Revenue Management

📢 Tock, under American Express for a year, shifts marketing for the "Reservation Wars". Their "Tock 10" campaign promotes unique restaurants and experiences. Offering tools like variable pricing, Tock distinguishes itself with experience-driven bookings and white-glove support, attracting top-tier venues and diners. Partnerships with Michelin-starred restaurants and integration with Resy, aim to offer unified hospitality solutions. Facing industry challenges like rising costs and labor shortages, Tock provides revenue-driving technology. Anticipate enhanced features, a combined 70 million user network, and 27,000 worldwide businesses accessible in one place.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News since 1999, also joined Restaurant Hospitality in 2016. He hosted "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn," and wrote for The New York Sun from 2005 to 2008. Before, Thorn lived in Thailand (circa 1994-1999), where he was a sub editor for Asia Times, senior editor for Manager magazine, and contributed business and food articles. A Tufts University magna cum laude graduate with a BA in History, Thorn studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and spent time at both Nanjing and Beijing Universities in 1988-1989. He won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, joined the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014, and has published works in the Oxford Encyclopedia and the Oxford Companion. Thorn, a Colorado native, resides in Brooklyn, NY.

📝 Leigh Anne Zinsmeister, currently the content manager for Informa’s Restaurant and Food Group since February 2020, manages special reports and digital content. She previously served as a digital content manager (April 2018-Feb. 2020) and digital content producer (June 2016-April 2018) for the same group. Zinsmeister held positions at Mail Online (March 2014-June 2016) and Gannett's Phoenix Design studio (Jan. 2012-March 2014). With a journalism degree from Arizona State University, she resides in New York City but has ties to Phoenix, Dallas, and Cleveland. Contact her at [email protected]

🍳 The National Restaurant Association expects a 4% growth in the industry, with sales exceeding $1.1 trillion. International brands, including the U.K.'s PizzaExpress, Canada's Cluck Clucks and CRAFT Restaurant & Beer Market, Sweden's Eggs Inc., and Japan’s Bread, Espresso & are entering or expanding in the U.S. Filipino chain Jollibee surpassed 100 locations in 2024. Eggs Inc. opened its first U.S. location in Denver, while Bread, Espresso & opened in Redondo Beach, California. WingsUp! is targeting Texas and Florida for expansion, citing Texas as the world's eighth largest economy. CRAFT Restaurant & Beer Market plans to open in Dallas in early 2026. The International Franchising Association forecasts a 2.5% increase in franchise locations, with quick-service franchises expected to grow 5.4%, generating $322 billion this year. Cluck Clucks opened in Sugar Land, Texas, and plans to expand from Georgia to the Midwest.

📊 Qu's 2025 State of Digital Report, based on data from 170 brands and 85,000 locations, shows fast casual and QSR operators focusing on first-party ordering, which 40% of brands view as their biggest revenue growth potential. Key trends include consolidating tech systems (64% of brands), data-driven personalization despite 85% of guests being unreachable through traditional loyalty programs, and kiosks being adopted by 62% of brands (80% in QSRs) to ease labor strain. Digital sales have plateaued, increasing only 4% in three years, prompting a shift from volume to profitability, and unified data is identified as the foundation for future success.

💸 Revenue Managers in hospitality face complexity from data overload, rapid market shifts, and a quest for precision, which can lead to overcomplicated strategies and missed revenue opportunities. They manage multiple data sources, such as PMS and CRS, and experience pressure to deliver quick results while seeking perfect forecasts, causing analysis paralysis. Solutions lie in simplifying strategies, improving data accuracy and accessibility, integrating data, leveraging modern RMS or BI platforms effectively, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration. Demand Calendar aids by automating data collection, offering intuitive data presentation, and enhancing collaboration, enabling Revenue Managers to focus on strategic decisions and actionable insights, thus reducing complexity in revenue management.

🌶 Skhug, a Yemeni Jewish green sauce with cilantro, garlic, chile peppers, and spices, is gaining popularity in the U.S., particularly in restaurants and meal kits. Known for its bold, spicy flavor, skhug is now on 0.5% of U.S. restaurant menus, marking a 41% increase over four years. Velvet Taco highlighted skhug in a taco and Margarita. Higher skhug awareness is seen among vegan and vegetarian consumers.

💸 Hotels can boost revenue beyond room bookings through upselling and cross-selling, monetizing spaces like conference rooms and event spaces, enhancing food & beverage sales, offering unique experiences, selling branded merchandise, creating loyalty programs, and forming strategic partnerships. RevOptimum specializes in aiding hotels to develop and optimize these strategies to decrease OTA dependency and enhance profitability. Contact RevOptimum for tailored revenue growth plans for your hotel property.

🍳 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, guides F&B trends coverage since 1999. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he reported on foodservice operations and authored a column for The New York Sun (2005-2008). With a BA in history from Tufts University and studies at Le Cordon Bleu, Thorn reported from China in 1989 for ABC News. His work includes entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2012) and Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015). He won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award and was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014. ???? [email protected]

🍾 Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bae, gained fame in 2017 for a viral video of his unique salt-sprinkling technique. He founded the first of his 17 Nusr-Et steakhouses in Istanbul in 2010. Despite setbacks, including failed ventures and lawsuits, he announced expansion plans in January for new locations in Mexico City, Rome, Milan, and Ibiza. The 2022 World Cup saw Gökçe in a controversial incident involving the trophy. One Nusr-Et steakhouse in New York City's Meatpacking District closed in May, with intentions to relocate to Times Square. The Midtown location, formerly the China Grill, now caters to tourists and theatergoers. The dining experience is theatrical, with a menu featuring mostly wagyu beef and dramatic presentations, like the Smoked Saltbae Old Fashioned. The Golden Reserve Selection offers steaks and burgers with gold leaf, including a $180 Golden Burger and a $950 Golden Tomahawk.