5 Ways How Restaurants will Benefit from Smart Devices

Whether you’re a restaurateur or a simple waiter, you’ve likely wondered how the Internet of Things (IoT) will affect restaurant owners, restaurant employees, customer loyalty, and the restaurant industry in general. The answer to this question extends far beyond automation and enhancing restaurant operations. This article will explore how IoT in hospitality industry can benefit restaurants in a variety of ways, from improving customer service and dining experience to digital ordering and increased profits. Read on for some interesting insights. You may also be surprised to discover that smart devices aren’t all about automation.

1. Increase Overall Connectivity

Restaurants are making the most of IoT technology since IoT use cases in hospitality are extensive and will be beneficial for businesses of any size. By connecting kitchen equipment and kitchen supplies, operators can monitor inventory levels, peak periods, and more. These valuable insights can help managers in a restaurant business make decisions in real time, such as adjusting opening hours, wait times, ordering process, or equipment usage. Restaurants can also use IoT solutions for hospitality to track customer inflow and average orders to better schedule restaurant staff or to market quiet periods when most of the tables are empty. And, as the latest technology becomes more advanced in the service industry, restaurants are also becoming more interested in IoT for hospitality industry.

With connected systems in the food industry, hyper-personalized menus and loyalty program options will become the norm. With such global connectivity, more customers will have “unique” offers, which can buy their favor and improve customer feedback as a result. Seasonal produce and farm-to-table freshness are top priorities for customers, so if they receive notifications on their mobile devices it can help improve customer service and satisfaction significantly. With connected restaurant systems, managers can handle stock better and send alerts to suppliers when cooking items our products are low and need replenishment.

IoT-enabled technology allows restaurants to send personalized notifications to customers via mobile apps or phone messages. Mobile apps synchronized with equipment can let guests know when a table is ready or at what stage of cooking their meals at a particular moment. With the new technology, guests can even pay for food ordered online with a mobile app or get some free food when they earn a sufficient amount of points. These new systems based on innovative technology have already made their way into the restaurant industry, so a restaurant that embraces IoT technology could see its revenue soar.

2. Reduce Operational Expenses

Using an IoT system for restaurant equipment is a great way to track equipment status (kitchen appliances, tables, cash register, point of sale (POS) system) and save money on energy bills. For example, IoT devices can be placed on trash bins to alert administrators when the bin is full, so they will not face the problem of cleaning the area around the bin, which can cost additional money for business owners. Smart sensors can also be mounted near a pipe to detect leaks and increased water pressure, which can subsequently lead to leaks. Leakages in a restaurant business can be a huge threat and bring a lot of damage to the building, which will be costly to repair and renovate. That is why monitoring possible leakages is an important aspect for many restaurants, especially those located in old buildings. Sensors can even be installed on refrigerators to monitor the temperature, so food items won’t be spoiled, adding to cost-saving. This information can give restaurant owners a more detailed understanding of food storage temperatures and alert them if a power outage occurs. Reduced energy costs can be a significant deal for a company in a restaurant business, so you should definitely establish a monitoring system for this purpose.

Automating restaurant operations will soon be the norm in most establishments, as labor costs make up between 24 and 40 percent of a typical restaurant’s revenue. But restaurants should not focus only on automation. Data collection is an essential aspect of restaurant technology, whether it’s derived from point-of-sale systems, back-office platforms, or cloud-based solutions. The insights gleaned from such data can help restaurant owners make better decisions about their technology investments and create a clear vision of worthy purchases. They can also inform loyalty programs and other initiatives and provide actionable information about food waste costs.

3. Establish Digital Ordering

If you’re in the restaurant business, you’ve probably heard about digital ordering for restaurants. It’s an effective way to improve the customer experience and increase sales. Ultimately, digital ordering is about making the ordering process simple for customers and ensuring that the quality of the restaurant service is at its highest possible level. Restaurant managers can also develop a robust in-house online ordering platform, streamlining their entire marketing efforts. Restaurants need to consider digital ordering if they want to remain competitive in the 21st century. This trend will only increase as consumers increasingly turn to digital ordering to enhance their dining experience.

Another major benefit of digital ordering is that it improves service efficiency. Digital ordering eliminates the situation of busy phone lines and staff standing around taking manual orders. Staff members can focus on other tasks instead of taking orders from customers all around the restaurant. Digital ordering can even tie into a POS system, ensuring that customers can choose their food and place their order without any confusion. Digital ordering can also increase customer loyalty by enabling customers to pre-order ahead of time using a mobile app or website a food serving company has. Besides, it allows the kitchen to prepare the food without waiting for a customer to come in-house.

As more people turn to the Internet for their meals, online ordering for restaurants is increasingly becoming the primary revenue stream for many restaurants since it is easy to access and even easy to pay. With an increasing necessity to connect all the processes in the restaurant, digital ordering becomes an integral part of business operation. In fact, a new study of IoT in travel and hospitality found that online ordering has increased restaurants’ weekly sales by 169% and boosted their daily revenue by 840% (Resendes, 2020).

