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The following article discusses the results of a survey called, "Market Intelligence Report: Consumer-Facing Technology" conducted by market research firm, Technomic, Inc. According to the survey, consumers have a strong desire to use technology in their restaurant experience. 51% percent of customers say it's important for restaurants to integrate technology in their ordering capabilities. This includes the use of tableside touch-screen devices that enable digital ordering and at-table payments. "Technology can be used as a point of differentation within the restaurant industry, especially with Millennials," says Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President of Technomic. Several companies have already taken note of the consumer's need for technology, and are experiencing increased customer loyalty. In Kitchen 67's Brann's Cafe, every table features a wireless phone-charging station and iPads that control a digital jukebox. It's important to note that this new use of technology should be used as a complement to printed menus to avoid alienating customers. As a restaurant employee and diner, I have seen bits of technology implemented here and there over the years. Owners realize there is a need for it, but are cautious of scaring off their established customer base. I believe that with time, owners will begin to fully embrace technology and the two will benefit from each other. One aspect I am completely on-board with is the use of iPad menus. A photograph of a dish has a bigger impact on a guest than a short sentence description. Even better, the apps can suggest wine and drink pairings for each entree that will increase guest checks.

This article is about the innovation in the back office arena. When many managers are still doubting back office technology efficiency, at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, based in Destin, Fla. with 275 franchise locations, operators there are adding up money saved by setting up RedPrairie's Performance Management (RPM). Benefits could be like control labor cost and food cost, especially for those franchise companies with hundreds of hotels or restaurants throughout the country even the world, RPM will provide a complete compared among different locations reports in a few minutes. Besides, back office begins to meet iPhone, which make it possible to see real-time information about what was going on in the restaurants, including open checks, servers logged in or out and even sales for the managers. Another sign that technology is changing is the ability to combine accounting, inventory and point of sale into one solution without the old challenge of interfacing disparate systems. In a word, it is really convenient to get the back office intelligence.

With the talk about POS systems, mobile POS systems are also taking up center stage with recent developments utilizing Ipads or cloud based systems. All you need is a reader type device and an interface program than can process the transaction. This article mentions safety, convenience, lower POS costs and increased sales. I think this is all true, with the one exception that users may still be wary of a skimming device that can read and steal credit card data.

This article is very interesting. I happened to find this article when I was searching for a hospitality accounting related article. This article tells us about the top 5 items making biggest profit for a restaurant. We should be aware of these items and become wiser consumers.

This article show cases Subway Digital's recent acquisition of a 20-person team from Avanti Commerce. This team's main focus will be the expansion and customization of an innovative e-commerce and onmi-channel platforms. Apart from that, the team is also developing a new program for in-restaurant kiosks.

This article talks about the available restaurant systems(POS) for restaurant operations. It highlights the pros and cons so that you are able to decide which will best suit your operations needs. A few that are listed are Ambur, Breadcrumb Pro, and Lavu.

Two former restaurant servers have developed software that provides an end-to-end point-of-sale (POS) system that allows taking and submitting orders, printing kitchen slips, customer receipts and processing payments-all using an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Ambur does not require a computer on the back end. Instead the hand-held device is the hub. The program can be loaded up by any iOS device and run on a wireless network. Waiters can easily fulfill customer requests right at the table. One drawback is that some customers have complained because they thought the waiter was texting on their iPhone.

This article is about a Miami hot dog and sandwich restaurant that is using iPad ordering kiosks with a POS software system built in. In an effort to reduce costs while not reducing customer experiences. Customers can order directly from their tables where the iPad is located. They can view high resolution pictures of menu items, make cooking specifications, as well as pay directly from the iPad terminal.

The new iPad POS systems are starting to turn up all over the place in many restaurants and hotels. The iPad FIRMS POS system also can be used with the iPod touch, offers a 90% savings on traditional POS systems and can be optimized to fit restaurants of any level. We all know that POS systems could cost over $20,000 so by getting the iPad system you can put the money you are saving to improve the restaurant or use the money else where.

How-to and Why instructions on restaurant accounting software packages. A step by step of how to install the software and getting operational in a restaurant setting. 

