In today’s world, mobile devices are engrained in our everyday lives – just think about how many times you look at your smart phone in a day. Mobile devices help us stay connected, informed, and even provide entertainment, so it’s only natural that the concept of having everything at your fingertips, would carry over and that mobility in the hospitality has an important place.
Increasingly, we are starting to see mobile technology permeate hotels and food and beverage operations. From a consumer perspective, guests have the potential to interact with multiple mobile technologies in one visit; for example, an app or a kiosk in a grab-and-go operation or a pay at the table device in a full-service restaurant operation. Utilizing mobile technology for activities such as tableside ordering, room service ordering, and pay at the table can significantly increase guest satisfaction and repeat visits.
For hotel restaurant operators, arguably the biggest benefit of mobility is turning tables quicker. There are two main ways that mobility helps achieve this:
1) Ordering: With a mobile device, servers can take and send orders to the kitchen right from the guest’s table, speeding up the whole dining process. Alternatively, guests can even use their own mobile device to order ahead, add to their order while in the restaurant, and pay for their order. They can even order room service from their mobile device! Again, this speeds up the dining process.
2) Reservations: Employees can manage reservations more efficiently by being untethered. They can check the status of tables (where guests are in their meal) and make updates to tables in real time, getting guests in and out swifter.
With multiple benefits for guests, hospitality operators should evaluate the business case for mobility in their operation. Consumers are increasingly moving toward the BYOD (bring your own device) mentality in all facets of life. Investing in mobile solutions that give guests the power to order ahead, make reservations themselves, pay from their phones, and skip lines, will only boost business. We expect these capabilities to be standard in the future, so now is the time to get ahead of your competition!
The key to implementing mobility is ensuring that your point-of-sale (POS) platform will allow you to enable new channels. For example, Infrasys POS is built on a stable platform that gives operators the flexibility to implement new technologies as they emerge, plus the software is hardware agnostic meaning that you can run it on any device, with any operating system (iOS, Android and Windows). This make Infrasys a true mobile companion. With Infrasys, you get more out of your POS investment.
This article was originally written by the Infrasys team. It has been moved here as part of the Shiji Group family of hospitality technology brands.
