CRM | KRG Hospitality

June 4, 2024by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms Announces Powerhouse Ad Board

SevenRooms Announces Powerhouse Advisory Board

by David Klemt

"Good news is coming" sign taped to a pole on the street

One of our favorite hospitality technology platforms, SevenRooms, is back at it, showing off their commitment to growth through an announcement made today.

Regular readers of KRG Hospitality’s industry news section may recall an impressive announcement from SevenRooms toward the end of last year. In late November of 2023, the innovative hospitality CRM, operations, reservation, and marketing platform released not one, not two, but three powerful new tools:

Priority Alerts
Private Line
Word-of-Mouth Referrrals

Those who may have missed this announcement can read about these tools here.

Today’s news, however, isn’t based on the release of an innovative new tech feature. Rather, it has everything to do with SevenRooms looking toward the future. The hospitality tech leader is proud to announce CAB, their Customer Advisory Board.

Images of the SevenRooms inaugural Customer Advisory Board members

At the launch, CAB features five hospitality industry heavy hitters. Each represents a hospitality titan, such as MGM Resorts International, Union Square Hospitality Group, and Black Sheep Restaurants. Each member is tasked with analyzing AI, revenue management, and the future of hospitality, and the opportunities presented by each.

Personally, I’m particularly interested in what CAB members will have to say about AI in the industry by year’s end.

For more details, please review the official press release below.

SEVENROOMS ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF CUSTOMER ADVISORY BOARD WITH GLOBAL HOSPITALITY LEADERS

MGM Resorts International, Union Square Hospitality Group, Black Sheep Restaurants, Australian Venue Co., and MJMK Restaurants join to provide strategic insights on the future of hospitality, emerging trends, and key technological opportunities

NEW YORK (June 4, 2024) – SevenRooms, the leading marketing and operations platform for the hospitality industry, today announced the creation of its inaugural Customer Advisory Board (CAB). Composed of hospitality experts and thought leaders from the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, and United Kingdom, SevenRooms’ CAB will serve as a strategic forum to explore, discuss and action opportunities within the hospitality industry.

CAB members joined SevenRooms executive leadership at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to discuss the 2024 board theme of “Future Proofing to Serve up Success.” CAB attendees gained deeper insight into industry trends and best practices from global markets, discussed the value of loyalty in building hospitality-focused businesses with their peers, and debated how technology can help bridge the gap between guests and restaurants to deliver revenue-driving experiences. Throughout 2024, CAB members will continue to explore the following areas of opportunity:

Future of Hospitality – consumer sophistication, technology consolidation and the preparing workforces for what’s to come
Artificial Intelligence – authenticity and the importance of maintaining human, hospitality-focused connections
Revenue Management – data storytelling and how to make more money from the
same seats

As the consumer of tomorrow evolves, with new demands and expectations, SevenRooms’ CAB will continue to explore what authentic, hospitality-driven experiences look like for both hospitality operators and consumers. Plus, develop strategies for how technology like SevenRooms can provide a blueprint for growth to help operators own and elevate the guest experience to build loyalty. This includes leveraging CRM and marketing tools that not only help their businesses grow, but ensure they’re set up for long-term success by generating more predictable revenue, more often.

“We are excited to launch our Customer Advisory Board, welcoming this esteemed group of industry leaders deeper into our community,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO and Co-Founder of SevenRooms. “At SevenRooms, we are committed to the long-term success of our customers both now and in the future. As leaders in innovation, we empower operators to build sustainable, profitable businesses with guest experience at their core. With our board members’ diverse perspectives and deep industry knowledge, they will be instrumental in helping us better understand and address the needs of our customers and the wider global hospitality industry, ultimately, helping them better serve their guests.”

The inaugural members of the Customer Advisory Board include:

Ari Kastrati, Chief Hospitality Officer, MGM Resorts International
Kelly MacPherson, Chief Supply Chain & Technology Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group
Syed Asim Hussain, Founder, Black Sheep Restaurants
Kylie Moncur, Chief Marketing Officer, Australian Venue Co.
Hannah Berry, Marketing Director, MJMK Restaurants

“Working with Joel and the SevenRooms team over many years, I’ve seen firsthand their commitment to the hospitality industry and its continued growth and evolution; passions I too hold very dear,” said Ari Kastrati, Chief Hospitality Officer at MGM Resorts International and Chairman of SevenRooms’ Customer Advisory Board. “I am honored to chair this new advisory group, with a collective goal of supporting and empowering hospitality businesses as they navigate an increasingly complex market and strive to elevate experiences for diners of today and tomorrow.”

