Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Three Rocks – how smart ordering technology boosts tips, teams and guest experience: Three Rocks chief technology officer Matt Rawlins, TiPJAR chief commercial officer Dan Hawkie and Peach Pubs senior brand manager Lindsey Hobbs explore how digital ordering solutions – like order and pay and kiosks – are transforming hospitality. It’s a chance to find out how these tools consistently lead to higher tips, faster service, and better guest satisfaction. From fewer order errors to seamless payments and full menu transparency, technology frees staff to focus on what really matters: personal touches and building loyalty. The result is smoother operations, stronger teams, and happier guests; Tenzo – the secret to getting perfect labour percentages – hours: This session will show how Travis Fish, former group operations director at Comptoir Group, and Robb Harris, finance director at Upham Pubs, have shifted away from purely thinking in labour percentages (as is the norm) to a more hours based approach. They’ve seen a lot of success with this getting teams to engage with their targets on a daily basis, rather than waiting until the end of the week to know what their percentages are and whether they missed their goal or not. The session will show how other operators could take this approach and the results they might see; HGEM – How AI is influencing guest reviews and reputation: This session explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is already shaping guest feedback and online reputation – through review analysis, rankings, and sentiment summaries – whether businesses are aware of it or not. Attendees will learn how AI interprets guest sentiment and highlights key signals, how to consider the operational behaviours behind reputation data and develop a simple three-step action plan to shape how their business is perceived. All participants will be offered a free sentiment audit of their business; Nory – how AI can genuinely support hospitality teams: This session will explore how modern operators are using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce administration, simplify decision-making, and give their teams more clarity and confidence on the ground. The Nory team will be joined by Mateusz Kapciak, head of operations at Bubble CiTea, who will share how it has scaled the brand across the UK, and how it’s embracing AI – not just through platforms like Nory, but across its day-to-day workflows to boost team performance, unlock time, and stay ahead. The session isn’t about hype or hypotheticals – it’s a grounded, operator-led conversation about what’s working, what’s next and what to consider if you’re looking to introduce AI into your business; Mastering Multi-Units – the period review – aligning teams and driving profit: In this session, David Blackmore, operations expert and partner of Mastering Multi-Units, will be joined by Valerio Diecidue, head of retail operations at Blackbird Bakery, and Charlie Warren, operations consultant and formerly head of operations at Pizza Pilgrims, and will explore one of the most powerful yet often misunderstood operational practices: the period review. They’ll bust the myth that monthly business reviews are about micromanagement. Instead, they’ll highlight how great reviews drive engagement and accountability – with the site manager leading the conversation, analysing not just what happened last month, but why, and crucially, what lessons they’ve learnt. What needs repeating? What needs rethinking? It’s this reflection that drives better performance next time around. Diecidue and Warren will share how they prepare, facilitate, and follow up on reviews, all while keeping a laser focus on cost control, sales growth, and profit improvement. Participants will also be introduced to the “Three I Model”, equipping them with practical tools to take their period reviews to the next level; Venners – avert disaster by turning operational challenges into excellence: In this session, Venners senior consultant Steve Clark shares stories, case studies and practices about common – and unusual – operational challenges that hinder excellence. Learn what other hospitality operators have encountered and overcome by optimising their operations through effective stock, revenue and profit controls; Harri – the nine metrics you should be concerned about when benchmarking against other UK operators: Instead of the traditional “let’s just cut hours”, there are nine different metrics that operators should actually be measuring themselves against, and they all point towards greater profitability. In this exclusive session on real industry benchmarking data, Harri commercial director Pete Willis will run through how to address rising labour percentages, inaccurate forecasting and open the table up for discussion. All attendees will receive a free benchmarking consultation after the event; Nutritics – boosting guest satisfaction and profitability with menu data featuring a case study from Peach Pubs and Ten Kites: In today’s competitive hospitality environment, data is essential for operational success. Claire Chalmers, chief revenue officer at Nutritics, will show how menu intelligence data can help operators boost profitability, simplify daily operations, and meet changing customer demands, from allergens to food trends. She’ll be joined by Lindsey Hobbs, senior brand manager at Peach Pubs, who will share how her team uses Ten Kites, Nutritics’ digital menu publishing tool, to gain insights and optimise operations. Hobbs will explain how data has helped Peach Pubs improve efficiency and profitability, from identifying top-selling dishes to boosting guest engagement. Join them to learn how menu data can reveal sales drivers, respond to customer feedback and trends, create profitable and guest-friendly menus, and free up your team to focus on food quality and service. This is a session for operations professionals who want to supercharge their menu strategy with real-world advice.