Show Notes
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 Treat connectivity like labour and food cost — it belongs at the boardroom table Review and right-size your connectivity estate regularly as your tech stack evolves Build redundancy and failover into your solution — downtime is immediately visible in sales Partner with your connectivity provider; it's an evolving relationship, not a one-time install Start collecting consented, structured data now — it's the foundation for everything AI will enable Powered by Sky Business.
More from Stacked, The Hospitality Tech Podcast
This week Chris sits down with Martin, founder of Feedelity, in London for Hospitality Tech Expo. Before starting Feedelity, Martin worked in private equity and then at Hawaiian Poké Bowl, one of the fastest-growing chains in the Benelux with 50 sites. There he saw two people trying to handle around 2,000 guest messages a week across Google, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, TripAdvisor, email, contact forms and surveys. They were copying and pasting complaints into ChatGPT to reply. So he built something better. Chris and Martin talk about how Feedelity pulls every feedback channel into one AI-powered inbox and categorises each message down to the dish. They cover how the data revealed that service and friendliness come up in reviews more often than the food itself. They also get into the “Wheel of Fortune” feature that gives the silent, happy majority a reason to leave a review. In this episode: How a 50-site chain was drowning in 2,000 guest messages a week Going live in two minutes, with no credit card and 30 days of feedback analysed straight away Why measuring feedback beats reading every review Real stories: two sites ignoring the music policy, and a supplier issue that made the corn too salty AI replies that learn your brand’s tone of voice The Wheel of Fortune, which gets 8 to 12 times more five-star reviews Why asking for feedback isn’t annoying your guests Why the problem is even bigger in the UK than in Belgium Martin’s one piece of advice: every piece of external feedback should trigger an internal action Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:09 Martin’s background: private equity to Hawaiian Poké Bowl 02:17 The problem: 2,000 messages a week, two people 04:18 From late nights to quitting the day job 06:07 What Feedelity actually does 07:23 Using competitor data to price with confidence 08:01 Why service trumps food 10:04 Measuring vs reading: the music policy story 11:43 AI replies in your own tone of voice 13:45 Why simple is the hardest thing to build 15:09 The Wheel of Fortune 18:08 Why asking for feedback isn’t annoying 19:04 Replying to reviews: 23% more repeat delivery orders 19:29 Red flags: catching the serious stuff fast 21:03 Results: 4.8 on Google and the salty corn 22:39 UK vs Belgium 24:45 Martin’s one piece of advice 26:44 How to get in touch Connect with Martin: LinkedIn, or book a call via the Feedelity website. 🎧 New episodes every week from The Stacked Podcast. Subscribe so you don’t miss one. wearestacked.io
Guests don't just book a room anymore. They book the spa, the dinner, the round of golf, the whole weekend. Most hotel tech still hasn't caught up.This week Chris Fletcher is joined by Louise Ryan (CMO) and Joe Watkins (Head of Data and AI) from Journey, the Cheltenham-based hotel tech company helping luxury hotels drive total revenue per guest.They cover why hotels need to think more like retailers, why RevPAR is giving way to TRevPAR, and how one hotel partner moved from 50/50 OTA-to-direct to 80/20 direct. They also discuss where AI is creating real commercial value right now and why trust is still the biggest barrier to adoption.Chapters00:00 Intro01:30 Meet Louise and Joe02:08 What Journey does02:33 From digital agency to all-in-one booking engine04:06 The pressure on luxury hotels right now05:08 Thinking like a retailer: monetising every square inch07:35 Where guest data actually lives (and who just resigned with it)08:42 Hotels as multiple businesses under one roof09:22 From RevPAR to TRevPAR11:44 380 nights at The Other House and still not understood12:37 The Cotswolds spa booking that went wrong14:24 Taking back control from the OTAs16:05 Personalisation and the data flywheel17:26 AI chatbots and the adoption problem19:27 Convincing luxury operators to change20:30 Why experiences are still so hard to book online21:41 One basket, one transaction22:32 Where AI is showing real ROI today24:52 MCPs and booking hotel experiences through AI assistants25:30 Is trust the barrier to AI adoption?27:00 Grantley Hall: building an events programme from guest data28:08 Best-in-breed vs all-in-one29:28 Data consolidation and the future of hotel tech31:29 What's next for luxury hotels32:53 Where to find JourneyKey takeawaysSome properties pay 23–25% commission to OTAs. Driving direct saves margin and gives hotels ownership of their guest data.Around 66% of accommodation is booked online globally, compared with just over 30% of experiences. That gap is a revenue opportunity.The quickest AI win is often learning from the questions guests ask, like "can I charge my EV?", that your site never answered.Guests now search for an experience first, then a destination, then a flight, then a hotel.Find JourneyWebsite: journey.travelLouise Ryan and Joe Watkins are both on LinkedIn.The Stacked PodcastWhere hospitality meets technology. New episodes every week.wearestacked.io
