According to the “Recupera tu Tiempo” report: Spanish hospitality companies are being held back by administrative tasks

• 94% of Spanish entrepreneurs stated that paperwork deprives them of valuable time that could be used to improve their services
• However, on a positive note, seven out of ten foodservice entrepreneurs plan to expand their business activities in the next two years
• 93% of restaurateurs say the use of analytics and reporting technology has a positive impact on their business
• 96% of these business owners believe that accepting American Express allows them to attract more customers by increasing consumer payment optionality
• 77% of hospitality owners agree that issues related to staff management are among the most stressful
• Hospitality owners spend 38 hours a week managing, supervising and training staff
• Foodservice businesses that automate inventory management save 4 hours per week on average

Madrid - Square launches today a new research, in partnership with American Express, which seeks to highlight the potential of a sector with a long tradition that is progressively moving towards new technologies.

The data reveals admin is the most significant barrier to growing hospitality businesses, with 92% of business owners saying it takes away the time they could be connecting with their customers. The majority (94%) of those surveyed wish there was a way to streamline administrative tasks, citing generating and managing business insights (37%) as one of their top admin challenges.

However, there is widespread optimism among Spanish hospitality owners about the future of their businesses. Despite common concerns and the difficulties experienced in recent years, 78% of owners expect their profit levels to increase in the next 12 months. In addition, 69% of business owners plan to expand their business activities in the next 2 years. The main expansion strategies include: launching new services or products (63%), hiring additional staff (55%), investing in new technologies or equipment (49%) and opening new stores (33%).

The forecast increase in profits is motivating many restaurateurs to invest capital in various areas. Thus, of the sector’s owners who plan to invest in their businesses next year, 61% intend to improve the customer experience, 51% will focus on staff training and 49% will invest in technology, automation solutions and other tools to improve operational efficiency.

Analytics technology to better understand the business

Improving a business depends on making the right decisions about when and where to invest. To do this, the research recommends that it is important to have key information to make informed decisions that are appropriate to the specific needs of the establishment. However, according to the research, many companies continue to have difficulty accessing this data and extracting valuable information, which remains one of the main administrative challenges for business owners in 2024.

The research finds that entrepreneurs are turning to technology to crunch numbers and plan their business. In addition, 93% of respondents say that the use of analytics and reporting technology to obtain relevant information has a positive effect on their business. Among some of the most commonly used tools are programs that analyze reviews to identify trends in customer opinions and tools that identify the most popular dishes.

According to restaurateurs, the benefits of real-time data analysis are, on the one hand, to understand the needs and desires of their audience to attract new customers and retain existing ones. And, on the other hand, to understand the financial health of the business. In this sense, data analysis allows them to reveal hidden and unexpected expenses, as well as where there may be savings. Such reports can identify when and what is most profitable for a business, determining staffing needs and labor costs, even on an hourly basis.

Automation of mechanical tasks to gain efficiency

To run a successful hospitality business, it is just as important to offer quality food and beverages as it is to deal with a multitude of tasks that keep the business running. For this reason, restaurateurs are opting for tools that allow them to automate mechanical tasks and save time on administrative tasks. According to the research, on average, hospitality establishments use four automation tools to help them manage their business. Among the main solutions used are: screens to transfer orders in real time to the kitchen staff (42%), online reservation systems (40%), automated reservation reminders (38%), online advertising platforms (38%) and QR codes for menus (35%).

“Companies that use software and technology solutions to automate various tasks benefit from clear time savings. Premises that implement seamless communication systems, such as screens to visualize orders in real time, gain one hour per week in staff management”, says Gonzalo Saenz, Square’s Sales Director in Spain. “In addition, the study shows that businesses that automate inventory management save 4 hours per week, compared to those that do it manually”.

“For small businesses, investing in automation can help deliver operational efficiencies, which frees up valuable resources and ultimately improves the customer experience”, Julia Lopez, Vice President and General Manager, Merchant Services, Continental Europe at American Express adds. “This is especially important for the foodservice sector.”

Management technology, training and development to retain talent

Seventy-seven percent of industry owners agree that staff management issues are among the most stressful when it comes to hospitality. According to restaurateurs, the main staffing challenges tend to be the difficulty in recruiting staff with the required skills (44%), the perception that this is a short-term job (37%) and the management of underperforming teams (33%). The situation means that, on average, employers spend 14 hours a week on staff administration and 24 hours weekly on supervision and training.

To meet these challenges, 51% use technology to simplify staff management tasks, and 47% have invested in training and development programs for employees. Thus, companies that actively invest in training and development of staff manage to extend, on average, employees’ time with the company by 4 months.

The report highlights how greater team stability reduces the time spent on searching for and training new staff, thus lowering recruitment costs. In addition, this time can be spent on other tasks.

About ‘Recupera tu Tiempo’

The study ‘Recupera tu Tiempo’ has been carried out by Square and American Express together with the research agency Strive Insight. Strive surveyed 152 hospitality business owners as well as 6 in-depth interviews between March 20 and May 6, 2024. To be eligible for the survey, entrepreneurs had to be a payment decision-maker and run or manage a hospitality business based in Spain, whose average annual revenue was between €150,000 and €5 million.