SevenRooms

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SevenRooms Unveils 3 Powerful New Tools

SevenRooms Unveils Three Powerful New Tools

by David Klemt

Booth seating inside a restaurant or bar

SevenRooms clients will have access to three new tools that will further enhance guest engagement, increase loyalty, and boost relationships with VIPs.

Each of these consumer-facing solutions is launching in time for the holiday season.

First up, 7R Priority Alerts. This tool helps operators manage their waitlists and generate revenue. We all know that even restaurants that require reservation fees end up with no-shows. Some platforms are capable of attempting to fill those available reservation slots. However, there’s not normally much control over who receives availability alerts.

Now, operators will have the power to target specific guests through automated reservation notifications. As 7R explains this tool, operators will be able to identify, label, and reward their most-valuable guests. These guests will feel like VIPs, increasing their loyalty, visits, and spends.

Then there’s Private Line. This is my favorite of the three new tools. Operators who implement this tool will be able to share an exclusive messaging line. So, a VIP such as a big spender, frequent diner, a member of the press, or an influencer can reach out to the team directly.

With Private Line, a VIP can inquire about a last-second reservation or make a special request. Again, this is the type of feature that increases loyalty and visit frequency.

Most people find new restaurants through friend, family, or coworker referrals. That got the 7R team thinking: How can restaurants reward people who refer new guests?

Enter: Word-of-Mouth Referrals, the third new tool on this list.

Pushed to guests via automated email marketing campaigns and post-visit surveys, a custom referral link is created for every diner. The guests then share that link, new guests make reservations, and the cycle continues. Operators, of course, reward guests for these referrals through any number of means, such as redeemable loyalty program points, comped F&B items, etc.

To learn more, please read the 7R press release about Priority Alerts, Private Line, and Word-of-Mouth Referrals below.

NEW GUEST-FACING SEVENROOMS FEATURES MAKE IT EASIER FOR OPERATORS TO REWARD LOYAL GUESTS AND PERSONALIZE COMMUNICATION

Priority Alerts, Private Line, and Word-of-Mouth Referrals redefine guest engagement and communication between restaurants and their most important guests

NEW YORK – SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, today announced the launch of Priority Alerts, Private Line, and Word-of-Mouth Referrals, three new consumer-facing features that help operators connect with and reward their most loyal guests. With guests expecting more from their dining experiences than ever before, these solutions were purpose-built to solve real pain points for hospitality operators. These include alerting a specific diner about reservation availability, providing new ways for guests to get in touch and making it easier for guests to recommend their favorite restaurants to friends and family.

Priority Alerts helps operators control who they send automated reservation availability notifications to so they can prioritize their most valuable guests. In comparison to other reservation notification systems, restaurants choose who receives a Priority Alert first, not just deciding between a blast to their entire waitlist or to an exclusive subset of credit card holders. Instead, they can prioritize the guests that matter most to their business – whether that’s a VIP, loyalty member, frequent or recent diner, local, high spender, or someone else. This helps restaurants reward their most valuable guests to get them through their doors more often.

Private Line was created to give important guests an easier, faster way to get in touch with their favorite restaurants. With Private Line, restaurants can now offer their high-value guests – like VIPs, press, frequent diners and top spenders – an exclusive messaging line that can be used to instantly get in touch with their team. Whether a guest is looking for a last-minute reservation, has a special request, needs to add a friend to a booking or another ask, restaurants no longer miss out on opportunities to wow the guests that matter most. All conversations are centralized within the SevenRooms mobile app, making it easy for staff to book a table, add in requests or make other changes with just a few clicks.

Word-of-Mouth Referrals, the third consumer-facing feature launching with our fall release, gives restaurants the ability to motivate, track and reward loyal guests for referring new diners. According to recent data, 61 percent of diners discover new restaurants from friends, family and co-workers. Yet, without an easy way to capture this untapped demand, restaurants have historically left dollars on the table. Word-of-Mouth Referrals automatically creates personal referral links for every diner – shared through post-meal surveys and automated email campaigns – making it simple for guests to share with their networks and be rewarded with perks they’ll want to earn and use. Restaurants can tap into this high-value marketing channel for their business, rewarding loyalty and ensuring exceptional experiences for newcomers and regulars that translate into more sales and profits.

“At SevenRooms, our focus from day one has been on building innovations that help operators increase profitability, drive sales and improve the experiences of their guests. These three new features, all integrated into the SevenRooms platform, give operators new ways to connect and communicate with their guests – helping them evolve to meet the needs of guests who know what they want, how they want it, when they want it,” said Angela DeFranco, VP of Product at SevenRooms. “In an increasingly competitive landscape where consumers have more choice than ever before in where they choose to take their business, we’re dedicated to finding new ways for restaurants to connect and market more effectively to their guests with tools that not only make them more money, but help them execute on experiences that guests remember and recommend. Restaurant marketing is no longer one-size-fits-all, and we are redefining the role that technology can play in creating truly personalized guest engagement and marketing touchpoints at every stage of the guest journey.”

“The plan was to always move to SevenRooms because the technology was far superior, the potential for integration with our point of sale system was a lot stronger and owning the data was a huge deal,” said Kim McDiarmid, Partner at Liquid and Larder. “SevenRooms’ Priority Alerts has been a dream for us. Compared to our previous platform, it’s a lot more customizable and fully automated so it does the heavy lifting for us. We’re going to use it to give priority to guests who match criteria such as those who dine with us regularly, and with that, it will work even harder for us.”

