forward. It's not replacing culture, and it won't replace the human experience. But it is a way of optimizing how we deliver that.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And in a cheaper way that lower makes the margin bigger go for the operator. And that as the know for that be getting cliff. Let's the only way am I gonna survive.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. I think those was probably aren't high. Isn't it? So, yeah. Thank you everyone.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I hopefully that was interesting.

Adam Forman: Hi, everyone. Hi. And, so I'm Alana. I'm the cofounder of Served, and I'm here join with like Cofounder Eve, and we've got Christina, Pork mall and Amber from Sushi up. Firstly, if you just like to itch introduce herself and your roles.

Adam Forman: That'll be amazing.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I'm Amr for the quality manager Shi Chicago.

Adam Forman: And hi, Christina. As a operations manager safety safety. I'm Eve cofounder of serves and someone who loves designer, but has severe a food allergies. So millions of people, with allergies News uk decide where to he based on where they trust them anyone not. And most restaurants have no idea how many people have they've already turned away before they even walk in.

Adam Forman: Simply because the menu isn't clear enough for them to feel safe. We see around seven percent of people with allergies won't even go somewhere without seeing information before they go. And also from our own analytics from the 500,000 people or they've have used us, we that seven seven of them again are accessing it via the work before they go. So we have someone with us who lived with spirit allergies, our whole life and loves out as well. And voices from two of the Uk's were celebrated and fastest growing operators, brands that consistently come up when Allergy Diners to open up places, they actually trust.

Adam Forman: So today we'll hear from eve about her experience Daniel with allergies and for Christina and Amber about how getting all and management bright has transformed their guest experience, their teams and their operations. So If, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your experience dining on with allergies? Yeah. So I've grown up with, like, a severe tri and peanut allergy, love going out to basis, but I've had quite a lot of bad experiences. So either I'll go somewhere.

Adam Forman: I've done all the research, a turn up, and they ask me to sign waiver, saying they take no responsibility for they give me. They they say that there's nothing on the menu I can have. And at the... Those sort points They sit there with no food or I've had to... My whole tables had to move.

Adam Forman: On the other hand, they've I've had experiences where people might ask, Does anyone have any allergies at the tables? I'm sure many of you have heard, but they don't really redo anything with that information after. That's where mistakes have happened. I ventured up in hospital the life threatening your life reactions. And honestly, you just got so frustrated with us, but we wanted to build something to to really help guests and service, access the right information.

Adam Forman: So guests can make an informed decision about where they go and what they have on menus. Great. And if you... And I speak to hundreds if not thousands of people with allergies. What are they telling you still going wrong when they try to s.

Adam Forman: I gave and access information before they arrive somewhere because no one wants to turn up and be turned away. So that's really important. We see around ninety five percent of gas with allergies. Really struggled to find places that they trust to even walk into. I think the other aspect is, like server a confidence.

Adam Forman: If there's any sort of doubt in your initial server reaction. So many people would just go up and leave. Yeah. I think those the those are the main things, and then also the the classic scenario being handed a big allergy binder. I've been handed them recently and they have Christmas twenty twelve venues in them.

Adam Forman: It doesn't give you a lot of confidence and everything's name differently. So, yeah, When things are kind of quite manual, it can be you're worrying is just out to date dishes, So, yeah, those are probably the three main areas that we hear from gas. Thinking. And now on Christina and Amber about the guest experience. So since using Served, how have you seen it improve the experience for gas allergies and guide requirements.

