Annual report gives an inside look at how
restaurants are delivering better guest experiences and
personalizing their marketing in the age of AI and
automation
NEW
YORK, Aug. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- SevenRooms, the leading CRM, marketing and operations
platform for growing restaurants, today released its first annual
trends report, "2024 Restaurant Trends and Diner
Expectations," highlighting how restaurants are filling the
need for 'third places', connection spots outside the home and
workplace, what consumers expect from their dining experiences, and
how restaurants are leveraging AI and automation to keep diners
coming back.
The study, commissioned through independent third-party research
firm Censuswide, examines consumer and foodservice operator
insights, alongside data from SevenRooms restaurant customers. It
emphasizes the importance of restaurants understanding their guests
and providing experiences and value to consumers, including
marketing and tech trends that operators are paying attention
to.
Diners Expect More From Restaurants
While it's no
surprise that diner expectations have evolved in recent years,
consumers across generations and cities share key expectations when
dining out — they're looking for convenience, personalization and
value from brands they trust. Restaurants must nail all aspects of
the guest experience, from hospitality and service to ambiance and
atmosphere, to transform diners into brand ambassadors and get them
to bring their dollars back more often.
When looking across generations, Millennials are driving a
dining resurgence – dining out most frequently with 38% saying
they dine out more than 5x a month. They are seeking more from
their restaurant visits, and are willing to spend more for elevated
experiences, like theatrical elements or high-end items like
caviar. For these experiences, Americans are willing to spend up
to $63 per person with 45% of
Gen Zers open to paying even more. As diners focus on the
quality over quantity of their experiences, that means restaurants
must do more to keep those diner dollars. Dining upgrades consumers
are willing to spend more fall into three categories
– experiential, luxurious and personal, including:
- Experiential (e.g. tableside martini cart; fish presentation
or deboning, etc.)
- Dallas - a menu item
with some theater (86%)
- Washington DC - a menu item with some theater
(71%)
- Personal (e.g. birthday dessert; welcome drink)
- Chicago - a mocktail or personalized item
(55%)
- Luxurious (e.g. caviar, freshly shaved truffles, seafood
tower)
- Los Angeles - high-end items like caviar
(55%)
- New York - high-end items like caviar
(48%)
Outside of these experiential offerings, restaurants must also
capitalize on influential factors that bring diners back. For
example, 34% of Gen Zers want personalized surprises in
service like a free dessert. Meanwhile, 26% of Millennials
care about the ease of making a reservation and 24% of Gen
Xers consider the rapport they develop with front-of-house
staff. Tailoring guest experience and service helps operators turn
one-time diners into loyal customers.
"New consumer demands are pushing restaurants to find the right
balance between hospitality and automation to create the
experiences guests crave and return for," said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder at
SevenRooms. "Diners want both access and recognition when
spending their hard-earned dollars, and restaurants must embrace
new strategies – and technologies like AI and automation – to
enhance hospitality at every touch point. Whether leveraging
platform data to personalize diner experiences or power marketing
and retention programs, technology and data serve as a vehicle to
execute hospitality that guests remember and return for. When
technology is used effectively, it allows operators to focus on
building deeper connections and delighting guests, one experience
at a time."
Loyalty is Never One-Size-Fits-All
In the U.S., there
was a 21% year-over-year increase in reservations comparing
Q1 2023 to Q1 2024 and restaurants are looking to a promising
future. Whether operators are focused on opening new locations or
revamping their social media marketing efforts, one factor remains
the same – establishing personal relationships with diners is the
strongest way to build and maintain loyal customers.
Consumers have a strong intent to dine with their favorite
brands. If a guest can't get a reservation at their preferred
restaurant, 39% of guests look for a sister restaurant to
dine at, and 27% check other sites for the same
restaurant.
Cultivating loyalty is critical. Loyalty is not a
one-size-fits-all effort and diners have different interests when
it comes to the benefits they seek out from loyalty programs.
Restaurants need to understand their diner demographics to curate
operations and offerings, getting their guests to not only return
more often but spend more in the process.
38% of diners who would spend $89-$126 on an average night are looking
for exclusive VIP events, while 33% of consumers who
dine out 7-8 times per month want VIP access to specialty
seating areas. Breaking down generational differences:
- 72% of Gen Zers care most about free menu items
- 30% of Millennials care most about VIP access to
specialty dining areas
- 1 in 5 Gen Xers and Baby Boomers want early access to
reservations
Genuine, Tailored Marketing is Critical to
Success
When it comes to marketing, authenticity and
personalization reign supreme for consumers. Guests want to be
known by their favorite restaurants, and restaurants want to know
and understand their guests. To reach these consumers, and serve up
personalized marketing that makes guests want to return,
restaurants have to use all the tools in their arsenal – from
social media to email and text marketing automation – to
create high-touch communications that are both authentic and
personal.
