Don’t waste a good crisis: Hospo sector’s positive spin on covid

New Zealand’s hospitality sector has overcome huge challenges this year due to Covid-19 and the extraordinary limitations imposed by lockdowns and social distancing. Three leading hospitality and tech companies are coming together to inspire and help the sector adapt to the new landscape with its Hospo Suite Roadshow.

Hosted by posBoss, Upstock, and FlexiTime, it will be held at Lulu Bar in Wellington on the 2nd November and live-streamed. The event brings together NZ’s top hospo operators including SOS Business, Mojo Coffee, HELL and others to share how they’ve overcome 2020’s major challenges.

Philip Fierlinger, Co-CEO of Upstock, says one of the most effective ways hospo has been able to prevail is through the adoption of cloud technologies. “The businesses doing the best have figured out tech is key to not just getting by, but actually coming out better than before. We’re all in this together as an industry, so it’s in our best interests to make sure everyone is as successful as they can be,” he says.

Most kiwis are now familiar with SOS Business – an online platform for people to buy vouchers from their favourite restaurants, cafes and bars – which was founded during lockdown and had a massive impact on the NZ hospo sector.

SOS Business founder David Downs explains, “For a lot of businesses, the cash flow provided through the SOS website has meant the difference between being able to pay rent or having to shut down for good.”

Hospo Suite Roadshow was born from Hospo Suite, a combined force of cloud based technology providers who are passionate about building more resilience in the hospitality industry. These include Droppah for staff scheduling, Upstock for managing wholesale orders, posBoss for point of sale, and PayHero for payroll solutions.

Jonny McKenzie, founder of posBoss says the idea for the roadshow was hatched at Drunken Octopus – a co-working space for hospo companies. “During lockdown we saw this huge uptake and impact cloud tech had on keeping hospo going. But there are still plenty of people in hospo who aren’t taking full advantage of the tech,” he says.

At Hospo Suite Roadshow, attendees will be able to try hospitality focused tech solutions and learn what technologies work for them.  Speakers will cover operations, staffing, attracting and retaining customers, as well as maintaining mental health and work life balance.

Jake Harvey, CMO of FlexiTime (pictured), the company behind PayHero and Droppah, says hospo is a tight community.

“We’ve all missed being at Drunken Octopus and it seemed natural to create an event to bring everyone together, to share knowledge and help us learn from each other.” 

The Hospo Suite Roadshow kicks off November 2nd, from 10am – 6pm at Lulu Bar, Wellington and virtually by Zoom call.  The day will be split into sessions and will wrap up with a speaker panel encouraging open discussion, followed by networking with peers. The plan is to take the Roadshow nationwide next year.

Attendees can also meet the founders of hospo tech companies, including posBoss, FlexiTime and Upstock.  The event is free, but tickets are limited. Tickets are available through www.hosposuite.co.nz/roadshow.