For more details on SevenRooms’ newest innovations, please visit sevenrooms.com/new.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation, email marketing and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, José Andrés Group, Union Square Hospitality Group, Australian Venue Company, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf. www.sevenrooms.com

Image: Carson Masterson on Unsplash

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SevenRooms Reveals Revenue Management Tool

SevenRooms Reveals Revenue Management Tool

by David Klemt

Closeup view of buttons on vintage, antique cash register

Just when you think SevenRooms is done launching new solutions for the year they announce a new tool that will excite operators.

That new tool is Revenue Management. Much more than “just another” plugin, SevenRooms Revenue Management is an engine.

This new engine is feature-rich and automates a number important tasks. In fact, one feature in particular has our attention: the “do-it-for-me” function.

What does that feature give operators the power to accomplish while saving time and labor costs? Below are just a handful of benefits:

  • party size recommendations
  • dining duration configurations
  • decrease last-minute cancellations via cancellation policy implementation
  • floor plan configuration recommendations

Should this automation feature prove easy to understand and use, we can see that this latest tool may become the most popular among SevenRooms users.

To learn more about Revenue Management, scroll down to the latest SevenRooms press release.

Growth Recap

Let’s take a look at just some of the growth SevenRooms has achieved over the course of just the past few years.

  • March 2021: SevenRooms appoints Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer.
  • September 2021: SevenRooms announces a multi-year partnership with TheFork. The partnership is big news for operators throughout Europe and Australia. Further, the partnership illustrates how the company is pursuing global growth.
  • October of 2021: The company forms a partnership with Olo. This ensures clients who also use Olo are able to capture data from a key group: off-premise customers. That data creates profiles for such customers automatically. That means operators can learn more about—and effectively market to—customers who engage with them via online orders.
  • December 2021: SevenRooms and ThinkFoodGroup—the hospitality company behind Chef José Andrés’ portfolio of restaurants—make their partnership public. Interestingly, this partnership also includes ThinkFoodGroup joining SevenRooms in an advisory role.
  • January 2022: The platform announces the hiring of a chief revenue officer, Brent-Stig Kraus.
  • December 2022: SevenRooms enters into a partnership with Competitive Social Ventures.
  • January 2023: The company announces the appointment of their first-ever chief marketing officer.
  • March 2023: SevenRooms announces that Danny Meyer and EHI are investors in the platform. Following that announcement, SevenRooms launches Email Marketing Integration less than two weeks later.
  • May 2023: The company drops their Pre-Shift tool. Two weeks after that launch, SevenRooms announces a new global partnership with Marriott.

Most platforms launch a new solution or announce new partnerships once or twice per year. Not SevenRooms. And it’s this constant growth that encourages us to recommend the platform to our clients.

SEVENROOMS LAUNCHES REVENUE MANAGEMENT TO HELP OPERATORS INCREASE SALES & PROFITABILITY

Automated revenue management solution will provide restaurants with the tools they need to optimize their operations and fill more seats, more often

NEW YORK (September 28, 2023) – SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, today announced the launch of a new solution for restaurants: Revenue Management. The product serves as an engine for operators to generate more sales and profitability from the same seats, using data science to recommend how to optimize availability and increase table utilization.

To survive current economic conditions, restaurants need solutions that can save them time, reduce their labor costs and increase their sales and profits. Inspired by effective revenue management strategies long-used by the travel industry, Revenue Management extends this practice to the restaurant industry. The product automates these processes without the need for analysts, additional staff or high-priced consultants to manage changes, helping to:

  • Fill more seats, more often to increase sales by reducing the time seats sit empty
  • Save time and reduce burdensome labor costs by automating in-depth analysis, quickly making changes with a ‘do-it-for-me’ option
  • Provide operators with easy-to-digest insights along with ready-to-use actions that demystify proven steps taken by revenue leaders

Other systems on the market today may offer reporting on a handful of insights, but none help operators immediately action revenue-focused suggestions with a ‘do-it-for-me’ option that has an instant impact on their operations. Sample actions include recommendations on party size or dining duration configurations, when to institute cancellation policies to decrease last-minute cancellations, floor plan configuration recommendations and more. Diners also benefit, with more available reservations, a better dining experience (e.g. being sat on time and not being rushed out the door) and more unique experiences and offerings to choose from when dining out as operators have more time to focus on the guest experience.

Notably, Revenue Management also gives operators insights into how much demand was missed across booking channels by summarizing data on recent reservation attempts. This helps operators better manage these channels and optimize their books to offer more reservations across their most profitable channels.

“With Revenue Management, we are delivering on our promise to help operators make more money, providing a product that automatically executes on strategies used by the most successful hospitality brands throughout the world – without having to add team members or search out implementation experts,” said Angela DeFranco, VP of Product at SevenRooms. “This tool is both proactive and reactive, helping operators uncover untapped opportunities while simultaneously working to identify potentially harmful configuration issues that may restrict venues from maximizing sales and profitability. Today’s operators are busier than ever, and we are excited to bring Revenue Management to hospitality operators, helping them automatically fill more seats, more often while continuing to elevate their guest experiences.”

For more details on SevenRooms’ newest innovations, please visit sevenrooms.com/new.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation, email marketing and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, José Andrés Group, Union Square Hospitality Group, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf. www.sevenrooms.com

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Why You Need to Use Direct Bookings

Why You Need to Use Direct Bookings

by David Klemt

White "Reserved" sign in wooden block on table

A new report from guest retention platform SevenRooms shows that like delivery, guests prefer to support restaurants directly when it comes to reservations.

