2 - Tech Has A Cost. And Money Is Only Part Of It
Published: 05.02.2026
Managers didn’t leave the floor because they wanted to. They were dragged into admin. Rotas, compliance, stock, payroll, dashboards. That vacuum is what let tech flood hospitality and quietly pulled management presence off the floor.
Tech was supposed to do the boring bits quietly in the background, so managers could stay on the floor. Running the shift. Setting the tone. Coaching their teams in real time. Orchestrating the service that turns transactions into experiences
To be clear, I like tech. But it belongs in the back of house. Used properly, it helps. Used badly, it costs us money, time, and the personal touch hospitality is built on. And there’s now a widening gap between what tech promises and what it actually delivers.
A small to mid-size UK hospitality business can easily spend £400 to £900 a month on “essential” platforms. Sometimes per business. Sometimes per site. That’s £5,000 to £11,000 a year before anyone has saved time or stepped back onto the floor. And that’s before you count the invisible cost. The human one.
The pitch was simple. Buy the platform. Automate the work. Free the humans. Put them back on the floor.
Lovely idea. Reality check. The work doesn’t disappear. It just moves. From paper to platforms. And quietly becomes someone’s second job. You still need people fixing errors, reconciling stock, chasing compliance, interpreting reports, and explaining why the numbers don’t match. Tech creates data. It doesn’t make decisions. People do.
Tech support is where things really slipped. Ten or fifteen years ago, tech teams came to site and trained managers in real conditions. Now onboarding is a rationed Zoom call at midday or mid-service. Miss it and you’re on your own. The real problems show up weeks later, and “support” often means emails and links. That’s not help. So now you’re paying monthly and burning internal time just to keep systems running.
That’s why managers don’t leave the office. Tech didn’t replace them. It retooled them. Instead of whiteboards and paper, they’re exporting CSVs, checking sync issues, and stitching together dashboards before the P&L. That’s not less admin. It’s different admin. More fragile. And completely invisible.
Tech can work, but only under strict conditions. Fewer platforms. Clear ownership. Proper training. And an honest acceptance that tech supports people. It doesn’t replace leadership or presence. Keep adding subscriptions hoping for magic and you’ll get noise, not clarity. Used well, tech sharpens good businesses. Used blindly, it pulls great managers off the floor. Choose tech that protects the human part of the business. Once that’s gone, no platform will bring it back.
HERE’S YOUR CHALLENGE
What is the one thing you want tech to support without damaging human hospitality?
Look past the demo. Where will this company be in three, five, ten years? Will it still support you?
Check integrations properly. Not “it connects” but how, with what, and who fixes it when it breaks.
Invest in tech support. And be demanding. Insist on training that supports your business, not their sales narrative. Real sessions. Real scenarios. Your problems.
Ignore the buzzwords. “AI support” means nothing if you still don’t understand how Face ID works on your phone.
Be honest about your team. If no one truly understands the tech, you’re not buying efficiency. You’re buying dependency. Set expectations accordingly.