Guest blog by RotaCloud

It’s clear from Zonal’s no-show statistics that public behaviour has to change if our pubs and restaurants are ever to fully recover from the impacts of Brexit and Covid-19.

But customer no-shows aren’t only affecting restaurants’ bottom lines — they’re also having a serious impact on the lives of their employees, as well as making the already severe staffing crisis even worse.

According to RotaCloud research, in June this year, 85% of UK hospitality businesses were actively recruiting staff. Of these businesses, 77% said that they were having difficulty finding staff.

Pub and restaurant owners have been working hard to plug the holes in their workforces ever since covid restrictions were lifted. But the industry as a whole remains severely understaffed, and as we head towards the Christmas and New Year season there are concerns that we may see more closures as a result.

When a party fails to show up for the table that they’ve booked, logic dictates that it eats into that business’ profits. From the food prepared to the number of staff on the rota, there’s a plethora of costs that must be borne — and that can’t be recouped — should the day not go to plan.

But there’s also an enormous knock-on effect for staff, and the industry in general.

With fewer covers, and therefore less work for staff to do, managers are often left with a difficult decision to make: do they find busywork for their staff, or do they try to minimise their losses by asking staff if they’d be willing to go home early?

Neither of these outcomes are good.

In the first instance, the business takes the financial hit, paying their staff for the hours they were originally set to work, despite the fact that takings are down.

In the second, the business still suffers but employees also go home with less pay than they’d anticipated — something that few, if any, of us can afford to do right now.

As no-shows become more and more common, rota managers also begin to second-guess themselves. With one in seven bookings now expected not to show up, should managers continue to plan their staff rotas based on expected demand, or should they intentionally schedule fewer team members (and risk being overwhelmed if everyone does show up)? Should their staff, in turn, expect to be sent home early more often? When employees can no longer rely on the hours they’re given, and when pubs and restaurants risk going out of business simply by covering their labour costs, it’s hardly surprising that staff should be reluctant to hang around, instead seeking the routine and relative financial stability offered by roles in other industries.

During this incredibly difficult time, what our restaurants, pubs, and bars need is a boost. They need the work they do keeping staff and patrons safe while providing high levels of service to be rewarded, and for their staff to feel secure in their jobs, not left wondering whether they’ll have their shifts cut short or take home enough money to make ends meet.[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]It’s vital that we — as food lovers, as bar-hoppers, as pub-goers — do our bit to help our hospitality businesses recover. And that starts with making no-shows a thing of the past.

Tips for managing hospitality staff in an uncertain climate  

• Keep your team in the loop. The only thing worse than being asked to go home early is when you show up for a shift, only to find out you’re no longer needed. Put a system in place to ensure that staff are made aware of any changes to the schedule as quickly, and as far in advance, as possible, so that they have time to make alternate plans. Keep your team aware of the issues you’re facing and communicate with them regularly.
• Build in time contingency plans. When customers don’t show, try to use the downtime for something else. Have a list of tasks on hand that can be worked through by your team during quieter periods. Alternatively, use this time for training and development, and upskilling or reskilling of staff.
• Use labour forecasting tools. Labour forecasting tools — software that uses past revenue data to accurately predict future staffing needs — not only makes scheduling easier but reduces the chances of overspending on staffing, taking some of the pressure off your business in the event that a booking fails to turn up. Identifying any micro-trends from previous weeks or months of data could help to better predict future no-shows.

 

 

About RotaCloud

RotaCloud is a simple, fuss-free way to help businesses manage their staff. It cuts down on admin and helps busy managers schedule shifts, record employee time and attendance and keep track of things like sickness and annual leave. All the tools you need to make organising a team quick and easy, in one place. To try RotaCloud for free, just head to RotaCloud.com

By Olivia FitzGerald, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Zonal

As part of our latest campaign #ShowUpForHospitality, we have taken a deep dive into the whys and wherefores of no-shows in hospitality – a practice that costs the industry an astonishing £17.5bn a year.