Similar to their awareness of third-party delivery platform fees, today’s guest appears to be aware that third-party marketplaces cost restaurants and bars too much.

Let’s consider the guest discovery journey. According to their 2023 Dining Discovery & Booking Report, SevenRooms says most guests discover new restaurants via word of mouth. In fact, 61 percent of people rely on family, friends, and co-workers to find new restaurants. A third of diners use Google (33 percent), and nearly as many use social media (29 percent).

So, what role do third-party marketplaces play in restaurant and bar discovery? Per SevenRooms, not even ten percent of people who discover new places to grab a bite or a drink use such platforms.

Their research shows that just nine percent of diners use OpenTable to find new restaurants. However, that’s three times the number of diners that Resy (three percent) is seeing use their platform for discovery.

Okay, so what does this mean to you, the operator? It means that you should be leveraging a direct-booking feature. Guests are telling us how they want to experience restaurants and bars. They’ve let us know they prefer direct delivery. Now, they’re letting us know they prefer direct booking.

In other words, give them what they want: user-friendly ways to support your business. Make it easy to find you on social. Ensure your website is functional and easy to navigate. And give delivery and booking buttons prime real estate on your website so guests can find them quickly.

I also recommend communicating that you offer direct bookings, and thanking those who use that functionality for supporting your business directly. This can, of course, be done via automated marketing emails.

For more information—including how many diners call restaurants directly to make reservations—please read the SevenRooms press release below. You can also download their latest report here.

SEVENROOMS CONSUMER DATA UNVEILS HOW GUESTS ARE DISCOVERING AND BOOKING RESTAURANTS

Leading guest experience and retention platform highlights consumer expectations for discovering new restaurants and making reservations

NEW YORK (June 7, 2023) – SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, released its latest consumer report, “2023 Dining Discovery & Booking Report,” highlighting how guests discover new restaurants and book reservations. One thing is clear – diners are utilizing many channels for discovery – from word of mouth to a variety of online channels. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of diners hear about or discover new restaurants from friends, family and co-workers, followed by 33% using Google, 29% searching social media for restaurant profiles and 22% discovering through social media influencers or trusted sources. Only a small percentage use third-party platforms such as OpenTable (9%) and Resy (3%) to discover new restaurants.

“Coming out of the pandemic, operators are navigating an entirely new landscape which includes how diners are discovering and booking reservations,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder of SevenRooms. “In this new world three things are clear: being everywhere diners are online is table stakes, diners prefer to book directly as opposed to using a third-party app, and while third-party apps are still important, Google is quickly becoming one of the preferred destinations for diners when they don’t go direct to the restaurant.”

Defining today’s restaurant guest

In the United States, today’s guests expect more than just a meal, and creating opportunities to build loyalty will set restaurants apart. Each experience can turn a one-time diner into a loyal guest – but it must include personalized touches from start to finish. It is critical for operators to own their data to create a relationship with each guest based on preferences, past visits and upcoming special occasions noted when booking direct. By building this relationship, operators are able to be more proactive with their guests, personalize dining experiences and use the data they collect to curate experiences that will ultimately drive more revenue.

The beauty of a direct booking platform is the ability to capture that data; for example, asking the guest when they are booking if they are celebrating anything special, or noting dietary preferences. Guests are also willing to make that extra step to make sure they have an excellent experience – nearly half (45%) of diners will call the restaurant directly to book a reservation, and 35% will book through the restaurant’s website. Twenty-nine percent of diners also say that they receive better experiences at the restaurant when they book direct, and more than 1 in 4 (27%) feel restaurants prioritize their reservation when doing so. 

Similar to how today’s diners are catching on to the experiential benefits of booking direct, they are also realizing that third-party platforms are not actually in the best interest of the restaurant. Sixty-one percent believe that making reservations directly with the restaurant, rather than with a third-party reservation platform, is better for the restaurant. Additionally:

  • 29% of respondents want to do all they can to directly support restaurants
  • 17% of respondents noted that third-party reservation platforms charge too much in fees to the restaurant, and guests would rather not have the restaurant incur that cost

“As the expectation for incredible experiences grows, third-party reservation platforms are losing market share as diners prefer to book directly with restaurants to ensure they get the best experience,” said Montaniel. “SevenRooms has always been dedicated and focused on empowering operators to deliver the most personalized guest experiences. Our omnichannel approach, enabling restaurants to meet guests wherever they are, whether through global discovery and booking channels or a restaurant’s own website, helps operators serve diners in this new world while helping them operate more sustainable and profitable businesses.

To learn more about SevenRooms, please visit www.sevenrooms.com.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation, email marketing and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, Giordano’s, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf.  www.sevenrooms.com

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Your Discovery Strategy Needs to Change

Your Discovery Strategy Needs to Change

by David Klemt

Black and white photo of person using laptop

A report by guest retention, reservation, and waitlist platform SevenRooms reveals that restaurant discovery is changing.

Per SevenRooms, many operators have looked toward third-party marketplaces to help people discover their restaurants, bars, or hotels. For context, online marketplaces include OpenTable, Resy, and GrubHub.

However, SevenRooms research is indicating a significant slowdown in this method of discovery. Per the platform, just a quarter of consumers still use marketplaces to find restaurants and bars.