This article talks about how more and more people in the hospitality industry are using a POS based-cloud instead of hardwire systems. According to some experts in some years most of the hospitality industry would have change into using the cloud. For now most of the users of the cloud are single unit restaurants as it is an easy system to adopt and cost efficient. On the other side for chain restaurants to make this change can be costly; therefore it is believed that it will take some time for them to change. Still some people believe that this can be an unreliable and unsecured system. Some of the reasons for this are: -The lack of privacy; as the data will be in the hands of somebody else. -This system relies on the internet so when a connection problem occurs a downtime would take place creating complications for the restaurant operator. According to experts and users both of these ideas can be debated. Leaving the data handling in the hand of experts can bring advantages and lower the costs. On the other hand when the internet fails if the correct backup measures are taken it has no difference with the hardware system.

This article talks about the benefits of POS in cloud, and eliminates some misunderstanding about its downtime and security concerns. The author start selling POS in cloud by pointing out the trend that it is becoming more accepted. CEO and president of the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) says it will be mainstream in the next two to five years. Though POS in cloud would be a easy set up and cost saving solution for a starting up single-unit,"Large chains are more likely to turn to cloud applications for business intelligence solutions first because there is not as much investment or change in infrastructure compared to the POS" says Dave Matthews. But since multi-unit chains have already invested lots of money in the old POS, they are going to wait for those POS pay back before they switch to POS in cloud. Then author switched to what concern people most about cloud computing, downtime and security. A cloud based POS can have as reliable backup plan as a hardwired system. Although POS in cloud does not have backup servers in the location which should be provided by vendor, it can have several connection backups, like wireless, 3G or 4G, phone line. And about the security concern, just ask yourself is you have the security system than a technology vendor.

Tripleseat offers a cloud-based system that keeps client information-even little details- and can be used to assist event planners. Private parties/events represent over 30% of a restaurants revenue and event managers lose time and money conducting their planning the way that they have before. Tripleseat streamlines the process and makes finding leads and simplifying the planning process. 

This article talks about a Tripleseat company a cloud base sales and event management application for the hospitality Industry, announced they have recently achieved the milestone of having over 400 restaurant hotel and unique venues as costume. Tripleseat has delivered over 200m in leads and managed over $500 million in event in cities around the country. THE EVENT BUSINESS IS a $26 billion a year industry and it is being run on past it notes. Tripleseat, a web base sale and event application that can deliver and capture leads while simplifying the book and planning of event

This article discusses a program called Tripleseat that was created in 2008 as a way to better organize sales and even planning within the hospitality industry. The program is a cloud-based software that provides a competitive edge that event managers need. The founders of the software said that the idea came when he realized that Event sales managers were still using paper and pens to organize their events. He said that event planners were losing sales by not having a simple organized system to track their events. The point of Tripleseat is to provide a fast yet simple to learn program that allows event sales managers to easily book and plan any sort of event no matter the size. It keeps track of little details as well as past client information, there is less paperwork, and managers are able to focus on sales. Since this is a web application it can easily be integrated with other websites as well as social media. It is a sophisticated event planning system, but is also offered at a manageable cost. This type of system sounds like a great system to use. I only wonder if it is able to interface with a property management system of a hotel? Especially one that isn't cloud-based.

POS is necessary management tool for a hotel operator to own because it enhances greatly the effectiveness of food, beverage, accounting, back-office management and saves food cost and labor cost and also save manager to deal with amount of numbers to analysis. As a operator of a hotel, to invest in a new POS system, there are some important features need to look for which include data reporting, back office management & integration, customer relationship management, wireless computing & handheld devices, payment security, self service technology. Wireless point of sale system is a booming field in recent years. In traditional environment such as a restaurant or a hotel, this technology helps to save time rather than waiting in a line for a long time and reducing service quality. Through wireless POS terminal, each order transmitted instantly and avoid overwhelming to back office and speed up the effectiveness of service staff. Self-service technology created a buzz in recent years. We can see this kind of service devices in supermarket, buffet restaurant and many other places. It saves labor cost on the one hand and also saves customers' time for checking out. 