Adam Forman: Christina, A fast and hopes more how are changed. It has changed a very significant play because exactly before we would

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: have this manual brought in place where we would hand over either the big metric rate all the all or the actual server people guide them through the rental moment. For people with some severe multiple Id system take honestly a better long time, and currently, the new trend will be experiencing as well for the guests is they will spend less time at the rest they go for the mia. So the whole experience was just no the best. But since we all served, we definitely can see that Av built a trust with our customers, and we have a lot of new rigorous now that they actually have already is coming back to us. Because they just trust us, and they they are am more confident with our team, but also from the team's perspective, it's definitely speed up the whole process for them.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And Yeah. So I'm just took log this. Great. Thank you. And, Amr, so Ct log

Adam Forman: is a qs r environment. So it's all about speed, but a guest still needs to feel cared for. So how does that work for you? With

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Gs, speed the product not sides, and clean information is what makes this speed possible. With if I guess as allergy and they stop the queue to ask 510 question, it can stress become business for them, and also for the team, we served, we managed to have an amazing qr code that is also work with the website. So only every regards arrived, they know what is safe. They can send the qr cold. And they are in charge of the own choice.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: The car has been into the information that we are providing

Adam Forman: to the gas and the team can focus on make the meal right for love. Thank you. And so whilst you just logging in, and how... So question. Got it.

Adam Forman: Okay. So to eve, you constantly hear that 30 to 40% up to 30 to 40%. Of covers, our restaurants have some kind of allergy or does your requirement tag onto to them. Both that them were surprise operators when they see it. I think yes and no.

Adam Forman: So either we get people coming to us they know how many people are coming in with allergies, and that's why they need help. I think when we get that number back to operators that we work with. They can be really surprised, because because I think for so long allergies energies have been seen as a niche. And it's been kind of treated as, all, like, we don't need that small segment of customers. The allergies are increasing sure as everyone knows, the awareness it's just going up the prevalence of allergies isn't going anywhere.

Adam Forman: And so yeah, I think it's becoming more and more of a financial decision that you shouldn't just turn these people away. I mean, obviously, Morally, I don't think you should either, Like, I think where you can care for someone wants society should. But, yeah. It's becoming a huge huge percent of the the dining out barker. And so making sure that you're kind of accessible to them is is really important from a business sounds Like.

Adam Forman: Yeah. I think just to add to that for we what we found was serve. And is not try and say that every restaurant operates operating needs to be safe for everyone. Just be transparent with what you can and can't do, and then the right guest will come to you. Your might all likely go to the service that can eat there.

Adam Forman: They'll have a better experience. You'll have a better experience, and people that can't, they will more quickly find out they can't and then we'll pick can you directed somewhere else to? So so going win everyone. So, operationally, what were your biggest frustrations when you were managing all previously? And how have things been streamlined since?

Adam Forman: Well, the

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: time, It was very time consuming. It was a very manual, so we would have a, a massive excel sheet very thorough one recording informations the teams on side would need to their multiple times because they need to be in multiple occasions. Once we had to update the chart. Again, it caused so much a labor call. Basically.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: And also, the likelihood of there is the one of the chats, my get, and, obviously, the information couldn't be up to date. So it was bit the biggest challenge for for me as somewhat with we're looking the process. And it's same for the team after again on the side where they had to guide the guests through the all. So now they can just advise and just send the pure thought the majority of our guests. Now they have a smartphone.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So it's not, impossible. And for those, that they don't have still do have a copy on the side, but it's one compared to 12 or 15 copies when we had to work, previous. So definitely epic picked time saver

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: exactly, as Cri priscilla said is time saving, there is only one platform for when we need to update all our all. And considering we to seasonal menu change, it means twice per, we... Before we would have been to update the different scratch, different platform, a different catering platform as well. Now it's all the linked together and it's a life saver completely. And is as christian said, is helping the team a lot all the international that, whenever we have any issues with with Wifi f in any store, we always have our tablet available.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: So and you guys can scan to the department if they are not able to use that own phone. And what is very good is we also use the the analytic service that we have that help to improve the manual based on allergies. We in fact change opinion space recipe removing peanuts, and this will be very helpful for a lot of customers.

