Australian hospitality industry turns to tech to survive, Lightspeed reveals
Lightspeed’s 2022 Global State of the Hospitality Industry report reveals that hospitality businesses are implementing technology and automation to save time and streamline operations while navigating the challenges and trends of the industry and in the economy.
Dynamic pricing platform EatClub launches new booking technology
Restaurant dynamic pricing platform, EatClub, has launched new booking technology to take on booking giants, Open Table and others. The new tech, an online table booking system, enables diners to book directly with a venue via Google, social media or the venue’s website. According to Eatclub co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pan Koutlakis, there has been a move away from large aggregator websites in the industry. And as a result, venues have been frustrated with those websites hijacking Google search results and pointing customers away from the venues’ websites, then charging them a fee for related bookings.
My Kitchen Rules stars’ Run Rabbit Run Mexican pop-up stirs food scene
Run, Rabbit, Run is the gem in Castlemaine’s foodie scene. Owned and run by My Kitchen Rules 2022 stars Peter and Alice Bottomley the café is going Latino with its weekend Mexican pop-up. Since launching the first weekend of February the pop-up has sold out making this the newest destination foodie hot spot for traditional family-style Mexican cuisine.
Contactless ordering gives hospitality industry lifeline amid labour shortage
AI and contactless ordering is not only making ordering easier for patrons and making marketing and engagement easier for venues, it is also keeping the hospitality industry alive during the labour shortage. Everyone I talk to across the industry is struggling to get staff. Venues are offering incredible incentives and deals to attract and retain staff.
WizButler’s patented booking system revolutionising the restaurant industry
WizButler is a revolutionary restaurant booking system that differs from all other existing systems. It dynamically allocates and reallocates bookings to a restaurant’s space, instead of attempting to create static allocations to one set of tables and table combinations. The system works in real-time to efficiently optimise a restaurant’s space, allowing for up to 50% more bookings to be accepted online than any other booking system in the world.
HungryHungry hires Narelle Yacoub to as its inaugural Managing Director
Award-winning Aussie hospitality tech platform HungryHungry has appointed Narelle Yacoub to the newly created role of Managing Director as the business doubles down on its presence across Australia and New Zealand and moves towards profitability in 2023. In this role Narelle will form part of HungryHungry’s core leadership team working closely with Co-CEO’s and co-founders Mark Calabro and Shannon Hautot, as well as Head of Operations, Scott Fox.
Aussie hospitality supply marketplace FoodByUs completes $12m Series B
Australia’s wholesale hospitality marketplace, FoodByUs, completed a $12m Series B funding round. The raise follows an exceptional growth period over the last year including record MoM revenue, a 200% increase in suppliers on the platform and doubling its team to 85 people. Founded in 2016 by Ben Lipschitz, Tim Chandler and Gary Munitz, FoodByUs connects SME restaurants, cafes and caterers with thousands of wholesale food and alcohol suppliers. The software goes further, fusing their ‘one-stop-shop’ marketplace with best in class procurement software features to help venues run their entire back of house operations.
Australia’s hospitality industry struggling with cost of living
Australia’s largest wholesale online order management platform for food and beverage, Ordermentum, has made research and outsourced data to reveal how the current cost of living crisis is affecting the hospitality industry, and the Australian economy as a whole.
Info sessions slated for February ahead of the Churchill Fellowship
To inspire your application for the 2023 Churchill Fellowship, you’re invited to attend online live information sessions throughout February, with Jay Laga’aia, Nova Perris, Leigh Radford and Paul West. You will hear from Churchill Fellows, and you can register for any session. It is not essential that you attend a session that aligns with your proposed Fellowship topic.
Cafes and restaurants feeling the cost of living pinch, says Ordermentum
Australia’s wholesale online order management platform for food, Ordermentum, has mined data to reveal how the cost of living crisis is affecting the hospitality industry, and the economy. The data comes from analysing the spending habits of 36,000 Australian cafes, bars and restaurants, and the 650 suppliers that use Ordermentum to purchase and sell baked goods, coffee, fruit and vegetables, seafood, poultry, packaging and more.
