Two leading airport foodservice contractors, Delaware North Cos. and HMSHost Corp., said they are building sales and increasing guest satisfaction with customer-facing technologies, such as self-order kiosks and smartphone software.
“We have focused our technology investments on installing self-service kiosks with touch-screen ordering to speed up service,” said Glen White, a spokesman for Delaware North Cos. Travel & Hospitality Services. “They have been extremely effective at several restaurants at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas since they were installed more than a year ago, and we are planning to add them at other airports.”
The Buffalo, N.Y.-based contractor has eight kiosks at three foodservice concepts in the Austin airport, including four in a Schlotzsky’s deli location and two each at Java City and Hill’s Café/Nuevo Laredo.
White noted that transactions have increased 15 percent and the sales per-person has improved by 10 percent. “The total average time for purchasing a sandwich at the deli has fallen from 7 minutes to 5 minutes,” he added.
White explained that the technology prompts guests on choices that can lead to additional sales of such things as soft drinks, side dishes and premium sandwich add-ons, while reducing “non-essential guest interaction.”
Terry Mahlum, district manager for Delaware North Cos. Travel Hospitality Services, said part of the service-time improvement at the Schlotzsky’s unit must be credited to the simultaneous installation of new, faster cooking ovens. Still, he said, the company is so favorably impressed with the benefits of kiosk use that it will soon add some to the Austin airport’s The Salt Lick Bar-B-Que restaurant.