Our research, in partnership with CGA, found that younger consumers are particular offenders but a second group also emerged as more likely to no show than others – parents.

Since hospitality reopened in April 2021, 15% of parents have failed to turn up for their booking without telling the venue in advance (compared to only 4% of non-parents). Perhaps even more concerning to operators, however, one-fifth (21%) say they are more likely to no-show than they were before the pandemic – much higher than those without children (6%).

Worryingly, this group is extremely valuable to hospitality. Consumers with children are more frequent visitors to venues, with 37% of parents visiting the trade once a week compared to 24% of non-parents and the research shows they also spend more per month. Yet they are also the least likely to recognise the damage not turning up does to pubs, bars and restaurants, with a mere 35% of parents saying they recognise and understand the impact not turning up has on such business, compared to 47% of non-parents.

All this demonstrates why it is vital that hospitality businesses put in place tools to allow busy parents to amend or cancel bookings if needed. And this is particularly true now, as we approach Christmas – a key trading period that in 2021 will be even more significant to the industry than it usually is, given that last year Christmas got cancelled.

With this in mind, here’s some key ideas and advice to help you encourage parents, and indeed anyone likely not to turn up, to #ShowUpForHospitality.

• Clear communication with parents

Parents are busy and the research shows that has a knock-on effect to hospitality because 17% of parents said they forget about their reservations. Some 15% say they did not honour a booking due to not being reminded and a further 14% agree that they would be less likely to no-show if they were contacted by the venue ahead of their booking.

This highlights the importance of keeping in touch with this group in particular. So, we recommend setting up email or text alerts to remind customers about their booking ahead of their arrival.

• Provide parents with multiple ways to amend a booking

Providing multiple options for frazzled parents to cancel their reservations is key. Our research has revealed that 45% of parents are more interested in using digital channels to help them cancel and amend bookings vs 36% of non-parents. Bear this mind and make sure you switch on multiple channels to make life easier for them.

From email, text and app to online functions, ensuring the correct digital tools are in place will help customers inform you that they need to cancel and help you encourage them to amend their booking as opposed to cancelling completely.

• Consider deposits

Interestingly, in general consumers have become more willing to pay to secure a booking and even pay a fee if they don’t show up and there’s no evidence to suggest parents feel any differently. In fact, the research shows 51% of UK pub and restaurant goers are happy to pay a deposit to book a table, and even more (55%) are in favour of paying no-show fees.

Whereas traditionally there has been a scepticism and nervousness around the use of deposits and no-show fees in hospitality, this latest insight shows that, while a blanket approach may not be the optimum way forward for operators, consumers are far more inclined to accept them than we previously thought – and for a wider range of occasions.

This shows that deposits and no-show fees shouldn’t just be reserved for high-end restaurants or Valentine’s Day and Christmas but are a legitimate tool for reducing no shows during busy trading periods.

Guest blog by PayPal

The in-venue stage of the customer journey – your customers’ experience from arrival to ordering and paying for their food – has irreversibly changed over the past 18 months, with digital solutions being placed centre stage. Most notable of these has been order and pay at table solutions, from apps to web ordering, which have now become second nature to many. 

Whilst they may not be the preference of all, stats from Zonal and CGA’s GO Technology research programme show that in-venue order and pay apps are here to stay. Customers increasingly expect them, and they can also improve your operational efficiency too.

Restaurants and pubs are hoping for a busy autumn and winter of in-venue diners and drinkers. As Covid restrictions ease, customers may be eager to spend their lockdown savings on eating, drinking and socialising.

According to research by Lumina Intelligence, the UK market for eating out will grow by 33.4% in 2021 and will have exceeded pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.

But, this isn’t a return to “the before times”. It’s clear that customers’ service expectations have changed, especially with regard to ordering and paying.

Some of us with a career in full-service hospitality may find it hard to imagine why customers could wish to sit in a restaurant and order on their phones. Why not interact with a human professional? As Zonal’s research shows, there are good reasons why people prefer their screens.

What’s more, embracing the preference can work to your advantage in more ways than simply giving customers what they want (always a good thing to do).

