Como's Rubén Recio Nogales on loyalty that actually works, frictionless data and why WhatsApp is coming for UK hospitality

Loyalty used to mean a stamp card and a prayer. Not anymore. This week Chris sits down with Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development at Como (now Como Sense), to unpack what modern customer engagement really looks like, and why most operators are sitting on a goldmine of data they're not using.

Como describes itself as a data company that specialises in customer engagement. It sits between your operational side and your CRM, pulls in every transaction (identified or not) and surfaces the insights that actually move the needle. Think 3,000 lapsed members targeted in two clicks, or spotting the customers one stamp away from a reward who'll react to almost anything you send them.

Rubén and Chris get into penetration rates (why 15 to 30 percent is normal and how one client hit 80), why loyalty members consistently outspend everyone else, and the frontline staff who quietly make or break the whole thing. They also look ahead at WhatsApp marketing, automated segmentation, AI driven reporting, and the holy grail Live Nation are chasing: card tokenisation that identifies the guest with zero friction at the till.

Honest, practical and refreshingly free of hype. If you're an operator with data you don't know what to do with, this one's for you.

Key talking points:

• Why "loyalty" got a bad name, and what's changed
• Penetration rate explained, and why 80 percent is wild
• The two click campaign and reading customer behaviour
• WhatsApp marketing: massive in the Middle East, heading to the UK
• Card tokenisation and frictionless loyalty (the Live Nation play)
• Where AI fits: segmentation, reporting and machine learning
• Why your GM matters more than your software
• When to change systems, and when to leave a good thing alone

Guest: Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development, ComoFind Rubén: LinkedIn (Rubén Recio Nogales). Como are also on the Tech on Toast marketplace.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro and Lightspeed
• 01:05 Meet Rubén, single parenting and 19 year old cucumber dramas
• 02:18 Spain to the UK, an ice cream stall in Westfield
• 03:01 What Como actually does
• 04:25 Acquired by Global Payments, what the name means
• 05:09 The state of hospitality tech
• 08:06 Why the old loyalty schemes failed
• 09:24 The value exchange and the Starbucks lesson
• 11:00 Penetration rate and business insights in two clicks
• 12:29 The Nando's chilli effect
• 15:31 AI and machine learning in the product
• 16:11 Como across 50+ countries
• 17:26 WhatsApp marketing and cultural differences
• 21:02 Loyalty members spend more, and why
• 23:07 Penetration rate explained, and the 80 percent client
• 24:52 The frontline staff who make loyalty work
• 27:20 Should you switch systems? An honest answer
• 30:47 Live Nation, tokenisation and the frictionless holy grail
• 32:47 How to get hold of Rubén
• 33:41 Chris leaves his daughter at the vets