For more information about SevenRooms and its Customer Advisory Board, please visit sevenrooms.com/customer-advisory-board.

About SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a leading marketing and operations platform for growing restaurants in the hospitality industry. From Michelin star gems to local favorites, the all-in-one platform helps restaurants increase sales, delight guests, and keep them coming back, automatically. The full suite of products includes reservations, waitlist and table management, review aggregation, referrals, email marketing, and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures and PSG, SevenRooms has more than 10,000 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, Union Square Hospitality Group, Australian Venue Co., The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf. www.sevenrooms.com

Image: Jon Tyson on Unsplash

May 18, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms and Marriott Partnership

SevenRooms and Marriott Reveal Global Partnership

by David Klemt

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

March 14, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms Email Marketing Integration

SevenRooms Introduces Email Marketing Integration

by David Klemt

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

January 31, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Chief Marketing Officer Joins SevenRooms

Chief Marketing Officer Joins SevenRooms

by David Klemt

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

December 6, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms and CSV form Partnership

SevenRooms and Competitive Social Ventures form Partnership

by David Klemt

Guest experience and retention platform SevenRooms will kick off 2023 with a partnership with Competitive Social Ventures.

This new partnership is yet another example of SevenRooms’ continuous growth. For technology in general and our industry in particular, this is excellent news.

Consider how long it has taken, up until recently, for hospitality to embrace tech innovations. Navigating tech solutions can be daunting. Equally intimidating can be the cost of implementing new tech in a restaurant, bar, or hotel.

Watching a tech platform continue to innovate and grow, therefore, is good news for operators and their teams.

SevenRooms traces their founding to 2011. In comparison, many “solutions” never escape the vaporware stage, existing only on paper. With more than a decade of operation under its belt, SevenRooms is established and positioned for longevity.

In other words, the platform is worthy of operator consideration and investment. We make no secret of our preference for SevenRooms at KRG Hospitality. Unless they prove we should think otherwise, the platform is our favorite tech-based guest retention solution.

Beyond functionality, ease of use, and effectiveness, the company’s continuous growth motivates our support. Look at how SevenRooms grew in 2021 alone:

The platform also started 2022 with the hiring of a chief revenue officer, Brent-Stig Kraus.

Social Entertainment

With its headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, Competitive Social Ventures blends sports, socializing, and entertainment.

In fact, the company refers to the brands it has brought to market as “competitive socializing entertainment concepts.”

Last year, CSV brought Fairway Social Alpharetta and Roaring Social Alpharetta to market. The former focuses on sports simulators. Roaring Social, on the other hand, delivers a speakeasy experience combined with bowling.

Arriving in 2023, the real estate holding company plans to launch Pickle & Social concepts throughout the Metro Atlanta. As the name suggests, the concept features indoor and outdoor pickleball courts. Guests will also have access to table tennis. And like Fairway Social and Roaring Social, Pickle & Social will feature live music and an elevated F&B experience.

CSV already makes use of SevenRooms’ reservation and guest data management tools. Going into 2023, this partnership will evolve into review aggregation, marketing automation, and table waitlist management. The latter makes it easier for any concept to handle walk-ins as painlessly as possible.

Most importantly, the partnership with SevenRooms empowers CSV to pursue their growth plans. While the growth of SevenRooms is impressive and confidence-inspiring, their commitment to client growth is the real story here.

When choosing their tech stack, operators need to know the relationship is mutually beneficial. In fact, they need to be confident that each platform is here for long-term success.

In fact, operators should look at every relationship through this lens: Is every partner working to help you grow?

Image: Ben Hershey on Unsplash

July 8, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Hotels, Guest Data and Guest Expectations

Hotels, Guest Data and Guest Expectations: A Chat with SevenRooms

We sit down with Austen Asadorian, vice president of sales at SevenRooms, to chat about pent-up demand for travel.

People are eager to get back out there and hotels, of course, play a crucial role in their travel plans. However, we’re not engaging with the same guests we were pre-pandemic.