Let’s take a look.

3 reasons to offer in-venue order and payment apps.

While Covid-19 certainly accelerated uptake of the in-venue app or web-ordering experience, it’s a trend that’s been growing for several years and will continue to grow as customers pour back to your venue.

If you thought offering an app was just a stop-gap solution, think again.

1. Customers increasingly expect and value the app or web experience.

In Zonal’s research, two out of five people said that contactless ordering and payment was more important to them than 12 months ago.

Why? Half say it’s because of convenience and nearly half (47%) say it’s about ease of payment.

That’s not surprising when respondents also say that their top three frustrations when ordering in pubs, bars or restaurants are:

• struggling to get servers’ attention (cited by 30%)
• Items not being available (22%)
• Being rushed to place an order (18%).

With a mobile app or web-ordering solution, customers can choose from an up-to-date menu at their convenience.

2. In-venue apps reduce unprofitable dwell-time.

Time spent waiting for a server – either to place an order, or to ask for the bill and pay – is frustrating for customers and could be unprofitable for your operation.

What’s more, last impressions count. The final minutes of any experience have a disproportionate effect on our overall memory, so billing and payment are important steps to get right.

The Zonal report shows that customers’ two top priorities at the end of a visit are:

• Being able to pay immediately, and
• Having a wide choice of payment options.

Their top frustrations at this stage, alongside the automatic addition of a service charge (cited by 18%), include:

• An incorrect bill (14%)
• Struggling to get a server’s attention (14%)
• Having to wait to get their bill (11%).

Again, it is clear how an order and payment solution can help – enabling the customer to receive and settle an accurate bill (no room for human error) as soon as they’re ready to go.

And, as the world is increasingly cashless and contactless, a mobile-based solution opens the way to offer a wide range of payment options including cards, the PayPal wallet, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Offering digital payment solutions can also make it simpler for guests to divide and settle bills between themselves.

3. Free your valuable staff to focus on other tasks.

What about the human touch? What about professional service? Providing an in-venue order and payment solution is not about removing the human element. It’s about making the most of your valuable staff.

Unsurprisingly, more than half of customers (51%) prefer to be welcomed in person and a third say that friendly and helpful service is the most important aspect of placing orders.

But, in an environment where the hospitality sector faces recruitment challenges and staff shortages, it makes sense to place your people where they can be of greatest value and to support them with the information that digital solutions can provide.

Remember to add PayPal

Offering customers an excellent, on-mobile, in-venue ordering and payment solution can help bring clear benefits to your customers and your operations.

As you design or enhance your app, remember to include PayPal as a payment option. Zonal’s research shows that consumers rank a wide choice of payment options as being one of the most important aspects of settling bills and PayPal, with over 400 million customers worldwide, is widely trusted as a payment method both online and in person.

With PayPal, customers can pay how they please – by credit or debit card, using their PayPal account, or with increasingly popular alternative payment methods.

What’s more, PayPal makes it simple for guests to transfer money to each other to simplify bill-splitting and sharing using their account.

In fact, across the entertainment & leisure and food sectors, PayPal users are more likely to have a favourable online experience than non-PayPal users.

Customer satisfaction is also strong with PayPal. Net Promoter Scores (NPS) in the entertainment & leisure sector are four points higher when paying with PayPal.

PayPal’s advanced fraud protection technology also helps to protect venues by minimising fraudulent payments.

To read more about how PayPal could support your hospitality operations, visit enterprise.

 

About PayPal

PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. PayPal allows any business or individual with an email address to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online. Our network builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards to create a global, real-time payment solution. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable, and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering more than 400 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.

For more information, visit our website.

Henri Jooste, Strategic Product Manager at Zonal, discusses customer sentiment towards deposits based on findings from our recent GO Technology research.

No-shows will unfortunately always occur to some degree, and whilst our recent #ShowUpForHospitality campaign has been working hard to raise awareness of the issue amongst consumers, there are specific tactics operators can consider to minimise the impact.

