NFS tech group

The number of restaurants in the UK fell for the first time in years during 2018,  according to reports  . That probably comes as no surprise if you’re a restaurant owner yourself in today’s tough market. So rather than going over the challenges hospitality is facing, I’ve come up with 6 genuine tips that will help your restaurant fight back and grow revenue. Customers still love to eat, after all – and there are many moves you can make to protect your business. So here are 6 great ways to send revenue soaring with your restaurant management system: Tableside talent  – at-table ordering is a winner for upselling: that’s a fact. Amazing menu design  – ditch any dud dishes Engage with your customers better  – try multi-channel Turn satisfied customers into ambassadors  – turn up your loyalty efforts Create new revenue streams  – online ordering is the latest big trend Make supported decisions  – dump guesswork and rely on solid dat...

More than 4,000 new restaurants have opened in the UK in just the last four years – yet there’s also been a huge downside, with many – including some big names – closing down. So in these most mixed of times, how do you make sure YOUR restaurant is one of the survivors? Let’s start by pinpointing some of the reasons for 2018’s restaurant rollercoaster ride. Brexit blues The pound has been in state of flux ever since the Brexit vote, and it’s had serious repercussions for the industry because the cost of basic ingredients has risen in costs. Margins have also been squeezed by other factors, such as the minimum wage rising by more than 19% in the last five years. One high-profile victim has been Jamie Oliver, who cited the Brexit blues when he was forced to close six of his restaurants in 2017, and 12 more this year. The repercussions of Brexit are not just being felt on the foreign exchanges. The EU represents a pool of talented hospitality workers which UK restauran...

Imagine a world where an ad for your restaurant is playing over Spotify at dinnertime and your customer can then immediately place an order or book a table. That’s true one-to-one interaction – without a keyboard or touchscreen in sight. It is very apt to be writing this post in a week when Google announced their new Google Home Hub and Facebook launched their new Portal smart speaker. The smart speaker market has grown at a blistering pace. By April this year they had penetrated 20% of US households with wi-fi, up from just 8% in June 2017 – the hardware is well on its way to being  mainstream . With growing demand coupled with still untapped huge growth potential it’s easy to see why Google and Facebook would invest in the technology. ComScore predicts that by 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches. How could this help you? Previously, smart speakers such as Alexa were used for in-home dining – a convenient way to search for recipes or order ingredi...

Artificial Intelligence is popping up all around us today – and chatbots have finally made their presence felt in the hospitality industry. So how are savvy restaurateurs capitalising on this clever technology to deliver exceptional customer service and increased revenue? The hospitality industry depends on personal interaction and exemplary service to thrive, of course. But with the rise of mobile technology and the millennial generation the way we carry out that personal interaction has changed. Young people are comfortable engaging with a device and prefer messaging to other forms of communication – so for restaurateurs seeking their business, it pays to capitalise on this behaviour. Technology talks… The good news is, the restaurant management technology for this exists now – for example,  Open Table  integrates with Facebook Messenger. People can engage in conversations on Messenger about their dinner plans and before they know it they are booked into...

The hospitality industry has worried about allergens in food for some time, and several shocking recent cases have brought the topic to the forefront of public concern. While food labelling is being tightened following the tragedy, UK bars, restaurants and food outlets are already working hard to identify potential areas of risk. But it’s difficult to be comprehensive. The  NHS warns  that there are many different types of allergic reaction to food – and that’s not even counting milder intolerances that can also affect diners. Drawing up a definitive list of every potential allergen is a headache for any chef – one recent tragedy was caused by a reaction to unlabelled sesame in a baguette. The responsibility of missing something is a heavy burden. Food allergy causes at least  ten deaths a year  in the UK, according to the Food Standards Agency. And once you have a list for your food preparation, how do you make sure your serving staff are aware of ...

When the UK government announced its immigration plan in December, it was greeted with dismay by the hospitality industry. Kate Nicholls of the industry body UK Hospitality , told The Caterer: “The central plank of government’s immigration policy, to cut off lower-skilled migration with a salary threshold, is  fundamentally flawed  and will damage the hospitality sector and the wider UK economy.” It’s another worry for a hardworking industry that is already facing severe skills and labour shortages – to the point where The Observer newspaper carried a story in 2018 entitled: “The  great British chef shortage  – why eating out is under threat.” As Brexit has approached, the UK hospitality workforce – which is estimated to be around 6m people – has been disappearing. In fact, it has been suggested by the British Hospitality Association that the industry could face a staff shortfall of over a million workers by 2029. The natural result of this skills and...

With profits falling, calls for calorie labelling on menus and the growing requirement for tight allergen controls, the necessity for efficient, accurate restaurant management software has never been greater.  Thankfully, technology brands are stepping up to the plate, developing cutting edge software and creating strategic partnerships to give the hospitality industry the tools to make their operations safe and profitable. Kitchen CUT are thrilled to announce their partnership with NFS Technology – the provider of leading restaurant  EPOS system Aloha .   With Aloha and Kitchen CUT working in tandem, hospitality teams have the tools necessary to keep tight control of ingredients, recipes, menus and all important profits. NFS Head of Sales for Hospitality, Chris Cartmell, identified the benefits of the new collaboration, saying: “The system allows tight cost controls and highlights any potential allergens in ingredients.  This live information is the...

Predictions for the UK restaurant trade are fairly upbeat as the country heads even further into Brexit turmoil. Foodservice visits could rise by a huge  93m in 2019  according to one source, as consumers continue to choose to spend their cash on food. They have a little more disposable income, too, with UK employment higher than ever before, and with  wages rising  at the highest rate in a decade while interest rates remain low. So which 7 trends will shape dining in 2019 – and how will  restaurant EPOS  technology feed into them? Join me for brunch? All the signs are that UK diners are eating out less in the evening, and choosing less formal dining when they do. However, that’s doesn’t mean they’ve stopped eating out. It’s predicted that there will be steady growth in going out for breakfast and brunch, already a popular trend throughout 2018. Lunch will remain a big market this year and is estimated to rise by about 2%. For these bu...

We’ve seen the rise and rise of the super- demanding diner  in recent years, grazing to the latest food trends and making a meal of their ethics. For restaurants competing to win their business, it’s a constant battle to keep up with the latest ideas and innovative offerings. For example, disruptive Deliveroo has recently  announced  that they plan to let restaurants on their platform offer dish-by-dish calorie information. Big groups including Jamie’s Italian, Yo! Sushi and Pho are among those snapping up the opportunity. It’s tough to keep up with the trends: clean eating, Veganuary, ethical eating, casual dining; but crucial if you want to succeed. And that’s why the restaurant industry has a strong trend of its own – deploying restaurant management systems. Restaurant EPOS  software is proving to be invaluable in the never-ending battle between the hospitality industry and its demons: rising costs, poor efficiency and waste. Restaurant management...