Tech on Toast, The Hospitality Tech Podcast

Connectivity, Data & the Future of Hospitality Tech

Host: Chris FletcherGuests: * Liz McKinnon – Strategic Accounts, Sky Business (13+ years at Sky) * Jatin Chandwani – Chief Product & Growth Officer, Byte by Yum (overseeing KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger & Pizza Hut's SaaS platform) Recorded live on stage, this episode dives deep into how reliable connectivity has become the backbone of modern hospitality operations — from QSR chains to stadia. The conversation covers how real-time data, AI-driven automation, and seamless guest experiences are all dependent on getting the fundamentals of connectivity right. 1. The Three C's of Connectivity (Liz McKinnon) * Coverage – ensuring your restaurant has signal everywhere it needs * Capacity – handling the growing volume of data traffic * Connectivity – making it fit for purpose and reviewing it continuously, not just at install 2. Connectivity as a Data Continuity Engine (Jatin Chandwani) * Connectivity has evolved from a utility (like water or electricity) to a mission-critical data pipeline * Without it, team members work blind and guest experience suffers immediately * Digital orders (mobile app, aggregators, kiosks) can make up 30–60% of revenue — all dependent on connectivity 3. Speed, Taste & Experience in QSR * The challenge of serving fresh food (e.g. KFC's 15-min cook time) to customers who expect it in 2 minutes * Technology and data forecasting are key to managing this tension * AI forecasting for inventory and labor scheduling has delivered measurable improvements 4. Real-Time Data & Agentic AI * Moving from "dashboard era" (acting on yesterday's data) to agentic workflows (acting within the shift) * Fryer data, hot-hold systems, sales data and customer data combined = next best action in real time * Properly connected stores can improve performance by 10–20% * Kill switches and guardrails are essential — AI governance must be built in from day one, not added later 5. Guest WiFi as a Business Channel * "Snacking data" — QSR customers connect briefly; stadia customers stay for hours; both need seamless WiFi * Guest connectivity supports app check-ins, order status, and acquisition/retention * WiFi splash pages can drive promotions, loyalty sign-ups, and personalized messaging 6. GDPR & Consent> "Bad consent kills good data. Good consent builds long-term customer relationships." — Jatin Chandwani * GDPR is not a constraint — it's a trust engine * Sky supports customers with a robust framework to handle data collection properly * Targeted, meaningful consent leads to better, more relevant customer conversations 7. The Future: Unified Ecosystems * Operators must move away from point solutions toward unified, connected ecosystems * AI + connectivity together will automate mundane tasks, reduce team cognitive load, and elevate the customer experience * "We're moving from the age of dashboards to the age of agent workflows for specific business outcomes." — Jatin Chandwani * "You cannot function without connectivity." — Jatin Chandwani * "It's not install and forget — you put it in and you re-look at it." — Liz McKinnon * "We were dropping money on the floor because of poor connectivity." — Chris Fletcher * "Humans are craving more human connection — tech should free up your team to provide that." — Jatin Chandwani 1. Treat connectivity like labour and food cost — it belongs at the boardroom table 2. Review and right-size your connectivity estate regularly as your tech stack evolves 3. Build redundancy and failover into your solution — downtime is immediately visible in sales 4. Partner with your connectivity provider; it's an evolving relationship, not a one-time install 5. Start collecting consented, structured data now — it's the foundation for everything AI will enable Powered by Sky Business.

From War to Woking: How Yaro Tsyhanenko is Reinventing the Restaurant Pickup Experience with Pickpad

Tech on Toast Podcast – Episode: Yaro Tsyhanenko, Founder of Pickpad In this episode, Chris Fletcher sits down with Yaro Tsyhanenko, Ukrainian-born entrepreneur and founder of Pickpad, a smart hardware startup solving one of hospitality's most overlooked problems: the pickup area. What we cover: * Yaro's journey from building a delivery marketplace across 15 Ukrainian cities to relocating after the outbreak of war * How he went from Ukraine to Ireland to Chicago to Arizona State's entrepreneurship program to the UK * Why he spent hours sitting in QSRs with a stopwatch to understand the real pain in restaurant operations * The Pickpad concept: a modular system of smart pads using weight sensors and machine learning to automate order management at the pickup area * How Pickpad integrates with existing POS, KDS, and online ordering systems. No capital investment, live in under an hour, from £9/month * The "ARC" framework: Accurate, Ready, Completed. The three order states restaurants are currently flying blind on * Why 15% of fast food/QSR orders are inaccurate, and how Pickpad tackles this * Coverage from TechCrunch and Forbes, and winning a CES National Award in the AI category * Integrations already in place with Square, Olo, Toast, and Oracle, with UK EPOS partnerships in progress * Yaro's vision for zero-friction ordering: AI, smart glasses, robots, and a universal interface between local businesses and their customers * Advice for founders: get out of your head and talk to your customers Find Pickpad:🌐 pickpad.com💼 Yaro on LinkedIn Tech on Toast – Hospitality technology, straight talking.

