If You Don't Understand Hospitality, AI Won't Save You.

Why replacing the human welcome with artificial intelligence might be one of the most spectacularly misguided decisions an independent restaurant can make.

I recently heard about an independent, single venue restaurant in a coastal village that has made the mind-blowing decision to use AI to answer every telephone call and manage its reservations.

Every. Single. Call.

I put my head in my hands, I could’ve cried.

Not because I'm some AI dinosaur, I work with AI every day. But this decision left me wondering whether some people operating hospitality businesses even understand what hospitality means.

If you believe that answering the telephone as an independent restaurant is simply an administrative task that can be handed over to a machine, I’d respectfully suggest that you've missed something rather fundamental.

You're not running a call centre. You're running a restaurant. There is a huge difference.

The telephone isn't a problem to be solved; it’s an opportunity to be cherished.

Having operated my own multi-award-winning hospitality business – The Cricketers on The Green - I just instinctively know how valuable the phone is.

It doesn’t just generate reservations it generates or initiates relationships which can be nurtured from the guests initial booking through to their first visit and beyond.

OK many people book tables online and that’s fine but I’d argue online bookings account for 30- 40% right now, certainly here in Norfolk.

A guest calls to book Sunday lunch "Hello! Lovely to hear from you again. Four of you this Sunday? Wonderful. I can put you on your preferred table?"

Or perhaps a new customer "We're coming up from London for the weekend, and someone recommended you."

A mouth-watering opportunity!

You can welcome them to Norfolk, build rapport, explain what makes your Sunday lunch special, and perhaps recommend something else they might enjoy while visiting the area. Before they've even arrived, you've started building a relationship.

You've made them feel welcome, created anticipation and given them a reason to believe they've made a good decision.

Now imagine replacing that conversation with an AI voice "Thank you for calling. How may I assist you with your reservation?" It might be efficient. It might be accurate. It might even sound remarkably convincing.

But I must ask: what on earth are we trying to achieve here?

If the objective is simply to get a name, telephone number, date and party size into a database, then congratulations. You've successfully reduced one of the most valuable customer interactions in your business to data entry.

The obsession with efficiency is becoming ridiculous

I understand the financial pressures facing hospitality. I've lived them. But there's an enormous difference between running an efficient business and running a business that understands the value of customers.

I have three non-negotiables for any hospitality team and business:

Respect - for each other, the environment, the guest, the ingredients, the culture.

Commitment – total dedication to the project, the formula and its outcomes.

Passion – genuine enthusiasm for everything we are trying to do, our behaviours, knowledge and presentation.

Overarching these pillars is CREATIVITY. Many of us in hospitality don’t understand this but we are all creative people and creativity is not the sole preserve of anyone. From Head Chef, to front of house and KP we all have a voice, or we should. Using AI in the first customer touch point is the antithesis of creativity.

Hospitality isn't the business of processing customers.

It's the business of making people feel welcome.

If you need a machine to do that for you, perhaps it's time to ask whether you're in the right business.

For more information call 07900 888 116 or email info@saltmarsh.agency