So, how are people discovering the places where they want to spend their time and money on food and drinks? And how can you ensure your marketing and discovery strategy evolves alongside today’s consumer behavior? You’ll find out below.

For your own copy of Restaurant Discovery Has Changed: Adapt or Risk Becoming Obsolete by SevenRooms, click here.

Where are Your Guests?

It should come as no surprise that today’s consumer favors social media, influencers, Google, and even artificial intelligence for discovery.

Younger consumers in particular are more likely to discover a new restaurant, bar or hotel via social media.

Per SevenRooms, Gen Z:

  • is twice as likely as other generations to find a new restaurant via Instagram;
  • five times as likely to discover new restaurants on TikTok; and
  • is likely to visit a new restaurant due to an influencer recommending it.

In fact, 39 percent of consumers designated Gen Z have gone to a restaurant because an influencer has gone there.

When conducting this type of research, SevenRooms often works with YouGov. They did so again for their restaurant discovery report, commissioning YouGov to poll 1,185 consumers. Participants indicated they use the following methods or platforms to discover new places to dine and drink:

  • Google (27%)
  • Restaurant’s website (25%)
  • Referral (friends or family) (18%)
  • Facebook (12%)
  • Yelp (11%)
  • OpenTable (9%)
  • Instagram (8%)
  • TikTok (5%)
  • TripAdvisor (4%)
  • Resy (1%)

Three things jump out here: Organic search is crucial, websites still matter, and delivering top-notch service is paramount for word-of-mouth marketing.

Leverage Multiple Channels

If the data is accurate, operators who are relying exclusively or heavily on third-party marketplaces for discovery will be left behind. Instead, operators should seek to implement a multi- or omni-channel strategy.

What does omni-channel mean? In very simple terms, it’s not putting all of one’s eggs in one basket. Check out this article where I dive into omni-channel marketing and tactics for more information.

For their report, SevenRooms breaks omni-channel marketing and discovery thusly:

  • Owned reservation, waitlist, and ordering channels
  • Search and social engagment channels
  • Paid channels

It’s clear what SevenRooms is suggesting here: operators must adapt and meet guests where they are. Guests are relying on Google, a restaurant’s website, and social media for discovery.

The example that the platform gives in their report goes like this:

  • A consumer uses Google and finds a restaurant’s listing.
  • Next, they see a Facebook ad for that restaurant.
  • Finally, they decide to go to the restaurant’s website to learn more.

To that, I’ll add that some guests, those who prefer to order delivery, now seek an ordering widget. It’s wise, therefore, for operators to at least look into how they can implement direct delivery.

The Omni-channel Path

SevenRooms recommends a five-prong omni-channel strategy. Broken down into large chunks, the platform suggests:

  • Google integration;
  • social media engagement;
  • leveraging third-party marketplaces (with caveats);
  • owning direct channels; and
  • direct booking.

Again, this SevenRooms report can be downloaded here. However, I’ll share some details of this SevenRooms approach to discovery below.

Google Integration

SevenRooms isn’t the only one to say this: operators need to own and optimize their Google listing. In fact, they need to own all their listings, which I’ve said for years.

Owning listings boosts discoverability in several ways: SEO optimization, leveraging “near me” search functions, and ensuring guests are receiving accurate information before visiting.

Going further, operators who have marketing budgets can leverage Google ads. According to SevenRooms, Google search ads are also beneficial for becoming discoverable via third-party marketplaces.

Social Media

We’re fast approaching the day when at least half of consumers try a new restaurant or bar because they discovered it on social media. Right now, we’re at 45 percent of consumers finding new restaurants via these channels.

SevenRooms recommends having a presence on at least these channels: TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. What’s more, they suggest using a direct reservation page and linking it to a “Reserve Now” button on a venue’s social profiles.

If an operator has the budget, they can pay for influencers to visit and talk about their restaurant, bar or hotel. However, this type of marketing can be very expensive.

Third-party Marketplace

This “prong” in SevenRooms’ recommended omni-channel strategy isn’t for every operator. As stated above, it’s use is nuanced.

Who should use marketplaces? New venues or venues that find themselves struggling to drive traffic.

Who shouldn’t use marketplaces? Venues seeing consistently strong traffic, and those that perform well via organic search because they’ve done the work to establish their brand.

Direct Channels

To explain this element, I’ll share the following “journey map” from the SevenRooms report:

Own and optimize the Google My Business listing > Ensure the website is user-friendly > Make sure there’s a reservation widget > Send a confirmation email when a guest has booked a reservation > Send a reminder SMS message > Nail the guest experience during their visit > Send a thank you email after the visit > Follow up with a personalized (keyword here) offer to encourage a repeat visit.

Remember, per Ovation CEO Zack Oates, 70 percent of first-time guests don’t come back. It’s more important than ever to invest in earning repeat visits.

Direct Booking

It’s arguable that this step is part of the overall discovery strategy, that it’s a four-prong plan, not five.

However, this step involves implementing its own strategy so that guests become aware of it. Put another way, some guests need to be taught that a restaurant or bar offers direct reservation booking.

For example, SevenRooms suggests printing menu inserts that let guests know they can book directly with the restaurant. Follow-up emails should also include a direct reservation link. Additionally, loyalty programs should encourage guests to book reservations directly.

Finally, here’s an excellent tip regarding direct booking: Operators can turn off listings or at least reduce reservation inventory on third-party marketplaces. This should be done during the busiest days and dayparts.

Operators need to make sure they keep up with shifting consumer behavior. The implementation of a modern discovery strategy is a crucial step toward long-term success.

