A new report from AI-native workforce management firm Sona and Peach 20/20, based on CGA by NIQ surveys and a roundtable of hospitality executives, found 53% were using technology to improve productivity.
Operators cited rising input costs (74%), inefficient processes (42%), time-consuming work (29%), poor forecasting (24%) and high staff turnover (13%) as the main areas technology helped improve.
Some 61% said technology helped automate basic tasks, while 45% highlighted workforce scheduling and 39% saw opportunities in marketing optimisation. Yet confidence in data was low (35%), with outdated systems holding back 58% of businesses.
Sona chief technology officer and co-founder Ben Dixon said: “The challenges the hospitality industry continues to face are exhaustive and ongoing, and leaders are constantly looking for innovative ways to navigate through to greater profitability.
“The research in this report shows technology is considered as an essential way to boost productivity but what is less clear to some is knowing where to best invest.
Cost benefits
“We increasingly see leading hospitality businesses evaluating existing systems and identifying the functions where significant value can be driven, with the support of AI, to drive the team and guest experience, cost benefits, revenue, and profit.”
Speaking with The Morning Advertiser (The MA) in July, Dixon explained advances in AI technology meant it could now work autonomously to analyse data and provide insights that could help drive productivity and boost footfall.
Unlike older models, new ‘agentic AI’ software can plan, make decisions, and execute tasks with minimal human input.
Dixon explained: “Agentic AI agents work behind the scenes and pull together all the information that’s needed to work out what the best course of action is.
“This allows people working in hospitality to spend less time in front of the computer and more time focusing on providing great hospitality, which, for a lot of people, is why they got into hospitality in the first place.
Great experiences
“The more managers and team members can offload onto technology like this, the more time they can spend focusing on providing great experiences.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Rob Barr, co-owner of Barr & Barr Hospitality, told The MA his group was adopting AI to improve efficiency without losing the “hospitality charm.”
“We’ve started looking at adopting AI to be more efficient without losing that hospitality charm. For example, when the phone is ringing during busy service, you don’t want to miss out on a booking or inquiry, so we have used AI to filter those calls out and take those bookings,” he said.
Barr, who runs three pubs across West Sussex and Devon, added the sector has always had to adapt and innovate during hard times, stating many businesses become more successful through the hardships.