4. Establish Customer Behavioral Patterns

Among the obvious benefits smart sensors and solutions can bring to the restaurant business, we should mention the possibility to have guests’ usual behavior patterns and create the best approach for them. IoT technology connected to a data analytics program that uses algorithms to predict and act on customer behavior can significantly increase customer satisfaction. This can help company owners make the most of sales and promotional efforts. To ensure the best results, restaurant owners should conduct significant backtesting and scenario testing on customers’ behavior. But at the same time, this technology can help create the best offer for each client.

5. Manage Assets and Inventory in Real Time

In addition to benefits connected to improving the guest experience, IoT can save restaurant businesses money on routine operations. For instance, by using sensors to monitor air quality, a restaurant can better predict equipment maintenance needs. This can reduce downtime and provide cost savings. In addition, the technology helps manage inventory in real time, and it makes it easier to monitor and control assets. The data collected by the sensors can help restaurateurs tailor services to better serve their customers.

Managing onsite items is a common frustration for restaurant administrators. This expense can represent up to 60% of the overall operating cost. It’s costly during good and bad market performances, especially when available revenue is low. IoT location-based technologies can help solve this problem, enabling restaurant businesses to implement proactive maintenance strategies. This preventative maintenance strategy can save hoteliers 12-18%.

Using IoT technology for inventory management allows restaurateurs to track valuable assets and items in real time. With IoT systems, they can track table supplies, alcohol, kitchen equipment, outdoor furniture, and personnel. In addition, they can even manage out-of-stock alerts and more. For example, connected asset trackers can help restaurant staff identify equipment that needs to be replaced, and they can help them find it faster.

What Benefits can TEKTELIC Solutions Bring to Restaurants?

TEKTELIC IoT-based sensors and solutions are an excellent way to improve efficiency, compliance, and bottom line. Restaurants don’t have to spend too much on complicated technology because TEKTELIC wireless sensors can be bought at a low cost. Installing the sensors doesn’t take much time as well and totally doesn’t require any additional knowledge in technology. Because TEKTELIC devices are inexpensive, they are readily available to all restaurants.

For example, TEKTELIC TEMPO can significantly simplify data processing on table bookings. Initially, this device was created to manage meeting room occupancy and reservations but it can easily be applied to the restaurant industry as well. Customers visiting the restaurant with TEMPO mounted somewhere near the entrance can immediately know if there is a free table inside or at what time thhttps://tektelic.com/products/sensors/tempo-meeting-room-display-tablet/ey can book it. This device can be connected to Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar, so you don’t need any additional programs to use it.

Another device, which can greatly help restaurants is TEKTELIC SPARROW. This device can track and manage assets in different kinds of environments. The battery life of this asset tracking sensor is up to 5 years, so it is a good investment for a restaurant, which will pay off during these years. In a restaurant, this technology can be applied to food supplies to reduce food waste, better connect with suppliers, and improve future supplemental orders. It supports all global ISM bands, so it will not be a problem to apply in any part of the globe.

In the restaurant business sphere, staff has to deal with cold rooms and freezers quite often as well. Unfortunately, many monitoring systems do not work in extreme temperatures. In this case, the TEKTELIC TUNDRA Sensor is a great choice as it operates in the temperature range from -40°C to +85°C with minimal impact on the battery life and radio signal. It monitors temperature and humidity for you to be aware of environmental conditions inside the fridge or cold room with supplies. Besides, 10 years of battery life makes it an investment, which will definitely pay off.

Speaking about the necessary devices for restaurants, we should also mention TEKTELIC BREEZE-D, which monitors CO2 levels, barometric air pressure, temperature, humidity, and light. Its sleek design and compact size make it suitable for any interior and its long battery life ensures that you will gain more than spend on this device. BREEZE-D is a sensor, which goes together with an E-Ink display that shows measurements all the time, updating them every minute. You can mount a display near the entrance, so guests will know for sure that they enter a safe and ventilated area.

TEKTELIC solutions for restaurants are designed to help restaurateurs improve their overall compliance and safety. With digital systems for food safety, compliance can be tracked in real-time and across all of a restaurant’s locations. The system eliminates the need for manual records and allows area administrators to oversee multiple locations without needing to travel to each one. Besides helping improve compliance across multiple locations, these systems save time and money by streamlining the management of many tasks due to automated data gathering. Restaurants have realized the benefits of a cloud-based system and are now reaping the benefits of increased food safety scores and productivity.

Summing up

Advanced restaurant data analytics tools can help reduce operational expenses and help to attract more customers. These tools present operational information on a dashboard that allows you to analyze trends and spend time managing the restaurant rather than sorting through transactions or paperwork. These smart applications collect all relevant data about a restaurant and present it in an easy-to-use format that can be accessed from anywhere. They make it easy to find and sort through relevant information on a single dashboard.

The future of the hospitality industry will be based on the Internet of Things and other smart technologies, so it is really important for restaurateurs to make a move now to be ahead of their competitors. That is why, if you have a business in the hospitality sphere and want to satisfy customers’ needs while increasing revenues, you should find a minute to contact the TEKTELIC support team and start gaining benefits from IoT technology.

1. Resendes, S. (2020). 26 Online Ordering Statistics Every Restaurateur Should Know in 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2022, from https://upserve.com/restaurant-insider/online-ordering-statistics/#:~:text=From%20February%20to%20April%20there%20was%20a%20169%25,This%20is%20not%20a%20regional%20or%20urban%20trend.

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