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SevenRooms and Marriott Partnership

SevenRooms and Marriott Reveal Global Partnership

by David Klemt

Restaurant staff member using SevenRooms on a tablet

Fresh from launching the innovative Pre-Shift pre-service tool, SevenRooms today announces the platform’s latest partnership.

The announcement, which you can read in its entirety below, shows the confidence that some of the most recognizable hospitality brands in the world have in SevenRooms capabilities.

Specifically, the platform is now a preferred restaurant technology provider throughout Marriott International‘s portfolio. In fact, Marriott is leveraging the SevenRooms suite of tech solutions at several of their brands in more than a dozen countries. This translates to over 8,500 properties using the platform’s powerful booking, relationship management, and marketing tools.

Among the brands utilizing SevenRooms tools are The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, EDITION Hotels, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels.

The latest news to come from SevenRooms again underscores the platform’s commitment to growth and longevity. After more than a decade in operation and service to hospitality operators, it’s safe to say the company has reached ubiquity.

You may not operate a hotel or operate within a hotel. You may not oversee a multi-unit or multi-concept business. This news should be no less important to you.

When developing your tech stack (a service KRG Hospitality provides) it’s important to choose platforms that are here to stay. Otherwise, your investments of time and money go up in smoke. Likewise, the disruption to operations and service as you seek a new platform are harmful to you, your team, and guests.

So, it can be wise to not just dig into the platforms you’re considering, it can be smart to see what companies trust them as partners.

SevenRooms is a platform that we’re comfortable recommending to many of our clients. And no, we’re not paid or otherwise compensated to do so.

To learn more about SevenRooms partnering with Marriott International, see below.

SEVENROOMS SELECTED AS A MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL PREFERRED RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER

The global technology platform will power personalized guest experiences to increase revenue while providing deeper guest insights for the global hospitality company 

NEW YORK (May 18, 2023) – SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, today announced its agreement with Marriott International to become a preferred restaurant technology provider. SevenRooms is currently live across 25 countries at Marriott brands including W Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Sheraton, JW Marriott, Le Méridien, Westin, Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, EDITION Hotels, The Luxury Collection and Gaylord Hotels. This will unlock additional opportunities at the more than 8,500 Marriott International properties worldwide.

SevenRooms is a data-driven guest experience and retention platform focused 100% on building operator-focused tools. The platform offers solutions to global brands that not only increase revenue generation, but help them build long-term relationships with guests. 

For restaurants, bars, and other F&B outlets in Marriott-branded hotels, the SevenRooms platform offers a suite of tools to help drive incremental revenue, increase operational efficiencies, and offer exceptional guest experiences. Through SevenRooms’ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation capabilities, Marriott’s hotels are not only able to cultivate meaningful, direct relationships with guests, but access a 360-degree view into the guest journey to foster deeper guest loyalty.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Marriott International as a preferred restaurant technology provider, helping them deliver more personalized experiences for their guests around the world,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder of SevenRooms. “Today, consumers expect more out of their F&B experiences whether they’re staying local or traveling abroad. They want to engage with hotels, restaurants and bars on their own terms, and are increasingly discovering and booking where to eat and drink across an array of channels. With SevenRooms, operators have access to tools that help them reach these guests while driving operational efficiencies by connecting F&B into their overall hotel strategy to generate revenue and increase profitability. Our suite of products not only helps operators of Marriott-branded hotels provide guests with exceptional experiences that enhance positive sentiment and drive increased loyalty, but enables them to do so at scale, automatically. We look forward to working with Marriott as we enable them with technology to build longer-lasting, more profitable relationships with their guests.”

Marriott International properties can now incorporate much of SevenRooms’ suite of tools and solutions, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), on-premise table management, waitlist management, marketing automation, email marketing, order management and review aggregation. 

“Marriott’s hospitality roots began in restaurants, and we want to provide exceptional, unforgettable restaurant experiences for our guests,” said Matthew Von Ertfelda, Senior Vice President, Food & Beverage at Marriott International. “With SevenRooms, we’re not only able to provide guests with the experiences they crave, but we can leverage a robust suite of tools to help turn one-time guests into lifelong guests.”

To learn more about SevenRooms, please visit www.sevenrooms.com.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation, email marketing and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, Giordano’s, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf.  www.sevenrooms.com 

Image: SevenRooms

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SevenRooms Introduces New Tool: Pre-Shift

SevenRooms Introduces New Tool: Pre-Shift

Front of house staff member using SevenRooms

A new tool from SevenRooms will help operators and their teams make the most of pre-shift meetings to deliver exceptional service.

Aptly named, Pre-Shift provides a real-time, data-driven picture of a given shift’s reservations. Operators and their leadership team members will no longer need to hit the office, navigate to the day’s reservations, and print out guest data—assuming they have such valuable information.

Further, this new feature is accessible via the venue’s devices (tablets, phones, etc.). Pre-Shift, then, offers a real-time view of reservations and robust guest data. Well ahead of arrivals, staff will know a guest’s seating preference, relationship with the venue, reviews they’ve left, allergies, and much more.

Intriguingly, Spago has been testing Pre-Shift ahead of SevenRooms’ announcement and launch. Per Steve Scott Springer, the GM of Spago of Beverly Hills, this new tool is a game-changer for restaurants.

Less than two months ago, SevenRooms launched Email Marketing. It’s likely we can expect more new features to roll out throughout 2023.

