Business owners: Would you like to be able to control the music of your establishment from your phone? Or give your customers the option of placing orders from theirs so you can prevent long queues? Or no longer have to deal with forms and paperwork to manage your hotel? The new technological solutions for hotels and restaurants are all mobile: they simplify the job for your employees and considerably improve the experience for your customers. Many of these solutions will be unveiled at Hostelco 2018. Here is a selection of technological innovations that business owners are definitely going to love.
(Legal) music streamed from your phone
Music (and copyright issues) can become a real headache for many business owners, who often use platforms like Spotify—whose use isn’t legal in public establishments.
For anyone who would like to play music (hassle-free) in their commercial establishment, Xenox has two innovative solutions specifically designed for restaurants and hotels:
• Music Station (left side of the image) is designed to provide bars, hotels and restaurants with a professional-quality sound system, with unrivalled sound quality, that can be managed remotely. It’s extremely easy to use: business owners merely have to download an app (which is compatible with any mobile device), which will give them access to Xenox’s 100% legal music catalogue, which is updated daily. Once installed, business owners can create specific channels for different areas of the hotel, for example, or programme different music for lunch time, supper, etc. It’s the only system available that can be managed entirely from a phone.
• Selector is the perfect app for inner-city, urban and boutique-style hotels who would like to interact with their guests in a fun way, by using music. It provides business owners with a very original way of reaching out to and getting to know the preferences of their guests, who can “play” with the app, add songs to the playlist and upvote their favourite themes.
The best part of all is that all of Xenox’s music is 100% legal.
Say goodbye to restaurant queues
Why queue up? T-Quiosk, the autonomous kiosk developed by ICG, thanks to which customers no longer have to wait: they can browse the menu on their mobile device, make and pay for their order in their own language and then pick it up at the counter.
If that weren’t enough, customers can also download an app on their smartphone by simply reading a QR code, and easily view the products on offer, prices, ingredients, calories and allergens. They can make their choice, order it and pay for it right on the spot from their phone instead of having to queue up and wait. The entire process is done through a very intuitive and easy to use graphical interface.
Solutions that put an end to long queues, improve user experience, speed up service and increase table rotation, all of which increases revenues by more than 15%.
Hostelco will also be the venue where Cajeros VNE will unveil their “Buy: choose and pay” kiosk, which is the perfect solution for self-service and fast-food restaurants.
Buy gives customers the option to choose the products they want, place the order, pay for it, get their change back and be issued a receipt. Orders placed using this machine can be forwarded directly to the kitchen, or alternatively, they can be sent to a drop-off point and processed there.
All cash is safely stored in an armoured safe: the Buy machine is equipped equipped with an automatically locking door and a configurable delayed opening system to prevent theft. Thanks to its DSL connection, it can be managed remotely from any device with an internet connection, or from VNE’s mobile app. This reduces queues, automates sales and ensures payment.
The hotel management revolution
Hotel managers are going to love the new ICG RoomService Mobile app for hotels, which completely revolutionises hotel management. How does it work? Using just a smartphone or a tablet, business owners can plan and assign all of their hotel or apartment manager’s tasks, access real-time guest information (check-outs, “do not disturb” notifications, priorities…), create malfunction reports, register lost objects, lock rooms or even assign mini-bar or laundry services costs directly to a guest’ account. All of this can be done with just the touch of a finger.
ICG’s solution puts an end to tedious employee floor assignment lists and forms, increasing customer satisfaction, preventing waiting times for rooms to be ready, as well as the inconvenience of trying to access a room that hasn’t yet been vacated, and reducing incident resolution times.
What’s more, the personalised PortalRest hotel app, which can be downloaded by simply scanning a QR code, allows guests to access the room service menu whether they’re in their room, sitting on the terrace or lying on a hammock next to the pool. They can instantly view pictures and information for every dish on the menu, and then order and pay for whatever they want directly from their smartphone. It also allows guests to reserve a table at the hotel’s restaurant. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Restaurant management, easier than ever before (and using a smartphone)
Nowadays, there are so many variables that need to be taken into account to adequately manage a restaurant, that many business owners have to devote hour after hour to administrative tasks, which takes away precious time that could be put to better use: improving the business’ offer and better tending to customers. The Easilys Restauration, software by Ideolys, has the perfect solution, which is sure to revolutionise restaurant management.
