RESTAURANTS
A R E
H E R E
By Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Editor-in-Chief
T O
S TAY
From mobile ordering and kiosks to food lockers and digital signage, touchless technology has transformed hospitality. There’s no turning back. IN THE SPRING OF 2020, pivoting to contactless transactions was essential for restaurants. As dining rooms closed and the public became educated about the transmission of the coronavirus, touchless solutions were a lifeline for struggling businesses. “The industry did an amazing job of adaptation in 2020, and hospitality technology companies added contactless order/pay capabilities at a speed that I’ve never seen in our industry,” says Giancarlo Fiorarancio, Vice President, IT & Hospitality Technology, at The Howard Hughes Corporation, which operates, among other properties, The Greens at Pier 17, a contactless full-service rooftop restaurant space at New York City’s South Street Seaport. “It proved that our customers are absolutely capable of adapting as well to digital ordering and payments and that there is very positive sentiment from customers when they are in
control of the cadence at which they view a digital menu, customize an order and reorder as opposed to the cadence set by the service team.” Now, as our industry moves ahead on the path to recovery, are contactless solutions still an essential tool? Top restaurant technology professionals say yes. “Technologies such as mobile ordering, selfserve kiosks, and digital menu boards not only reduce physical contact, but actually offer a rich personalized customer experience,” says Vadim Parizher, Vice President, Engineering and Analytics, at Taco Bell Corp., which continues to innovate on an ongoing basis, including its Go Mobile concept, which streamlines mobile ordering and pickup to the benefit of customers and staff. “But, of course, all of these systems have to be integrated, both on-premise and off-premise.” HT research suggests that restaurant opera-
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