Research suggests that 2020 is expected to be the year when around 70% of restaurant customers have their meals away from the premises.

Whether or not COVID-19 has accelerated this further is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for sure: online food delivery is here to stay.

If you run a hotel with a restaurant, does this spell doom and gloom?

Not at all! In fact, it represents a huge opportunity if you feel brave and have the right POS system in place.

Here are five undeniable advantages of implementing online food delivery in a hotel restaurant.

1. You’ll find a brand new, growing source of revenue

If you have the right technology, mindset and business plan, online food orders will add to your existing revenue and grow handsomely.

This is because online ordering enables customers to interact with your brand when it best suits them. And that doesn’t mean you’ll never see them, either; those online food orders could quite easily become in-house guests when they realise how great your offering is.

2. You’ll stop losing business to the competition

Depending on your location, your competition (be they hotels or standalone restaurants) may already be tapping into the huge online delivery market.

To level the playing field, you need to be offering the same ordering convenience. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on countless customers who either don’t know you exist or give up simply because you don’t deliver.

3. You already accept room bookings online – you’re a natural at this!

There’s no escaping the fact that online food ordering requires some internal changes and investment in technology, but they’re far less burdensome or expensive than you might think.

More importantly, if you’re running a modern, efficient hotel, you’re already accepting bookings online for rooms. You therefore made the transition to digital accommodation booking a long time ago; doing the same for your restaurant should be second nature.

4. You’ll gain access to invaluable customer data

What information do you take when you accept a non-resident booking for your restaurant? At the most, you’ll probably receive a surname and telephone number.

With online ordering, you can obtain far more data on your diners, from their email address to their dietary presences.

This will help you build a more comprehensive database of customers to which you can send targeted marketing campaigns to win them back a second time (and third, fourth, fifth… you get the idea).

5. It’ll help with social distancing

Like it or not, social distancing measures are expected to be commonplace in the hospitality industry for quite a while now. However, if you start accepting online food orders, you’ll stand less chance of missing out on in-house covers.

No tables for this evening? No problem! Simply highlight the benefit of ordering online and having a delicious meal hand delivered to your home instead.

Converting in-house bookings into online delivery orders is likely to be a great way to save potentially lost revenue for restaurants this year.

Wrapping up

If you’ve always thought that online ordering is irrelevant for your hotel’s restaurant or doesn’t fit within your brand values, it’s time to think again.

There’s never been a better time to grab the right POS, get your kitchen in order and start growing your business with the help of the online food ordering revolution.

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CMS Hospitality holds over 30 years of experience in delivering hospitality software solutions. GuestCentrix offers the most complete solution in hospitality software, whether you’re running a hotel, a resort or a hostel. Our highly experienced support and installations team holds a unique understanding of the hospitality industry and will aim to provide software that suits your property’s needs.

Call us today at (+61) 2 9440 9711, or email us at sales@cmshospitality.com. We will be happy to guide you to the GuestCentrix solution that’s right for you.