Safeguarding hospitality staff through industry-specialised technology

With the average age of UK hospitality workers being 30 years old or under, the industry has a vital duty to protect employees as confidence in the sector grows. However, due to the vaccine priority rules, most young adults in the UK remain either unvaccinated, or have only received a single dose.

Expecting thousands of younger adults in the UK to return to work in hospitality while being unvaccinated, and with the new Delta variant on the potential rise, calls for major concern. It is more crucial now than ever that we begin to safeguard hospitality employees through industry-specialised technology.

Implementing technology and apps within hospitality is crucial, not only to revolutionise the way employees work, but to ensure smoother customer experiences. Hospitality tech app, NOMM (New Order Magic Menu) moves away from manual and paper-based processes and uses digital tools and AI-features to enhance productivity. Research from the card payment company Dojo has shown that as a result of the pandemic, 95% of hospitality venues in the UK are seeking to implement technology into their venues. Catalysed by the events of the last 12 months, hospitality technology has gone from a niche product, to an absolute necessity.

New national research from Ubamarket LTD, the creators of hospitality tech app, NOMM has unveiled that there are a number of teething issues experienced by guests and there are active concerns around the safety of returning to social life. The greatest pet peeve of British consumers has been unveiled to be the inefficiencies of technology implemented at hospitality venues. 44% of Brits said that when visiting pubs in the last 72 hours, they found the apps and QR codes available as a source of frustration as the whole menu was not provided. Further to this, a further 32% agreed that ordering from QR codes in venues was too unreliable.
Key Statistics:
44% of Brits (9,995,000) agreed that they have found it frustrating that apps and QR codes at hospitality venues do not show the entire menu
32% agreed (6,495,000) that since returning to hospitality venues, they have found ordering from QR codes in pubs/bars/restaurants too unreliable
17% of Brits (4,192,000) found that whilst dining, they were put off ordering particular meals because the digital menu did not state all the ingredients in the dish
43% of Brits have said that when headed back to indoor dining, they do not want to wait more than five minutes for their server to take their order
60% of Brits (22,803,000) have agreed that their biggest concern regarding to returning to indoor hospitality is having to be in a crowded queue for the bar

The research commissioned by Ubamarket LTD has also found that fears of detail to be of particular concern when returning to venues. Within the study, over 4 million Brits have been prevented from ordering meals due to a lack of detail in listing all ingredients present, suggesting that technology solutions have been unable to account for the dietary requirements of Brits. Further to this, time and safety are still deeply important to consumers, with crowded venues still the greatest concern for over 22 million patrons of hospitality venues across the UK.

Introducing NOMM:
In a market that matured almost overnight, there’s no longer any room for an MVP (minimum viable product) as every food & beverage-based establishment now needs a sophisticated digital menu to facilitate a fully integrated end-to-end ‘order and pay’ solution. In creating NOMM, Ubamarket LTD went a step further with their ‘magic menu’ technology which brings the traditional menu to life, enabling customers to browse, build and even customise their order whilst choosing between table service, collection points, take-away or even home delivery.

A key differentiator is that the app is seamlessly and completely linked with the venue’s POS system and back office as well as being entirely modular, therefore compatible with loyalty and membership systems too. The benefit of this is two-fold. Firstly, every customer order is automatically routed to the main till system and kitchen so there’s no need for staff to use a tablet or manually ‘key in’ any orders. Secondly, venues can manage the app simultaneously with their POS so if staff update a menu, price or even ‘specials’ or offers, it’s immediately reflected in the app, in real time and can be pro-actively communicated as well.

Will Broome, founder of Ubamarket LTD and NOMM, has commented on the importance of technology as we welcome the reopening of indoor hospitality.

“Venues and technology providers have responded quickly by pivoting and creating an array of apps. However, as pinpointed in our research, there have undoubtedly been some frustrations that have surfaced. As we approach the full lifting of restrictions, our research has shown that of course, there will be a sense of trepidation as we return back to normality, but through NOMM and its unique features that are designed to streamline the hospitality experience and enhance safety measures, we are bringing reassurances and comfort to employees and customers alike.

Once the lockdown measures are totally lifted, we will have produced the fastest, cheapest and most tech-enabled solution to many of the problems Covid has highlighted.”