No, today’s guest demands more from the hotels and resorts they select. And a key to delivering on guest demands is collecting guest data.

But while operators know they’re supposed to be collecting guest data, there’s some uncertainty about what to actually do with it. Enter: SevenRooms.

More accurately, meet Austen Asadorian of SevenRooms. Not only can he address meeting guest demands through tech, he can address how to use guest data responsibly and effectively.

Hi Austen, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your role at SevenRooms?

Thanks, David! My name is Austen Asadorian and I’m the Vice President of Sales at SevenRooms. I first started my career in hospitality early in high school, getting a job at a local restaurant in New Jersey, learning everything from protein fabrication to catering and dealing with daily customers, even managing events. I continued working in hospitality through college, while going to the Culinary Institute of America for a degree in hospitality management, and ultimately, landed at Hillstone Restaurant Group where I ran back of house operations as well as the company’s Manager Training Program. Before joining SevenRooms, I worked as Peloton’s Director of Sales, leading their go-to-market strategy for retail growth and expansion from 2014-2017.

Today, I support SevenRooms’ global expansion efforts to accelerate our goal of being the best-in-class solution for hospitality operators around the world. Having previous experience in the hospitality industry, I joined SevenRooms because I was hyper aware of the pain points in the industry surrounding technology and the need for better guest management after having lived it day-to-day for several years. More importantly, I believe in SevenRooms’ vision and have a true passion for helping hospitality businesses, big and small, drive revenue, and create loyal guests for life.

Let’s talk hotels. What does the hotel industry look like two years after (or into) the Coronavirus pandemic?

When the pandemic struck, travel came to a complete halt and hotel occupancy in the US fell from 70% in March 2019 to less than 25% in March 2020—rooms were empty. Now, as the world is back to what we can consider a new “normal,” we’re seeing an extreme surge in travel and hotels are busier than ever.

However, what guests expect from hotels experience-wise has changed and they demand more. They’re making up for lost time and they want to make it count. Coming out of the pandemic, hotel operators are taking a harder look at their entire tech stack. It’s no longer optional to have a tech stack that is fully integrated from top to bottom across their operations—it’s a must-have—and technology providers are adapting to meet those needs. Additionally, operators have put a strong emphasis on the importance of ownership over their guest data. Both trends have positioned SevenRooms incredibly well within the hotel sector, as this has been our business philosophy from day one.

How can hotel operators and managers live up to these high expectations?

The simple answer is by taking advantage of technology solutions into their everyday practices and processes. These tech solutions can be anything from a QR code for mobile order and pay, allowing guests to order food and drink from anywhere on the property without ever needing a server to approach them, to an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) platform that speaks to and pulls data from their F&B CRM, easily sharing that information across teams at the hotel. For example, passing information along to a guest services team to ensure that in-room amenities don’t include nuts if a guest has a peanut allergy.

Operators and managers should also make sure they’re utilizing loyalty programs. According to a recent SevenRooms survey of American consumers, 44% say that loyalty programs play a part in their hotel choice and there are certain incentives that will bring them back.

For example, some want loyalty points to enjoy on property restaurants and bars, whereas others want a personal greeting when they check in, or a complimentary glass of champagne waiting for them when they get to their room.

Technology and loyalty programs both play into an exceptional experience and it’s important for operators to use both to create the total package.

You mentioned collecting guest data. Can you tell us a little bit more about why that is so important?

When we talk about data and hotels, we’re talking about using it to power a one-of-a-kind unique experience. We don’t mean taking or selling personal information, and that’s an important distinction.

The data we’re collecting for operators centers around a guest’s profile—who they are and what they like. This can be anything from their dietary preferences to their favorite table in the hotel restaurant’s dining room, to what dessert they order most often when they visit.

By having this data, operators can build a direct relationship with these guests and, in turn, build an incredible experience that keeps them coming back. For example, if a guest stays at a specific hotel on their vacation and takes full advantage of the pool cabanas, the data collected on those visits can then be used to retarget them with a special marketing promotion or offer to visit their local hotel property for a staycation, complete with a discount on a cabana day rental.

Creating these unique, personalized experiences not only increases revenue for operators, but also drives loyalty, as a loyal guest is more important than a one-time guest.

