Customer loyalty has evolved. Today, it’s less about “collect 10 stamps, get a free coffee” and more about personalisation, value, and belonging. But what does that look like in practice for pubs, hotels, and restaurants?

In this episode, Chris Fletcher, Founder & CEO of Tech on Toast, sits down with:

• Amy Clarke – Head of Marketing, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

• Gillian Nicholson – Sales Director, Zonal

• Jamie Queen – Chief Growth Officer, Butcombe Group

Together, they unpack:

🍷 The business case for loyalty – how programmes drive repeat visits, higher spend per head, and measurable ROI.

📲 The digital shift – moving from physical loyalty cards to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and why simplicity is key.

📊 The power of data – how operators can use guest behaviour, segmentation, and AI to deliver more relevant offers.

👩‍🍳 Team buy-in – why front-of-house staff are vital to signing up customers and how Butcombe’s teams doubled their contactable database in two years.

🌍 Global vs local loyalty – Wyndham’s challenge of tailoring rewards for millions of members across 90+ countries versus Butcombe’s pub-level programmes.

🤝 Partnerships & innovation – from Wyndham linking hotel stays with restaurant delivery apps, to Zonal powering bespoke loyalty journeys for operators of every size.

🛠️ Trends to watch – members-only pricing, gamification, festival-style loyalty, and the growing role of AI in hospitality.

💡 Expect a practical, behind-the-scenes look at loyalty programmes that actually work — the kind that make customers feel recognised, not marketed to.

🔗 Connect with the guests:

• Amy Clarke – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

• Gillian Nicholson – Zonal

• Jamie Queen – Butcombe Group

🍽️ The Return to Experience-Led Dining — Live from Caravan Fitzrovia

Powered by Shift4 & Lunchbox

This week on the Tech on Toast Podcast, we’re bringing you something special — a live panel recording from our recent event at Caravan Fitzrovia, all about the return to experience-led dining in 2025.

Big shout out to Adam at Captive Wifi for the content!

Guest host Phil Street (Caterer.com) is joined by an incredible line-up of industry leaders:

✨ Tom James – Managing Director, Bill’s Restaurants

✨ Harry Ridley – Director of Innovation, Levy UK & Ireland

✨ James Walker – CEO, Lunchbox

✨ Sean Weeraratna Group Operations Director, Gaucho & M Restaurants

Across stadiums, casual dining, fine dining, and tech platforms, our panel dives into:

💡 Balancing speed & storytelling – keeping service efficient without losing personality

🤖 Tech as an enabler – removing friction, not the human touch

🎯 “Moments of magic” – how to wow guests without blowing the budget

🛠️ Test, learn, kill – knowing when to double down or ditch the tech

🤝 Partnership power – why creative collaborations matter

🕰️ Experience redefined – how guest expectations shift by time of day and occasion

From personalised service and guest data, to AI crowd management and handwritten cards in deliveries, this episode is packed with practical tips, creative ideas, and honest insights from operators who are living it every day.

🎧 Tune in for real-world stories, fresh inspiration, and a few laughs along the way.

In this special episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast 🎙️, brought to you in partnership with Zonal, we dig into one of hospitality’s most overused — and misunderstood — buzzwords: loyalty.

Host Chris Fletcher is joined by:

• John Sills 📖 – Author of The Human Experience, who argues loyalty doesn’t really exist — usefulness does.

• Ruth Carpenter 🍕 – Head of Marketing at Pizza Pilgrims, sharing how guest feedback, authenticity, and joy drive repeat visits.

• Gillian Nicholson 💡 – Sales Director at Zonal, bringing insights from 17,000+ hospitality customers and the tech powering their guest experiences.

They explore:

• 🔍 Has “loyalty” been replaced by usefulness?

• 📉 How the cost-of-living crisis is reshaping dining habits — from earlier booking times to lighter menu choices.

• 🤝 Keeping the human touch when tech runs in the background.

• 📦 Subscription models — convenience or commercial trap?

• ♿ The growing demand for accessibility, sustainability, and purpose-driven brands.

• 📨 Why personalisation might be overhyped — and what really drives engagement.

