Many businesses in the hospitality industry still rely on IT systems that are starting to look distinctly unfit-for-purpose. But with today’s increasingly tech-savvy customer base, IT infrastructure has become one of the most important ingredients, especially for businesses operating casual dining venues. What can pub and restaurant business do to join up their IT? What is the business case for doing this? What are potential pitfalls?

1. IT: the most
important ingredient
Key considerations for the casual dining industry

2. Today’s market is
tougher than ever.
Casual dining
businesses face
fierce competition,
tight margins,
economic shocks
and rising costs.

3. the
difference
between
empty tables and
full houses, between
scattergun marketing
and effective targeting,
between firefighting
and future-proofing.
IT:
BOOK

4. THE WORLD IS MOVING TO MOBILE
Customers’ expectations are changing,
and successful businesses are adapting
to meet and exceed them.
The Restaurant
3
!
OFFER

5. IT isn’t something to be thrown in at
the last minute as an afterthought.
IT IS THE MAIN INGREDIENT

6. DISLOCATED DATA.
Your systems generate stacks of
useful data, but it’s often siloed.
SO, WHERE’S THE CATCH?

7. In many cases the EPoS system, the
reservations database, the accounting system
and the website don’t talk to each other.
RESTAURANT IT SYSTEMS
EVOLVE OVER TIME

8. Bringing that
data together
can deliver measurable
benefits to casual
dining operations, right
across the business.
ACTION PLAN
1.

9. IT can enable better resource allocation
and maximise table yield. It can measure
ROI of individual promotions. And it can deliver
a better customer experience.
2.

10. IT can automate everyday interactions,
and provide valuable insights into
your customers’ behaviour.
2-4-1
3.

11. Evidence shows that automated
reminders significantly reduce
no-show rates.
!
ALERT
Restaurantbookingat 18:00
IT CAN EVEN
REDUCE THE
DREADED NO-SHOWS
4.

12. Of course, if integrating all your
disparate systems were easy,
you’d have done it years ago.

13. SAY HELLO
TO THE CLOUD:
TECHNOLOGY ON TAP.

14. Cloud-based services are much easier to integrate with
your existing systems. Upfront costs are minimal and
on-going charges are proportionate and predictable.

15. BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUAL
Some offer a one-size-fits-all approach,
which may not be the perfect solution.

16. BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUAL
Some have their own B2C operation whose
interests may conflict with yours. Fancy being
a cog in someone else’s machine?

17. BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUAL
Some charge per-cover fees that seem reasonable
initially, but can easily escalate to make
already tight margins more miserable.
££ £

18. Look for organisations based
locally, with technical support
people who are available
during your business hours.
Look for a white-label
solution to ensure the brand
you’re promoting to your
customers is yours, not a
third-party platform provider.
NEXT STEPS

19. Avoid lock-in: could you move your data
if you decided the service is no longer
the best for your business?

20. Always ensure you retain control of your costs,
your brand, and most importantly of all, your data.

21. • IT is an essential ingredient for modern pub and restaurant
businesses, but fragmented legacy systems can limit performance
• Bringing the data together on a single platform can deliver
significant, measurable ROI
• Moving systems into the Cloud could be your most cost-effective
solution
• But be careful which platform you choose - make sure the big
switch won’t lead to a loss of control
POINTS TO REMEMBER

22. See how modern restaurant
businesses are transforming their
technology infrastructures.
Making the Link: How more integrated IT
systems are unifying restaurant businesses
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