About Austen

Austen Asadorian is the Vice President of Sales at SevenRooms, where he is tasked with supporting SevenRooms’ global expansion efforts and accelerating the company’s goal of being the best-in-class solution for hospitality operators globally. Prior to joining SevenRooms, Austen was Peloton’s Director of Sales, leading the company’s go-to-market strategy for retail growth and expansion. He started his career at Hillstone Restaurant Group where he cut his teeth learning how to run efficient and profitable restaurants at scale. Austen was ultimately promoted into an executive role where he oversaw the company’s Manager in Training Program and Back of House Operations. Austen graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Image: Antonio Janeski

Restaurant worker using SevenRooms on tablet

January 19, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms Kicks Off 2022 with Growth

SevenRooms Kicks Off 2022 with Growth

by David Klemt

SevenRooms continues their growth by kicking off 2022 with the announcement of a new, crucial addition to the team.

Today, the hospitality technology company announces the hiring of Brent-Stig Kraus. Formerly the senior vice president of sales for ChowNow, Kraus will take on the role of chief revenue officer at SevenRooms.

As CRO, Kraus will play a crucial role in further accelerating SevenRooms’ impressive global growth. The company’s new CRO will accomplish this goal by identifying and pursuing partnership opportunities, targeting high-growth sales, and scaling sales globally.

Steady Growth

In March of last year, SevenRooms brought on Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer.

By September of 2021, the platform announced a multi-year partnership with TheFork. In particular, this was major news for operators throughout Europe and Australia. Additionally, this partnership illustrates how SevenRooms is pursuing long-term global growth.

A month later, in October of last year, the company entered into a partnership with Olo. In doing so, SevenRooms ensures clients who also use Olo can capture their off-premise customers’ information. That data then creates profiles for those customers automatically, meaning operators can learn more about and effectively market to customers who engage with them via online orders.

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

And it’s not just filling crucial C-suite roles and entering into partnerships that benefit operators and the industry that are examples of SevenRooms’ rapid growth.

Along with hiring Martinez as CFO, the platform launched Direct Delivery in March 2021. This online ordering solution helped operators eliminate third-party fees; retain control of guest data; and fulfill guest desire to order from restaurants directly and seamlessly.

Finally, the company ended 2021 by sharing their 2022 trend predictions.

Why this Matters

Tech innovations are crucial to the long-term future of the hospitality industry. Restaurateurs, bar owners, and hoteliers, were once wary of adopting new tech.

Now, they’re investing more to streamline operations; automate reservations, online ordering, and marketing campaigns; and improving customer and staff relationships.

However, without growth a platform eventually becomes outdated. When that happens, the investment made by an operator to include it in their tech stack becomes a burden and liability.

As SevenRooms continues their growth, they prove worthy of an operator’s support and investment. We continue to support SevenRooms—without receiving any compensation for doing so—in large part because of the platform’s growth.

In addition to their available tools, we’re always eager to see what they’ll release next to make life simpler for operators.

Image: SevenRooms

Cheeseburgers and French fries in takeout containers on pass

October 12, 2021by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms Announces Olo Partnership

SevenRooms Announces Olo Partnership

by David Klemt

SevenRooms continues to grow and develop innovative partnerships.

The platform’s newest partnership benefits the hospitality industry, operators, and consumers.

In joining forces with Olo, SevenRooms further helps restaurants, bars, and hotels position themselves to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

The Bleeding Edge

Olo, which literally stands for “Online Ordering,” predates the iPhone.

In fact, the company launched before smartphones were more than niche devices.

Upon its inception, Olo’s service consisted mainly of sending mobile coffee orders to restaurant printers via text message.

Like SevenRooms, Olo seeks to stay ahead of the consumer behavior curve:

2005: Olo launches, anticipating coffee drinkers will eagerly embrace mobile ordering.
2008: The company predicts fast-casual restaurants will become faster than fast food.
2012: Olo envisions the redesigning of kitchen restaurants to include pickup windows.
2015: The platform sees the future for foodservice is delivery.

Now, Olo is dedicated to making sure online ordering customers benefit from the industry’s digital transformation.

The Partnership

SevenRooms ensures clients who also use Olo can capture their off-premise customers’ information. That data then creates profiles for those customers automatically.

This partnership leverages SevenRooms CRM and marketing automation integration. Operators will be able to send post-order surveys to off-premise, online ordering customers automatically.