Expect candid stories about burnt pizzas, stolen deliveries, subscription fatigue, and the surprising social trends — from sleep habits to bottomless brunches — shaping hospitality in 2025.

Whether you’re an operator, marketer, or tech provider, this episode blends data, humour, and hard truths about what it really takes to keep guests coming back.

In this episode of the Tech on Toast Podcast, Chris Fletcher welcomes back Dominic Child, VP of Sales at Ingredifind, for a conversation that goes beyond compliance and into the real operational and emotional impact of allergens in hospitality.

Together, they explore why allergen management is still largely manual in a digital-first industry, how it affects staff confidence, guest trust, and operational flow – and how Ingredifind is changing the game.

Dominic explains how their platform tackles the three biggest pain points:

• The lack of trust between suppliers and operators

• Friction between guests and servers

• The burden on staff under pressure to get it right

This isn’t just a conversation about technology — it’s a call to modernise how we handle one of the most sensitive parts of service.

🔥 What You’ll Learn:

• Why allergen management is the final digital frontier in hospitality

• The operational and reputational risks of ‘just ticking the compliance box’

• How self-service allergen tools boost repeat visits by 26% month-on-month

• Why training alone won’t solve the problem — and what will

• How Ingredifind’s plug-and-play platform works with existing systems

• The surprising scale of dietary needs — beyond the ‘top 14’ allergens

📊 Key Stats Mentioned:

• 74% of customers prefer to self-serve allergen info

• 30% of adults avoid certain foods due to adverse reactions

• 40% of diners will avoid restaurants if they can’t view menus in advance

• Diagnosed allergies affect 2 million UK adults – with children’s rates even higher

📲 Links & Extras:

🎥 Watch the full webinar demo of Ingredifind’s platform [insert link]

🛍 Visit Ingredifind on the Tech on Toast Marketplace [insert link]

📩 Contact Dom: [email protected]

📌 Coming Soon:

Ingredifind is teasing a major summer announcement that could revolutionise allergen matrices — keep an eye on their LinkedIn for updates.

In this episode, Chris Fletcher sits down with Sonny Wells, founder of Sonny’s – the soon-to-launch fast-casual food brand with a mission to make eating out safer and more inclusive for people with allergies, especially coeliacs. Sonny shares his personal journey through a difficult diagnosis, what sparked the idea for Sonny’s in Dubai, and how a chance encounter with Sir Richard Branson turned into national visibility and a wave of investor interest.

They talk about why “gluten-free” often isn’t really gluten-free, the lack of trust coeliacs feel in mainstream restaurants, and the operational minefield most hospitality brands face when trying to serve guests with allergens. Plus, Sonny gives a sneak peek into how he’s building a scalable, confidence-first QSR brand—with tech, training, and trust at the core.

💡 Key Topics Covered:

• The painful diagnosis that inspired Sonny’s

• What “truly gluten-free” actually means—and why most brands get it wrong

• The difference between clean, allergen-free fast food and processed options

• His pitch to Sir Richard Branson and winning the “Elevator of Dreams”

• How Sonny plans to scale the business through tech, training, and franchising

• The role of kiosks, face-to-face service, and roving allergen experts

• Challenges with dairy-free cheese and lessons from early advisors

• Why confidence is the brand’s core value—and what that means in practice

• The untapped market of allergy-conscious consumers, and why it’s growing fast

• The vision for Sonny’s in the UK and beyond

🔗 Connect with Sonny:

• Instagram: @sonnystheceliac

• Business Page: @sonnys_food

• LinkedIn: Sonny Wells

💬 Chris’s Take:

“Sonny’s isn’t just a food brand—it’s a confidence brand. It’s answering a real, growing need in hospitality with compassion, energy and commercial smarts.”

Cybersecurity with Naveed Islam, CISO at Dojo

In this special edition of the Tech on Toast Podcast, host Chris Fletcher sits down with Naveed Islam, Chief Information Security Officer at Dojo, to unpack the state of cybersecurity in today’s AI-powered, hyper-digital world.

