The latest figures from leading hospitality tech provider Zonal and data and insight firm CGA by NielsenIQ reveal the likelihood of no-shows has almost halved, from 11% to 6%. The research also shows that the number of consumers making reservations and honouring them has increased by 15 percentage points, reducing the cost of no-shows to the hospitality sector to £12.6bn – saving the industry £5bn a year.

The new research marks the one-year anniversary of Zonal’s #ShowUpForHospitality campaign, which found that customers not showing up for bookings was costing the industry an estimated £17.6bn a year in lost revenue, with one in seven people not turning up to their reservations and not informing the venue.

The campaign highlighted the effect and harm no-shows cause to hospitality businesses already struggling to survive after the pandemic and tried to educate consumers on the financial and operational impact caused by not turning up for a booking.

Olivia FitzGerald, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Zonal said: “While no-shows continue to have a costly impact on the hospitality industry, something which is felt even more keenly by already hard-pressed hospitality businesses, it is welcome news that the number of people honouring their bookings has increased. Now that we’re a year on from the launch of #ShowUpForHospitality, it’s clear that the industry’s efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in no-shows.

“Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes play a pivotal role in our communities and everyday lives, so it’s important to raise awareness on how crucial it is to support them and always show up for hospitality. At Zonal, we’re continuing to work with our customers to provide seamless booking technology to mitigate the risk of lost revenue.”

CGA client director Andy Dean says: “ A year on from the launch of the campaign has shown consumers the damage inflicted when they don’t turn up to their bookings, and it’s extremely positive to see the number of no-shows has almost halved during this time. On Premise, businesses face a multitude of challenges right now and its important as we head into winter months and beyond that consumers continue to embrace their bookings and support hospitality businesses.”

We are thrilled to announce that Zonal has become the latest partner to back major recruitment campaign, Hospitality Rising.

We will be supporting the campaign as it looks to solve the industry’s staffing crisis and revolutionise the way people view careers in the sector by creating what is being dubbed the world’s biggest hospitality recruitment drive.

We are joining other influential businesses in supporting the collaborative campaign, including Whitbread, Pret a Manger, Welcome Break, Revolution, Vapiano, Hilton and Hawksmoor. By encouraging venues and brands to pledge £10 for each employee, the campaign hopes to raise £5m to drive marketing and recruitment across the industry.

Olivia FitzGerald, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Zonal, said: “The team at Zonal have partnered with hospitality businesses since the company was founded over 40 years ago, and like our customers, we’re proud to be part of a sector that puts people at the heart of all it does.

“Recruitment is a huge concern for the industry today, so it was clear that we needed to back Hospitality Rising – working with operators to tackle the challenge with one voice and making hospitality the career of choice for young jobseekers.”

Mark McCulloch, founder of Hospitality Rising and Campaign Director, said: “By coming together and simply investing a small portion of our budgets into driving forward this major recruitment campaign, we can ensure that the industry flourishes once again and gains the recognition it truly deserves.”

“We are grateful for this latest backing from Zonal and to all the other fantastic investors that have pledged their support. There has never been a more crucial time than now to work towards a brighter future for all of those in hospitality.”

We are pleased to announce Stewart Moss as the new Managing Director of our hotel tech arm of the business, High Level Software (HLS).

The appointment comes at an exciting time for Zonal’s hotel division and Stewart will be helping drive the business forward and ensuring it remains at the cutting edge of hospitality technology.

He joins from Cedar Court Hotels Yorkshire, where he was Group Director of Sales and Marketing and has previously held management roles at IHG Hotels and Resorts and Accor. His vast managerial expertise will be at the forefront of HLS, to help the business grow in the hotel market.

Stuart McLean, CEO of Zonal, said: “We are delighted to welcome Stewart to the Zonal family. With his strong background in the hotel sector, he has a deep understanding of the challenges operators face and a wealth of experience in boosting revenues and identifying potential new income streams. His vast insight and expertise will be an asset in helping our hotel partners grow, as well as nurturing and developing our own position in the hotel sector. He is the perfect person to lead HLS and take us to the next level.”

Stewart Moss added, “I’ve admired Zonal for some time, and Stuart and the team have done an outstanding job creating a brand that really stands out in the hotel technology sector. I am thrilled to be joining a company that is outperforming the market, growing its estate, and delivering outstanding service, and I can’t wait to get stuck into this exciting new role. I am ready to invest my experience into High Level Software and I hope we can grow to be a thriving technology face in the hotel market.”

Excitingly, Stewart’s appointment comes at the same time as the company unveils its new HLS Marketplace solution. The new product is a collection of hospitality apps and integrations forming a central software solution to help hotel operators find a smarter way to work. The solution is designed to streamline operations, enhance guest experiences and generate more revenue. To find out more visit HLS Marketplace.

New stats indicate a fresh occasion for hospitality, as breakfast bookings up nearly 60% for Father’s Day last weekend.

The latest figures from Zonal show a 57% increase in bookings for breakfast on Sunday 19^th June 2022 compared to Father’s Day last year. Overall breakfast accounted for 12.5% of all bookings for the day this year.

Roast dinner fans can rest easy however, as lunch remains the most popular Father’s Day treat, with 39.5% of bookings in pubs and restaurants at this time. The stats also show people booked earlier this year than in 2021, with 28% of people booking at least one week in advance, up from 24% in 2021. This is backed up by the fact that fewer people booked at the last minute this year – with 23% of bookings taking place on the day in 2022 versus 33% last year.