So, operators can learn what is and isn’t working off-premise; elevate the experience of off-premise customers to increase online order frequency; convert those customers to in-person guests; encourage repeat visits; and increase profitability.

Moving forward, SevenRooms and Olo users will get to know their off-premise customers better.

“To meet the ever-evolving needs of our hospitality clients, we’ve continued to seek out strategic partners who help us provide an even more comprehensive solution to operators,” says SevenRooms CEO and founder Joel Montaniel. “Our integration with Olo delivers on our promise of offering a 360-degree platform focused on helping operators build deeper, direct relationships across on- and off-premise experiences. This partnership facilitates better operational efficiency and online data capture, ultimately helping operators optimize the profitability of their delivery and takeout business while strengthening customer relationships. We are excited to welcome Olo to our partner network, and look forward to our continued collaboration to drive better, more streamlined solutions for the industry.”

Learn more about SevenRooms here. Click here to learn more about Olo.

Image: call me hangry 🇫🇷 on Unsplash

Reviewing and analyzing customer data on a laptop computer

July 27, 2021by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

How SevenRooms Improves Operations

How SevenRooms Improves Operations

by David Klemt

It’s true that SevenRooms is a reservation management platform. However, it’s so much more powerful than that.

Simply put, if the platform wasn’t simple to use and integrate with other systems, they wouldn’t be celebrating their tenth year.

A recent interview via Clubhouse highlights why now, more than ever, operators need to seriously consider SevenRooms.

Background

Guy Clarke, founder of Sizzle Dining, spoke with two key SevenRooms team members in a casual but informative Clubhouse chat.

Allison Page, SevenRooms co-founder and Chief Product Officer, and Marybeth Sheppard, senior vice president of marketing, fielded Clarke’s questions.

Interestingly, Page admits SevenRooms took five to seven years to really fine-tune operations. In fact, she says that the team didn’t quite know exactly what they were offering for the first year or two.

Now, the “reservation” platform has truly hit their stride. The company doesn’t just manage reservations, it provides powerful solutions: a full suite of operational tools; table management; and guest experience and retention capabilities.

Of course, many tech platforms claim to help operators. However, SevenRooms is now enjoying a decade in business.

Their longevity is, in part, due to their approach to hospitality. As Page tells it, the founders didn’t just enter the industry believing they could “fix it” with tech.

Plenty of tech folks have identified problems in hospitality, boasted about their “common sense” solution, and exited after finding out how challenging the business is.

Instead, the SevenRooms team spent time in the trenches. According to Page, they took reservations, checked coats, and more. They spent time with hospitality workers after hours and got to know them.

What’s with that Name?

I’ve written several articles about SevenRooms. However, I’ve never addressed why the founders chose that name.

When asked by Clarke during the Clubhouse chat, Page provided the answer.

Turns out, the name is a loose nod to Graydon Carter’s “Seven Rooms Theory.” The theory speaks to navigating social status in New York City. In short, it posits that the NYC social scene consists of seven consecutive “rooms,” each with a secret door. Find the secret door, move to the next room.

Of course, SevenRooms isn’t about exclusivity. Instead, SevenRooms is helping operators reach the seventh “room,” which is a lasting relationship with a guest. The six previous rooms are a journey toward understanding that guest and making them loyal by delivering incredible guest experiences.

Why SevenRooms Works

If this seems like a shameless plug for SevenRooms, well, it sort of is. They didn’t pay me, Doug or KRG Hospitality to promote the platform; we just like what SevenRooms can do for operators.

In an industry that has until recently been slow to innovate when it comes to tech, the platform has been improving restaurant and hotel operations for years.

According to Page, SevenRooms has a simple operating philosophy that drives the company: “Make small big, make big small.” SevenRooms is driven to help small, independent operations punch well above their weight class. The platform gives independent operators the same capabilities as their large chain counterparts.

Conversely, SevenRooms gives enterprise operators an effective way to deliver the engaging experiences that independents offer their guests.

However, there are other reasons SevenRooms is so worthy of consideration: simplicity.

SevenRooms is all about collecting data. Of course, data does no good if an operator doesn’t know what to do with it. If they had to analyze and leverage it on their own, they’d need to employ data scientists and an entire marketing team.

