Byte for Bite – How Software is Changing the Hospitality Industry

Whether you run a small, medium or large business, there is no doubt that technology and software solutions have made life a lot easier. There is no better example of this than in the hospitality industry. Businesses operating in hospitality need to be customer-centric, and in order to achieve this, they must be willing to utilise software that makes their operations more efficient. Efficiency means that you can spend time with your customers and create truly signature experiences. If you are curious to understand how software is changing the hospitality industry, consider these examples.

Saving time

In a hospitality environment, one of the keys to success is time. Customers don’t want to wait and you don’t want to create bottlenecks in your operation. One of the best software solutions to help solve this problem is pos software. Point of sale software helps streamline the sales process, meaning you can easily and effectively deal with customer sales to avoid bottlenecks. With advancements in technology in recent times, you can explore mobile pos software options as well. For example, in a fast-paced food service business, if lines are getting too long, then a pos software package allows you to load onto a tablet so your staff can be moving through the line taking orders. This kind of software solution is changing the traditional ways in which customers order and businesses handle their experience.

Streamlining manual processes

Software solutions are not only changing front-of-house for the hospitality industry but the back-of-house as well. Inventory management is a crucial business decision, that if done incorrectly or with errors can lead to serious liability. Software solutions in this space can help create a simple system for maintaining and auditing inventory. Instead of managing manual counts or trying to track multiple suppliers in separate systems, use a one-touch solution. Inventory management software not only helps maintain records, with machine learning technology, but it can also even help predict and recommend restock levels based on customer sales and other seasonal data. Educated guesses are a thing of the past thanks to software development.

Create loyalty

Customer experience is a big trend across almost every industry in 2019, and hospitality is no different. With a plethora of options, creating loyalty can be difficult. Software developments in this space have made the job simpler though. Depending on the structure of your business, there are software solutions which help you create customer profiles and loyalty programs. Using software to help learn about customer preferences, ordering history and their retention rates, means you can make more informed decisions as a business owner. Tracking and updating customer profiles allows you to design an individual experience and create genuine loyalty. On the simpler side of this software development, you can create and manage loyalty programs as well, for example, your most loyal coffee drinkers.

Integration

In the hospitality industry, wasted time can mean wasted revenue. If you have to spend time double handling data between systems or manually tracking sales, you are losing an opportunity to focus efforts elsewhere. Software solutions can not only save time but save effort as well. Integrating your systems together means you can track, reconcile and audit multiple data sources in one place. A great example of this is reconciling your banking statements with your pos software. Instead of having to make manual counts or comparisons, the system can easily show what was taken in versus what is in the business account. Full integration allows you to better manage your business in real-time.

Software is changing the way a lot of industries and businesses operate. Hospitality is no exception and is being transformed by new and innovative software solutions. If you are considering making some upgrades, consider these key examples to help make the right decision.