Adam Forman: Great. I know you will be really happy to clear that. So now onto how his for your team positively during service so Christina, in a full service restaurant, your service needs to be confident the table and your bookings team, you've prepared for a guest even arrives? How has having the right solution in place help both of those Know you talked already on the service side before, but yeah, more more along that side.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I would start with our equivalent a manager that they are in charge of the cooking the large parties that they might sum them up to 70 people, and obviously to having routed tool that we can just send them A elaine, can advise them and they can see priority bat or the event, what issues they are going to said, and they can communicate this to their guest. So again, it's streamline streamlined massively. The the whole experience, but also the process. Same for, lot of the guests that the feedback what we were getting in the past that they didn't feel confident to even share the fact that they have a allergy change just because they didn't want to bother the of the room, and the gas, especially if it's more like a business kind of meal. And again, Have there is the way now that prior the the the the dinner on for the business.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: They can, again, access our website that they know one what they can have. I think, again, we definitely to help with the with the experience overall. And same for the reservations team. Again, we have a lot of inquiries still coming through emails or phone calls just to check. To double check if.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I have sent. Something on the men can be set gluten free, for example. And again, for them is a matter of few clicks to just check straight away. We also have the option we have that may copy or the listed all side just in case someone doesn't have this smartphone. But so we can always send over the the copy of on menu with with all agents actually on it, which can help them out, and we just had

Adam Forman: a positive feedback. Hi. Thank you. An amr russell in a Qs r environment, the interaction is faster at a very high volume. How is it supporting your team to handle all questions quickly and confidently at point order?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Our team usually are serving under the guest at our, and we cannot expect any of our team. We remember all our and all our ingredients, would they need this one trust source, and they can track it in a second. They can just scan your code and with confidence. They can communicate with gas and gas as well, they can fill that level of confidence from the other side, and The rule is if you're not sure you double check you standard the qr coating. Be your own can make it a bit more difficult as there are more ingredients to go through, And this is why the team trust this source.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: The only source that we have for and they sound confident that guest can shift doctor can

Adam Forman: have a better experience. Thank you. And so Eve, what does it actually feel like when a venue gets it right. It's the best feeling. The anxiety kind of goes away you feel cared for.

Adam Forman: And the main thing is you wanna go back all the time. So, like, I'm the decision maker and friends and family of where we go. And once you find a venue where you've had a great experience, you go back time and time again we see that with with our customers, we see that people with allergies around four times as loyal, see average customer. And it is... It can just be such a scary process.

Adam Forman: And if if part of that anxiety, you can kind of be taken away and you feel like you're having good experience like everyone else the table it just means the world. So, yeah. You you find your spots and you don't wanna let go of them because lots of people have had bad experiences. So once you have a good one, you really just wanna wanna hold on to that and Yeah. Like, like you were saying you're now having people regulars.

Adam Forman: Who come in with allergies, and they feel so safe and we see that with all of our customers that it's a really good sign that they're coming back and they're happy and they're confident. Great. Thank you. And so now to, get, Christina Amber on quest practices. So Amber, well start with you.

Adam Forman: What's the most common mistake qc operators make when it comes to All and management?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Creating all information only as a compliance document instead of a gas facing product. A lot of operators they have this massive matrix as we as said previously with so many information they don't even feel comfortable self to explain properly this to the to the customers the guest. And when that... Whenever there is a menu change, we end up having out date the ingredients out to date a. I also believe the second mistake, is using may contain as a blanket.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: If we put may contain everything a person with severe allergies will not be able to consume the food, is we need to be transparent and cleared and not just finding a way to cover the business, we should just be transparent.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I would just have, I think that sometimes that afraid the communication and actually, aid to face the tests because sometimes I guest also can be when they are in the middle becoming asian, they are not paying the attention and if the the server is no very confident they would feel like, okay. I asked the question, but I didn't really hear back yes, no. And Where let it go. And I think it's important to politely in insist for the when you the acknowledgement of the question when you're are asking, should I be a better of an analogy? Because, obviously, the consequences can be severe and it's just yet.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I will take communication

Adam Forman: Great. Thank you. And, what's the one thing someone in this room could go back and do tomorrow to improve how they manage and communicate all to their guests?