Well, SevenRooms employs those people instead so operators don’t need to. An operator doesn’t need to be a data scientist to use the information they collect through the platform. Marketing campaigns are automated and engaging, and require little effort from the end user.

Reduce Costs, Increase Revenue

As Sheppard explains, SevenRooms manages and, more importantly, helps maximize a restaurant’s floor.

Looking to increase turns? Done. Want every seat to generate revenue? Smart seating makes that possible. According to Sheppard, SevenRooms’ auto-assign seating functionality is worthy of operators’ trust. Additionally, the platform’s CRM, table management and marketing tools help staff upsell guests.

Speaking of automated functions, Sheppard provides insight into SevenRooms auto-tagging. The platform assigns automated tags that make it simple for staff to understand the guests they’re serving. Some examples are:

Burger lover
Red wine lover
Big tipper
Loves expensive wine
No-showed twice

Just those five examples show how SevenRooms helps operators and their teams maximize the guest experience to generate revenue. So, how does the platform reduce costs?

First, investing in SevenRooms reduces an operator’s overall tech stack investment. It integrates with around 50 POS systems and offers several tools (modules), meaning an operator doesn’t need to purchase several platforms that may not integrate with one another.

Second, the reservation and table management tools streamline an operator’s business. When team members are focusing on revenue-generating tasks, the floor is being sat more efficiently, and guests are being wowed, costs are driven down and revenue is driven up.

Then, there’s the “hidden” benefit. As Sheppard says, hospitality is a passion-driven industry. Unfortunately, there are many “non-passion” tasks that must be accomplished for operators to make money and keep their doors open.

Those tasks can take a toll, leading to an operator to fall out of love with the industry and their own concept. Well, SevenRooms takes several of those tasks (sifting through data, creating marketing campaigns, figuring out how to maximize the floor, etc.) and automates them.

Therefore, operators have more time to program menus, mentor team members, forge relationships with guests by touching tables, and more.

To request a SevenRooms demo, click here.

Image: John Schnobrich on Unsplash

March 30, 2021by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

SevenRooms Continues Momentum with CFO

SevenRooms Continues Momentum with CFO

by David Klemt

In hiring Pamela Martinez as the company’s chief financial officer, SevenRooms continues their drive toward global expansion.

This crucial hire continues years of constant movement forward for SevenRooms.

It’s no secret that we’re fans of this powerful, tech-driven platform, in part due to their support of direct delivery.

A History of Growth

What do you do when your erratic schedule keeps you from scoring restaurant reservations? You create a tech-based, flexible reservation platform.

Okay, maybe that’s not what we’d all do. But that is the solution the co-founders of SevenRooms chose in 2011.

It would take just six years for investors to take notice of the company’s potential for growth.

SevenRooms counts Comcast Ventures, Alexa Fund (Amazon), and Providence Strategic Growth as investors. So confident in the platform’s growth is Providence Strategic Growth that their investment of millions of dollars took place in 2020.

High-profile clients include TAO Group, Bloomin’ Brands, Topgolf, Virgin Hotels, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Zuma, and LDV Hospitality. SevenRooms has been the system of record for all F&B venues across the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group’s portfolio.

Of course, SevenRooms serves independents of all sizes as well.

SevenRooms Hires CFO

Pamela Martinez is the first chief financial officer at SevenRooms. Her role is to accelerate the platform’s already impressive momentum and growth.

Martinez certainly has the experience to help further solidify SevenRooms’ status as one of the best guest experience platforms.

When she was at HubSpot, a marketing an CRM platform, the company grew from $75 million in annual recurring revenue to $1 billion in ARR.

“As SevenRooms continues to grow, I am thrilled to welcome Pamela to our team to help take us to the next level. Her proven track record helping to scale businesses and build out new financial structures made her the right choice for our company as we enter our next growth stage,” says Joel Montaniel, CEO and co-founder of SevenRooms.

Further growth will lead to more solutions and resources for SevenRooms clients. We’re eager to see how Martinez will help expand the platform and its capabilities.

“Despite the incredible challenges hospitality operators have faced over the past year, the industry has remained strong and I’ve been inspired by all SevenRooms has done to help its partners stay resilient,” says Martinez.

Read the announcement in its entirety on the SevenRooms website.

Image: Chronis Yan on Unsplash