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The average restaurant operating a sit-down dining experience can miss 15-30 percent of incoming calls on average, with that number possibly being even higher during busy hours. The most common asks are to make a reservation, ask a Frequently-Asked-Question (e.g., menu, hours, etc.), menu, hours, etc.),
What can you expect to see on menus in 2025? From salted egg yolks and chili crunch fusions to mushroom-infused teas and freeze-dried fruit powder garnishes, Kimpton’s in-house experts share the standout ingredients, menu items and techniques that will come to the table in 2025.
This will also allow the operator to concentrate on the operational and menu aspects, ensuring that both customer service and menu innovation remain exceptional and continuously evolving. What are common mistakes you see restaurant operators making in their marketing efforts and how can they rebound?
Improve Seasonal Menu Offerings When it comes to the holidays, consumers love to tuck into festive favorites. It’s the perfect season for experimenting with new menu items that align with previous seasonal trends. Analyze Previous Holiday Sales Data Past sales data is invaluable when it comes to planning the upcoming season.
Guests spending hundreds of dollars for a memorable meal and making reservations months in advance just to garner a seat. Wine lists that resemble an encyclopedia of the wine making craft are just the price of admission. Its an incredibly difficult life, one that only a few have been able to master. Act as if your family name was on the line.
Other restaurants are integrating AI into reservations, guest messaging, and even menu pricing—helping them react to demand in real time. It’s about taking friction out of operations—so staff can spend more time focused on hospitality, not paperwork. Think about your morning routine.
Now that states are beginning to loosen their lockdown restrictions and reopen small businesses like restaurants, it’s fair to wonder how drastically the dine-in experience will have to change to accommodate the new safety requirements. And even with stricter guidelines in place, will customers actually risk dining out in public spaces?
Solo dining – a time dedicated to eating a meal alone at a sit-down restaurant – is an opportunity for diners to practice self care over a meal, whether that be by relaxing and reflecting at the end of a long day or even by engaging the mind with a book or catching up on the news. Just the “cover count.”
By incorporating non-branded keywords into their website, menu descriptions, and online listings, restaurants can capture more organic traffic and improve visibility in local searches. Customers often browse Instagram for aesthetic appeal and real-time updates before deciding where to dine.
With 90% of diners checking a restaurant online before visiting, you also need a strong online presence to attract and boost reservations. Local SEO strategies, like targeting location-specific searches, will help your site show up when people look for nearby dining options on search engines.
Restaurant operators need to embrace menu and technological innovations in order to meet guest expectations this holiday season, according to the Fall/Winter Trend report: a report produced by Provoke Insights in collaboration with Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine. "Our The study was in-field in Sept-Oct 2024.
percent menu-price inflation rate. With households increasingly treating dining out as a luxury, every menu item and service interaction becomes a potential make-or-break moment. Red Robin climbs 3 percent to 78 thanks in large part to its focus on menu and food. At the same time, U.S. chain sales grew just 3.1
This Valentine's Day edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features dining and gifting trends including the importance of experience. Restaurants saw 41 percent more transactions The busiest dining hour? Analyzing data from full-service restaurants on Feb. percent in 2024. percent in 2024.
Organize all your orders dine-in, online, and third-party and fulfill them in a flash, right from your POS. The restaurant, with its then-$55 and -$80 tasting menus, was a food-media darling: In 2019, it earned a Michelin star and topped the Los Angeles Times 101 Best Restaurants list. Subscribe now for more stories like this.
Valentine’s Day is often a busy time for restaurants, but many are now dealing with various challenges amid the pandemic, like no indoor dining or limited capacity as well as more customers opting for carry out. Make Your Menu the Main Course.
In todays competitive dining landscape, hospitality is what truly sets a restaurant apart. Hospitality in a Digital World With online reservations, mobile ordering, and QR menus, its easy for the human touch to get lost. Hospitality isnt just serviceits the emotional connection that keeps guests coming back.
The right restaurant newsletter doesnt just share updates; it keeps customers invested in your brand, your menu, and your next move. The right restaurant newsletter doesnt just share updates; it keeps customers invested in your brand, your menu, and your next move. But just building an email list isnt enough.
Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine asked restaurant industry experts for their views on what trends and challenges owners and operators can expect to see in 2025. At the same time, it can result in consumers creating more waste if they order more than they can eat.
Moreover, integrated systems streamline operations, from managing reservations to tailoring in-app promotions, ensuring that every touchpoint enhances the guest experience. Predictive AI, for example, helps restaurants anticipate guest preferences, such as favorite dishes, dining times, or spending patterns.
This instability will push operators to trim costs by shortening menus and investing in labor-saving technology to free up cash for wage increases. This instability will push operators to trim costs by shortening menus and investing in labor-saving technology to free up cash for wage increases. Simplified Menus.
Between online reservations, third-party delivery apps, and direct ordering from your website, digital interactions often happen before a guest ever steps through your doors. Consumer insights: Beyond the basics, think about why people dine at your restaurant. Thats why a strong marketing strategy is the key to staying ahead.
As a precaution, dining areas were closed and at one point, even eating al fresco was prohibited in certain areas. Dining room procedures. Reservation processing. Recipe management software, on the other hand, standardizes menu items and monitors dish costs. Dining Room Procedures. Kitchen operations.
