AI for hospitality
Your kitchens and venues already produce the data, from equipment readings to the booking diary. We find where AI can take work off your teams, then build it into the tools they use.
What AI can do in a hospitality business
AI earns its place on the reading and admin around service: spotting an equipment fault in the logs before it stops a shift, forecasting covers from bookings and past trade, drafting rotas against that forecast, and answering the booking enquiries that come in every day.
How we engage with hospitality operators
Most engagements start with the AI Audit, with scope and fee agreed before the work starts. Some operators then continue with an Embedded AI Lead engagement to implement the roadmap, while others commission a bespoke build.
- AI Audit We measure where the hours go around service and hand back:
- Executive summary
- Interview and findings report
- Implementation roadmap
- Costing and benefit assessment
- Embedded AI Lead We implement the priorities you agree inside a defined delivery allocation, building the plan into the service week and training the teams who run it. from £5,000 a month
- AI Charter It writes down what AI is used for in your business and who owns each workflow it touches. optional, +£3,000
Implementing the plan is a separate decision. What goes live is measured against the hours the audit counted.
Already in production for UpNorth Group
For UpNorth Group, OpenKit built Kioti, an equipment monitoring system for dark kitchens that raises an alert when something needs attention, in native iOS and Android apps with a web console. It takes in more than 1,000 equipment readings an hour at 99.9% uptime, and the kitchen tablets keep working when the network drops. OpenKit is ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certified, holds Cyber Essentials and operates to UK GDPR.
Where operators like yours start
It connects your EPOS, your booking platform and the rest of the stack. Scoped at the audit.
It forecasts covers from bookings and past trade, then drafts the rota and the prep list against it.
It watches equipment readings across your sites and alerts the right person when something needs attention.
It lives inside the tools your team already uses, so nobody has to learn a new system.
Your managers get hours back from the admin around service, and equipment faults show up before they cost a shift. Information gets faster to find.
The audit works out yours.
Related work
Kioti monitors equipment in dark kitchens for UpNorth Group and is running in production. It is operational software, with no AI model inside it.
“Working with OpenKit proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable and collaborative experience; they were quick to adapt to industry specific challenges and applied their expertise in software development to deliver an enterprise grade full stack IOT solution. I was impressed with how creatively they were able to produce solutions when faced with complex and unexpected scenarios.”
Secure and private, as standard
Guest and staff data stays yours and never trains anyone else’s model, and we settle residency and lawful basis before we pick one. Private AI
ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and Cyber Essentials are certifications we hold, and we operate to UK GDPR, guest data included.
The questions that decide it
What does an AI audit look at in a hospitality business?
It looks at where the hours go around service and which of those jobs AI could take on. We talk to the people doing the work, on site and at head office, and hand back a prioritised roadmap with the cost and benefit of each change.
Will AI replace chefs or front-of-house staff?
No. The jobs worth handing to AI are the reading and admin around the work, such as equipment logs, forecasts, rotas and routine booking enquiries. The cooking and the hosting stay with your people.
We run several sites on different systems. Can AI work across them?
Usually, if the data can be reached. The audit maps which system holds what, from EPOS and bookings to rotas and supplier orders. Integration with each one is scoped per engagement, so tell us which platforms you run.
What happens if the network drops during service?
Anything built for a kitchen has to keep working through it. On Kioti, which we built for UpNorth Group, the kitchen tablets carry on through a dropped connection and reconcile when it comes back.
Can we keep guest and staff data in the UK?
Yes. Models can run in UK or EU regions, or inside an environment you control where the data calls for it. Your data never trains anyone else’s model, and we operate to UK GDPR.
Is a working automation included in the audit?
No. The standard audit delivers the findings, the roadmap and the cost and benefit assessment. Implementation is agreed separately.
Do we have to continue with OpenKit after the audit?
No. The audit is a standalone engagement. You use the findings to decide the next step.
Can you work with our existing IT provider?
Yes. We agree how to work alongside your IT provider and who is responsible for the systems involved. Access, integration and support arrangements are set for the engagement.
How is a hospitality AI engagement structured?
Most engagements open with the AI Audit, mapping where AI fits across your operation. The schedule is agreed in your proposal, alongside the scope. A build that follows is scoped against what the audit surfaces.
What does a hospitality AI engagement cost?
The audit is £10,000 excluding VAT at standard scope, agreed before the work starts. An AI Charter can be added for a further £3,000 excluding VAT, scope agreed separately. An Embedded AI Lead engagement starts from £5,000 a month excluding VAT. The floors are on our pricing page.
What could your business do with AI?
Find out with experts who become part of your team. We uncover opportunities, get ideas working, and help your people build on the results. We reply within one working day.