Welcome to the era of 'digital dining'​

As we adapt to an altered reality within the hospitality sector, in preparation for re-opening, it's worth asking if the traditional lunch break is set to become a thing of the past?

When the lockdown is finally lifted and the gradual return of workers to offices and city centres commences, it will be impossible for normal trading patterns to resume due to social distancing rules. In anticipation of this contracted caterers, high street cafés, restaurants, hotels and takeaways need to prepare themselves accordingly.

Work times are likely to be staggered for workers - more reflective of shift working - as such breakfast, lunch and after-work occasions will have less relevance than the availability of all day hot and cold options. Serving a range of sit down hot options alongside coffee and snack options throughout the day to meet the needs of guests who are at differing stages of their daily journey will become a fundamental requirement. Whilst the labour rota will need to flex to a smoother, lower-volume shift pattern with extended 'at capacity' windows (albeit reduced capacities). Footfall in and out of hotels will also look different.

Pre-ordering within allocated time slots will be common, whilst restaurant reservations will be vital as people will need to ensure a space within limited capacity dining rooms without the guarantee of any walk-in capacity. We certainly expect many restaurants to operate a reservation-only policy - giving more certainty to their operations and guarding against food wastage. Equally it may well become essential for restaurants to take deposits and pre-payments to both prevent against no shows and to minimise contact points - the value of a table within reduced capacity hotspots will never be higher.

Technology needs to be seen as a vital ally - pre-ordering dishes digitally alongside pre-payment and contactless payments at the point of purchase, will all become vital elements. Expect cash handling to more or less diminish. From a marketing and comms perspective having a digital dialogue with guests before they arrive will be part of the 'new normal' as even more people become reliant on their mobile devices.

With this in mind, the most common dining companion in public is likely to be a mobile device - laptop, tablet or mobile phone. Diners who plug in and 'digitally dine' with friends, family or colleagues over their lunch can no longer be ostracised. Whilst there is a lot of uncertainty for restauranteurs, those who can harness this kind of dining experience can harvest a new audience at the same time as building valuable guest data. With a slick platform the art of the 'upsell' can become a digital skill to deploy before the guest crosses your threshold. With people reducing the frequency of dining out, they may well be more likely to splash out when they do decide to do so.

Houseparty for lunch; Zoom dinners; Face Time frappés...marketing teams can have some real fun with this and truly harness their digital footprint. Why not create digital waiters to converse with guests throughout their meal? Keeping a sense of in-venue connection within a more physically distant format. From a chef perspective - dish presentation will become increasingly important as guests share more and more dining experiences online via social media platforms. Food porn will really come into its own as a point of differentiation.

Reduced food waste, less no-shows, closer relationships with customers alongside valuable guest data, a higher spend-per-head, increased operational controls, higher dish presentation levels and a cost-effective digital route to market for your marketing teams: all silver linings that will hugely bolster savvy operators ahead of a post-vaccine trading environment, when the pre-Covid-19 good times can roll again.

Table for one please!