To learn more, please review the Pre-Shift press release below.

SEVENROOMS’ PRE-SHIFT FEATURE EMPOWERS TEAMS TO STREAMLINE PRE-SERVICE OPERATIONS

New data-driven tool serves as a one-stop-shop for restaurant teams to enhance the guest experience and build guest loyalty

NEW YORK (May 3, 2023) – SevenRooms, a global guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, today announced a new product feature, Pre-Shift, which provides operators with key shift details they can leverage to inform and lead pre-service meetings. Pre-Shift is built to power and simplify pre-service meetings for restaurant operators and their staff around the world.

The new feature provides operators a real-time, unified view of everything they need ahead of each shift and saves employees’ time with an out-of-the-box informational report. Instead of paper print-outs and laborious briefing forms, Pre-Shift allows teams to harness rich customer data with up-to-the-minute information on every guest joining during that shift.

With ongoing labor shortages, Pre-Shift is a crucial tool in helping operators save time on administrative tasks like pulling guest and reservation data to optimize a team’s pre-shift meeting ahead of service with all stakeholders. This allows operators and staff to instead focus on delivering exceptional, personalized experiences the moment that guest walks through the door. Operators have the ability to embrace new consumer expectations to provide an incredible guest journey from start to finish.

By incorporating this tool, staff can utilize SevenRooms’ rich guest data and Auto-Tags to educate themselves on incoming guests. The tool highlights valuable insights such as allergy information, dining preferences, previous experiences with the restaurant, and positive/negative reviews. It also provides a quick snapshot of that day’s notes on menu specials, private events or special requests, making it easy for staff to reference back to quickly throughout the course of service. Whether it’s the maître d, host, server or back of house employees, Pre-Shift enables all staff with the information they need to deliver exceptional service, build guest loyalty, and keep up with diner expectations as they continue to evolve.

Pre-Shift helps restaurants deliver personalized hospitality at scale with invisible technology. Guest and reservation data can be accessed on the fly without double clicks or additional navigation via iPhone and iPads for the utmost convenience. No other reservation management product on the market today offers such a robust overview with automated guest data incorporated into its dashboard, saving operators time as they set up for service.

“The magic of SevenRooms is in the way that we’re able to serve up relevant guest information to restaurants at key points of service. Our new Pre-shift view takes that magic one step further by strategically aggregating the most important guest insights before service even begins,” said Allison Page, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at SevenRooms. “We seamlessly take the data available for a shift and serve up key insights that the front of house should be aware of heading into service – for instance, guests with a high propensity to spend, guests who have previously left negative reviews, guests with allergies and more. Pre-Shift provides operators a real-time, unified view that takes pre-service preparation to a whole new level, ultimately providing guests with exceptional, frictionless experiences.”

“Pre-Shift is a great addition to Spago’s pre-service meeting,” said Steve Scott Springer, General Manager at Spago Beverly Hills. “When we began using the group-by server feature, it really was an ‘a-ha’ moment. This is exactly the way every restaurant wants to prep their employees ahead of a shift. We put the entire view up on a screen so our team can see and follow along. This is so much easier than what we used to do – it’s a no-brainer.”

For more information about SevenRooms and its services, please visit www.sevenrooms.com.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation, email marketing and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, Giordano’s, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf.  www.sevenrooms.com

Image: SevenRooms

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SevenRooms Email Marketing Integration

SevenRooms Introduces Email Marketing Integration

by David Klemt

Public red and blue mailbox

Today, SevenRooms announces a new marketing innovation that integrates with the platform’s Automated Email feature: Email Marketing.

This is more evidence of SevenRooms’ continued growth. The company began 2023 by adding their first-ever chief marketing officer. Just two months later, SevenRooms announced a new investor: Enlightened Hospitality Investments, spearheaded by Danny Meyer.

Additionally, offering this new tool to operators makes clear the platform’s intent to truly be an all-in-one operations solution. Email Marketing, for example, can replace third-party email services. Streamlining marketing makes it simpler for operators and their teams to ensure they keep guests engaged with their venue and brand.

And, of course, including effective tools within a single platform can lead to reduced costs and the relief of pain points. When systems are difficult to use, some operators are less inclined to want to actually use them. That’s a waste of valuable resources.

Combined with Automated Emails, SevenRooms Email Marketing gives more control over marketing to operators. Not only are emails triggered based on various tags, the emails can be customized fully. And, to ensure marketing runs smoothly for everyone, operators will have access to templates if customization isn’t necessarily in their wheelhouse.

You’ll find the SevenRooms Email Marketing press release in its entirety below.

SEVENROOMS EXPANDS MARKETING SUITE WITH INTEGRATED EMAIL MARKETING

New Email Marketing Tool Provides Key Data Insights and Revenue Potential for SevenRooms Clients

NEW YORK (March 14, 2023)—SevenRooms, a global guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, has announced a new solution and expansion of its marketing suite for hospitality operators worldwide: Email Marketing. The product will work in conjunction with SevenRooms’ Automated Emails, a set of personalized, trigger-based emails sent to customers on behalf of the operator, to continue to engage guests once they’ve visited a venue.

Email Marketing enables SevenRooms customers to send one-time, customized marketing emails directly within the SevenRooms platform to give operators more control over the way they use their guest data. Having ownership of this guest data allows operators to build their brand through direct touchpoints with guests to drive loyalty and repeat visits. It also provides detailed insights into email performance with metrics that matter to their business, including showing the reservations, covers and revenue attributed to each email.

