From virtual assistants, to call centres and medical diagnostics, AI is being used for so many applications, and hospitality operations are no exception.
While some may fear that intelligent machines will make humans redundant, that can, of course, never be the case in hospitality: high-performing teams creating exceptional experiences for their guests are the very essence of hospitality businesses, but AI technology offers invaluable opportunities to make those guest experiences even better.
Tech already plays a fundamental role in front and back-of-house operations at most pubs but AI has some unique capabilities, such as its ability to analyse millions of variables and to learn how those variables drive sales so that businesses can accurately predict demand.
Another area where AI technology is unparalleled is when it comes to maintaining staff satisfaction: AI has the ability to poll an entire workforce, by the shift, enabling managers to see team satisfaction scores in real time across the business and take steps to optimise staff retention.
What’s more, AI is set to revolutionise CRM (customer relationship management) systems through its ability to get closer to every guest, enabling operators to offer an ultra-personalised customer experience like never before.
“With the operational and financial pressures many pubs will be facing in 2025, efficiency and flexibility is more relevant than ever. Planning for a future where pub managers are empowered with AI insights to make the best operational decisions is key to overcoming any challenge,” says Ben Dixon, founder of AI-driven workforce management (WFM) solution Sona.
It’s important to keep in mind AI is here to empower, not replace
Ben Dixon, Sona
When it comes to forecasting, scheduling, HR, payroll and communications, a WFM solution like Sona, which is entirely driven by AI technology, has many more capabilities than more traditional solutions.
For instance, by analysing historic efficiency data at a site level, Sona suggests workload rules that factor in the specific nuances of each site, helping pub managers to consistently staff to peaks across their sites and reduce labour during dips.
Dixon explains: “Traditional AI, sometimes called machine learning or big data, has been around for a while and is great for conservative forecasting and cost cutting, but it’s not designed to seek out opportunities or adapt dynamically.
“Cognitive AI like Sona, on the other hand, operates more like a true assistant in that you can ask it questions and give it goals. It can look at countless data points and work autonomously towards set goals.”
Leap forward
So with Sona, “cognitive AI” can be deployed to give actionable insights to managers and suggest optimal staffing schedules at a department or job-role level.
It can understand the impact of local sports events and weather on a pub’s trading, spot high-pressure times and identify missed sales opportunities.
As well as alerting managers, Sona then suggests what specific actions are needed, like deploying additional staff such as greeters or table reset staff to capture more footfall.
Sona’s automatic scheduling feature and AI co-pilot can then be used to significantly speed up scheduling processes, allowing managers to focus on other high-impact tasks for each of their locations.
“This new capability represents a leap forward in what’s possible for pubs and bars, in a time where many multi-site operators are navigating the rising labour costs challenges posed by the recent Budget,” says Dixon.
However, he cautions human intelligence is also needed in order for operators to get the best out of the technology.
“It’s important to keep in mind AI is here to empower, not replace: it’s critical to use it as a support tool, not as a substitute for human interaction.
“Cognitive AI allows us to embed specific nuances into scheduling so we’re not standardising experiences. For example, within our automatic scheduling feature, we work closely with operators to understand preferences. AI can consider all these factors and make smart decisions but if a manager knows that ‘Jason always works Tuesday,’ we might advise against encoding that long-standing pattern into the model.
“We focus on real, productive preferences, avoiding habits that may no longer serve the business,” explains Dixon.
Sales data patterns analysed
Another AI-powered solution that is aiding pub businesses – big and small – to overcome mounting operational challenges is Nory.
Also built from the ground up as an AI-powered operating system, Nory has been developed to help operators control labour costs, deal with inventory management and performance tracking.
Nory’s AI engine analyses multiple data points, including weather patterns, local events and historical sales data, to forecast customer demand with up to 95% accuracy.
This then enables managers to optimise staffing levels and inventory ordering with a level of precision not previously available.
“Traditional scheduling methods often result in either over-staffing, which eats into profits, or under-staffing, which compromises service quality,” says Nory CEO Conor Sheridan.
“Our AI analyses patterns in your sales data to predict exactly how many staff you’ll need for every 15-minute interval of the day, ensuring you’re perfectly staffed regardless of whether it’s a quiet Tuesday afternoon or a bustling Saturday night.”
We’re going to see more pubs investing in AI technology in 2025
Noam Givon, REKKI
What’s more, the platform’s inventory management capabilities track stock levels in real time and automatically generate orders based on predicted demand, helping reduce waste and ensure popular items never run out.
Pubs using Nory for inventory management have reported up to a 30% reduction in food waste while maintaining optimal stock levels.
Sheridan adds: “Our customers across the sector are achieving remarkable results, cutting their labour costs by 10% to 25% while keeping service levels high.
“Importantly, these benefits aren’t limited to large chains – independent pubs are achieving similar improvements in their bottom line through smarter, AI-driven decision-making.
“In today’s challenging market, this level of operational control and insight is proving invaluable for hospitality businesses of all sizes.”
Price changes flagged
Increasingly, AI solutions are being developed to aid every aspect of running a pub or restaurant, and when it comes to managing invoices, the people behind AI-powered ordering app REKKI have it covered.
