HT's Top 10 Most-Read In 2019

Check out Hospitality Technology magazine's top 10 most-read articles for 2019. Included in this hot line-up: McDonald's AI-powered digital menu boards, recap of HT's MURTEC Executive Summit, restaurant of the future infographic, POS software trends, top women in restaurant tech, HT's customer engagement tech study, RTN's launch (yay!), HT's restaurant tech study, McDonald's mobile payments and class-action lawsuit slapped on DoorDash. Never a dull moment. Cheers to 2020!
 

10. McDonald’s Tests AI-Powered Digital Menu Boards
Stories about tech innovator McDonald’s always attract a lot of eyeballs. This story about the roll out Dynamic Yield’s machine learning technology, after acquiring the company earlier this year, is among the year’s most read. The cutting-edge tech is now in 9,500+ U.S. drive-thrus with full roll out to all U.S. outdoor digital menu boards in the US and Australia by 2020.

9. MURTEC 2019 : Powering the Possible
MURTEC 2019 was one for the record books. This recap of the 24th annual event makes sure that what happened in Vegas, didn’t stay in Vegas. If you weren’t able to attend, you missed out on some top-notch #restaurant #tech #information and networking. Don’t miss out on the 25th annual MURTEC, March 9-11, 2020, in Las Vegas, baby!

8. 6 Technologies Shaping the Restaurant of the Future(Infographic)
This infographic, sponsored by HughesOn, visualized the top tech trends influencing the restaurant of the future. It’s easy to read, visual format effectively shows where the industry is heading.

7. 2020 POS Software Trends Report: Unlocking Agility
This annual report features new exclusive HT research and insights from restaurant operators and vendors. No wonder it is on the most-read list! This report is chock-full of insights from restaurants. Did you know: The majority of restaurants (65%) plan to expand upon feature sets of current POS software in 2020? Plus, HT reached out to POS vendors to get their take on trends, a recap of 2019 intros and new features and products planned for 2020. If you haven’t already, bookmark this report now. It’s a keeper!

6. HT's 2019 Top Women in Restaurant Technology
This article details the accomplishments of 10 women who have made strides in restaurant technology on both the operator and vendor side. The 2019 class includes:
Rising Stars: Carissa De Santis, TGI Fridays; Laura Kirkwood, Merivale; Cacy Merrifield, Sonic Drive-In; Sif Rai, QikServe;
Innovators: Nora Naranjo, eatsa (now Brightloom); Kesha Williams, Chick-fil-A; Allison Page, Seven Rooms; Kathy Hartman, HubKonnect, and
Lifetime Achievement: (10 or more years experience): Laura Rea Dickey, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit; and Kristi Turner, Compeat.
Did you know: HT's article on the 2019 Top Women in Restaurant Technology and HT’s 2019 Lodging Technology Study were both recognized by the FOLIO Awards for editorial excellence? (Kinda like the Oscars of journalism!) BTW, you can nominate your restaurant tech rockstar for the 2020 Top Women Awards here. Deadline is Jan. 11.

5. 2019 Customer Engagement Technology Study
This study is on the most-read lists for hotels and restaurants alike. Let’s face it: all hospitality companies want to know how to engage more efficiently and frequently with first-time and loyal guests. Book mark this must-read study now.

4. Hospitality Technology Magazine Launches the Restaurant Technology Network, Welcomes Founding Members and Board of Governors
Good news travels fast! HT officially unveiled the Restaurant Technology Network (RTN), a membership community dedicated to technology innovation for restaurants at the Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference (MURTEC®) in Las Vegas. RTN membership is open to restaurant operators and the technology suppliers that serve them and has quickly grown to 84 member com-panies, including leading restaurant brands such as Brinker International, CKE Restaurant Group, Wendy’s, Dunkin Brands, Bloomin’ Brands, Fire¬house Subs alongside technology suppliers like Comcast Business, Oracle, OpenTable, Restau¬rant 365. This group enables members to come together to solve industry pain points through peer workgroups, standards development and best practices and is already tackling common problems with third-party marketplace integration and open APIs.

3. 2019 Restaurant Technology Study: Exponential Digital Drives Quantum Convenience
HT is known for its outstanding industry research, so it is no wonder that the 2019 Restaurant Technology Study is among the most-read stories of the year. This report is a perennial powerhouse of restaurant tech insights. This year’s report, which is the 21st annual study!, reveals that restaurant technology spend is on the rise - and for good reason. Digital is not only changing technology, it is creating completely new service models and expectations at a dizzying pace. Where are restaurants investing now? In the future? Download this study now. (And be on the lookout for the 2020 survey, coming soon to your inbox!)

2. McDonald's Says Yes, You Want Mobile Payment With That
Between acquisitions and the ousting of Steve Easterbrook as CEO, McDonald's made plenty of headlines in 2019. Wrapping up the year, the company announced the news of its teaming with global payments platform, Adyen. With this, the Big Mac factory is putting yet more of its fries into its mobile/digital basket.

1. Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against DoorDash
The most-read restaurant story of the year involves a third-party delivery marketplace and class-action lawsuit from employees that alleges the service wasn’t paying them 100% of their tips; the company uses the gratuity to cover its costs for the guaranteed base pay promised. There was no shortage of DoorDash headlines in 2019 with both highs and lows, as the company acknowledged new partnerships, virtual kitchen strategies and acquisitions, as well as a data breach that impacted 5 million users.