Let's talk about hotel technology

Its product, a point-of-sale software for catering and retail, is positioned as one of the most innovative in the sector. REVO is constantly growing in Spain, where it continues to consolidate as a project. At the same time, it is already thinking about a possible international venture.

- Nearing your 10th anniversary, tell us: how did this tandem between you and Jordi, which was the origin of the REVO project, come about?

Jordi and I met through our family environment and we immediately saw the synergy to undertake a project based on technology applied to the point of sale. I was involved in retail and catering businesses, and I had already approached this world by distributing American point of sale software solutions. The margin for improvement and adaptation of these solutions to the Spanish market was clear.

My market knowledge and commercial experience made the perfect match with Jordi's technical know-how, which allowed us to build the product on the right technological base, and on solid foundations aimed at scalability.

In short, we planted "the good seed" that later gave rise to what is now REVO, a project that transcends us.

- What does REVO's point of sale software consist of? Tell us a little about your technological solution and how it differs from others in the sector.

Our main point-of-sale software (Revo XEF and Revo RETAIL) consists of a native iOS app ( Apple devices), for operational use in shops; and a web back-office that enables administration from any browser. From here, the system is integrated with solutions(software and hardware), both proprietary and third-party, which complement it and extend its scope and power.

As a product, REVO is a solid system, built on a technological base that enables its evolution and innovation. It is very versatile both in terms of target size (large, medium or small businesses) and typology (HoReCa and Retail), and its adaptability makes it a "turnkey" solution. Its operation is very intuitive, its adoption curve very short and its deployment easy. A competitive cost and an affordable contracting formula(SaaS) close the circle.

Beyond the product, and this is important to underline, we have been able to weave around it a network of partners and value-added services, without which we would not have been able to introduce it to the market in a grounded and effective way. In SMB(small-medium businesses), with our authorised distributors throughout Spain, who provide us with customer proximity and capillarity. In Corporate, with our own multidisciplinary team working directly with our major customers. And in parallel, always cooperating and joining forces with integration and business partners, institutions and other players that belong to disciplines that are in dialogue with our own. Our partnership with GuestPro is an excellent example of this.

We have also achieved much or little by putting our values, culture and organisational model into play. In short, we like to emphasise that REVO is a project made up of many different aspects, all of them well thought out, and that it is this sum that has materialised a very consistent differential value proposition out there.

- And taking it specifically to the hotel sector, what benefits does the integration with REVO provide to the hotel?

In the hotel sector, we have managed to fine-tune our offering very well. Our suite of technology solutions for tourism businesses, which combine accommodation with F&B and retail outlets, is making a huge difference in the market. They allow us to do things in the most efficient way, enabling our clients to adapt quickly to the way their guests want to consume their products or services, while also taking advantage of their own cross-data sources (historical) to personalise and enrich their experience to the maximum. This is how we manage to boost and grow their business.

And as we said before, we have dressed the product with associated services that are also highly customised for this sector. We design, execute and monitor each project together with our clients, becoming partners and not simply suppliers. We accompany them from the initial analysis, through the technical specification, deployment and associated routine and support processes. In the case of large clients, from REVO we integrate at the highest level with their technological stack (here integration with the PMS plays an important role), we develop the ad-hoc customisations that each project requires, including tax adaptations in certain countries, and we do so in the optimum time-to-market.

- Can you explain to us any specific case of benefit for the hotel to have a POS like yours?

Yes, we usually give the example of a hotel in Menorca belonging to a large chain, where the management of the F&B services in the pool area, in this case quite extensive with many different areas (sunbeds, Balinese, bar...) had always been a "pain point", both for employees and guests. The area was difficult to cover by one or two waiters. The comings and goings were constant, also trying to capture the possible "desire to consume" of the guests without being intrusive. On the other hand, the customers could not find the service staff at the very moment when they made up their minds, because they were "in transit" with orders. It was a typical cat and mouse game. Both sides lost, the experience lost, and so did the business, because turnover was reduced.

When we implemented Revo SOLO in this hotel, with QRs at each of the F&B consumption points in that area, the overall improvement was immediate. The process and the experience finally flowed. Customers became autonomous, being able to send orders themselves from their own smartphones at the very moment they wanted to. Waiters became more concerned with the preparation of the orders that were coming out of the printers and the interaction with the customer during delivery, also for those guests who were less digitised, focusing and optimising their contribution of value where it made the most sense to do so.

