Leveraging Insights & Analytics to Boost Hospitality Operations

The quality and efficiency of your hospitality business operations hinge on your ability to make the most of insights and analytics. The prudent use of insight boosts operational efficiency. However, such enhancements are only possible with the underlying foundation of data. 

A data-driven approach makes it easier to manage labor, rake in more revenue and ultimately make informed decisions based on fact as opposed to gut instinct or potentially faulty guesswork. Moreover, collecting data and processing information for analytical purposes leads to insights that ensure compliance and mitigate risk.

Power of Real-Time Data in Hospitality

By recognizing the utility of real-time data in the context of hospitality operations and using such information wisely, you’ll glean insights that propel your restaurant or hotel to the top. It is the subtleties of collected data that help businesses capture additional market share with each passing month, financial quarter, and year. As an example, Harri IQ serves as a next-generation hotel and restaurant analytics platform that reshapes how data is used and shared in business. 

If you own or manage a restaurant, you might be confused as to what, exactly, restaurant analytics are. In brief, restaurant analytics is the information from a restaurant that is transformed into insights that provide meaningful use. It is these data-driven insights that serve as the foundation for making prudent business decisions. The bottom line is measuring something sets the stage for subsequent improvement, ultimately making restaurant analytics invaluable tools. 

Take a deep dive into data points to better understand your restaurant and you’ll obtain a deeper understanding of how the operation runs. This is your golden opportunity to pinpoint valuable information about the following:

  • Food waste
  • Staff performance
  • The frequency of customer payment methods used.

Such analytics stem from point of sale (POS) data embedded into transactions and the underlying tech of restaurant operations. In short, the days of relying on mere observation of restaurant and hotel operations for ensuing analysis are fading away in favor of data-driven analysis, and it is this informed analysis that fuels accurate decision-making. 

Use the data wisely and you’ll better understand the nuances of your customers and staffers. The end result is better decision-making for your restaurant’s menu, food ordering, employee scheduling, and more.

AI has even advanced to the point that it serves as a data explorer. In other words, collecting data for superficial analysis is no longer sufficient. Harri IQ empowers you to understand that data and take meaningful action. Our AI-fueled hotel and restaurant analytics are fully searchable, providing curated insight in little time. The self-service restaurant analytics platform allows you to search for your desired information and SpotIQ will study billions of data rows in mere seconds. This rapid and comprehensive data processing is made possible with algorithms that detect insights. Hospitality operators now have the opportunity to understand, predict and share trends based on actual data, without the need for advanced data or AI knowledge. 

Whether you are looking to optimize labor, sales, inventory or operations, Harri IQ empowers you to do just that. The best part is there is no need for your team members to have a technical degree to use Harri IQ. Our hospitality industry analytics can be easily understood by all employees regardless of their previous experience with data or educational background. The technology is even advanced to the point that it provides data alerts based on your unique needs and thresholds, setting the stage for efficient operations.

Combining Workforce Management Tools with Analytics

The unison of data analytics with tools designed for workforce management is an unstoppable combination. The analysis of labor data in real-time with Harri’s workforce management tools paves a path toward efficient scheduling, employee engagement, and collective success. These integrated tools are perfect for hectic restaurants and hotels where selecting the best workforce management tools is an ongoing challenge. 

Seize the opportunity to streamline your operations and resolve scheduling conflicts with the use of real-time data analysis and you’ll make decisions based on actual facts rather than instinct. The end result is a much more engaged and productive team that adds all the more to the bottom line. 

Harri’s workforce management tools empower restaurant and hotel managers to:

  • Optimize scheduling
  • Track Attendance
  • Automate time tracking
  • Bolster communication across the entirety of the team.

Our tools even include a smart scheduling system for shift management simplification. Such an integrated approach helps hotel industry business owners and managers optimize scheduling considerations ranging from the cost of overhead to the nuances of labor, compliance with rules and regulations, and more. This high-tech tool also empowers businesses to manage meal breaks, time deductions, and other scheduling idiosyncrasies.

Insights & Analytics: Key to Strategic Decision Making

The proper use of data makes it that much easier for your business to make strategic decisions. Use data for decision-making and you’ll glean invaluable insights. It is these insights that allow for truly informed decisions that boost operational efficiency and ensure profitability. 

The challenge lies in collecting data, whittling it down to that which is most meaningful, and making decisions based on that information. The hospitality industry gathers data from guests after stays and bookings, from loyalty programs and social media platforms, and plenty more. Even trends in transactions reveal valuable information that can be used for decision-making. However, outdated or insufficient data analysis techniques make it difficult to glean insights that provide utility. 

Predictive modelling, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have emerged at the forefront of technology, helping hotels and restaurants identify patterns in customer/labor behavior and make decisions based on that data as opposed to relying on guesswork or instinct. Such data analysis reveals preferences, habits, and other patterns from massive data sets, ultimately helping businesses save money and capture additional market share.

A comprehensive understanding of your customer base is integral to success. Data collection and analysis reveal aggregate visits in specific periods of time, setting the stage to boost retention through personalized messaging and marketing. It is also possible to group guests in accordance with the number of days that have passed since the latest reservation, empowering your business to win the business of clients who might have strayed to the competition. 

Data analytics also enables the examination of guest spending, identifying and spotlighting trends in total expenditure patterns. This is the information your business needs to fuel top-notch customer service, ultimately ensuring your visitors enjoy a rewarding experience. Technological advancements also empower hospitality business owners and managers to access feedback from customers including aggregate reports for trend identification and subsequent action.

Driving Operational Efficiency with Analytics

Efficiency is everything in modern-day business, especially that which occurs in the hospitality space. Data analytics powers progress in both restaurants and hotels. The challenge lies in choosing the right technology for analyzing data and utilizing the ensuing insights for organizational gain that translates to an increase in profit along with a higher employee and customer retention rate.

Hospitality industry data centers on customer behavior. Strategically analyze customer behavior with the right tools and you’ll better understand your target audience. There is plenty of information to analyze:

  • The timing of reservations
  • The frequency of patronage at your establishments
  • Item selection/popularity
  • The percentage of customers who return for additional visits.

The most successful hospitality industry organizations employ data analytics to gain insight into customer behavior to enhance operations and ultimately add to the bottom line. The leveraging of hotel and restaurant analytics ultimately empowers businesses to maximize operational and financial efficiency through the strategic personalization of value offerings.

In short, businesses that use data to shape services to win more market share. Continue to use data to your advantage by differentiating your business from the rest of the pack and you’ll not only remain operational but thrive across the long haul.

The Future of Hospitality is Data-Driven: Put Your People First with Harri

In summary, data is what you make of it. Merely collecting as much data as possible is not enough. The data collection tools you select for capturing and analyzing data are just as important as the data itself. Harri is here to help with data collection technology, analysis, and more.

Harri’s experience platform is specifically designed for the hospitality industry’s frontlines. Whether you own or manage a hotel or restaurant, our platform will:

  • Help your restaurant or hotel acquire new talent
  • Track applicants through the hiring process
  • Onboard new hires with efficiency
  • Improve employee scheduling
  • Engage your hardworking team members for the utilitarian benefit

Request a demo today and give our next-generation analytics platform for the hospitality industry a chance and you’ll soon view it as the nucleus of your operations. We proudly serve more than 20,000 hotels and restaurants across the United States and the United Kingdom. Our suite attracts talent, helps manage an entire workforce, heightens engagement, and even ramps up compliance. 

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