Whilst deposits certainly aren’t a flawless solution and should never be implemented as a blanket approach, the findings from our recent research certainly provide food for thought.

Asking customers for a deposit ahead of their visit is often considered to go against the casual nature of visits to pubs, bars, and restaurants. However, it seems that consumer attitudes to deposits are changing. 51% of UK pub and restaurant goers say that they would be happy to pay a deposit to book a table, and even more (55%) would be willing to pay a no-show fee.

We know from the research that 28% of 18–34-year-olds are likely to be a no-show. These guests are also some of the more-frequent visitors to hospitality venues – around 64% eat out weekly; far higher than 29% of the general population who do so. The impact, therefore, of their no-show habits has a much greater impact on an operator’s bottom line.

However, it’s this younger generation that are more resistant to paying deposits and no-show fees – around 2 in 7 (28%), so operators should absolutely tread carefully when considering implementing a deposit policy for this demographic and think about alternative preventative measures.

More commonplace over the years has been taking deposits for specific events or days, Christmas or Valentine’s Day for example, with customers recognising that increased demand for hospitality services on these days means a more concrete sign of commitment may be in order. But asking customers about their willingness to lay down a deposit for other outings, whilst lower, yielded some surprising results.

Deposits for special occasions

Our GO Technology research shows that around two-thirds (65%) of guests are willing to pay a deposit when booking a special occasion or a special event, compared to 41% for more casual occasions. Again, this is another option worth considering for operators for occasion-led and/or event-led offerings, such as party packages, themed events or optional extras.

Deposits for large groups

A large group booking failing to materialise is particularly damaging to both team morale and an operator’s bottom line, and customers appear to recognise this. Over half of consumers are willing to pay a deposit when booking for a larger group (over 6 people), with 58% reporting that they’re comfortable doing so, compared to only 16% who stated that they would not be comfortable with this.

But the successful implementation of deposits looks different for every venue, meaning operators must strike a balance so as to not deter potential customers whilst still remaining beneficial from an operational standpoint. The ins-and-outs of choosing to implement a deposits policy or not is entirely dependent on what’s right for your business, there is no right or wrong answer. After all, nobody knows your customers like you do!

About the author

Strategic Product Manager at Zonal, Henri has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with skills in stock management, procurement, supplier management, finance & cost control and business process improvement. Henri works closely with Zonal’s R&D teams to help deliver solutions that will not only meet operators needs now but in the future.

Building and maintaining relationships with customers is one of the cornerstones of creating a loyal customer base. Technology provides us with more opportunities than ever to achieve this, however keeping up with changes throughout the world of tech can be difficult at the best of times.

To help with this, Airship have put together a guest blog detailing their thoughts on the upcoming iOS 15 release, along with tips on adapting marketing strategies to ensure your customer communications remain effective despite some drastic changes.

There’s a change coming and it’s going to shake things up for marketeers.

By Dan Brookman, CEO, Airship

It’s all to do with the new iOS 15 rollout that’s expected between September and November this year. We’ve been doing some research as well as testing the beta release, and the following article lays out our findings, the changes they bring for marketeers, challenges for email marketing, new metrics and our recommendations.

A bit of background

Apple has always been a champion of privacy for its users. This isn’t something new, it’s already randomised mac addresses to reduce WiFi tracking and has stringent rules for the use of the Apple Wallet and to scrutinise Apps making it through to the app store to protect users’ privacy.

It’s a big change though, and specifically for email marketers one that will require a rethink of how measurement is made of success. Open Rates have long been questionable as a metric; when Airship started out it was more relatable as a Read Rate as you were much more certain, with less volume, that the email had indeed been read.

A big thing to remember is that Apple generally leads with these big changes and, without doubt, other platforms will follow. The fear of losing market share to Apple and consumer demand will see to it; although the speed of sweeping changes across all platforms might still take a couple of years to come to fruition.

“Most importantly, this isn’t the end for email, it’s just the beginning of a new way to report on success.”

How many people use Apple’s Mail App?

