The latest Restaurant Technology Outlook from Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business reveals a clear message for operators: technology isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity. We’re excited to see how closely the industry’s evolving needs align with the platform we've built. Operators today are prioritizing guest experience, operational efficiency, and scalable tech investments—principles that are core to everything we do.
Our Take on the 2025 Restaurant Technology Outlook
The latest Restaurant Technology Outlook from Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business reveals a clear message for operators: technology isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity.
We’re excited to see how closely the industry’s evolving needs align with the platform we've built. Operators today are prioritizing guest experience, operational efficiency, and scalable tech investments—principles that are core to everything we do.
Here are a few key takeaways from the report—and how GoTab is helping hospitality businesses stay ahead:
1. Technology is Critical to Growth
More than 70% of operators said technology is critical or very important to achieving business goals this year. It’s not just about adding tools—it’s about integrating solutions that unlock new efficiencies and better guest experiences.
How GoTab helps: Our entertainment commerce platform gives operators flexible, scalable tools—mobile ordering, self-service kiosks, kitchen display systems, and more—that prioritize both operational excellence and guest satisfaction.
2. Operators Demand Flexibility
Restaurant leaders are no longer looking for one-size-fits-all solutions. They want flexible, open solutions that integrate easily with existing and future tech stacks.
How GoTab helps: We built GoTab on an open API framework, making it easy to connect with the platforms operators already use—and future-proof their investments as they grow. Check out our integrations to see the numerous capabilities already available. Even if you’re not using the GoTab POS, we offer https://bespoke.gotab.com where you can craft customized experiences utilizing our tech.
3. The Guest Experience Matters More Than Ever
Increased competition, staffing challenges, and rising costs are pushing operators to focus even harder on delivering seamless, memorable guest experiences.
How GoTab helps: With features like shared tabs across guests and merchants, real-time service notifications, and customizable ordering flows, GoTab helps operators meet guests where they are—without adding friction or extra labor.
4. Expanding Digital Ordering Channels
38% of operators plan to invest in expanding their digital ordering channels.
How GoTab helps: Every GoTab pricing tier includes online ordering at no extra cost, delivering a seamless, intuitive guest experience. Our platform is fully integrated with KDS, POS, and Manager tools to keep service smooth, fast, and connected.
5. What We Think They Missed
One surprising gap in the report is the lack of focus on managing cost of goods and protecting margins. This may be because the survey was conducted early in the year, before the full impact of new tariffs was understood.
How GoTab helps: GoTab provides built-in tools to manage inventory, optimize menus and pricing, and track financial performance. With our recent acquisition of opsi—the intelligent kitchen and operations management platform—we give operators even more control over their margins and back-of-house efficiency.
The Bottom Line: Smarter Tech, Stronger Operations
Operators are moving full speed ahead on tech investment—but they’re demanding more flexibility, more integration, and more measurable impact from their tools. GoTab is proud to deliver a platform that helps restaurants, breweries, hotels, and entertainment venues not just adapt to these changes, but lead the way.
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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