A POST-COVID WORLD

How NC Restaurants and Hotels Are Embracing Technology

Long gone are the days of ordering your food from a cash register and receiving a physical key to your hotel room. While the permeation of technology in the hospitality industry was inevitable, the onslaught of COVID accelerated tech’s grip on our industry’s operations and guest experience.

NCRLA discussed with our technology partners, and member restaurants and hotels how they’re utilizing technology to enhance their offerings while at the same time minimizing human error and maximizing efficiency.

Predictive Analytics

Knowledge is power, and technology providers BYOD and Fintech have capitalized on that—providing powerful data to help operators and managers make critical decisions.

Fintech has more than 30 years of experience building technology specifically designed for establishments that sell alcohol.

“Owners, operators, and accountants love Fintech because we identify and remove tedious, manual steps associated with the alcohol management process that eat away all the time in the day,” said Misha Hart, Fintech’s marketing director. “Through Fintech, data insights come in many different forms depending on the needs and size of a business. Our goal is to offer actionable insights that allow restaurants, bars, and hotels to pivot quickly so that margins remain unaffected.”

Price-discrepancy reporting, beverage program compliance, free automated invoice payments, margin protection, inventory management, and micro-trend insights are just a few of the many data services Fintech offers to simplify alcohol management.

BYOD offers hospitality businesses the “world’s first virtual restaurant assistant,” MABEL™, who helps cut labor costs, manages events, keeps team members informed, ensures tasks don’t fall through the cracks, and creates staffing schedules.

“BYOD's main focus is on making operators' lives easier by taking tasks off their plates and putting them squarely on MABEL's,” said Sam Short, Chief Strategy Officer for BYOD. “She accomplishes all of that by using bleeding-edge predictive analytics and more than 400 APIs to gauge your upcoming business, take data from all of your software in real-time and run it through industry-leading KPIs, and then finally send real-time Smart Alerts to your managers on duty to help them make better labor management and operational decisions in the moment— because data insights without action are meaningless.”

Robots

Up until recently, robotics has been seen as a novelty in the industry. Labor shortages are causing hospitality businesses to reconsider the practical use of robots to fill critical roles, instead of entertaining and surprising guests, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2023 State of the Industry Report. Although there is still concern that robots should not replace the interaction with guests, some argue that by allowing robots to handle food running, table bussing, drink serving, etc., human waitstaff can focus on delivering outstanding service.

That line of reasoning is what lead Bear Robotics to land a spot on US Foods’ CHECK® Business Tools program, a resource that provides foodservice operators with a growing suite of technology solutions designed to help drive traffic, simplify staffing, and reduce waste.

Hwy 55 uses Bear Robotics’s “Servi” robot in 15 of their locations, with another 20 deployments scheduled for 2023.

“Servi has been a game-changer for us,” said Andy Moore, Hwy 55’s Chief Business Officer. “It's improved our atmosphere by eliminating a repetitive task for our waitstaff, allowing them to spend more time interacting with guests. And the guest reaction has been terrific. They love it when he sings 'happy birthday' on their special day (a real feature!), and you'll often see people take their phones out for a TikTok video when Servi rolls by. We really get a kick out of using technology to enhance our service model.”

Hwy 55 is even designing their new stores with Servi in mind, by cutting a small door in the bar so he can reach guests quicker.

NCRLA embraced this trend and featured robots at two of our recent signature events—Chef Showdown and Stars of the Industry.

POS AND ONLINE ORDERING:

Perhaps the most susceptible to change, restaurants are constantly on the lookout for seamless and efficient ways to accept payment and streamline ordering.

Biscuitville recently implemented a new iPad-based point-of-sale (POS) system that allows customers to see the orders as they’re being created, as well as automatically creates combos if items are ordered separately.

“This automatically saves the customer money and saves time for employees and questions from the guests,” said Jeff Archer, Biscuitville’s Chief Information Officer.

NCRLA’s new preferred technology partner, SpotOn, is one of the fastestgrowing payment companies, keeping the restaurant as the core of their mission.

“Rather than simply looking at the ordering and checkout process as a transaction, we see it as an opportunity for restaurants to boost efficiency and create better guest experiences,” said Aimee Guthinger, Communications Manager, Industry Relations.

“So, in reality, payment processing is a very small part of what we provide. The bigger part is the software tools around it. Tools that help restaurants turn tables faster and boost kitchen efficiency. Tools that make it easier for guests to order that second round of drinks to help increase sales. Tools that help servers earn bigger tips to increase their take-home pay. And tools to capture guest information at every touchpoint so restaurants can get better insights on their operation and also market to their guests to keep them coming back.”

