Tablet Computing and the Coming Data Explosion in Food and Beverage

The iPad has not only invigorated the app industry, it has brought cheap computing to tableside dining. iPads are being used as wine lists, POS systems, and credit card processors; an entire industry has developed around these products. As Google moves into the market with Android tablets, the costs of this hardware will be further reduced, benefiting any hospitality organization who chooses to use them.

As menus transfer from paper format to digital form, the entire science of menu layout will be turned on its head, as interactive menu formats will give the consumer more information, and more interactivity. Innovative restaurants and hotels will take this opportunity to study consumer habits: How many clicks will lead to a decision? Can hotels track, using CRM technology, a customer’s clicked interest and therefore create a profile of his individual tastes?

Take the hypothetical instance of Mr. Smith, staying in Hotel G in NYC. Mr. Smith comes into his room from a long conference, checks his tablet room service menu, and clicks repeatedly on California Cabernets, the burger option, and the steak salad. He chooses not to order food, and instead leaves to a bar next door. The following day in Mr. Smith’s room, the tablet menu automatically offers him a discounted combination of a Cab and the steak salad, and Mr. Smith orders from this menu. Hotel G has captured revenue by making their price points more fluid, and technology was the conduit for this transaction.

Restaurants will have difficulty keeping track of customers on an individual basis, but they can find patterns in their customer’s clicks to help reword menu options, change the layout, or even remove them. Data’s role in the restaurant decision process will begin taking a greater role, and software solutions to assist with this process already exists mostly in Open Source format.

Hospitality Enhanced was created to help bridge the knowledge gap from the technology world and the hospitality industry. We offer tailor made software and consulting solutions to organizations large and small. Data is the new oil; its time you use yours to increase profitability.