When the Global Hotel Tech Director of this great chain tells you about "the magic of change" just days after implementation, you feel the confirmation that what we are doing, our technology, has a purpose.

- What do you think the relationship between a business and technology should be?

If, as we say, "good technology" is there to improve how things are done, and this is what naturally transforms the experience of employees and customers, we see it as a driver that drives and adds value to the business. In the end, it is a "necessary accomplice", almost silent, that contributes, from a discreet level, to the bottom line. And we say this in the background because it is the business, not the technology, that really shines; only if this premise is met are we doing our job well. Otherwise it's just fireworks.

As far as our own is concerned, we are calm. REVO 's mission is to facilitate and improve the work, control and decision-making processes of our clients, from a holistic management perspective (efficiency, growth...), and it is "magic" to see how in our case this translates into reality.

- Is today's hotel sector prepared for the pace of growth of innovations in technology, and is it lagging behind other sectors such as retail or catering?

It should not be lagging behind as it integrates these sectors into it. At the end of the day, the hotel environment is very rich and multi-sectoral. The peculiarities of the "core" business, tourist accommodation, converge with those of the HoReCa and Retail points of sale (restaurants and other F&B points of consumption, shops, Spa's, hairdressers...), a challenging and complex environment to manage, if the necessary tools are not available to allow its natural flow and communication. If the key to success and growth is ultimately in the ability to personalise, with the guest-consumer journey at the centre, it is essential to focus on this.

We believe that the sector is already aware of this necessary holistic view, so we do see that it is on the way to understanding its applied innovation, in an equally integral way. In the end, "being prepared" means first of all becoming aware of this, and then looking for the right partners in each case. And the good partner is the one focused on helping businesses to distinguish themselves by innovating with meaning (the purpose we mentioned earlier).

Sometimes it happens that our customers are overwhelmed by the bombardment of so many technological innovations. It is easy to be tempted to be an early adopter of very impressive and attractive technologies. The key here, as in almost everything else, is to stop and think, to choose and prioritise well, to separate the wheat from the chaff, and not to fall into the fireworks we were talking about earlier, which can end up contributing little or even detracting from the cause.

- Speaking of technology, what awaits us in the restaurant sector, specifically in the hotel sector, in the 2023 that is about to begin?

The sector continues to focus on the digitisation of its entire value chain, with a strong focus on process automation. In this respect, concepts that continue to resonate are AI (with chatbots that also automate communication, assistance, loyalty...) and robotisation, for lower-value production processes in hospitality, for example.

At the heart of everything remains and will continue to be the maximum personalisation of products and services, where BI and loyalty technology tools are and will continue to be central pillars. In this personalisation, we will also have to consider that consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of their decisions on the planet, so they will increasingly look at which products and companies they give business to.

- What challenges and developments does REVO have in store for the new year?

This will once again be a year of consolidation in the Spanish market for us, where we have been leaders for some time now as manufacturers of POS software in tablet format. A year that we are starting away from masks, and in which we will grow more than in the past, something that we have not stopped doing since the beginning. This year, after almost 10 years of life of our project, is also a year of reflection on the leap forward that a project like ours deserves, with internationalisation as a possible lever.

- Finally, at user level, can it be said that we are very dependent on technology or is this just the beginning?

Any technology, as a tool at the service of users and businesses, is there to make our task as easy as possible (which is no small thing), but behind it there must always be people driving it, with the human component and a much finer criterion, which encompasses an infinite number of intangible and complex nuances.

It is up to us to make sense of technology, and also to decide what to "give" and what not to "give" and to what extent. Because of our responsibility, it is a question that we must think very carefully, with our headlights on and with a global vision that must challenge us all, in our case also as manufacturers, but, above all, as users, consumers, citizens and even as a species.

In this reflection, we will certainly have to use some "big words" (social value, ethics, sustainability...), which will guide us in the correct reading of a "big picture" that should remain far removed from particular interests.

In short, the fact that technology is advancing by leaps and bounds is a challenge and challenges us to avoid the temptation to go on "autopilot" and to improve ourselves as people and as professionals. Only then will we be able to evolve and manage it with the necessary judgement, efficiency and care. Once again, confirmation that the fundamentals are in human hands.