In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” are bringing their listeners a “Best OF” season series with all of your favorite segments.
Frischling says, “ We are bringing back Best OF old favorites such as Top of the Tech Stack and Which Came First as well as tried and true favorites Talking back and The Crystal Ball Moment. And of course – we can’t leave out the most popular segment (at least according to Schatzy…) The Branded Quickfire.”
This episode features the Best of The Crystal Ball moments, with a special guest, the Amazing Kreskin. They ask their guests to put on their “Kreskin Hat” and predict the future as it relates to hospitality and technology. And now I’m going to ask you the same question. Where do you see hospitality and technology in 2 years from now?
Hospitality Hangout kicks off the Best Of with Brian Anton, Managing Director at Citi, who was the first official guest to get the official Crystal Ball moment on season one, episode ten. Anton’s response to the question was, “People will want to go back to dining in person… and experience more valuable 2 years from now. People will want to be with their friends and share terrific experiences. BUT behaviors for dining in person will shift as customers now value convenience and technology. Friction points around health and speed will shift – fewer menus will be printed… it will be easier to pre-pay… and more menus will be on the phone.”
The next guest Andrew Smith, Managing Director of the Savory Fund, answered the question and said, Restaurants will strengthen their foundation, have a better tech stack, be more touchless, and less interaction with humans. On the menu side…food qualities will improve and we’ll see more foreign ingredients. On the experience side…. People will enjoy being together in person…. He believes everyone wants to get back in person and restaurants will thrive better than ever.
Robert Earl, of Earl Enterprises and Virtual Dining Concepts, shares his crystal ball moment saying Restaurants will become more impersonal. Robotics will make operations more efficient but we will lose personal interactions…restaurants will have to turn to tech to make operations more efficient at the cost of personalization. Continue to see more types of foods integrated into one dining experience.
To hear all of the guests’ crystal ball moments, including Kimberly Grant, now with Four Seasons Hotels and Bars and who at the time was with FAST Acquisition Group, Brita Rosen Partner at Culterra Capital, and Bryan Solar, General Manager of Restaurants at Square check out this best of the episode on Hospitality Hangout.