Email Marketing supports operators with a solution that is connected throughout a restaurant’s tech stack and removes the need to use third-party email service providers that create additional work for staff trying to manage email preferences across multiple systems. It is directly linked to the SevenRooms CRM and operating system giving operators full control over their messaging and who receives it by using Auto-tags or Client tags to segment marketing audiences. Additionally, operators using Email Marketing have the ability to create either fully customized emails with an easy-to-use visual editor or utilize curated templates.

The new product also enhances the experience for guests of SevenRooms customers by allowing them to stay in touch or up-to-date with their favorite venues, receive targeted messages and promotions, or simply control the venues from which they receive marketing. Leveraging Email Marketing, restaurants can use their guest data to tee up relevant, customized emails. For example, sending guests who have purchased wine at least five times an invite to a dinner with their sommelier, or excluding guests with shellfish allergies from an email about their annual clambake.

“SevenRooms Email Marketing product provides restaurants with functionality that simply does not exist in the email marketing platforms that restaurants traditionally use,” said Allison Page, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at SevenRooms. “We enable restaurant marketers to leverage their robust SevenRooms guest database to quickly and easily build targeted campaign segments, eliminating the need to manually export and import mailing lists between systems. While other email service providers promise revenue, SevenRooms can prove it with accurate data on the revenue generated by each campaign to truly measure email marketing performance.”

“The combination of SevenRooms’ Email Marketing and Automated Emails makes guests feel very connected with us,” said Alyssa Fenu, Sales & Marketing Manager at Mango’s Tropical Café. “Being able to choose who our emails are going to — a specific customer segment or broadcasting to our whole database — makes the process a lot simpler. And it’s super easy to understand how many people opened our emails, how many people actually made a reservation, and how much money we’re making because it’s all in one place.”

For more information about SevenRooms and its services, please visit www.sevenrooms.com.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, Giordano’s, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf.  www.sevenrooms.com

Image: Brett Garwood on Unsplash

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EHI and Danny Meyer Invest in SevenRooms

EHI and Danny Meyer Invest in SevenRooms

by David Klemt

Front of house staff member using SevenRooms

SevenRooms is showing no signs of resting on their laurels, announcing a major new investor: Enlightened Hospitality Investments.

EHI, a private-equity fund, traces its launch back to 2016. The fund, launched by and affiliated with Union Square Hospitality Group, typically makes investments in the $10-25 million range. Generally speaking, EHI makes non-control investments.

As you’re likely well aware, USHG’s founder and executive chairman is none other than restaurateur Danny Meyer. The Shake Shack chairman is also the managing partner of EHI.

Investment in SevenRooms by EHI—and by extension Danny Meyer—is huge news. Meyer now joins other high-profile chef and restaurateur investors in SevenRooms:

“At EHI, we always pay close attention to transformative tech that advances high touch,” says Meyer. “Far more than a reservations platform, SevenRooms provides abundant tools to create highly customized guest experiences and equips both restaurant and hotel teams to do what they do best—deliver truly memorable hospitality.”

Continual Growth

Since 2011, SevenRooms has pursued growth while serving the hospitality industry.

Whether in terms of innovation, partnerships, appointing the right people to key roles, or attracting investors, the platform is constantly strategizing to ensure its longevity.

Just look at what the company has achieved over 24 months:

  • March 2021: SevenRooms appoints Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer.
  • September 2021: SevenRooms announces a multi-year partnership with TheFork. The partnership is big news for operators throughout Europe and Australia. Further, the partnership illustrates how the company is pursuing global growth.
  • October of 2021: The company forms a partnership with Olo. This ensures clients who also use Olo are able to capture data from a key group: off-premise customers. That data creates profiles for such customers automatically. That means operators can learn more about—and effectively market to—customers who engage with them via online orders.
  • December 2021: SevenRooms and ThinkFoodGroup—the hospitality company behind Chef José Andrés’ portfolio of restaurants—make their partnership public. Interestingly, this partnership also includes ThinkFoodGroup joining SevenRooms in an advisory role.
  • January 2022: The platform announces the hiring of a chief revenue officer, Brent-Stig Kraus.
  • December 2022: SevenRooms enters into a partnership with Competitive Social Ventures.
  • January 2023: The company announces the appointment of their first-ever chief marketing officer.

As our industry rapidly attracts tech platforms and innovations, it can be difficult to know which companies are here to stay.

The growth of SevenRooms shows stability and longevity. Those are two key factors that should inform operator decisions when considering the tech stack.

Image: SevenRooms

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Chief Marketing Officer Joins SevenRooms

Chief Marketing Officer Joins SevenRooms

by David Klemt

"The only way is up" sign

Just weeks after revealing a new partnership to start 2023, SevenRooms is now announcing their first-ever chief marketing officer.

Today, the guest retention platform takes another massive step in their march toward continuous growth. Josh Todd, former CMO of Mindbody, will serve as CMO of SevenRooms moving forward.

“Over the past year, I was able to get to know Joel and the SevenRooms team and see the differences they are making across the hospitality industry through data and insights,” says Todd. “Throughout my career, I have been passionate about deepening the human connections and experiences within the industries I’ve worked in, and I immediately recognized that SevenRooms truly embodies the operator-first mentality, making this a natural move for me. I’m honored to join the team and look forward to bringing my expertise and storytelling to the table.”

