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When 1995 hospitality meets 2025 tech: How technology is helping restaurants and hospitality venues

Hospitality in 1995 felt personal; teams were connected with each other in real life and guests always left with a smile.  

Fast forward to 2025. The expectation was that technology would have made the hospitality experience even better. But has it? According to Access Hospitality’s 2025 report, AI in Hospitality, 69% of operators struggle to integrate new tech and nearly a third spend 1-2 hours daily switching between systems. 

In this article, we look at how technology is helping restaurants and hospitality venues reconnect with the magic of hospitality, while solving modern challenges.

Abigail Butler Digital Content Manager for Hospitality

by Abigail Butler

Digital Content Manager for Hospitality

Posted 29/10/2025

Based on insights from a presentation by Access Hospitality’s Director of Product Marketing, Jules Hailstone, at the Hospitality Tech Expo 2025.

What is hospitality technology and how is it used?

So, what is hospitality technology?  

It is the ecosystem of tools that are used to manage operations and guest experiences in restaurants, bars, hotels, cafes and other hospitality venues. Everything from reservation platforms, EPoS and CRM systems to AI analytics and mobile apps.  

These tech tools are designed to automate and personalise hospitality operations, making them profitable and scalable.  

What is hospitality technology and how is it used?

Promise vs. Reality 

Picture this: It’s 1995 and you’ve shown up to the restaurant. Your favourite server is there to greet you, welcome your friends, show you to your usual table. Everything feels natural and when you order the usual, the servers know exactly what we do. It feels nice, it feels homely, it feels connected. 

Now, imagine: You tell the servers that in 30 years, they'll have computers that can remember everything, but they'll need a handful of different ones - and they won't talk to each other. They'll spend more time tangling with technology than with guests and somehow the guest experience will be worse, not better. 

Hospitality tech promised us a seamless digital transformation that would solve all our problems. 

What did we get instead? Systems that are fragmented and waste hours to switch between, data that could be good - but 75% of operators say is incomplete or missing, and tedious manual processes that persist. 

Why does effective hospitality technology matter now?

Operators have been persevering with disconnected hospitality technology for a while now. So, what’s changed?  

What’s changed for guests? 

Guest expectations are accelerating faster than we can meet them: 

  • 32% of customers want faster ordering and payment processing 

  • 29% want 24/7 customer service chatbots for inquiries 

  • 27% want instant booking and table reservations 

  • 25% want real time wait time updates and queue management 

  • 22% want customised offers and loyalty rewards 

Notably, 35% say that they think AI could create a better experience than staff could. It’s no surprise then that modern day hospitality tech providers are starting to infuse AI into their solutions. 

What’s changed for businesses? 

For businesses, operational costs are rising - with a 19% increase in food inflation, a 30-50% increase in energy prices and a 50-75% increase in maintenance costs.  

And tech budgets? 63% is spent maintaining existing systems, not improving them. 

So, with margins increasingly tight and 21% of customers saying that they’d be willing to pay 8% more on average to have AI-powered services that enhance their experience, it’s time for operators to prioritise improving their tech setup. 



How technology is helping restaurants and hospitality venues to improve

There were major inefficiencies baked into the hospitality of days gone by.  

But if we can take what's good from those nostalgic moments and elevate it to meet or even exceed the expectations of guests in 2025, why wouldn't we do that? 

Hospitality isn’t a collection of separate tasks: it’s a flow. If stock runs out, if service slows, if the toilets aren’t clean, the entire guest experience suffers. Technology can help restaurants and hospitality venues to streamline the flow and capitalise on the consumer demand for AI-enhanced services, but only if there is synergy between their tools.  

Why shouldn’t your procurement system speak to your reservation system, to know that you have a large party booking in a few weeks and all the guests have ordered mozzarella sticks for starters? 

Why shouldn’t your customer marketing tool get to see your historic booking diary, to know that this time last year you had an inexplicable lull in bookings and that some automated email comms would prevent that happening again?  

When operators can manage their entire hospitality operation in a connected ecosystem, it means faster decisions, fewer errors and more room for personalised guest experience - something 21% of customers say they’re willing to pay more for. 

Servers in 1995 couldn’t dream of such connected, intelligent hospitality technology. Yet here in 2025, that’s exactly what will allow operators to move from reactive firefighting to strategic leadership, driving business growth and guest satisfaction.  
 

Practical benefits of connected tech 

For operators, using a fully integrated AI-infused tech stack means 1–2 hours back every day, mobile control in your pocket and actionable insights, not endless spreadsheets. 

For guests, it’s that magical 1995 feeling - personal, effortless, connected - scaled for today. 

Bringing back the magic of hospitality 

Guests want that 1995 hospitality feeling, with effective modern-day tech advancement built-in. 

So, it’s time for operators to address hospitality’s biggest - but most solvable – challenge: technology fragmentation. If you want to get the most out of your systems, you need total synergy between them. To streamline your operations, keep your teams connected and delight your guests with that personable, homely touch every step of the way. 

Ready to bring back the magic? 

Gone are the days of late-night stock counts with three spreadsheets on the go, now POs are raised automatically when the mozzarella hits 4kg. And that’s just the tip of the hospitality tech iceberg: with connected technology you can do so much more. 

Explore how Access Evo technology is helping restaurants and making hospitality feel effortless again. 




Other commonly asked questions: 


How does technology affect the hospitality industry? 

Technology is necessary at every stage of the hospitality journey: 

  • Front of house: Bookings, queue management, personalised service 

  • Back office: Reporting, cost control, compliance 

  • Marketing: Campaigns, loyalty programmes, upsell opportunities 


What technology is used in restaurants? 

Common tools include: 

  • Reservation systems 

  • EPoS and payment solutions 

  • Inventory and procurement platforms 

  • CRM and loyalty software 

  • AI-powered analytics for forecasting and insights 

How does technology help restaurants? 

Technology can give restaurants back time and control. From digital booking systems that reduce no-shows to EPoS integrations that streamline payments and stock management, tech removes friction from everyday operations. Tech tools help teams focus on guests instead of admin by: 

  • Automating manual tasks like table planning and staff scheduling 

  • Reducing operational costs through smart procurement and stock control 

  • Improving guest experience with personalised offers and priority booking 

  • Providing real-time data so managers can act, not react 

Gone are the days of paper diaries and guesswork. Today, restaurants can use AI-driven forecasting to predict demand, dynamic pricing to optimise revenue, and CRM tools to build loyalty. The result? More efficiency, less waste, and happier guests. 


 

Abigail Butler Digital Content Manager for Hospitality

By Abigail Butler

Digital Content Manager for Hospitality

Abigail is a seasoned content manager with six years of experience crafting insightful hospitality content, supporting operators to tackle their challenges head on and exceed their goals. Her expertise spans all areas of hospitality software, including compliance, safety, promotion, and reservations. Abigail’s deep industry knowledge and engaging writing style make her a vital contributor to the Access Hospitality team.