Technology

Popular Xmas party dates ‘will help push sales up to £12bn’

20-Nov-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Hospitality is set to benefit from a £12bn boost during the festive period when 40m-plus people eat and drink out as the most popular dates for Christmas parties have been revealed.

Home-hunters can now pick property based on proximity to pub

17-Nov-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Useyourlocal, the UK’s largest online audience of people looking to go to the pub, has joined forces with property website Zoopla to help home-hunters pick a new property based on the proximity to their local pub.

Spending up but consumers 'cutting back' ahead of Xmas

07-Nov-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Spending in pubs and bars grew 5.9% in the year to October, data from Barclaycard has revealed.

Career change considered by 42% of industry staff

19-Oct-2023 By Gary Lloyd

More than two in five workers in the hospitality sector are considering a career outside the industry despite job satisfaction levels increasing ‘significantly’ during the past 12 months.

Could appealing to film and TV fans boost sales?

18-Oct-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Using TV and films to draw customers in at pubs has respectively increased sales and boosted footfall at 87% and 82% of pubs, according to new research.

1 in 12 consumers prepared to pay more at busier times

10-Oct-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 8% of consumers would be willing to pay more to eat and drink out during peak times, new research has revealed.

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Brewfitt's top 5 energy-saving products for dispense

27-Sep-2023 By Brewfitt

In today's environmentally conscious world, reducing energy consumption is not only a noble endeavour but also a smart one, especially for businesses in the hospitality industry.

FEATURE - Technology

FEATURE: How tech can free up time for your staff

25-Sep-2023 By Fiona Griffiths

Times are tough right now. Pub and bar operators are being hit from all sides with consumers tightening their belts, struggles over recruitment and costs soaring across the board.

Sector sees ‘boost’ as card spending up 7.6% in July

08-Aug-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Consumer spending at bars, pubs and clubs in the year to July was up 7.6%, new data from Barclaycard has revealed.

Threads: a guide for pubs

20-Jul-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Threads, a new social media app from Facebook’s parent company Meta, amassed more than 150m downloads in just two weeks after launching earlier this month.

Growing consumer interest in tech during visits

12-Jul-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

While most consumers (55%) believe a balance between technology and human interaction provides the best experience in the on-trade, there has been a change in attitude towards digital solutions, new research has found.

Access Hospitality acquires ResDiary

12-Jul-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Access Hospitality, part of the Access Group, has announced the acquisition of ResDiary – a provider of bookings and table management software to clients in the hospitality sector.

80% of pubs would not bill customers for electricity

07-Jul-2023 By Rebecca Weller

More than three-quarters of operators don’t think pubs should start charging customers for using electricity to charge electronic devices.

The Cask Project

Extending the life of cask beer

30-Jun-2023 By Gary Lloyd

One of the biggest challenges around delivering an epic cask offer remains shelf life, so the ability to extend the lifespan of what is a quintessentially British product could be just the silver bullet the category needs.

Poll: should pubs charge customers for electricity?

30-Jun-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Despite pressure surrounding energy costs in the on-trade, allowing customers to charge phones at pubs should be a “value added service” and charging them to do so would be “counterproductive”, according to operators from across the sector.

Fees of third-party sites prompt 31% guests to book direct

19-Jun-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Pubgoers are falling out of love with third-party booking platforms, which incur ‘intolerable’ costs for venues, and are instead opting to book direct, new research has revealed.

May bank holidays pushed consumer spend up 6.4%

06-Jun-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Consumer spending at bars, pubs and clubs in May was up 6.4% against last year, largely driven by the bank holidays and coronation, new data has found.

MA LEADERS CLUB

How to unlock TikTok’s potential

23-May-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

House of Marketers managing director, Inigo Rivero, discussed how operators can unleash the potential of TikTok at The MA Leaders conference last week.

MA Leaders Club

How to drive footfall to your pub's website

22-May-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Experts from the advertising agency Footprint Digital advised operators on how to get the most out of SEO, at the MA Leaders conference in Newcastle last week.

Businesses absorbed prices rather than passing them on

18-May-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Many hospitality businesses have stated they have had to absorb climbing costs rather than pass those on to customers as financial headwinds continue to batter the sector.

Slight sales uptick in April

09-May-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubs, bars and clubs saw a rise of 3.7% in consumer card spending for the month of April, new data has revealed.

Strong first quarter sees hospitality drive growth in city centres

05-May-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Hospitality is driving year-on-year growth in UK city centres despite high inflation levels continuing to batter trade.

Nightlife app and music marketplace champion hospitality

27-Apr-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Free drinks app DUSK has partnered with live music marketplace GigPig, connecting customers, local venues and independent artists in a bid to support hospitality.

Pubs face staffing crisis during May bank holidays

26-Apr-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Despite a slight fall in vacancies, the three bank holidays in May will create a staffing crisis for many hospitality operators.

8% of Brits planning to celebrate coronation in on-trade

11-Apr-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Fewer than one in 10 (8%) of consumers are planning to spend money on drinks out in pubs and bars during the coronation bank holiday weekend, new research has revealed.

Experiential offers will triumph during Easter weekend

06-Apr-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Operators delivering an experience to customers will be the winners for Easter this weekend.