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Look at your menu through the eyes of an knowledge gas before they walk in. If he's taking more than minute to find the of allergy energy, then I believe you should review that because a customer that cannot see the all easily on the manual, they... We will count you are gonna lose customers you're gonna lose revenue. And we can... We can all the button.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: We just need to be transparent with all. We don't need to be carried. If we can... If we are confident the guess we'd filled it out and maybe like a better experience.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: Yeah. I think it needs to be as straightforward as possible, or, obviously, language barrier is one of the big things in London on especially world. Our venues are in very tourist areas. So we are having a lot of tourists. So, straightforward information to be provided, always, also, obviously, we are very lucky that that will be very likely someone from the same pattern would be speaking the same language in case they need more advice.

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: But as long as the, yeah, the the chat is usually. Exact as result. I think it's gonna the most important most important way. Thank you.

Adam Forman: So now I'm gonna open up to the floor, and does anyone have any questions? Yes. Yeah. I ever very sorry got wires

Live from Hospitality Tech Expo: Tech Stacks, Change, Pre-Openings and Allergens: I've almost got the first question you know I needs. What is the level of ignorance? With the people that you guys been speaking with in the in terms of these specific allergies and the problems that you can face it. So for example, even with the bigger change is a s date ignorance that you're find had to do that example that Gave buy those out there you Christ the more twenty twelve, which is scaring. So how much of that do you from cost?

Adam Forman: I definitely say, like, walking into a restaurant, like, five ten years ago was a very different experience. Like, awareness is going in the right direction. But I think it does... An a big aspect is training. And so when a server, maybe it's their first job.

Adam Forman: They're not super familiar with with the top 14 all antigens or the menu yet. And there are these questions, They might not understand the severity of allergies. That's where you kinda see it coming in. You see it on both sides, either people are absolutely terrified that they're gonna have miss something that could send me to hospital and that breakfast shift, or they don't understand the problem well enough. And so they asked the question.

Adam Forman: They take the box and don't do much with that. Awareness is definitely helping, and it's it's come up as well that from the gas side, guest needs to be more confident about speaking up about the allergies and not find it something that's embarrassing. So I think it's... Yeah, continuing to speak about it, and then also making sure that serving stuff from a apart off, just under understand the problem. They understand the severity, and you give them the tools to to make them confident having that interaction with with the guest.

Adam Forman: Yeah. I I think to add to that as well. We're seeing very much as two Way Street where guests will feel more confident being open about their allergies and communicating that to their server if they feel confident that the the venue will be able to like handle it and taking seriously. And I think one thing that we're seeing is that the gas actually, like, it often don't know that restaurants or kitchens will change their processes there's obviously, must be in unless we know every kitchen there's a whole protocol they go through to make sure it's as safe as possible for their. But guests don't know that.

Adam Forman: If your guests don't feel confident in you. They won't tell you. Therefore, you won't do the things you need to do to make sure it's safe for them, and there's much more likely putting yourself and your guests at risk. So the more confident and actually secure confidence to tonight how you are with yourself and your your venue. The more your guests will be and therefore more open they'll be with you too.

Adam Forman: And think a couple other things we've been facing around just things we can see at restaurants says I had this... I think being in talking to hundreds of restaurants. The the fact that it's the ones that say, oh, it's it's super niche. I get... Honestly, like, there's two to five percent with my guests and allergies.

Adam Forman: Like, it's not a big thing. I don't need to care about this. And it to us, we're actually thinking, that's a bit of a red flag where you got, I don't think you're a safe place. I four we've seen a safe place for Dogs of feels confident to go to. They're not coming back.

Adam Forman: People that do it really well. Honestly, we hear at thirties or 40% of their their waters, have, like, allergy tickets on