Finding The Best Business Practices For A Hospitality Startup
Omar Al-Massalkhi, CEO of Talkin’ Tacos.
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Launching a hospitality startup is more complicated than leaders in most other industries understand. However, savvy hospitality leaders are adept at knowing their customers, keeping up with technology, staying on top of industry trends and even taking cues from other business sectors.
First of all, hospitality entrepreneurs must understand both their current business challenges and the broader business landscape. This has never been more obvious than in 2022. The sad fact is that 90,000 restaurant locations temporarily or permanently closed because of the pandemic.
Operating in the post-pandemic era, newly-minted restauranteurs can take their cues from older siblings in the hotel industry because they share a commitment to providing guests with exceptional experiences. For the hospitality giant Marriott, although Covid changed many things, what has stayed the same is that “at its core, our business is about giving guests a great experience, attracting great talent, and working really well with owners and franchisees. These are the principles that have guided us and will continue to guide us.”
To garner insight into specific best business practices to grow a hospitality startup, begin by exploring current industry statistics. Toast, Inc., a leading cloud-based restaurant management software company, offers a snapshot of the industry in its Restaurant Success Report. It cited the top three concerns of restaurant business owners: high operating and food costs, hiring and training staff and marketing to guests where they are.
Not surprisingly, these challenges are shared across the entire retail