Restaurants have adapted to meet consumers’ needs while operating under the grip of COVID-19. 

With the new year in full gear, the road may be paved with new challenges but also offers opportunities for restaurants as they continue to pivot their way to recovery.

With technology on hand and restaurateurs becoming more tech-savvy, there are a lot of things to watch out for this year.

Read the predictions of the TableCheck staff on what will drive restaurant trends in 2022.

1. Staff retention: Well-being, reward programs and up-skill

Whether it’s a small business or a fine-dining establishment, restaurant managers need to deal with quick staff turnovers and labor shortages as part of the effects of the global pandemic. If you want to run a well-oiled operation geared for success, retaining your best employees is of primary importance. Fact: it’s more costly to replace an individual employee than retain them. Check how you can add well-being and reward programs to motivate your staff and give them the appreciation and recognition they deserve.

The restaurant industry hasn’t yet been able to turn around the shortage of qualified restaurant staff and workers due to forced furloughs and layoffs caused by the pandemic. Hence in order to survive in these times of lack of workforce, restaurant owners have to do all it takes to retain their existing employees by coming up with innovative reward programs, better working conditions, and benefits for their employees.

Some strategies which can help are implementing bonus and incentive programs, increased training and development activities, allowing a certain level of flexibility in work schedules, providing a platform to employees to share their concerns and ideas alike so that they feel more connected with the team

Shweta Singh, TableCheck Consulting Supervisor

2. Take-out delivery ordering

Take-out and delivery service will remain critical in restaurant operations as consumers continue to choose safe dining options. While restaurants continue to partner with third-party delivery platforms to expand their footprint and business, they need to think about a restaurant management platform that gives them more control over their operations and at the same time puts their brand at the forefront of their operations, without extra fees.

Utilizing third-party services to add revenue streams and expanding the restaurant business is important, but it is crucial to think about user experience. Managing multiple platforms can be difficult for restaurant staff. The restaurant management platform must be manageable around their busy schedule, otherwise, the business will not be scalable–especially as staff shortages continue to impact restaurants.

Eri Koyano, TableCheck Product Manager

3. Veganuary all year

In January, it's all about adopting Veganuary, inspiring people to go for a plant-based diet at the start of the year. With more Food and Beverage companies and restaurant chains riding the green tide and offering vegan options to their customers, it’s a trend that’s here to stay.

The Vegan food market will reach $162 billion so it’s going to be a standard for restaurants and F&B companies to offer vegan options. For consumers, this means having healthy options at all times.

Joan Mira, Global Front-end Manager at TableCheck (and occasional vegan).

4. Augmented Reality Technology

Whether you like Metaverse or not, some predict that the restaurant of the future will feature augmented reality.  Just imagine if restaurants can use this as an extra touchpoint to offer immersive experiences for their guests at the earliest stage of the guest journey or even as a way to train staff without wasting resources.

In my opinion, breakthrough AR technology will let us seamlessly blend technology with everyday life. No more lifting your phone in between dining. All the information you need will already be in front of your eyes.

Atul Vinayak, TableCheck Data Science Engineer

Moonflower Sagaya Ginza is an eight-seat restaurant in Tokyo, Japan that features a permanent digital art installation by the famed teamLab, a Japanese art collective and a group of technologists known for their digital and immersive art installations and museums.

5. Sustainable Business: Managing food waste

Sustainability initiatives will become the standard for every restaurant if they want to stay ahead of the curve. This means managing supply chain challenges, supporting local farmers, reducing logistics costs and food waste. It benefits both the community and the environment and contributes to creating a sustainable planet and society. Sustainable practices are becoming increasingly commonplace in a lot of industries–and it's also a huge area for growth for the hospitality sector too. It can create huge cost savings, and increase business profits in the long run.

There are initiatives out there like the ‘Too Good to Go’ community app based in the UK that’s really doing well to help manage food waste issues. With climate change issues facing the planet, I think every restaurant or hospitality owner should adopt a sustainable approach to their business to tackle these challenges early. Restaurants with a farm-to-table mentality will reap benefits later on. Even Michelin Guide now offers a Michelin Green Star for restaurants showcasing sustainable gastronomy. An example of that is Roganic in Hong Kong, China.

Yandis Ying, TableCheck Creative Director, who is currently based in the UK

6. Guest data and Advanced Analytics with TableCheck Insight

Guest data will define the hospitality space even more so this year as restaurants look to compete to give the best experience for their guests. 

However, for businesses that need more than just normal guest data, there’s a more powerful yet easy-to-use system like TableCheck Insight to help them make better-informed decisions. From scoring and ranking customers across multiple venues, understanding guest spends and retaining VIPs, and driving repeat visits, TableCheck Insight makes data simple to help mid-size and large-scale businesses grow their business.

We created TableCheck Insight, a system that is simple enough for everybody to use. It's designed for restaurants of all sizes and scopes. The system is customizable and it’s smart so that new dashboards can be created efficiently. In addition, TableCheck Insight allows you to filter all of your dashboards to whatever segments you need for your business.

There’s nothing in the restaurant space that can even come close to it. More importantly, for those already using TableCheck Manager, there is already a free version of TableCheck Insight.

Jason Perry, Head of Product and Data Science at TableCheck