ZONAL EXPANDS INTO EUROPE WITH BEDS AND BARS

The UK’s leading provider of hospitality solutions, Zonal Retail Data Systems, has announced a major partnership with Pan-European hostel and bar operator Beds and Bars.

Beds and Bars operates a range of centrally located backpacker hostels in London, Edinburgh, Prague, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bruges, Bath and Newquay. Focused on delivering great experiences for cost conscious travellers, the majority of hostels offer a Belushi bar, renowned for famous homemade burgers and a wide range of international sports playing on big screens.

As the company continues with its expansion programme, Beds and Bars was keen to use technology to drive insight and enhance the overall customer experience.

“Backpackers have always been early adopters of modern technology and we want to make sure that we advance to stay one step ahead. By embracing new technology, we’ll get closer to our customers, understand their needs and be able to operate our ever expanding business even more effectively,” explained Beds and Bars’ CEO Keith Knowles.

The three month rollout, which completed this week, saw Zonal’s Aztec Enterprise EPoS and iServe solutions introduced into the all of the company’s 12 UK and eight European sites.

Zonal’s Aztec EpoS has been developed for its versatility and offers a fully integrated product suite, which is capable of managing every step of the operating and guest journey, delivering a great customer experience. Whilst decreasing transaction time, iServe can also drive spend per head through suggested ordering.

Beds and Bars has also adopted iServe, Zonal’s cost-effective replacement to the traditional order pad, which can be installed on any iPod touch/iPad to create a versatile handheld EPoS terminal. Orders are processed faster and tables turned around quicker, whilst staff visits to the bar and kitchen are reduced, giving the team more time to focus on and link with Zonal’s loyalty systems to deliver a truly integrated solution.

The first Beds and Bars site, Belushi’s in Covent Garden, went live on 10 December and the rollout completed in Berlin this week.

“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we’re constantly looking for new ways to improve the service and standards that we offer. We were impressed by Zonal’s knowledge of the sector and its ability to offer solutions that can grow and adapt with us as the business expands,” added Keith Knowles.

Stuart McLean, CEO of Zonal Retail Data Systems, commented: “Beds and Bars is an innovative company with impressive concepts and a good grasp on technology. With our extensive knowledge, we’re helping the team to improve their customer insight whilst giving them the ability to drive quality and speed of service.

“It’s a complete partnership approach, with our experts on site from day one to make sure that Beds and Bars’ teams are fully trained and engaged on the benefits of the new systems and that they realise as much potential as they can from adopting new technology.”

Zonal Retail Data Systems is the leading provider of integrated hospitality management solutions to over 8,000 leisure and hospitality businesses across the UK.  For over 35 years, the company has been working closely with clients to enhance the customer experience through market leading technology, experienced people and a partnership approach to business.