Camino did something most operators would never dream of: it changed nearly every platform in its stack in a single year, while doubling its estate. The result? Staff turnover has never been lower.This week, Chris Fletcher sits down with Tyrone Delaney, Finance Director at Camino, the Basque-inspired restaurant and bar group behind Camino and Pinchito, and Jackson Versatano, Senior Director UK & Europe at Lightspeed.Tyrone explains how an acquisition became the moment to overhaul the whole stack, and why he wonders why they didn't do it sooner. Automated sales syncing into Xero removed manual weekly business sheets that used to take around 20% of the finance team's time. Card tipping added roughly 10% to tronc pots across every site, meaning better pay and people staying longer. The group also uses Tenzo to plot dishes by profitability and popularity, which turned their executive head chef into a tech enthusiast.Jackson explains why "we have an integration" isn't the same as a good integration. He covers how Lightspeed decides what to build itself and what to leave to best-in-class partners, and where AI is taking multi-site reporting. Tyrone also shares a very sensible take on using Claude: how do you mandate something when you don't yet know where its ceiling is?In this episode:00:00 Intro01:06 Meet Tyrone and Jackson01:23 Camino, Pinchito and authentic Basque cuisine02:17 A finance director who ends up owning payroll, people and tech04:25 The state of hospitality: tough, but resilient and optimistic06:54 Giving operators the freedom to choose their tools07:42 Tracking campaign ROI and menu engineering with Tenzo10:38 Integration vs good integration11:04 Why an acquisition was the moment to switch everything12:28 Fear of change, and the lowest staff turnover yet14:24 Adoption, training and the Sunday app15:51 The biggest ROI: 20% of finance time back and 10% more in the tronc17:56 AI in Lightspeed and asking questions of your data20:00 Using Claude, and how to mandate something you're still learning21:35 Operators building their own tools22:27 What's next for Camino23:09 Industry outlook and alternative funding with Shuffle24:36 Lightspeed's roadmap: Tempo, Tasks and AI25:18 Where to find Tyrone and Jackson🎧 New episodes every week. Subscribe so you don't miss one.wearestacked.io
What does loyalty really mean when you've got 80 shops, a lean team and customers who visit day in, day out?Chris Fletcher sits down with Katie Grundy, CRM & Loyalty Manager at itsu, to unpack how the brand rebuilt its loyalty programme into itsu rewards, and why its app customers now visit three times more often than non-members.Katie joined hospitality from L'Oréal and explains why loyalty feels more human in a shop than in e-commerce. She talks through the 2025 review that led to a more generous rewards structure. She shares the free gyoza campaign that sent itsu to number one in the App Store's Food & Drink chart. She also covers how the brand works with Pepper to push its own roadmap, rather than waiting for the tech to lead.In this episode:🍣 Transactional vs emotional loyalty, and why itsu aims for the second📱 How a simple rename ("itsu rewards") and tagline gave shop teams something to sell🥟 The no-catch free gyoza download campaign that drove queues and chart-topping downloads📊 Personalisation, customer personas and the city vs suburb customer🔁 Balancing rewards for super-regulars and occasional visitors🤝 Why operators should bring suppliers into their roadmap early🤖 How AI and MCP are changing day-to-day CRM work for lean teamsChapters0:00 Highlights1:14 Meet Katie Grundy2:35 From L'Oréal to hospitality4:33 What loyalty means at itsu6:17 How itsu rewards works7:46 The free gyoza campaign that hit No.110:23 Why itsu revamped its rewards12:41 Naming the app and giving shop teams a tool14:08 Personalisation and data16:22 Building customer personas17:16 Rewarding regulars vs less frequent guests19:32 Working with tech partners22:30 Operator-led roadmaps23:15 The future of loyalty24:49 AI in CRM26:07 Wrap-upLinks🍣 itsu: https://www.itsu.com🎧 More from Stacked: https://wearestacked.io🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week#hospitalitytech #loyalty #CRM #restaurants #QSR #itsu #StackedPodcast
The Stacked Podcast — where hospitality meets technology. Powered by Lightspeed.