Launch of Retail Insider ‘Digital Leisure & Hospitality Innovations Top 20 Report’

Brought to you by Retail Insider and Webloyalty

Retail Insider this week celebrated the launch of the inaugural ‘Digital Leisure and Hospitality Innovations Report’ at an evening event with guest speaker Fernando Fanton, chief product & technology officer at Just Eat.

The report, sponsored by Webloyalty, recognises the top 20 leisure and hospitality digital initiatives of the last year and draws attention to a number of industry trends including experimentation with artificial intelligence (AI) and solutions which improve sustainability.

Fernando Fanton of Just Eat (centre) provided plenty of food for thought

Topping the rankings is Dutch airline KLM for its use of facial recognition technology that uses biometrics, allowing passengers to catch a flight without a boarding pass or interaction with a member of staff, speeding up the boarding process.

It was followed by social enterprise app TooGoodToGo, highlighting the growing number of grocers and retail brands prioritising and investing in technology to aid sustainability. The app reduces food waste and generates extra revenue for restaurants through advertising leftover meals, making it eco-friendly and mutually beneficial for both restaurants and consumers.

Starbucks’ Mobile Order and Pay came third, with its hugely successful cashless payments enabling consumers to order via their mobile and collect in-store. Other innovations in the report included healthy food restaurant Tossed’s tablet ordering technology, Wynn’s Amazon Alexa controlled rooms in Las Vegas, GoInStore’s use of real-time mobile technology to offer event planners virtual tours, Starship Technologies’ automated delivery vehicles and Zume Pizza’s partnership with Momentum Machines to create pizza making robots.

The innovations were scored by an advisory panel including: Fernando Fanton of Just Eat; Daniel Potter of Inamo Restaurant Group; Wayne Horo of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG); and Charlie Bennett of Berry Bros. & Rudd. The panel’s scoring was based on four criteria: innovation, commercial potential, potential influence across the sector, and potential benefit to customers.

These members of the advisory panel were among the guests at the launch dinner in the private dining room at Bentley’s seafood restaurant in Central London. Fernando initiated a wide-ranging discussion around the table encompassing technology in the hospitality industry, the rise of food delivery and the role of restaurants and pubs in this fast changing landscape.

Retail Insider would like to thank Webloyalty for its sponsorship of the report and for making the launch evening possible. Appreciation is also extended to Fernando for his input in the event.

To access the report click here: Digital-Leisure&Hospitality-Innovations

Glynn Davis, editor, Retail Insider