Hospitality technology specialist, Zonal, has appointed Leo Cunningham as Information Security and Compliance Manager.

Based out of Zonal’s Edinburgh headquarters, this is a new role for Zonal which has enjoyed rapid growth since its foundation more than 37 years ago.  Today the company employs more than 500 people and provides integrated EPoS and technology applications to over 11,000 businesses across the UK.

Leo will provide strategic leadership for Zonal’s Information Security and Compliance requirements to ensure the business and its customers are ready for the ever changing landscape of cyber security and new regulations.

With more than 10 years working in risk management for finance, e:commerce and FinTech, Leo said: Zonal is a technology leader in a fast-paced sector that mines vast amounts of sensitive data.  The company already has strong procedures in place, but I look forward to leading Zonal’s Information Security and Compliance programmes, policies, and procedures to ensure we meet our objectives, not just today but the future too.

Zonal chief executive Stuart McLean added: We are delighted to welcome Leo to Zonal.  As the company grows, so does our compliance and information security requirements.

This appointment demonstrates our commitment to protecting and supporting our customers and further enhances what we already do as a company on a day to day basis”

Zonal has teamed up with customer feedback specialist, Feed It Back, to extend its guest insight service.

Feed It Back fully integrates with Zonal’s Aztec EPoS system and completes the guest journey, starting with website and online bookings right through to payment, loyalty and now feedback. What makes Feed It Back so beneficial to operators is that it’s the only system to combine the guests’ feedback with live EPoS data providing information such as what they bought, what they spent and who served them. This means the feedback can be tailored to a guest’s individual experience.

We are really excited to be working with Feed It Back, which is one of the fastest growing guest insight companies for the hospitality industry in the UK. By combining real time EPoS data with engaging and personalised guest surveys, we can give our customers authentic insights that lead to better guest experiences and an improved bottom line.”

Stuart McLean, CEO of Zonal

Understanding what makes a guest tick is becoming ever more important in an increasingly competitive marketplace, especially when it costs five times more to acquire new guests than keep existing ones. The Feed It Back partnership completes Zonal’s guest insight service enabling the company to offer a truly integrated solution.

The solution works with guests being given a unique code printed on their receipt for them to complete the survey. The survey is based on real-time EPoS transaction information which enables the questions to be personalised to their visit. The survey questions and sequence are completely customisable by the operator. On completion, the guest is presented with a single-use reward voucher to encourage a return visit and build loyalty.

Zonal is the largest EPoS provider to the hospitality sector in the UK and it’s a great coup for Feed It Back to become their official guest feedback provider. The Zonal team shares our customer focused ethos and we look forward to a long-term and prosperous partnership.

Carlo Platia, CEO of Feed It Back

The UK’s leading supplier of hospitality management solutions, Zonal has completed the rollout of its Aztec software to the 614-strong Stonegate Pub Company estate in record time.

The rollout, which took three months to complete, involved installation of Zonal’s Aztec EPoS solution into Stonegate’s 2,500 plus terminals, together with the introduction of Zonal’s system in both back and head office with full integration of the company’s loyalty scheme and app.

Commenting on the success of the rollout, Stonegate’s chief financial officer, Dave Ross said:We were looking for a partner that was able to implement a new system quickly and effectively with minimal impact on our dynamic business. We now have a solution that enables us to quickly view and understand productivity and efficiency on a site-by-site basis, so that we can analyse business performance effectively.

The ambitious rollout programme included a 40 site trial, to identify any teething problems, followed by a rapid implementation phase, with 50-60 sites converted per week.

To ensure all sites were installed and ready for trading, all sites undertook a bespoke training session prior to conversion. On the day of switchover, Zonal were on site early to get the pub up and trading and were there until the end of the day to support with cashing up. A week after launch, Zonal returned to the venue to ensure all systems were working efficiently and provide any further training.