Their management software digitalises all restaurant tasks in real time: from the supply chain, cost control or food safety to team, stock or waste management.
It’s been designed with all kinds of restaurants in mind: from small businesses to important chain restaurants. It makes work easier and saves time and money by allowing business owners to manage, from any device and with only a few clicks, a vast array of time-consuming tasks: price lists, orders, deliveries, payments, invoices, complaints, recipes, production etc. Not only is it easy to use (no training required), it’s a 100% open service that can be accessed via mobile and web-based platforms alike. It’s subscription-based and fully connected to supplier catalogues and all main POS. It has been a huge international success. After the more than favourable results it has had in Latin America, it currently aims to win over the Spanish market.
The new generation of smart printers
Keep a close eye on the new ePOS technologies being developed, as they can have a substantial impact on the experience provided by hotels and restaurants. These solutions, which render POS’s entirely digital, can help users to optimise their business and make it more efficient. For that very purpose, all of TM-intelligent of Epson TM- intelligent can be easily configured for any kind of business, and needless to say, can be synchronised with mobile devices.
This technology can easily reduce queues or automatically send orders to the kitchen, for instance, to increase process efficiency and improve customer service. It even allows customers to place their order from their smartphone. “A new, innovative and efficient experience that will surely make a difference”, as stated by Jordi Yagües, Epson’s Business Manager. All of these advantages can be gained without having to download any drivers or install any software.
Epson’s ColorWorks is capable of printing large amounts of full-colour labels, which is extremely convenient for food and beverage industries, and very practical, for instance, in terms of managing stock and allergens at bars and restaurants.
Bixolon advanced receipt printers are yet another of the interesting option that will be presented at Hostelco: they’re small but robust—perfect for restaurants and hotels.
The SRP-Q300 (on the left of the image at the bottom), for instance, is a receipt and invoice printer for mobile points of sale (mPOS) designed to save counter space thanks to its ultra compact size (80 mm). It has the capacity to quickly print high-quality texts, graphics, bar codes and QR codes. What’s more, it can print from Android, iOS and Windows devices, and is also compatible with automatic Bluetooth and WLAN connections via NFC (for Android smartphones).
Its “sibling”, the SRP-R410 printer (right) is another compact, mobile and robust printer with USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities. It is equipped with Easy Bluetooth technology thanks to its integrated NFC tag, which makes it extremely easy to synchronise it with intelligent Apple iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows devices. It can quickly print high-quality documents for long periods of time thanks to its long-lasting battery. What’s more, it has been designed for the most demanding of environments and is shock, fall, dust and water proof. A true all-purpose printer. And the best of all: both of them include a 2-year warranty.
POS devices that are as easy to use as a smartphone
Our selection of innovative solutions couldn’t possibly exclude the new POSs being developed, which are becoming increasingly simple and easy to use, like the ones that PC Mira will exhibit at Hostelco:
• The Siodroid POS-6800 (bottom left) is a cash register-style Android POS that is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses that want to keep up with the latest technology and replace their outdated cash register with one that looks almost the same as a traditional one but has the capabilities of a modern POS.
Although it doesn’t take up but space, it has a 10″ touchscreen, a receipt printer, a price display and a cash drawer—all in one. Moreover, since it’s an Android device, users will find it as intuitive to use as their smartphone.
It’s well-suited for fast-food and seated dining restaurants alike. It can also be linked to kitchen order printers, order terminals, scales, bar-code readers, etc. If that weren’t enough, it also sends business owners a daily email informing them of the day’s sales. Sales can also be viewed, at any time, via the Back-Office Siocloud app.
• The Posbank Imprex-Prime terminal (right), on the other hand, is a Windows-based POS that serves as a computer with a touchscreen, a receipt printer, a credit/debit card reader, a display for customers and, additionally, a screen where publicity can be displayed. Thanks to its toughness and design, it’s perfect for large chain restaurants and franchises. It is also highly configurable: the basic model is ideal for establishments that only need one terminal, while establishments requiring several terminals can choose a more powerful model equipped with an Intel i5 CPU, which can even be used as a server.
Would you like to see these solutions for hotels and restaurants, as well as many others, in person? Then don’t miss the next edition of the Hostelco, fair, where restaurant professionals will have the chance to discover all kinds of cutting-edge innovations specifically designed for their sector. Event date: From 16 to 19 April at the Fira Barcelona.