From phishing scams and data breaches to quantum threats and ransomware-as-a-service, this episode breaks it all down in a way every operator – whether you’re running a single site or leading a national brand – can understand and action.

🎯 Topics Covered:

• What does a CISO actually do?

• The rise in high-profile breaches (M&S, Co-op etc.)

• Why small businesses are especially vulnerable

• Common attack vectors: phishing, credential theft, outdated software

• AI in cybersecurity – the good and the bad

• The dark SaaS world of “Ransomware-as-a-Service”

• Why card data is digital gold

• PCI compliance made simple

• The hygiene basics every business should master

• Why cybersecurity needs to be on the boardroom agenda

• What the future holds: Agentic AI, identity as the new perimeter, and post-quantum risk

🔮 3 Cybersecurity Trends to Watch:

1. Agentic AI – AI that defends autonomously, without human input

2. Identity is the new perimeter – verifying who is accessing systems is now more critical than where they’re doing it

3. Post-Quantum Risk – data stolen today could be decrypted tomorrow. Some attackers are already harvesting.

🔐 Key Takeaways:

• Cybercrime is getting slicker and cheaper – anyone can launch an attack

• AI is a double-edged sword – it’s being used by both defenders and attackers

• Security hygiene matters – MFA, strong passwords, regular updates

• Only 27% of UK boards prioritise cyber – that needs to change

• Payments are prime targets – card data can fetch up to $30 per record

🛡️ How Dojo Protects Its Customers:

• Point-to-point encryption

• Hosted payment pages

• AI-powered threat detection

• Light-touch PCI support for SMEs

🎧 Listen now

🔗 dojo.tech

📱 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & everywhere you get your podcasts.

Guest: Gab Lopez, MD at 24social (MVG Media)

Host: Chris Fletcher

Series: Tech on Toast Season Sponsored by Deliverect

This Week’s Slice:

What if building a pub website took less time than pouring a pint?

Chris sits down with Gab Lopez, MD of 24social, to talk about making websites work for hospitality – not the other way around. From their AI-powered “MyPlace” product for venue managers to scalable enterprise tools for group operators, 24social is transforming how pubs, restaurants and bars show up online – mobile-first, lightning-fast, and without the headache.

You’ll hear about:

🍽️ How the “AI menu” turns a phone snap into a full food menu online

📱 Why venue managers can build a live website from their mobile in minutes

🎯 Why websites still matter more than ever – even in a world dominated by social media

⚙️ How 24social’s platform grows with operators – from one venue to 100

🎉 Real operator stories (like Punching Palooka’s cocktail bar journey)

🔗 Seamless integrations with booking systems, events, and even live sport

🧠 The UX and accessibility trends redefining digital presence for hospitality

🎤 And yes, Gab’s side gig as a school compère and 10K-running dad!

Whether you’re a GM drowning in PDFs or a head office team managing 50 sites – this episode is for you.

👀 Learn more

🌐 24social.io

🤝 Find Gab Lopez on LinkedIn

Brought to you by Deliverect – powering order management across thousands of hospitality businesses to reduce errors, streamline service, and deliver better guest experiences.

Subscribe to Tech on Toast and discover the stories shaping the future of hospitality – one shift at a time.

This week, Chris Fletcher is joined by two guests with serious flavour and flair: James Packham, founder of cult bacon sandwich brand Le Swine, and Nick Clark, founder and MD of Sheffield-based creative studio 93FT. What starts with a bacon butty turns into a masterclass in brand building, creative bravery, and how friendship can drive business success.

Together, they unwrap:

• How a stolen sandwich sparked a business

• Turning a street food truck into a brand with national reach

• Designing a café that feels nostalgic and new

• Why great design is more than just visuals – it’s storytelling

• The rise of ‘hole-in-the-wall’ dining and micro-concepts

• Working with heritage suppliers and building guest experiences that last

Expect plenty of laughs, some seriously tasty storytelling, and honest chat about scaling without selling out.

🔥 Why Listen?

Whether you’re running one site or rolling out fifty, this is a must-listen for anyone building a hospitality brand from the ground up.