According to Sparkpost, who deliver 40% of the world’s commercial and transactional email, their 2021 Benchmark Report saw 38.1% of all opens and clicks coming from one of the Apple Mail app clients, with 25.7% on iPhone, 9.6% on desktop and 2.8% on iPad. This is second only to Gmail (on mobile and desktop) as the largest market share of any device/client family.

How is Apple approaching it?

We’ve downloaded the BETA of iOS 15 and done some testing and can announce that the changes that Apple have made mean that Open Rates will pretty much no longer mean anything. The change is simple… Apple automatically downloads every image in an email without the recipient having to do anything. They aren’t blocking or removing anything, they are simply invalidating the metric by registering every image including the transparent gif that does the tracking.

Another feature of the update (less understood at present) is the ability for the user to ‘Hide My Email’. This, in effect, enables the user to have a ‘burner’ email account. They get to sign-up for offers and receive an offer but then in effect the email address is burnt and then will hard bounce.

This particular change is very much aimed at marketers that rely on second and third-party data.

What are the core changes for Marketeers?

Well, open rates will go up. It’s not only @mac @icloud addresses but also any email that’s read through Apple Mail. Users will need to accept the change but it’s already established that a high proportion will, following similar updates which saw a 96% take-up.

• Open Rates are no longer a reliable metric
  Quite simply, unless we remove or identify Apple Mail users and remove them from reporting. The problem with this is that a small number of customers will use multiple devices and also the other providers are likely to be hot on Apple’s heels so we may as well accept the change.
• Retention Broadcasts
  Generally based on proof of opening will no longer be relevant. This is a challenge for a few different reasons:
  • Reactivating customers with a strong offer to re-engage with email is a base tool in a marketeer’s toolbox. This can no longer be trusted based on the open rate as many customers’ emails will auto-open. You can’t base it on click rate only as that would decimate lists, so we need to think of a new way to identify lapsed email audiences.
  • Trap Addresses are going to be harder to catch. Trap addresses are left by the ESPs to catch-out poor marketeers that don’t do retention emails and therefore don’t clean their lists. This may cause email to be throttled on delivery or bounced.
  • Our recommendation will be to turn off retention emails. Over the course of the next few weeks we’ll lay out our response to this change and how we’ll handle it in the future.
• Send by previous broadcast
  Where you are sending email to those who didn’t respond to the first send will now exclude these users. You still have the opportunity though to send to people that do or don’t click.
• Split testing is currently based on open rate and click rate.
• Automations that send a follow-up email to non-openers will need to be updated to be only clickers
• Automated populated segments around email engagement will need to be updated to reflect click only.
• Time and location-based tracking will become redundant.

So is it all bad?

We don’t think so. There’s needed to be a shift to more meaningful metrics and truthfully that’s long overdue. Back to the original point; an ‘Open’ does not reflect a brand engagement; that really can only be reported as a click OR more obviously as a purchase or visit.

There’s a ton of new digital touch points now for hospitality businesses. It’s just a case of harnessing that data to bring it together to represent something meaningful and actionable.

How will marketers have to think differently?

• The biggest change for marketeers is to start focusing on clicks
  Let’s face it, opens are vanity, clicks are sanity and purchase is the ultimate goal with sales as the final measurement.
• It’s time to look at new metrics
  Hospitality has more data available to it than ever before. Use all of the first party data available to you to understand success metrics.
• Focus on your 5%
  Focussing on your 5%, the segment that generally delivers around 30% of your revenue will help you generate growth. Understanding who they are, how to attract more of them and how to retain them.
• Look to new channels
  SMS offers an unrivalled engagement rate. Since GDPR kicked in, the channel is much cleaner with the public perception restored. We recommend SMS for journeys and automations.
• Focus on first-party data
  Think about running competitions, about enriching your current data with new additional preference and segmentation data.
• Focus on first-party data (again)
  Make sure that ALL the data in your business drives through to your CRM and is engaged correctly from the outset.
• Push for clicks
  Don’t put all your content in your email bodies, think about linking out to content on your website.

Resources

Here’s some reading material for you to understand the release.