Innovation on Tap
There are few places where you can hear the phrase “robotic tortilla assembly” uttered without irony — and fewer still where it’s met with a knowing nod and a follow-up question about machine learning. Welcome to HOSTECH 2025: the hospitality tech summit where the future is always five years away, and the coffee is suspiciously good for a conference.
Tech Vision: The Route Map to 2030
Arslan Sharif, a man who has likely seen more digital dashboards than sunsets — opened the day with a vision of hospitality in 2030. It involved AI, of course, along with a focus on consumer expectations, demand around speed, and smart tables that know your order before you sit down.
The takeaway was clear: those who embrace tech and AI integrations are the ones who thrive in the long term.
Driving Growth by Uncorking Data
Who hasn’t heard of the trendy new wine bars, Vagabond? It was a treat to hear from John Colley of Majestic and their newly acquired Vagabond.
Colley’s talk was a masterclass in making wine sound like software. Apparently, the secret to growth is knowing exactly which bottle of Rioja your customer wants before they do — all thanks to data-driven machine learning. It’s not guesswork – its data driven decision making that delivers tangible insights
AI: Exploring the Art of the Possible
This panel felt like a tasting menu of AI in action. From Pizza Pilgrims’ chatbot experiments to Costa’s smart caffeine distribution, innovation was everywhere.
The mood? Cautiously optimistic — like a group of restaurateurs who’ve just discovered ChatGPT and are now wondering if it can also do the dishes. (Spoiler: it can’t. Yet.)
Tortilla and KAIKAKU: Forging the Future with Robotics
Ever dreamed of a burrito built by a robot? Tortilla and KAIKAKU are making that unsettlingly real. CEO Andy Naylor and co-founder Josef Chen introduced their robotic kitchen with the enthusiasm of two men who’ve seen the future — and it’s covered in guacamole.
Bill’s: The Five-Year Plan to Evolve Tech Competencies
Tom James of Bill’s reflected on the chain’s tech journey since 2022. His session was part TED Talk, part therapy. He spoke candidly about transformation, reinvention, and the quiet despair of legacy systems.
His five-year plan is bold. But then again, so was the last one. Still, there’s something noble about dragging a beloved brunch chain into the cloud.
Panel: Digital Experiences in an Analogue World
The final panel wrestled with the eternal question: how do you make a digital experience feel human? The answer, it seems, is to start with the humans. From QR code menus to loyalty apps that know your latte order, the panellists agreed that tech should enhance, not replace, the analogue charm of hospitality.
HOSTECH 2025 was a curious blend of optimism, automation, and oat milk lattes. It’s a place where the future of hospitality is being built – one algorithm, one app, one robot tortilla at a time. Whether that future is brilliant or bizarre remains to be seen. But one thing’s certain: it’ll be frictionless.
A perspective from Katherine Ajoku
Account Director | Sales & Solutions at Wanstor