🛠️ Guests:

• James Packham, Founder, Le Swine

• Nick Clark, Founder & MD, 93FT

🍳 Highlights:

• The “bacon epiphany” moment in Clerkenwell

• Designing with intention: from colour palettes to reclaimed floors

• Navigating Covid with care kits and delivery hacks

• The importance of supplier relationships in hospitality storytelling

• Becoming an employee-owned creative agency

📦 Try it yourself:

Head to leswine.co.uk to grab a bacon kit or visit the café in East Sheen.

Design inspo? Visit 93ft.com or connect with Nick Clark on LinkedIn.

In this episode, Chris is joined by Nikki Perry, VP of Product at TripleSeat, who flew in from Boston for her very first visit to London. They dive into Nikki’s journey from bussing tables at 13 to leading product strategy at one of the most exciting events platforms in hospitality tech.Expect a brilliant blend of real-world hospitality experience and cutting-edge product thinking — from how TripleSeat is cutting admin, increasing conversions, and transforming pre-orders in the UK, to how AI is quietly becoming the venue’s best friend.They also cover: • The rise of 3D event planning (think The Sims, but for weddings and private dining) • The difference between US and UK event culture (spoiler: pre-ordering cocktails is wild to Americans) • How AI integrations like AdSalt are streamlining inbound calls and converting more leads • Why TripleSeat’s newest tool, PartyPay, is making painful event payments a thing of the past • What’s coming next in the product roadmap (hint: AI assistants, natural language reports, and hotel tech upgrades)Nikki shares how TripleSeat remains laser-focused on one core user: the event manager — and how the team stays close to the ground through regular customer visits, product feedback loops, and actual party-throwing.✨ Key Takeaways: • 📊 Built by Operators – Most of the TripleSeat team has worked in restaurants or events, making the product truly hospitality-first. • 🧠 AI for Admin – From call-handling bots to natural language reporting tools, AI is embedded in the TripleSeat future. • 🍽 UK vs US – The cultural difference around pre-ordering food and drinks highlights the importance of local product nuance. • 🛒 Self-Service Sales – Tools like TripleSeat Direct and guest portals allow for faster bookings and better guest experiences. • 💳 Payments Solved – PartyPay means no more faxed credit card forms (yes, that was still a thing). • 🧭 Always Iterating – The product roadmap is fuelled by customer feedback, and prioritised by real impact, not just loud requests.🔗 Mentioned in this episode: • TripleSeat • AdSalt AI for hospitality • Tech on Toast📣 Connect with us:Got feedback, questions, or want to be featured?👉 Visit techontoast.community👉 Follow us on LinkedIn: Tech on Toast

What do Isle of Wight ferries, dirty tables, and KFC at midnight have in common?

This episode.

Chris is joined by the silky-voiced Jamie White, Head of Business Development at WRS, fresh off the back of a brand revamp (RIP “Systems”) and full of stories from hospitality, media, and SaaS trenches.

🧠 Whether you’re a single-site pub or a 100-venue group, Jamie’s here to talk about:

• ✨ Why WRS dropped the “Systems” and what it says about where tech is going

• 🎙️ Jamie’s radio past (he needs his own podcast – we said it first)

• 💸 How kiosks are quietly boosting spend and smoothing service

• 🤯 Why putting in tech without fixing your process first is like driving a Ferrari at 20mph

• 📊 The surprising POS reports helping operators win back 80 hours a week • 🤖 What AI actually means in hospitality right now (hint: not magic robots… yet)

• 🤝 Why consultative selling and relationships still rule the tech game

🍞 Bonus: hear Chris confess to a KFC bucket at 12:30am.

We’ve all been there.🚀 Want to future-proof your tech stack?

Take your free Tech Check and find out where the gaps are – from kiosks to kitchen screens.

📌 Stuff we mention:

• WRS LinkedIn • Cornish Bakery (spoiler: Jamie wants one on the Isle of Wight)

• Isle of Wight Festival – yes, there are stories…

• Deliverect – our brilliant podcast partners keeping orders flowing

🎧 Subscribe, share, or shout at us from across the pass – just make sure you’re listening.