If you spend much time reading news reports and opinion pieces on how the cost of living is impacting hospitality, you might be growing tired of seeing the word ‘resilience’.
After several challenging years, hospitality owners and operators are looking for signs that the time is coming when they aren’t just stubbornly surviving. But is recovery and growth possible in a world where the cost of living continues to rise, customers are more conscious than ever about how they spend their money, and retaining quality staff is becoming increasingly challenging?
In this article, we’ll tell you why we’re confident that the answer to that question is ‘yes’, and we’ll share practical guidance on the measures you can take to protect your hospitality brand from the challenges imposed by the rising cost of living in 2024.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Staff onboarding can be a complex process, and in hospitality, it presents an unique set of challenges with many legislative areas that need specific areas of training – such as serving alcohol, allergens, and food safety as well as the majority of hospitality workers being in deskless roles. Add to that the fact that staff turnover in the hospitality industry stands at double the UK average (30%), and it’s clear to see why proper onboarding is something that hospitality operators should focus on.
Here at Access, we’re familiar with the onboarding process. Through our accessible LMS we are delivering hospitality training courses to thousands of new hospitality employees daily, and we have helped companies such as Namco BNAE to develop and implement custom induction programmes to help get their new starters onboarded. It’s fair to say that we’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way.
So, why is an effective and consistent staff onboarding process critical for hospitality businesses, and what happens when you don’t have one in place? In this article, we’ll examine the importance of getting it right, share our top tips, and look at some of the common mistakes to avoid.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Running a restaurant business in 2024 isn’t easy – rising costs of food and energy, staff shortages, supply chain issues, the cost-of-living driving customers to tighten their belts, and unpredictable economic factors throw curveballs at businesses of all sizes. To thrive in this environment, savvy marketing is no longer a luxury, but a survival tactic. Now, more than ever, your restaurant marketing strategy is the key to attracting customers and staying afloat.
But where do busy restaurateurs start? In a competitive market, how do restaurants make themselves stand out from the crowd? How do new restaurants get noticed? And how do the little guys level the playing field when competing against the big brands?
Here at Access, we frequently talk to our customers who are passionate about their restaurants but unsure how to navigate the complexities of marketing. That's why we've compiled the most effective and up-to-date restaurant marketing strategies adaptable to businesses of all sizes and budgets. At the end of this article, you'll be well-equipped with the knowledge and tools to create a restaurant marketing plan that drives results.
But first things first, let’s look at the basics and understand why marketing is so important to your restaurant.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
No-shows are the bane of every pub and restaurant owner's life, accounting for anywhere between 5% and 20% of bookings. At best, no-shows can mean a re-organisation of tables right in the middle of a busy service. And at worst, they can cause a serious dent in a business's bottom line.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Tips are seen as a massive employment benefit of choosing employment in hospitality. In an industry that has lots of minimum wage employees, tips supplement wages and are a huge motivating factor in providing excellent service – after all, happier guests generally means bigger tips!
But managing, distributing and calculating tips fairly can be challenging for operators. Research in 2022 by Iris Software Group reported that more than 1.2 million hospitality staff in the UK are paying too much National Insurance on their tips.
And with upcoming updates to legislation surrounding tips and tronc systems, there’s never been a better time to review your current procedures and make sure you’re managing tips fairly in your business. With a full suite of software products that support people, payroll and rota processes in hospitality businesses, we’re taking a look at what a tronc scheme is, what the new legislation will mean for operators and how you can set up an HMRC-compliant tronc system for your business.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Do you know the best-performing items on your menus right now? If you said no – that’s where menu engineering could help you.
Here at Access, we hear about the challenges operators are facing when it comes to creating a robust sales mix that can withstand the fluctuations in the market when it comes to rising food and beverage costs and matching customer demand. The answer? It’s likely sitting in your sales data.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Pull out all the stops and increase bookings to your venue with our Mother’s Day marketing ideas for restaurant operators.
Mother’s Day falls on the 10th of March in 2024, so there’s still plenty of time to let your customers know what you have planned at your venue. Since over a third of Brits participate in food-related activities on Mother’s Day, the holiday represents a huge opportunity to boost revenue.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
Maximise revenue this Valentine’s Day by optimising your booking process, creating more space, and delivering a silky-smooth customer experience.
Valentine’s Day offers a lucrative opportunity for restaurant and bar operators who plan ahead. As dining remains one of the top V-day activities, restaurant and bar operators have an opportunity to generate a boost in bookings around the holiday if they know who, how and when to target their audience in the run up.
So, what can operators do to get a slice of the Valentine’s pie this year? As hospitality software providers, the Access team have dug through the data to deliver our top tips to make this Valentine’s Day a profitable one.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
In the age of smartphones and on-demand everything, hospitality has undergone a remarkable transformation in which real-life experiences and digital software must work in harmony. And whether you’re just starting to adopt a software-based strategy in your business or are experienced in navigating the technological requirements of a large-scale hospitality business, you’ve likely found yourself considering "Is an omnichannel restaurant strategy right for me?"
Here at Access, we hear this question a lot. So, we’ve decided to get into it in this comprehensive guide and address the myriad questions, doubts and considerations that have led you here. We understand that the restaurant industry is one of constant evolution, and your journey through the digital dining landscape may be just beginning, or it may be a quest for optimisation and staying ahead of the curve.
So, whether you’re a digital newbie or an experienced technology advocate for your business, keep reading as we explore omnichannel restaurant software, what it is, how it works and most importantly, whether adopting one will help you achieve your business objectives.
- Topic:
- Hospitality
If you’re feeling frustrated by no-shows and last minute cancellations, you’re not alone. This is an issue that has always been a problem in hospitality, but with rising costs in all areas squeezing profits ever tighter, lost revenue due to casual reservations can have a devastating effect on your business.
If this is something you are having trouble with, it may be time to consider implementing a restaurant deposit policy.
- Topic:
- Hospitality