Case study – London Village Inns
Ozan Aydin, operations director at London Village Inns, is a big fan of AI.
The reason? It’s making the arduous and time-consuming task of managing invoices at the group’s eight sites so much easier now.
London Village Inns has been using AI tool REKKI Insights to process its invoices for a few months and Aydin says the company hasn’t looked back.
“Before, we were doing everything in the office in very old-school ways, printing invoices and giving them to the stock-taker that comes in from outside the business to do the accounts.
“We wanted to make it easier for our finance manager, who works alone, to do his job by having full and live access to everything that’s been ordered, otherwise, by the time the paperwork comes from the eight sites, we’re always 10 days behind,” explains Aydin.
So the company, which was already enjoying time savings and accuracy improvements through ordering via the REKKI app, decided to try REKKI Insights.
Now, all invoices are forwarded straight into Insights, which turns them into clear, usable data that can be acted upon straight away.
Aydin adds: “The system is fantastic. You can even take a picture of an invoice you’ve received and REKKI Insights will take all the items and prices and upload all the data, it’s so clever. It’s saving our finance manager so much time and it also flags up price increases from suppliers, which I find very useful.
“I absolutely believe we’ll see more pubs using AI technology as the year goes on.”
REKKI Insights is an intelligent invoice management tool that uses the power of AI to turn invoices into real-time actionable data (see Case study – London Village Inns).
Traditionally, operators track kitchen spend manually, with the chef inputting the data into a spreadsheet to check their GP and an accountant processing the invoices.
This means chefs and managers are often working with delays, not real-time data.
REKKI Insights removes paperwork from the equation, with invoices forwarded into the system, thus giving chefs and managers instant access to the information they need to make decisions.
Insights links directly to the PoS to automatically track gross profit so operators always know where they stand, and it keeps an eye on prices, flagging up any price changes from suppliers so no one’s ever caught off guard.
REKKI Insights also automatically matches credit notes with the relevant invoices, and it breaks down spend in seconds, so managers can make smarter decisions in the moment without waiting for the accountant or chef to process the paperwork.
REKKI co-founder Noam Givon says: “Tools like REKKI Insights give pub owners the kind of oversight and accuracy they need to stay on top of their GP.
“The advantages of AI over non-AI solutions are that you can automate time-consuming tasks, keep a close eye on costs and profitability without the hassle, and get insights and alerts that help you make quicker, smarter decisions.
“We’re going to see more pubs investing in AI technology in 2025. The pub industry is under a lot of pressure right now – from rising costs to tight margins – and AI can help pubs tackle these challenges head-on.”
The potential of AI in a hospitality setting is immense
Champa Magesh, Access Hospitality
Long-standing hospitality tech provider Access recognises the unique benefits AI can bring to pubs and restaurants and is gradually incorporating AI across its range of products using its own data secure platform Access Evo.
Examples include Evo Copilot, which is Access’s secure AI assistant, designed to improve the user’s experience of software packages by helping them with insight and tips in a quick, conversational way.
Access’s Collins, the group’s reservation software, features CallAI, an automated telephone reservation service that provides the caller with a personalised, conversation experience. CallAI can answer any questions a customer may have when booking a table, whether it be a query on the menu, or enquiries about parking or how long they’ll have the table.
Access Hospitality’s CPL Survey Creator uses AI to put together employee-focused surveys, while its Acteol CRM system uses AI to create engaging marketing campaign descriptions, and its Tonic Ticket event creator uses AI to write compelling event descriptions.
Access’s staff rota software, Rotaready, utilises AI capabilities for forecasting required staffing levels and aligning rotas to meet anticipated demand.
The company is continuing to explore the potential benefits of incorporating AI into more of its products.
Massive opportunity
“The potential of AI in a hospitality setting is immense, but how we use it and apply it to make people’s lives easier is more challenging,” says Access Hospitality managing director Champa Magesh.
“Many of the issues faced by the hospitality sector revolve around how to improve productivity and there’s a massive opportunity for technology to play a role here: how we make people more productive is an issue that AI has been intrinsically developed to solve.”
Access’s head of product Sally Critchlow agrees that the advancement of AI represents a huge opportunity for hospitality businesses to streamline processes, improve accuracy and engage customers.
“The technology can also be used to optimise food production and the supply chain, such as by using an AI-driven camera to ensure consistency as food leaves the kitchen by comparing it to images and ‘learning’ what is required.
“We can use AI to improve operational efficiencies, such as not only alerting when fridge temperatures are reaching thresholds, but also using historical data to predict when they require maintenance – solving the problem before it becomes a problem,” says Critchlow.
“AI will be able to assist with the personalisation of service too, by using data such as customer order history and favourite foods or drinks to help tailor the experience to individual customer preferences. A feedback mechanism could allow customers to provide feedback through voice or text, which the AI will then ‘learn’ to improve future interactions and recommendations.
“It’s an exciting area of development, but we have to strike the right balance between human-driven services and AI-powered interactions to continue to offer an exceptional guest experience.”