Hospitality point of sales systems are computerized systems incorporating registers, computers and peripheral equipment, usually on a computer network. Like other point of sale systems, these systems keep track of sales, labor and payroll, and can generate records used in accounting and book keeping. They may be accessed remotely by restaurant corporate offices, troubleshooters and other authorized parties. Point of sales systems have revolutionized the restaurant industry, particularly in the fast food sector. In the most recent technologies, registers are computers, sometimes with touch screens. The registers connect to a server, often referred to as a "store controller" or a "central control unit." Printers and monitors are also found on the network. Additionally, remote servers can connect to store networks and monitor sales and other store data. Newer, more sophisticated, systems are getting away from the central database "file server" type system and going to what is called a "cluster database". This eliminates any crashing or system downtime that can be associated with the back office file server. This technology allows 100% of the information to not only be stored, but also pulled from the local terminal. Thus eliminating the need to rely on a separate server for the system to operate. The efficiency of such systems has decreased service times and increased efficiency of orders. Another innovation in technology for the restaurant industry is Wireless POS. Many restaurants with high volume use wireless handheld POS to collect orders which are sent to a server. The server sends required information to the kitchen in real time.

Nowadays, the Point of Sales system is very important not only in hotels but also in any kind of business. The popular reason is that the POS is convenient, fast and promptly. The POS could be changed neatly. It will make the cashier compute for the expenses and costs more efficiently. The data used by the POS has been applied connection through the Internet. The customers could register by their private computer quickly. The POS also connect many kinds of service aspects that include restaurant, housekeeping, receiption and so on. It will make the whole system operate more integrate.

This is a POS system named AccuPOS which has come to Android, you can download it in your phone. And it is a full featured solution that is ideal for whatever type of restaurant you manage. such as buffet, fast food restaurant. Also, AccuPOS includes features like guest tracking, detail order histories, contact management and automated delivery addresses on to-go-receipts and it is easy to learn and use. And this software system is designed to perform with the best quality hardware and proviede wireless device support, the it is good for kitchen area operation and receive the order from FOH. The last, this sysem can analyze the sales data that can be approached from a variety of time periods to ensure you have a bird's eye view of your business.

This appears to be a good solution I like the integration with accounting package and that the system can work with phones and other hand held device. The fact that this system can manage time and attendance means that a stand alone restaurant would not need to get another system for this function.

This article talks about how hotels can use location based marking to drive business and create customer loyalty. Hotels and restaurants can use proximity marketing and geofencing to get the messages out to customers. Proximity marketing uses Bluetooth technology and WIFI to send messages to a customers mobile phone when they are within a specific proximity to your business. Geofencing creates a virtual "fence" that once the customer is within this area they can be reached on their mobile device. Hotels can use this technology to build customer loyalty by sending special messages to guests when they enter the hotel. These personalized messages can you give a competitive advantage by making the guest feel special and welcome. They can also send messages to guests encouraging them to visit the hotel's restaurant or spa instead of going somewhere else. According to a recent study, customers are willing to give up personal information and privacy in exchange for money saving deals. It is important for hotels and restaurants to take advantage of this new technology to reach the people who are willing and want to be contacted this way.

Hi Dawn This article is great and learning about proximity marketing made me understand it way more now. I think that it could be a good feature to reach out to people that signed up for your program when they get within a certain distance to your property to get them know about current specials. I know if I was part of a loyalty program at a hotel this would make me feel special for sure having them send me a personalized message to my phone upon returning to the property. With the economy where it is at people will willingly give up their personal information to get deals that can save them money for sure. Great post!

This article is about touch-screen use in restaurants.

Great idea but not new... Sakae Sushi Chain here in Singapore installed flat screen monitors with mouse on each table in their 36 outlets, and that's way before iPad came out. They have upgraded all to iPad now. http://www.ipadforums.net/chinese-dedicated-ipad-forum/46640-excuse-me-menu-please.html

The National Restaurant Association conducts a forecasting survey annually regarding industry trends and points of view. According to the 2013 Forecast, restaurants customers are looking to use more table-side technology, such as Apps, ordering kiosks or tablets, and mobile payments. In various surveys, the forecast found that around 40-50% of those polled would use technology in aspects of viewing the menu, ordering the food, and paying the bill. Yet, only around 10% of table-service restaurants are offering these technology systems, with Quick Service restaurants at around 2%. About 45-50% of restaurant operators said they would embrace the addition of technologies. In looking at the polls, you should understand that there is a difference between what people say they will use and what they actually do. Many of the ones how said they would use the new technology may be resistant to change when confronted with it. Companies are open to investing in the technology, yet should do so calculatedly and with as few risks as possible. Because, if customers do not embrace change, the investment could see no returns.

Increasing POS Security is a must when confronting employee theft within the hospitality industry. The following article highlights four effective ways in which hospitality companies can reduce internal loss and more effectively manage their staff.