Let the Managers Manage with Conor Shaw and Emily Kane from Bizimply

Chris sits down with the team behind Bizimply, the Dublin-based workforce management and HR platform serving over 1,300 hospitality businesses and 100,000+ shift workers across the UK and Ireland. Emily and Conor share how they're marrying workforce scheduling with smarter HR tools, and what AI really means for the people powering the hospitality industry. Key Topics Covered 🍺 Bizimply's Story From a startup two doors down from the Guinness Brewery, Bizimply has grown into a 50/50 UK-Ireland business with a fully regional sales force. Founder Gerard's passion for hospitality people management sparked a product built for the 70% of the world's workforce on shift-based contracts, underserved by traditional HR software. 👥 Workforce Management Meets HR Why "stick to your knitting" is their product philosophy. Bizimply doesn't do payroll natively. They do workforce management and HR really well, and integrate with the best payroll providers. The mission: let managers manage, not fill in spreadsheets. 📊 The Data Problem in Hospitality Clean, trustworthy data is the foundation of everything. Without it, AI is just noise. Bizimply is investing heavily in data quality so that what surfaces to operators is accurate, actionable, and meaningful. 🤖 AI: The Smart Intern on Your Shoulder Conor's take: AI is like a brilliant intern, fast but always looking at the past. Emily's view: the goal is to answer questions before they're even asked, removing noise and showing each persona exactly what they need to know. ⚡ What Bizimply Is Building Next Intelligent demand planning and automated scheduling, performance management tools tied to revenue and retention, a new UI designed around simplicity, and an operations hub connecting POS, payroll, inventory, and people. 🔮 The Illusion of Control Multi-site operators often believe technology gives them control. Conor's argument: it doesn't. Technology gives your people the tools to do their jobs well. That's what creates a great operation. 📱 The TikTok Test If your rota app isn't as intuitive as Uber Eats, you'll lose your workforce's attention. Emily and Conor discuss the generational shift in product expectations. 🎸 Bono Bonus Yes, Bono was an early investor in Bizimply through a connection to the founder. He's still a shareholder, but Conor admits they haven't spoken to his office in years. Sponsor Lightspeed is the EPOS and payments platform trusted by 165,000+ businesses including Big Mamma, Mildreds, and Qubit House. Fast funding, no hidden fees, real-time insights. 👉 lightspeed.co.uk/techontoast for a free demo. Quotable Moments "Technology should allow people to do what they're really good at." - Conor Shaw "AI is like a really smart intern sitting on your shoulder who answers questions very quickly, but isn't always right." - Emily Kane "The illusion of control: technology won't give you that. But it'll give your people the tools to do their jobs well." - Conor Shaw "Remove the noise. What are the top three things you need to know right now?" - Emily Kane Find Bizimply: bizimply.com

People Service: The Human Piece vs. Headcount in Hospitality with Mollies Motel, Bills and Little Houses Group