Quarter of consumers demanding more from venues

01-Mar-2023 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 23% of consumers have higher expectations from hospitality businesses now compared to 12 months ago, a new report has revealed.

Pubs lose an average of £972 a year to refunds

16-Feb-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Pubs across the country lose hundreds of pounds a year to refunds as consumer spending behaviours change amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, new data has revealed.

Digital marketing feature

FEATURE: Time to pick up the tech

13-Feb-2023 By Michelle Perrett

Pubs are facing some of the most challenging trading times in living memory.

Sector needs 'much more' info on CBDC

07-Feb-2023 By Rebecca Weller

The Government needs to share “much more information” about how central-bank digital currency (CBDC) will impact the hospitality sector, according to one Suffolk based operator.

Enter now to be in Green Pub Guide 2023

24-Jan-2023 By Gary Lloyd

Pubs are being urged to show off their sustainability credentials for a chance to feature in the Green Pub Guide 2023.

Hospitality most cyber-secure industry in the UK

17-Jan-2023 By Rebecca Weller

Food and hospitality businesses are the most cyber-secure in the UK, figures from Scams.info has revealed.

'Financial incentives' needed to hit net zero goals

16-Jan-2023 By Rebecca Weller

The hospitality sector needs additional “financial incentives” from the Government to aid its ability to deliver on net zero ambitions, leaders from across the industry have stated.

Tracker launched to keep tabs on brewery numbers

13-Jan-2023 By Gary Lloyd

The number of breweries in the UK will no longer be a mystery after the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) launched a tracker that shows how many active brewers there are.

Sales and logins boost ahead of Xmas rush

09-Dec-2022 By Gary Lloyd

Eight out of 10 of Britain’s highest populated cities have enjoyed hospitality sales and wireless logins boosts above pre-pandemic levels in the run-up to Christmas.

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Free support for hospitality to safeguard record festive turnover

17-Nov-2022 By Rob Easton BSc, PgDip, MSc, MBA, of Shield Safety

Rob Easton, head of environmental health at Shield Safety, discusses the potential £4bn* revenue spike heading towards the UK’s hospitality sector during the 2022 festive period but warns venues could be at risk if they aren’t prepared for surging footfall.

NTIA partners with safety app to protect staff

07-Nov-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has partnered with a personal safety app to safeguard staff travelling home from work.

Drink sales via delivery and takeaway up 15% in 9 months

28-Oct-2022 By Gary Lloyd

Sales of drinks through delivery and takeaway services from managed operators have increased by 15% versus the start of 2022, according to CGA by NielsenIQ’s Hospitality at Home Tracker.

Tech firm Zonal acquires Airship

06-Oct-2022 By The Morning Advertiser

Tech provider Zonal has announced its purchase of Airship in a deal that includes the Airship CRM and Toggle platforms.

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Toggle Time 2: Let’s grab Christmas by the Snowballs – £35m of gift card sales expected this Christmas

30-Sep-2022 By Airship

Toggle, The Hospitality Gift Card & Commerce platform, has launched “Toggle Time 2’, a campaign to help hospitality businesses bring in additional revenue through the ultimate hospitality word of mouth: gifting.

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Cashing out? What the evolution of new payment methods means for operators

26-Sep-2022 By Zonal

‘Cash or card?’ is far from a question of the past. However, with the desire for quick, convenient experiences high on the list of priorities for many customers visiting hospitality venues, cash is increasingly taking a back seat compared to digital payments.

Zero Carbon Forum: onus on operators to cut carbon

12-Sep-2022 By Gary Lloyd

Not-for-profit eco-friendly group Zero Carbon Forum has argued the onus is on sector operators to cut their carbon footprints but they can also save on energy costs at the same time.

9 in 10 customers don’t pay with cash

08-Sep-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Nearly nine in 10 consumers (89%) use cards or contactless payment all or most times they visit a pub, bar or restaurant, while new payment tech grows in popularity, according to recent research.

Pubs saw 8% sales lift in August

06-Sep-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Sales at pubs and clubs rose by 8.4% in August, which was put down to the good weather, according to new research.

Cash makes up less than 25% of on-trade payments

11-Aug-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Cash payments account for less than 25% of transactions in the majority of pubs despite a recent boom in consumer use of physical money.

Vote now: how much of your trade comes from cash?

08-Aug-2022 By Rebecca Weller

Consumer use of cash has increased in a bid to manage household and holiday budgets, Post Office research has revealed.

Glasgow now nation’s most vibrant city

26-Jul-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Scottish city Glasgow has been named as Britain’s most vibrant city, new information has revealed.

Consumer spending remains relatively flat

12-Jul-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

Spending in pubs, bars and clubs was relatively flat at 0.1% last month (June) compared to the May, data has found.

CGA acquired by NielsenIQ

07-Jun-2022 By The Morning Advertiser

Global information services firm NielsenIQ has announced the acquisition of insight company CGA.

The Lock In Podcast

Do pubs need to improve on tech?

31-May-2022 By Ed Bedington

Are pubs behind the curve when it comes to the digital world? Are we not embracing technology enough? The Lock In team tackle the subject with a range of guests debating everything from back of house tech, to whether customers should be allowed to google...