Host: Chris FletcherGuests:
- Liz McKinnon – Strategic Accounts, Sky Business (13+ years at Sky)
- Jatin Chandwani – Chief Product & Growth Officer, Byte by Yum (overseeing KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger & Pizza Hut's SaaS platform)
Recorded live on stage, this episode dives deep into how reliable connectivity has become the backbone of modern hospitality operations — from QSR chains to stadia. The conversation covers how real-time data, AI-driven automation, and seamless guest experiences are all dependent on getting the fundamentals of connectivity right.
1. The Three C's of Connectivity (Liz McKinnon)
- Coverage – ensuring your restaurant has signal everywhere it needs
- Capacity – handling the growing volume of data traffic
- Connectivity – making it fit for purpose and reviewing it continuously, not just at install
2. Connectivity as a Data Continuity Engine (Jatin Chandwani)
- Connectivity has evolved from a utility (like water or electricity) to a mission-critical data pipeline
- Without it, team members work blind and guest experience suffers immediately
- Digital orders (mobile app, aggregators, kiosks) can make up 30–60% of revenue — all dependent on connectivity
3. Speed, Taste & Experience in QSR
- The challenge of serving fresh food (e.g. KFC's 15-min cook time) to customers who expect it in 2 minutes
- Technology and data forecasting are key to managing this tension
- AI forecasting for inventory and labor scheduling has delivered measurable improvements
4. Real-Time Data & Agentic AI
- Moving from "dashboard era" (acting on yesterday's data) to agentic workflows (acting within the shift)
- Fryer data, hot-hold systems, sales data and customer data combined = next best action in real time
- Properly connected stores can improve performance by 10–20%
- Kill switches and guardrails are essential — AI governance must be built in from day one, not added later
5. Guest WiFi as a Business Channel
- "Snacking data" — QSR customers connect briefly; stadia customers stay for hours; both need seamless WiFi
- Guest connectivity supports app check-ins, order status, and acquisition/retention
- WiFi splash pages can drive promotions, loyalty sign-ups, and personalized messaging
6. GDPR & Consent> "Bad consent kills good data. Good consent builds long-term customer relationships." — Jatin Chandwani
- GDPR is not a constraint — it's a trust engine
- Sky supports customers with a robust framework to handle data collection properly
- Targeted, meaningful consent leads to better, more relevant customer conversations
7. The Future: Unified Ecosystems
- Operators must move away from point solutions toward unified, connected ecosystems
- AI + connectivity together will automate mundane tasks, reduce team cognitive load, and elevate the customer experience
- "We're moving from the age of dashboards to the age of agent workflows for specific business outcomes." — Jatin Chandwani
- "You cannot function without connectivity." — Jatin Chandwani
- "It's not install and forget — you put it in and you re-look at it." — Liz McKinnon
- "We were dropping money on the floor because of poor connectivity." — Chris Fletcher
- "Humans are craving more human connection — tech should free up your team to provide that." — Jatin Chandwani
- Treat connectivity like labour and food cost — it belongs at the boardroom table
- Review and right-size your connectivity estate regularly as your tech stack evolves
- Build redundancy and failover into your solution — downtime is immediately visible in sales
- Partner with your connectivity provider; it's an evolving relationship, not a one-time install
- Start collecting consented, structured data now — it's the foundation for everything AI will enable
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