79% of restaurant operators spend the majority of
their marketing budget on social media. Their top social media
goals are to drive bookings or online orders (39%),
increase brand awareness (29%) and communicate with their
audiences (29%). But not all content is created equal – 39% of
operators say that organic posts drive the most bookings to
their restaurants. Restaurants that showcase their personality
– highlighting their team, food and drinks and atmosphere
– will win with consumers as they look for more genuine
content from brands.
Most diners like hearing about restaurant promotions and offers
via email and text, and aren't as interested in social media DMs or
phone calls, but specific preferences vary by generation. 41% of
Gen Zers prefer text marketing, whereas 38% of Millennials
and 37% of Gen X prefer email marketing.
With targeted Email Marketing, the data report notes that
operators see 23% higher open rates and 28% higher
click-to-open rates, generating 2x more revenue per email.
Text marketing is fairly new for restaurants, but has huge
potential, with an average open rate of 98% and
$1.64 average reservation revenue
generated per text message on SevenRooms. For one SevenRooms
customer, Fabio Viviani Hospitality, it drove $220,000 in revenue and 3,000 new
guests in just 4 months.
"The biggest thing that excites me about text messaging is that
it's very hard to ignore. When our phones beep, we are just driven
to look at them," said Harry
Kaminski, CMO at Fabio Viviani Hospitality. "It's easier
to ignore an email than it is a text."
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Comes into Play
Every
industry today is using AI and automation in some way to streamline
their operations and help staff work more efficiently – and
the same is true for the restaurant industry. 70% of operators
surveyed said they use artificial intelligence in some way to
run their business, including:
- 35% - Processing reservations
- 34% - Inventory management
- 33% - Data analytics
- 27% - Scheduling
- 26% - Dynamic pricing
But there is room to grow with AI, with only 16% saying they
use it to create marketing collateral and 15% for staff
hiring and training. With personalized marketing a large focus
for operators in 2024 and beyond, as well as hiring and retaining
staff to deliver on high-touch hospitality, operators have an
opportunity to use AI more effectively.
"AI elevates our storytelling around data," said Kelly MacPherson, Chief Supply Chain and
Technology Officer at Union Square Hospitality Group. "We have
a wealth of data at our fingertips, but this can create analysis
paralysis. With AI, we can more efficiently synthesize the data,
create stories about what's happening, why it's happening, and what
we can do about it, and then present these stories to our teams in
a digestible format with actionable next steps."
For more information about SevenRooms and to download the full
report, please visit here.
About SevenRooms
SevenRooms is a CRM, marketing and
operations platform for growing restaurants in the hospitality
industry. From Michelin star gems to local favorites, the
all-in-one platform helps restaurants increase sales, delight
guests, and keep them coming back, automatically. The full suite of
products includes reservations, waitlist and table management,
review aggregation, referrals, email marketing, and marketing
automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast
Ventures and PSG, SevenRooms has more than 10,000 dining, hotel
F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including:
Marriott International, MGM Resorts International, Mandarin
Oriental Hotel Group, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Hard Rock
Hotels & Resorts, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin' Brands, Union Square
Hospitality Group, Australian Venue Co., Maple & Ash, The
Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Groot Hospitality, MLSE, Live
Nation and Topgolf.
Research Methodology
SevenRooms partnered with
Censuswide Research – a third-party, professional research and
consulting organization. Total sample size was 1,004 U.S.
consumers. Fieldwork was undertaken between March 4-11, 2024. The survey was carried out
online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of
all U.S. adults (aged 16+).
SevenRooms partnered with Censuswide Research – a third-party,
professional research and consulting organization. Total sample
size was 251 U.S. operators (hospitality decision-makers).
Fieldwork was undertaken between March 4-19,
2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have
been weighted and are representative of U.S. hospitality
operators.
SevenRooms provided anonymized internal data representative of
U.S.-based restaurants using the SevenRooms platform and surveyed a
sample of operators at various restaurant sizes and types across
the U.S. from March-May 2024.
Media Contact
SevenRooms
press@sevenrooms.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sevenrooms-releases-2024-restaurant-trends-and-diner-expectations-report-for-the-hospitality-industry-302214891.html
SOURCE SevenRooms