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS:

From increasing safety in hotels to texting capabilities to guests and employees— communicating has never been easier or quicker.

Relay, the “radio that has everything you wish your walkie-talkie had,” has features like a panic button, GPS tracking, and emergency alerts to protect employees against sexual assault, active shooters, fires, and intruders.

“Relay enhances the guest experience by offering unparalleled communication combined with advanced analytics that allow your staff to quickly respond to guest requests and anticipate needs rather than only reacting to issues,” said Brittany Nelson, Marketing Campaigns Manager at Relay. “Guests are able to enjoy seamless service while staff are fully supported with powerful analytics, security processes, and world-class technology.”

The advanced GPS location also allows staff to be easily identified and located, with room-level accuracy, while detailed reporting keeps track of incidents for reporting.

Doris Huebner, NCRLA board member and operator of 13 McDonald’s restaurants in North Carolina, started using Hourwork.com last year to help with employee recruitment, satisfaction, retention, and exit interviews.

“We use it to send text messages to new employees at different points when turnover is more likely,” Huebner said. “We send a message on the first day, at two weeks, 30 days, and 60 days.”

The employee can then respond directly, and can send independent messages if they are experiencing an issue. The platform also sends happy birthday and anniversary messages, and sends an exit survey after an employee has been terminated.

Pinecrest Bed & Breakfast in Asheville uses a similar messaging app to reach their guests about check-in details. Guests can also reach out during and after their stay with any questions or comments.

“This helps immensely in keeping the lines of communication open,” said Diane Rogers, Innkeeper.

GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES:

More and more guests are considering a dedication to sustainable initiatives when choosing a hotel. Technology is a critical enabler, from energy conservation to electronic vehicle charging and more, according to AHLA’s 2023 State of the Hotel Industry Report.

Concord Hospitality is at the pinnacle of this—leading in green IT practices, including building centralized servers to help with cooling and power usage efficiency and utilizing Energy Star computers. One of its properties, the Beaufort Hotel, is Carteret County’s first full-service green hotel, and is a North Carolina Green Travel Business.

Duke Energy aims to help hotels with reducing utility expenses and their carbon footprint with GemLink® Wireless, which slashes HVAC expenses 35–40 percent and hotel utility bills 10–20 percent. The system prevents waste by detecting occupancy via infrared body head heat so hotel rooms are reset to a comfortable energy saving temperature while guests are away.

NCRLA also partners with green businesses like EV Zone and Sustainable Origins to help provide North Carolina restaurants and hotels with green solutions. EV Zone provides electric vehicle charging infrastructure and software integrations to hotels.

Sustainable Origins focuses on the safe disposal of used cooking oil, which is a key input to biofuel production.

carbon producing and lower greenhouse gas emitting are seriously favored and mandated.”

Resistance To Technology

“Implementing new technology has been imperative in keeping up with such immense growth in the past year,” Ashley Brodie, Marketing Director of Giorgios Hospitality Group said. The group will be operating 15 restaurants by the end of 2023.

Although some restaurants and hotels are welcoming technology with open arms, others are a bit more resistant.

“I do not utilize any AI or robots in my business, and I would be very hesitant to do so,” said Scot Sanborn, proprietor of Sutler’s Spirits in Winston-Salem. “I would be hesitant to replace any human with a robot at this time. We need to take better care of our labor force, not eliminate them. Another concern is that a large part of the hospitality industry is about human interactions.”

Sammy Hobgood, owner of Big Ed’s in Raleigh, echoes that sentiment.

“Big Ed's has entertained machinecentered technologies but has elected to stick with its tried-and-true methods, including no POS system. This is a rarity in today's restaurant landscape, but an overabundance of technology has not traditionally fit the menu and business model.”

He continued, “Big Ed's business model is focused on providing good and affordable food, in an appropriate and timely fashion. While there was an experiment with online ordering peak-Pandemic in 2020 and 2021, implemented in an effort to drive revenue, we chose to discontinue it in Q1 2022 as dining room volume increased to pre-pandemic levels.”

“With EPA fines being $10,000 for grease spillage, and the harmful environmental effects grease contamination has on soil and water quality, we provide a simple solution, said Aloysius Callaghan, the company’s CEO. “With the push of a button, oil can be pumped from inside near your fryers outside to our tanks. No need to hold buckets, no need to worry about a slip and fall—the simplicity our system provides is essential.”

“Society, as whole, is headed towards a more environmentally aware future,” he continued. “Processes that are lower

As the hotel and restaurant industries are projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand in 2023, operational challenges and economic factors will replace COVID as the top concern. Although not fully recovered, the industries have made significant strides to bouncing back—thanks to our industry’s grit and the help of technology.