Todd’s appointment to CMO is yet another example of SevenRooms’ seemingly unstoppable growth. Each year, the platform strategizes, analyzes how their moves can benefit operators, and expands while streamlining.

It’s this growth that shows operators they’re here to serve the industry for the foreseeable future. And it’s this growth that should make operators confident about implementing SevenRooms in their tech stacks.

“As we head towards the next growth stage for SevenRooms, we are thrilled to welcome an experienced, proven leader in Josh to the team,” says Joel Montaniel, CEO and co-founder of SevenRooms. “Josh is a true full-stack marketer, highly analytical, and brings a strong point of view on what drives successful marketing organizations… With a background rooted in doing what’s best for operators and a true passion for bringing incredible experiences to life, we know his customer-centric approach will help propel us into the future.”

Continual Growth

In March 2021, SevenRooms appointed Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer.

By September of the same year, the platform had entered into a multi-year partnership with TheFork. This was significant news for operators throughout Europe and Australia. Additionally, this partnership illustrated how SevenRooms is pursuing global growth.

A month later, in October of 2021, the company formed a partnership with Olo. With this move, SevenRooms ensured clients who also use Olo were able to capture a key group’s data: off-premise customers. Using that information, profiles for those customers are created automatically. That means operators can learn more about—and effectively market to—customers who engage with them via online orders.

Then in December 2021, SevenRooms and ThinkFoodGroup—the hospitality company behind Chef José Andrés’ portfolio of restaurants—publicized their partnership. Interestingly, this partnership also saw ThinkFoodGroup joining SevenRooms in an advisory role.

To kick things off in 2022, the platform announced the hiring of a chief revenue officer, Brent-Stig Kraus.

Oh, and just weeks ago, to ring in 2023, SevenRooms entered into a partnership with Competitive Social Ventures.

Of course, not all of SevenRooms’ growth over the past few years involves crucial C-suite roles and entering into partnerships. While those moves benefit operators and our industry, there are other developments worth noting.

Along with hiring Martinez as CFO, the platform launched Direct Delivery in March 2021. This online ordering solution makes it easier for operators eliminate third-party fees; maintain control of the guest data they collect; and fulfill the guest desire to order from restaurants directly and effortlessly.

Image: Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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Date Night Desires and Dealbreakers

Date Night Desires and Dealbreakers

by David Klemt

Reserved seats at a bar

Focusing on date night, guest experience and retention tech platform SevenRooms is sharing their latest data-driven report.

Their “Date Night Diner Report” is another successful collaboration with YouGov. Previous reports from this partnership include:

One of the reasons we at KRG Hospitality appreciate and recommend SevenRooms is their dedication to data. The platform’s commitment to sharing the data they collect to the benefit of operators is impressive.

“A resurgence of the American date night is here, and these date night diners are flipping the script on what that experience should look and feel like,” says Allison Page, co-founder and chief product officer at SevenRooms.

So, operators who want to succeed with date night should review this new report. In fact, all operators would be wise to read this report. After all, it addresses reservations, waitlists, walk-ins, and much more.

Released today, this brand-new report can be downloaded here. Read the press release here.

Date Night Details

A lot has changed over the past two-plus years. What hasn’t changed are the two most popular date nights in the US: Friday and Saturday.

Both Friday and Saturday night are preferred by 26 percent of the 763 survey respondents who go on dates. In total, SevenRooms and YouGov surveyed 1,153 individuals.

Generally speaking, these dates are return visits. People who go on dates tend to make reservations at restaurants they’ve dined at previously.

However, 46 percent of such guests are open to reserving a table at a restaurant they haven’t visited before. And speaking of those tables reservations, 53 percent are for two people.

Looking at two major populations, tables for two are the most popular reservations. In New York, they account for 50 percent of reservations. That number increases to 56 percent in Los Angeles.

Interestingly, however, is this bit of date: 53 percent of Americans don’t make reservations for date night. Rather, they’re walk-in guests, meaning they’ll likely become waitlist guests.

Date Night Desires

So, now operators know that the majority of today’s date-night reservations are for two. That doesn’t mean setting aside two-tops and side-by-side seats at the bar is enough for success.

No, there are also guest expectations to consider. SevenRooms identifies the following as the top date-night desires:

  1. A complimentary cocktail or dessert. (33 percent)
  2. Ability to earn extra rewards (24 percent), highlighting the value of loyalty programs.
  3. Incentives that encourage repeat date-night visits. (23 percent)

Furthermore, personalization continues to be a key factor in the dining decision. One-third of guests consider the ability to personalize their dining experience more important than factors such as menu variety or receiving their order quickly.

Date Night Dealbreakers

Of course, if there are desires there are also dealbreakers.

According to SevenRooms, the following are the dealbreakers operators must avoid:

  1. People on a date receiving their meals at different times. In this case, more than ten to 15 minutes apart. (45 percent)
  2. The restaurant being so loud the guests on their date can’t hold a conversation. (43 percent)
  3. A restaurant not having the menu items the guests were looking forward to ordering. (31 percent)
  4. Being sat too close to another table. (31 percent)
  5. Sitting next to a table speaking “too loudly.” (26 percent)
  6. The restaurant being so crowded that a guest can’t find their date. (24 percent)

How important is it to avoid these dealbreakers? Well, the survey respondents say they won’t return to a restaurant if they experience any of them.

To read the full report, click here. And to learn more about SevenRooms, listen to Bar Hacks episode 24, featuring SevenRooms CEO Joel Montaniel.

Image: Dmitri Nesteruk on Unsplash

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