A powerful live panel discussion from the Service event at BrewDog Waterloo exploring the critical balance between treating people as assets versus headcount in hospitality businesses. Industry leaders from Bill's, Little Houses Group, and hospitality veterans share honest insights on retention, leadership development, workforce design, and the future of people management in hospitality. Host: * Trudi Parr Guests: * Karen Bosher * Hayley Connor * Lucy Craig Sponsor: Lightspeed EPOS KEY TOPICS & TIMESTAMPS [0:00 - 1:47] Introduction * Welcome from Chris Fletcher and Trudi Parr * Panel introductions * Setting the stage: Human capital vs. headcount metrics [1:47 - 6:00] The Retention Challenge * Why hospitality struggles with retention despite valuing people * The critical importance of the first 90 days building trust and safety * Reframing retention as a workforce design problem [6:00 - 10:00] Workforce Design Innovation * Moving beyond the "fully flexed unicorn" hiring model * Designing roles for modern workers: 3-hour shifts, peak periods, flexible schedules * Setting and meeting hour expectations from day one [10:00 - 15:00] Employee Wellbeing & Scheduling * The surety of income challenge in hospitality * Tech adoption struggles with scheduling tools * The instant messaging problem: Real-time labor cuts eroding trust [15:00 - 20:00] Leadership Development * Bill's investment: Taking 200 leaders through mindset training over 18 months * The "Wingman at Work" concept - who talks about you beautifully when you're not in the room? * Shifting from task-focused to emotionally safe leadership [20:00 - 25:00] The Crisis Management Trap * Leaders stuck in crisis mode rather than growth mode * How infrastructure and tech can free leaders to be customer-facing * Working on growth, not just crisis [25:00 - 35:00] Training That Sticks * Technical skill training vs. behavioral leadership development * The TikTok generation: 3-minute attention spans requiring modular training * Seasonal training updates mirroring menu changes * Finding in-house mentors and craft experts [35:00 - 42:00] The AI Revolution * Personalized AI training detecting performance gaps * AI as personal performance coach * Three key AI applications: automating processes, self-serve knowledge, retention testing [42:00 - 48:00] Building Teams That Stay * Trust as the #1 retention tool * Close GM/Head Chef relationships = top performing businesses * Differentiating investment: career-committed vs. experience-led workers * Bill's bold move: cutting recruitment budget to invest in development [48:00 - 49:35] Looking Forward * The competitive edge in 5 years: your team * The pivot point: Never been more expensive to hire, never been cheaper to access tech * One thing to change: Remove GMs from productivity metrics, give time back to lead KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. First 90 Days Are Everything 2. Workforce Design > Retention Problem 3. Real-Time Data Can Harm Wellbeing 4. Invest in Leadership, Not Just Recruitment 5. The Wingman Test 6. AI as Personal Coach 7. Your Team Is Your Competitive Edge QUOTABLE MOMENTS "We promote technically great leaders, but they're not actually good leaders." - Hayley Connor "Your general manager is responding by the minute... and a team member is seeing their pay go down by the day." - Hayley Connor on real-time labor management "If you think about a time in your career where you achieved things you never thought were possible... you had wingmen around you, you had best friends." - Lucy Craig "It's never been more expensive to hire people and it's never been so cheap to access tech." - Karen Bosher RESOURCES & LINKS * Bill's Restaurants * Little Houses Group * Lightspeed EPOS - Book your free demo * Women on Taps movement * MonoTree AI training platform

Perfection or Perception? With The Mandrake, The Other House and Kula

In this special live panel from our Service event at BrewDog Waterloo, three leading hospitality operators share honest insights about creating memorable guest experiences in modern hotels. From sensory design to technological innovation, discover what really makes guests come back. 🏨 What Guests Really RememberThe panel opens with a fundamental question: "When you think about your own hotels, what do guests remember most—the flawless execution or how the experience made them feel?" Eljesa kicks off the discussion by explaining how The Mandrake is specifically built for the senses, with their "stay beyond yourself" ethos creating feelings at the forefront of every guest's experience. * Why people remember care over service perfection * The importance of human connection versus flawless execution * How elevated service can create bigger problems when mistakes happen * The debate: do you need operational excellence before emotional connection? ✨ Creating Memorable Moments * The critical importance of first impressions and initial interactions * Moving beyond scripted service to authentic human connections * The Mandrake's unique character-finding check-in process using shapes * Why the beginning of any relationship matters most 🎯 Personalisation at Scale * Balancing boutique experiences with operational growth * Empowering teams to create personalized interactions * "Freedom within a framework" - giving teams autonomy within clear boundaries * How 77% of guests now expect personalized experiences 💻 Technology's Role in Hospitality * Using tech as an enabler, not a replacement for human interaction * The importance of getting your tech stack right from the start * Why contactless payments represent the gold standard of hospitality tech * WhatsApp vs. email for building genuine guest relationships * The danger of COVID-era efficiency replacing experience 🎭 Design vs. Experience * The balance between architectural design and service design * Why we spend millions on buildings but underinvest in experience design * Creating experiences that work in any physical space * The Mandrake's "portal" - a black space designed to separate guests from the outside world 💡 Key Takeaways * Operational excellence provides the foundation, but emotional connection drives loyalty * Know your brand identity and who you're NOT for * Aim for perfection, even if you don't achieve it every time * Hospitality's core purpose: changing someone's day for the better through care * The emotional connection starts within your team, then flows to guests "No one ever fell in love with a QR code." - Paul Spencer "Service is about trying to find a way of delivering something that feels special, but also doing it in a way that feels human." - Paul Spencer "Once you figure out who you do not want to be and who you are not, you can then pinpoint exactly who you are." - Eljesa Saciri "If you have the chance to make someone's day, take it." - Host "Forget how perfect your drink is, but remember the person that brought it to you." - Paul Spencer * Eljesa Saciri * Stephen Nash * Paul Spencer Listen now to discover how these hospitality leaders are redefining guest experiences in 2026 and beyond. Part of the Tech Podcast four-part Service event series featuring operators from Fulham Shore Group, Wahaca, Bill's, Cote, Kerb, and more.