Similarly, the insight shows Mother’s Day celebrations this year were typically planned in advance with 46% booked more than a week before and just 15% on the day. Brunch was popular on this occasion with five times as many more bookings for brunch with Mum than with Dad. Mothering Sunday continues to be more popular than Father’s Day overall, with 24% more bookings in pubs and restaurants.

Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Zonal, Olivia FitzGerald, said:  “The rise in bookings for breakfast with Dad and brunch with Mum represent a real opportunity for the trade. Operators should be looking to tap into this trend next year by driving sales earlier in the day on both Father’s and Mother’s Day with advance promotions, offers, and up-selling.

“With consumer confidence waning as the cost of living rises, savvy operators will be thinking creatively about budget-friendly family occasions, using different day parts to maximise the opportunity.”

We are currently recruiting to fill over 60 roles across the UK and are holding a recruitment fair on 23 June at the Apex Grassmarket Hotel in Edinburgh, where job seekers can find out more about us, our innovation and the available roles.

Many of the new positions are in the R&D division, which reflects our drive to grow, innovate and to ensure that our systems remain cutting edge, delivering optimum performance, efficiency and insight.

Available jobs include developers, testers, business analysts, and helpcentre analysts, as well as platform engineers and solution and data architects.

Born out of hospitality more than 40 years ago, Zonal is the largest supplier of specialist hospitality technology to pubs, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses. A family business at heart, we care passionately about the hospitality industry, its customers and its people.

Zonal’s range of best-in-class technology includes our award-winning EPoS, online ordering, booking systems, kitchen management, stock control systems and range of customer engagement tools such as loyalty and vouchering.

Catriona Dick, Head of HR, Zonal said, “We’re delighted to announce this recruitment fair in Edinburgh and are excited to meet new faces and to welcome more people into the Zonal family. We’re looking to hire people with a real passion and enthusiasm for innovation and the hospitality and tech industries.

To find out more about the roles available, please visit the Zonal careers website. For more information about Zonal’s recruitment fair on 23^rd June, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/zonal-careers-fair-tickets-348111499867.

Zonal has partnered with booking channel aggregator, Mozrest to offer hospitality businesses the opportunity to boost their online bookings through Google, Facebook and Instagram.

An Ofcom survey recently revealed that UK adults now spend more than 3.5 hours a day online – researching, ordering, purchasing and communicating^[1]. The integration between Zonal and Mozrest allows operators to access a previously untapped opportunity by converting searches to bookings.

With Mozrest, venues can add a booking button to Google Search and Google Maps results featuring their pub or restaurant, as well as their Facebook and Instagram profile pages, generating incremental bookings while building their own brands. Venues that implement both Mozrest’s solution as well as Zonal’s booking platform will be able to track bookings in real-time, show available slots online and send instant confirmation email, SMS and booking reminders to customers.

Commenting on the partnership, Olivia FitzGerald Chief Sales Marketing Officer, Zonal said: “Online bookings are, increasingly, an integral part of the customer journey and the partnership with Mozrest gives operators an opportunity to reach more customers and drive more sales whilst providing even more control of their bookings.”

Jérôme Pernollet, Founder & CEO of Mozrest, added: “Our partnership with Zonal presents a huge opportunity for restaurants to enhance their visibility online, receive more bookings and increase their revenue. We’re thrilled to be able to offer Zonal customers ways to make their booking and reservation systems future-proof.”

^[1] Ofcom Online Nation 2021 report: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform, Total Internet, Age: 18+, monthly average 2020, UK

Efforts by the widespread industry campaign reduces the cost of no-shows by nearly £4bn

New figures show that the industry could collectively save £3.8bn a year in lost sales due to a decrease in dreaded no-shows following the launch of our widespread industry campaign #ShowUpForHospitality in September 2021.

The campaign was prompted by our research in partnership with data and insights consultancy, CGA, which showed that no-shows were costing the sector £17.6bn a year. When the original research was conducted last year, one in seven (14%) people had not turned up to their reservation and not informed the venue.

However, the latest CGA figures, taken from research of 2,000 consumers conducted this January, reveal that no-shows have dropped to 11%. This three percent reduction equates to a collective saving of £3.8bn a year if the trend continues.

Olivia FitzGerald, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Zonal said: “No-shows are an issue that have impacted our industry for quite some time, so it’s encouraging to see that numbers have reduced since launching our #ShowUpForHospitality campaign. The hospitality world is a tight-knit community and one we’re really proud to be a part of, so it’s great to see the industry rally together around raising awareness of the costly impact of no-shows.”

“We know that there is more to do to reduce the occurrence of no-shows. At Zonal, we’re keen to continue our support for the industry, in particular looking for new ways that technology can play a role in helping them to rebuild after a difficult few years. Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés are the hubs of local communities, so it’s important to that we play our part in helping them to thrive.”

CGA client director Andy Dean says: “Hospitality’s concerted efforts to tackle the blight of no-shows are working. The campaign has shown people the damage that they inflict on venues when they don’t turn up, at a time when so many businesses are financially precarious. With COVID concerns hopefully receding, we may see no-show rates falling further in the months ahead—but nearly £14bn a year is still being lost to no-shows, so there is clearly still a lot of work to be done.”

Getting involved is really simple – download the campaign pack to learn more, join the conversation and help spread the message far and wide and encourage customers to #ShowUpForHospitality via LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.