Australia’s hospitality industry embraces technology to support staffing crisis with a 92% uptake in QR code let table orders
The hospitality industry was among the hardest hit during the pandemic, and as businesses suffered from widespread shutdowns, those still standing scrambled to adapt to a new world order and adopt technologies that would see operators and the industry redefine itself. Now, with the current staffing crisis, applicants at an all-time low and a 95,000 job deficit, venue operators are actively seeking out technologies to create simple efficiencies that provide much-needed relief – and help them reimagine an industry that’s facing ongoing pressure.
Doshii, a leading Australian hospitality tech scale-up and cloud integration platform, found that hospitality venues taking table orders from customers by QR code has grown 92% over the past year alone. Doshii has also facilitated more than $100 million in orders over the past 12 months (an increase of 113%) as the hospitality sector embraces a range of new technologies to improve efficiencies, streamline their operations and manage the ongoing impact of staff shortages.
The rapid growth in the use of hospitality apps comes as customer behaviour has shifted and guests have become accustomed to using technologies such as QR codes during the pandemic. Doshii’s CEO Justin O’Donnell said, “Since the easing of restrictions late last year we’ve seen a major shift with the mainstream adoption of apps by both consumers and hospitality venues.”
He goes on to explain that “QR codes have changed everything. We have seen a huge take-up of venues embracing customer-facing technology, including in-venue ordering (order-at-table) and payment options, and takeaway and delivery apps”.
“After an exhausting few years, hospitality owners and operators are seeing the fragility of the business, and the vulnerability of their workers, more clearly, and are looking for ways to enhance the experience and take away the administration. Consumers are looking for more convenience whilst hospitality venues are seeking to automate basic tasks such as taking orders to free up team members to focus on customer experience in light of the staffing crisis” said O’Donnell.
Reimagining hospitality with a renewed focus on both guest and employee experience could reshape the industry, making it a better place to work. By integrating apps in one platform, Doshii saves hospitality venues from the complexity of juggling several apps and helps them save time from having to re-key orders. Since connecting the online delivery service Deliveroo to its Impos point of sale (POS) system through the Doshii platform, Melbourne based Advieh and Advi’s Falafels estimates it is saving 30 seconds per order by no longer having to manually rekey online takeaway orders.
“It takes around 30 seconds from both the customer and member of staff to complete an order end to end. But with the Mr Yum and Doshii integration, once the order is complete and payment is made, the order’s sent directly to the POS via Doshii and prints out at the relevant area, reducing costs associated with staff and resulting in faster orders,” explained Gene Kapaufs, Founder of Advieh and Advi’s Falafels.
Yoni Kalfus, founder of Shuk Cafe added “We were easily wasting $600 per week, so $30k a year, just having people manage the flow of online orders from apps and the website into the kitchen.”
Backed by the Commonwealth Bank’s venture scaling business x15ventures, Doshii allows hospitality businesses to integrate all the various apps they use on one platform and gets them talking to each other via the POS, helping businesses increase their bottom line and allowing guests to enjoy a seamless hospitality experience.
Doshii hosts 35 apps in its marketplace – the largest range in the country – spanning 10 categories including Pickup & Delivery, In-venue Ordering, Reservations, Rostering, Payment Methods, Gifting, Venue Management, Business Intelligence, Delivery Fulfilment and E-commerce. Signed partnership deals will see the business grow its venue coverage to reach over 80% of the accessible Australian market this year and continue to define the future of technology in the hospitality industry.
