GoTab Behind the Tab: Meet Krystal Hentges, Vice President of Operations

When Krystal Hentges was named GoTab’s Vice President of Operations this month, she was stepping into more than a leadership role. She was taking on a mission that speaks to the heart of every operator: building systems and supporting teams in ways that make hospitality more sustainable and more rewarding. 

Hentges believes that great service begins long before the guest experience. It begins in the back office, in the prep work, and in the daily interactions between managers and their teams.

“For me, hospitality is not just about the guest at the table,” she said. “It begins behind the scenes. It shows up in the way leaders invest in their staff and in the way employees feel supported every day.”

Connecting Strategy With Real Impact 

Krystal knows the industry from the inside out. 

For nearly a decade she worked with restaurant operators nationwide as part of HR/payroll provider Stratex, helping them strengthen their back-office systems and streamline operations. In one role, she spearheaded the creation of a new onboarding process that boosted active payroll customers by 70 percent. 

She also helped reduce support tickets by 20 percent and cut printed paychecks by 80 percent, results that gave operators more time to focus on guests instead of paperwork. Those years gave her a front-row view of the pressure operators face and the ways smart systems can make or break a business.

“I’ve discovered I really like the program management side of things and helping teams see the vision,” Hentges shared. “The biggest impact happens when you can connect strategy with what people are doing every day.”

Her career path into leadership began with a childhood marked by frequent moves. 

Born in northern Ohio, she lived in New York, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota before heading to college. The experience taught her how to adapt quickly, build new relationships, and find her footing in unfamiliar environments. Those skills became part of her foundation as a leader.

She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in American Studies and Spanish. The path may not have seemed to lead directly to operations, but she credits her education with shaping her perspective. 

“Notre Dame gave me the ability to connect dots and to think about problems from multiple viewpoints,” she said. “It taught me how to listen to different voices and bring people together, and that has helped me in every role.”

A Career Shaped By Hospitality

After college, Hentges began her career in retail sales and human resources. The pace of the work energized her, and she discovered that she thrived in people-centered environments. Over time she began working more directly with hospitality operators, where she saw firsthand the challenges that came with balancing service and structure.

“Hospitality is an incredible field. It is all about people and connection,” she said. “But when it comes to human resources or operations, it is not always simple. The pace is fast, the pressures are real, and the energy it takes to serve guests can make it difficult to pause and have the conversations that keep teams healthy.”

She noticed that the most effective leaders are not always those with the largest budgets or the most polished systems. They are the ones who carve out time to connect with their teams. 

“The restaurateurs who took that extra 15 minutes to connect usually had staff stick around longer,” she said. “It might not sound like much, but those small and intentional moments can change the entire trajectory of a service.”

Hentges: ‘The Best Ideas Live Where The Work Happens’ 

At GoTab, Hentges now applies those lessons on a larger scale. She collaborates with GoTab’s leadership to align departmental priorities and sharpen efficiency. She oversees HR and recruiting, implementing consistent practices that keep the company compliant across states while also improving hiring. She facilitates annual planning and company-wide objectives, ensuring that strategy always connects back to what operators need most.

She also focuses on removing friction in operations. By leading projects like revamping the GoTab Store and integrations with internal systems, she is helping make onboarding faster and easier for GoTab operators. She studies how data and artificial intelligence can enhance recruiting and customer service, not to replace people but to streamline processes so that staff can spend more time doing meaningful work.

“The best ideas live where the work happens,” she said. “My job is to surface them, organize them and make it easier to act on them.”

Why It Matters To Operators

Hentges understands that most operators do not open restaurants because they want to focus on compliance or payroll. They do it because they love creating memorable experiences for guests. That passion often leaves the administrative side feeling overwhelming.

“It is not that operators do not care about the business details,” she said. “It is that they are already pouring everything into hospitality. That is why tools and systems that simplify operations matter so much. They give back time and energy to focus on what really drives them.”

She applies the same philosophy to her work inside GoTab. 

Just as restaurants succeed when they invest in their staff, she believes GoTab succeeds when its employees feel equipped and supported. “Hospitality cannot stop at the guest,” she said. “It has to reach the team. When staff members feel valued and connected, that commitment flows outward and strengthens the experience for customers.”

Her philosophy is a natural extension of GoTab’s own culture. 

Operators consistently say they value GoTab people for their level of service and availability, and Hentges is determined to carry that forward in her role. 

Hentges Is Focused On Building Sustainable Success 

Even as she leads operations at GoTab, Hentges continues to invest in her own growth. 

She recently started an Executive MBA at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. The program strengthens her analytical skills and pairs them with her natural strengths in human-centered leadership.

“A lot of my experience has been people-focused leadership,” she said. “Now I want to strengthen the analytical side, bring more data to the table, and make sure we are scaling what works. Combining the human perspective with measurable outcomes is how we build sustainable success.”

For GoTab operators, her role involves more than organizational charts and company policies. It means having someone at GoTab who works every day to remove obstacles, simplify processes, and make sure the teams that support them can thrive.

“Great technology only matters when it frees people to deliver great hospitality,” she said. “That is the standard we are working toward every day.”

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