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How Family Entertainment Centers Can Thrive with a Leaner Team

How Family Entertainment Centers Can Thrive with a Leaner Team

Staff shortages are hitting the hospitality industry hard, and Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) are feeling the strain. Managing a high-energy venue packed with families, birthday parties, and large groups is already a challenge—now add a thinner workforce, and things can quickly become overwhelming.

But here’s the good news: smart automation can bridge the gap, helping FECs operate smoothly with fewer hands on deck. The secret? Mobile ordering, self-checkout kiosks, and RFID payment systems—game-changing Family Entertainment Center POS solutions that keep guests happy, service seamless, and operations efficient.

Mobile Ordering

Long food and drink lines kill the fun. When guests spend more time waiting than playing, frustration sets in, and your staff is left scrambling.

With mobile ordering for family entertainment centers, guests can order food and drinks directly from their phones, whether they’re watching their kids play or taking a break from the arcade. No need for extra staff to take orders or process payments—everything is handled digitally. Once the order is ready, guests get real-time notifications for pickup.

The result? Faster service, fewer order bottlenecks, and a smoother guest experience.

Self-Ordering Kiosks

Handling transactions manually is a time drain—for both guests and staff. Self-ordering kiosks for FECs allow visitors to check out on their own, whether they’re grabbing a quick snack, reloading a game card, or purchasing tickets.

Strategically placing kiosks at food stands, arcade entrances, and event check-ins means shorter lines, more efficient service, and fewer staff required to manage transactions. A self-ordering kiosk system also reduces human error and speeds up the ordering process, freeing up employees for higher-value guest interactions.

RFID Wristbands

With RFID payments for FECs, guests no longer have to fumble for cash or credit cards. These preloaded, contactless payment solutions let guests tap to pay for arcade games, food, drinks, and attractions—without waiting in line.

For families, this means less hassle tracking multiple purchases. For operators, it means fewer employees handling transactions and higher guest spending, since prepaid balances encourage guests to make the most of their experience.

RFID POS solutions for entertainment venues also offer seamless integrations with loyalty programs, personalized promotions, and real-time guest tracking—giving operators a powerful tool to increase revenue and guest retention.

Automating Group Payments 

FECs thrive on birthday parties, corporate events, and group outings—but managing payments for large groups can be a logistical nightmare. Instead of tying up staff with complicated split payments, let group payment solutions handle the heavy lifting.

With GoTab’s shared tab feature, groups can split payments effortlessly—by person, item, or set amount—right from their mobile devices. Parents can easily manage their kids’ spending, and groups of friends can divide costs without the hassle of Venmo requests at the end of the night.

For private events, Prepaid Event Cards for FECs simplify transactions even further by allowing guests to pre-load funds for food, games, and attractions—eliminating last-minute payment headaches.

The Future of FECs

The reality is, FECs don’t need more staff—they need smarter systems. By automating transactions, streamlining orders, and empowering guests with self-service options, operators can cut labor costs, reduce wait times, and enhance the overall guest experience—all without overburdening a short-staffed team.

Ready to take your FEC to the next level? Explore how GoTab’s FEC POS system can streamline your operations and enhance guest experiences.

Learn More About Our Family Entertainment Center POS Solutions 

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Situated “in the heart of it all, yet tranquil enough to make you feel away from it all too,” The Limelight Hotel Snowmass offers 99 hotel rooms and 11 residences, as well as footsteps-to-gondola access in winter and summer — right in the middle of Snowmass Base Village.

The Situation

Especially over the last few years, the Limelight Hotels IT team had witnessed a significant shift to contactless technology in the hospitality industry. After evaluating friction points in the guest journey, aligning with modern technology platforms in their restaurant was determined to be an effective way to offer elevated contactless dining experiences to their guests while also evolving their technology platforms to continue to support long-term company goals. Limelight Hotel partnered with GoTab to provide an enhanced on-demand dining experience on par with the brand’s reputation for exceptional guest service.

The Solution

Reducing Staff Touch Points Without Sacrificing Guest Experience

Guests are now able to begin a tab from their room or the property’s restaurant by scanning a QR code, texting a link to friends or family members on the ski slope to add in their orders, then meeting up together at the patio or lodge to enjoy their meal and après ski festivities without interruption. By streamlining tasks like inputting orders and processing payments, this eliminates friction for hotel staff and allows them to focus on delivering renowned guest service for a memorable experience. Since partnering with GoTab, Limelight Snowmass has consistently seen higher check averages and sales.

“We found the Point of Sale platforms we were looking at offered the guest and staff limited opportunities to further reduce touch points or improve the traditional restaurant experience. The GoTab platform enabled the guest to take an active role over the flow of their experience while simultaneously reducing touch points and further streamlining restaurant operations.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

According to the Limelight Hotels team, some of the other platforms that were evaluated were either missing some of the pieces they were looking for, had weak customer support models, or had little willingness to develop integrations to existing hotel platforms already in place. To that end, GoTab integrated with cloud-based platform, Infor. Together, GoTab and Infor are providing dynamic solutions to support central, efficient service across hotel amenities and deliver exceptional guest experiences.

“Previously, guests would call down to the restaurant to begin an order from their room or while they were out enjoying the ski slopes. Using GoTab, guests can now place orders from anywhere on the resort, giving them the on-demand service they want without interrupting their day. GoTab empowers us to give control to the guest, reducing touch points and streamlining overall restaurant operations, making Limelight Hotel the resort of choice for Snowmass.”Nick Giglio, Manager of Hotel IT Operations, The Little Nell Hotel Group

Since introducing GoTab, The Limelight Hotel has seen a consistent level of upsells and items sold per check resulting in additional revenue capture. They have been able to maintain service levels in their restaurants during periods when there was reduced staffing available without significantly diminishing the guest experience.

The Benefits

Eliminate Phone Orders – Take Orders from the Slopes. Guests can start a tab from their room or on the mountain without interrupting the flow of their day.

Future-Proofed Technologies – Delivering elevated contactless ordering via integration with the Infor hotel management platform.

Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.
  • Eliminating Friction in the Guest Journey – Maintaining service levels during periods of reduced staff without diminishing the guest experience.

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