Naturally engaging for the senses, videos attract attention in a sea of content, get diners interested in your menu, and encourage visitors. Then, when they want to dine out, your restaurant is at the top of their mind. Video marketing can be your secret weapon. There are plenty of other opportunities with videos.
It puts you in control of your brand, helps customers find you online, and makes it easier for them to view your menu, book a table, or place an orderand thats just the beginning. The ways a website can drive more orders and reservations while cutting costs. A well-designed website does more than just make a good first impression.
Get Ready for Reservations (or Don’t). The first big decision you need to make for any major holiday is whether or not you’re going to accept reservations. For example, by accepting reservations you’ll allow a select few parties to skip the wait, ensuring that they’ll have a great spot and a great time.
Promote Online Ordering and Reservations. Online menus are one of the best ways to utilize technology within a restaurant. Using QR codes on tables, counters or even doors offers a touchless alternative to physical menus, minimizing the need for direct interaction with wait staff and encouraging speedy ordering.
They help with reservations and table management, staff scheduling and time management, inventory tracking, rewards programs, automated marketing, and more. For operators, restaurant apps mean higher sales, greater customer retention, and smoother day-to-day operations.
When restaurants got the green light to reopen their dining rooms, they implemented a host of safety procedures to prevent the spread of germs. Restaurants across the country shelved their paper menus and turned to digital options to reduce touchpoints. QR codes are nothing new. At least 63.6 Direct Mail Campaigns. Boost Social Media.
Restaurant review sites aren’t just for diners—they’re also savvy tools for restaurant operators to gather customer feedback and help control the narrative around their dining experience. But again: how do you know which ones deserve your attention? Add high-quality photos. family-friendly,” “vegetarian options”) 2.
An integrated marketing strategy can establish the groundwork for curating memorable dining experiences, further fostering brand loyalty and generating positive word-of-mouth to grow your business to new heights. In the dynamic and ever-evolving restaurant industry, culinary experiences are shaping customer preferences.
Incorporate high-quality images showcasing your dishes, inviting dining area, and any unique features that define your restaurant's personality. Ensure that your site is intuitive and easy to navigate, with clear menus, contact information, and reservation options readily accessible.
A well-crafted email can remind a past guest to stop by again, encourage reservations for a new seasonal menu, or even boost online orders with a limited-time discount. A well-timed email with a special offer, new menu item, or exclusive promotion can be the nudge they need to place another order.
Hospitality operators can take steps now to not only ensure an easier transition but also maintain revenue streams and guest loyalty even if on-premise dining goes away. Many operators were able to pivot to delivery or pick-up offerings when dining rooms closed. Diversifying Revenue Streams. drive-thru, curbside pick-up, etc.).
Too many missed reservations? A smart reservation and waitlist system can help. Real-Time Data & Analytics : Track sales trends, top-selling menu items, and peak business hours to make informed decisions. We then recommend the best companies in each sector so you find the right solutions for your business. Set clear goals.
These challenges are impacting menu availability, raising the prices of menu items, leading to short staffs, increasing wait times for diners, and changing operating hours and offerings. As we head into the holiday season, we expect consumers to return to in-restaurant dining with enthusiasm. That didn't hinder the service.”
Shifting Delivery and Dine-In Experiences. Today, that means restaurants have transformed their dining rooms into safe, no-touch pickup zones, with some even offering drive thru or curbside pickup for the first time. We will also see a rise in use of virtual waitlist and reservation platforms across restaurants. and abroad.
When used strategically, customer data can help you personalize marketing, streamline operations, and create a better dining experience for your guests. You can also use sales trends to adjust menu pricing and share customer-favorite menu items, helping you get the most out of high-demand dishes. You can increase revenue.
Review and Revise Your Menu Offerings. Before Restaurant Week kicks off, craft a menu that is friendly to both your bottom line and your customers. This way, you can encourage guests to return when your menu isn’t discounted while also encouraging employee retention by showcasing your kitchen team’s talents and creativity.
Having already adjusted to the rise of takeout and delivery, now restaurants are figuring out how to reopen for dine-in service while navigating social distancing and other health guidelines. Just last week, I dined outdoors at a local restaurant. It’s a new world for restaurant owners and managers.
Image by Nico Heins/Midjourney Want to sound smart at the next restaurant tech cocktail party? Add these six terms to your vocabulary. They are popping up more often in conversations this year, and they point toward deeper trends in the restaurant tech market. Starbucks’ deal with Empower Delivery fits the acqui-hire framework.
The menu, which includes the ever-popular fry bread taco, tells a story of connection, innovation, and respect for legacy and Indigenous culinary traditions. Through thoughtful collaborations and menus steeped in Indigenous traditions, these cafes honor the past while embracing innovation.
By analyzing customer preferences, dining habits, and feedback, AI chatbots can send personalized messages to engage customers with new menu items, exclusive offers, and meal recommendations. Menu Optimization With the help of QR codes, guests can access their menus from their tables.
Where Automation Can Help For instance, automated reservation systems and AI-driven customer analytics are enabling restaurants to provide more personalized service, while robotic kitchen assistants are undertaking repetitive cooking tasks, freeing staff to focus on the creative and interpersonal aspects that elevate the dining experience.
He visits your restaurant’s app and orders his favorite dish on the menu. Outside of off-premise options, contactless technologies can keep customers safe as they return to dine-in at restaurants. Then they are guided to scan a QR code to access the menu. Front-of-House. Henry is ready to order some dinner.
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