Platforms that manage every single restaurant operation in real-time; eliminating resource-consuming repetitive tasks that generate errors, or speeding up and making reservations more efficient; screens that enhance operational efficiency within the kitchen; ultra-powerful portable EPOS systems; advanced kiosks and self-service counters; sweeping and vacuuming robots… these are some of the technological solutions we can expect to see in the Tech section of Hostelco; here is a small preview.

74% of Spanish hospitality providers are investing in technology to improve the customer experience and affirm they will continue to do so in the short term, as revealed by a study from EY. In an increasingly competitive world, technology becomes the new front-of-house: digital service becomes the core of the experience. “In cafes, bars, and restaurants, the customer experience is redefined with self-ordering kiosks, loyalty apps that recommend dishes, contactless payments, and artificial intelligence for personalisation and upselling,” says the Veintemillas study, highlighting that by 2026 these elements will cease to be an added value and will become a competitive standard, “because they reduce waiting times, increase the average ticket, and free up staff for higher value human tasks.”

Thus, the shortage of staff and the need to optimise costs drive the adoption of self-service kiosks, which help restaurant chains speed up service, increase the average ticket, and improve operational efficiency. Similarly, all-in-one terminals, allowing employees to take orders, manage tables, and process payments from any point in the venue, reduce unnecessary movements and speed up operations. Meanwhile, the increasing integration between systems allows for more fluid information between the floor and kitchen. And AI accelerates this entire transformation, as we see in this preview of the tech novelties from Hostelco 2026:

Syrve: real-time cost control for hospitality

GastroDigital, the official representative of Syrve in Spain, presents at Hostelco the comprehensive management platform used by over 10,000 restaurants in 50 countries, summarised in one idea: instant visibility.

When a dish is sold, the system automatically deducts ingredients from inventory according to the technical sheet; calculates the real cost and updates the margins. The owner can check at any time (also via mobile) sales, profitability per dish, available stock, and detected deviations. All this without waiting for the end of the month or consolidating data from different systems.

The platform unifies all business operations into a single ecosystem: EPOS and floor management, inventory and purchasing control, kitchen display screen (KDS), delivery, and integration with aggregators, loyalty programs, shift scheduling, and comprehensive financial reporting, with real-time P&L.

Among its analysis tools are the ABC/XYZ menu (to identify which dishes are profitable and which should be removed) and the “What if…” scenario simulation, allowing the evaluation of the impact of changes in suppliers, prices, or recipes before implementing them.

Syrve operates on any device. In Spain, GastroDigital offers personalised implementation, training, and 24/7 technical support in Spanish.

Gstock: goodbye to repetitive tasks in purchase management

Gstock, a platform for intelligent purchasing and operations management for the horeca sector, launches a tool designed to eliminate repetitive tasks that consume resources and create human errors in purchasing and stock management.

Its new Automations module responds to a key market need: eliminating repetitive tasks that consume resources and generate errors. It allows daily operations to no longer depend on memory or staff availability, executing based on business rules predefined by management. It also supports scalability, making it an essential tool for chains and hotel and restaurant groups.

The tool frees teams from tedious tasks and ensures that essential processes like recurring orders, stock alerts, stock variation reports, or inventory closures are executed without staff intervention.

It is a perfect solution for hospitality businesses and also for chains: for example, management can schedule when orders are made or cost reports are generated, ensuring all locations operate under the same standard and pace.

This Automations module operates on a pay-per-use model: the client only bears the cost of executions that truly add value, and there is a quota of basic free automations per location to facilitate system adoption.

CoverManager: reservations, more efficient than ever

After the merger with French company Zenchef, Seville-based CoverManager strengthens its innovation capacity, laying the foundations for a much broader ecosystem of integrations and synergies, allowing associated restaurants to access new solutions, scale their operations, and continue innovating in business management.

The company presents significant advances at Hostelco in the features and design of its mobile app, designed so that hospitality providers can manage their reservations even more efficiently and maintain control of the business from anywhere.

This is complemented by CoverAI, its AI-based analytical assistant, which allows extracting key data, anticipating demand, and supporting strategic decision-making.

Moreover, automation gains prominence with AssistantBot, the telephone bot that autonomously records reservations and offers a seamless experience to the customer. Coupled with this development is the launch of CoverPay, CoverManager’s own payment gateway, designed to centralise and simplify the economic management of the restaurant.

Additionally, the company progresses in integration with WhatsApp as one of its main focuses, aiming to facilitate communication and reservation management from one of the most relevant channels for the sector.

Kitchen screens for visualising and organising orders

Hiopos will bring new developments to the fair like the new Hioscreen kitchen screen, which reduces errors between the floor and kitchen and boosts operational efficiency, besides eliminating paper orders.

Essentially, this screen offers more control, fewer errors, and maximum speed, allowing cooks to view orders in real-time by sequence and waiting time.

Highly visual, it operates with a colour system to prioritise orders; groups dishes by preparation, and offers visual and sound notifications. Chefs will particularly appreciate the ‘prepared’ function with a single touch. Additionally, it records the historical orders of the shift.