This was a major investment for us, which required minimum disruption to the business. Having a Zonal representative on site on day one was extremely important to make sure that the pub could continue to trade and that the team were supported through this important change. The Zonal helpline was key to ensuring our team had the right back-up and support said Dave.

Zonal’s chief executive Stuart Mclean added: Aztec has been developed for its versatility and offers a fully integrated product suite. We work closely with our customers to develop a solution that fits their business and culture. For Stonegate, delivering the project on time was crucial with limited disruption to the business. In additional a new fully integrated loyalty scheme and app was launched into more than 50 of their student venues.

Zonal has signed a major agreement with Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the leading operator of restaurants and pubs in the UK, to provide all sites with its hospitality technology solutions.

It follows a successful pilot scheme in a limited number of M&B outlets, which has convinced the hospitality giant to harness Zonal’s unrivalled technology on a long-term basis across its 1,600-strong estate.

Martin Taylor, Director of Business Change & Technology said: Zonal is helping us deliver innovation in technology and business processes to support our needs. They share our vision, understand our business and are one of the strongest players in the UK market.

Our aim is to install more efficient technology to help transform the guest experience. Part of this technology journey is investing in new systems for our 1,600 outlets and we have begun the installation across All Bar One, Harvester and O’Neill’s.

Mitchells & Butlers has adopted the principle of using the same technology platform across our business but tailoring the solution to suit the guest experience in each of its brands. The drinks-led businesses are concentrating on making the bar more effective and have installed new EPoS terminals and faster payment devices. In restaurants, the Company has invested in a wider technology platform, focusing on speed of service and efficient ordering processes.
The new terminals are quicker than before and give M&B the ability to offer a wide range of promotions, better and faster payments and more efficient and easier administration for its retail teams ultimately improving the overall guest experience.

Robin Young, Operations Director. Mitchells & Butlers comments: A requirement for creating a guest focused solution is being adaptable and reliable in terms of delivering the installation element of the project. Zonal is a great partner working at pace to ensure that our pubs and restaurants trade on the day of installation, as well as being able to work alongside our other key suppliers to ensure our systems are integrated to provide the best efficiency for everyone involved.

Stuart McLean, Managing Director, Zonal, said: We are absolutely delighted to have the chance to work with such a successful operator and look forward to building a lasting business partnership in the years to come.

It is great being able to help M&B offer its guests the best experience by using technology in its pubs and restaurants enhancing its customers eating or drinking encounters by making them more efficient and timely.

We have built up a great relationship with M&B working together as a team since last November, to deliver solutions for individual sites and streamline processes along the way.

Zonal, the UK’s leading EPoS provider to the hospitality industry has strengthened its position following the acquisition of innovative Midlands-based digital technology marketing company TXD Ltd.

TXD operates primarily within the hospitality sector with a wide and diverse customer base from multi-national pub companies to a large client-base in the late night sector.

The addition of TXD’s product set will compliment Zonal’s iZone industry leading marketing tools which include “Loyalty”, “Web Reservations”, “Vouchering” and “Table Management”‘.

Stuart McLean, Managing Director, Zonal says: “There are great synergies between the two companies, so naturally, we’re delighted with this acquisition, which fits perfectly into our strategy of offering market leading products and services to the industry. It extends our vision into the world of App and Website design along with email and text marketing with sophisticated consultancy services.

“The addition of Chris, David and their dedicated TXD team will bring a new dimension to Zonal and I am looking forward to working with them closely over the coming years. Operators will now be able to benefit from our combined product set, driving further revenue opportunities, reducing costs, improving margins and achieving significant ROI’s.”

Chris Albutt, Managing Director, TXD comments: “Joining forces with such a progressive company as Zonal will enable us to realise our vision of providing truly innovative products to the hospitality industry, accelerating and driving real benefits to our customers. We are really excited about the joint projects we are working on that will provide world leading, integrated solutions to our combined clients and act as a showcase to potential new business.”