Evolve your hotel restaurant into a takeaway during the coronavirus lockdown

Conor McCarthy, CEO of online ordering company Flipdish, provides advice on continuing to trade though the coronavirus by transforming into a digital takeaway service.

With the coronavirus lockdown keeping the public away from hotels, food delivery is the only way to keep serving customers. In fact, we’ve seen a doubling in deliveries in March in some cuisines.

But it shouldn’t be considered a temporary service. By building solid operational foundations now, establishments can create a sustainable offering that will help rebuild balance sheets in the long term.

The first consideration must be to ensure customers and staff are safe. Establishments need to ensure thorough hygiene procedures are in place for food delivery by introducing necessary PPE, conducting deep cleans after each service and insisting customers can only use contactless payment.

It’s tempting to take phone orders but this requires staff, which are currently in short supply, being constantly available to take calls. Online ordering keeps employees in the kitchen preparing meals, reduces human error, and puts you in control of the order flow.

Today’s customers expect a smooth user-experience with delivery. It’s vital to ensure food packaging is suitable and customers can access real-time information about their order. In the current climate, customers are more lenient to newly established takeaways – provided they are clearly communicated with and quickly informed about any issues.

Once the practicalities are sorted, you should inform the local community that your delivery service is available by using social media and ensuring Google is updated.

Forward-thinking hotel owners that see the transformation as a long-term business strategy should think very carefully before getting into bed with aggregators. They eat into margins and take control of your most important asset: customer data.

Managing your own website or app gives you data-led insight into how many orders are coming through and where they’re coming from, enabling you to recognise trends and discover opportunities for growth in the future.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for support. Hotels are a fundamental part of the cultural fabric of the nation so stakeholders, including the public, want to see you succeed and will provide help. This is uncharted territory for many owners so, when you make mistakes, learn from them and share your experiences with others. Widespread cooperation is essential to survive this crisis.

Flipdish puts hotels, restaurants, cafés and takeaways in control of their business growth with a digital ordering and marketing system that builds brands, grows profits and turns customers into regulars.

With a branded website, app or self-service kiosk, hoteliers can directly accept digital orders without having to list on aggregator platforms, at a lower cost and with more control over the customer experience.

Flipdish is available to support your hotel transform. Contact Simon Ward on: simon.ward@flipdish.com