Also noteworthy are other novelties from Hiopos, such as the solution for workshops, reservations connected to Google with automatic table allocation, or the automatic registration and accounting of invoices via AI, all to be seen at Hostelco.

Telemetry and intelligence for coffee service

Cafe365 by AnyService is a telemetry and smart dispensing solution for coffee machines, which PosCloud  presents at Hostelco as one of its tech novelties.

The system is based on a hardware kit installed inside the coffee machine to obtain and monitor in real-time all usage, consumption, and operating data.

It is aimed at both companies providing coffee to employees or clients and coffee machine and coffee service provider companies.

Cafe365 allows up to four dispensing modes: mobile app via QR code, corporate card with configurable rules, conventional bank card payment through the MDB protocol, or free mode.

The solution enables defining credits, operating hours, days, and consumption limits per user, providing greater operational control, cost optimisation and (note) new opportunities in service management.

The ultra-powerful pocket-sized EPOS

Among other novelties, Square will present at Hostelco Square Handheld, a portable EPOS device, one of the thinnest and lightest on the market, that allows hospitality businesses to manage all their operations from anywhere, from table service to payments and internal operations.

This is Square’s most powerful EPOS device to date. Pocket-sized, lightweight, and durable (315g, IP54 certification), it features a 6.2” touch screen, long battery life and advanced features like a full payment processing system, barcode scanner, and integrated 16MP camera. It is portable, reliable and efficient.

With Square Handheld, hospitality providers can manage all their operations from any point within the venue, avoiding errors and offering an exceptional experience to their customers. Additionally, the device works with the new unified Square EPOS app, a single control centre designed for hospitality businesses of any type and size, which can personalise their experience according to operational needs.

Self-service kiosk integrated with AgoraPOS

Notice the increase in self-service kiosks in restaurants: it is a solution that improves operational efficiency, reduces queues and errors in order-taking, and helps optimise the establishment’s resources. Additionally, it promotes increased average ticket and service standardisation. A key solution for restaurant digitalisation and improving the customer experience.

At Hostelco, we will see, for example, the self-service kiosk AgoraPOS by Eject presented by Eject Computer. It’s a solution designed to integrate natively with AgoraPOS, one of the most widely used software in hospitality, becoming a direct extension of the EPOS and the restaurant’s digital menu.

This kiosk allows customers to place orders quickly and intuitively, showing on-screen the menu configured in Agora, with products, prices, languages and sales suggestions synchronised in real-time, always maintaining total control from the EPOS.

Payment, automated, secure and controlled

In a sector where speed, reliability and the customer experience make the difference, Cashmatic supports hospitality professionals with technological solutions designed to simplify daily point-of-sale management.

Based in San Marino, this company develops systems capable of centralising and automating all payment methods —cash and electronic payments— providing total control of operations and enhancing security for each transaction. Its solutions (self-service tills, smart cash drawers) are born from direct observation of work in bars, restaurants, patisseries, and venues with high customer flow, where every second counts, and efficiency translates into service quality.

Thanks to integration with major point-of-sale systems, Cashmatic helps businesses optimise processes, reduce errors, and free up time for what really matters: customer attention and floor experience. A vision that combines innovation, reliability, and proximity, in line with the evolution of modern hospitality.

The perfect kiosk for hotel reception

Many hoteliers will like Bach, an innovative self-service kiosk for automated check-in and check-out, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as support or alternative to traditional reception.

It reduces waiting times and offers guests fast, secure, and always available service. Versatile and easy to install, it combines elegant design with operational efficiency.

Through a single intuitive interface, the Bach kiosk manages document scanning, payments, receipts, and room key distribution.

Equipped with a touch screen, QR code reader, and multilingual support, it is suitable for users of all ages. Among the innovations for 2026, it integrates on-site identity verification via the patented Face Check-In application.

Bach is a product of Aitech, a brand of the Italian Bazzacco.

AI-powered sweeping and vacuuming robot

Of course, robotics could not be missing in Hostelco 2026’s most tech-savvy space. Among other novelties, Muzybar will present MT1 Vac, the AI-powered industrial sweeping and vacuuming robot with high suction technology from Pudu Robotics, which represents a significant advance over traditional sweepers.

Designed to adapt to any environment, it can glide under shelves, reach difficult corners, and even clean vertical areas, intelligently removing dust and small debris.

Its dual suction system, combined with an extra suction width of 55 cm, allows it to cover twice the area in each pass compared to traditional vacuums, meaning: cleaning time is halved.

Thanks to its integrated AI, the robot recognises the type of floor and automatically adjusts suction power and brush speed, ensuring perfect cleaning adaptable to each moment.

This is just a small preview of what will be showcased at Hostelco 2026. You will also find, among others, advanced digital menus and information panels from BMediaGroup; the favourite self-order kiosks of big chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, or Starbucks from Acrelec; and the food waste solution proposed by Phenix, which helps hospitality businesses to efficiently manage and value surpluses and generate a real and measurable impact

By Marta Renovales, journalist at Profesionalhoreca.com