Restaurant Innovation Summit

Qualifications
Registration is open only to individuals directly employed by an operating restaurant company. Service/product providers are welcome to attend as sponsors. If you’re interested in sponsoring,  contact Kathie Vu at kvu@restaurant.org or (202) 331-5910.

Hotel Information

Hilton Austin
500 East 4th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 482-8000

Rooms are $229/night plus tax. Click here to make your room reservation online or by calling (512) 482-8000 and asking for the National Restaurant Association rate. The room block expires August 19.

The current session lineup includes:

Swim with Sharks
When you evaluate tech and marketing solution partners, it helps to think like a venture capitalist – what stands out to them as a viable company, what’s unique about the solution, and how can you tell a good pitch from a bad one? Listen in as we share how to navigate the waters like a venture capitalist. 

I Know What You Want
Netflix suggests content based on subscribers’ viewing preferences. Google Now notifies travelers, based on traffic, of the ideal time to head to the airport. To satisfy customers’ desires for streamlined experiences, some restaurants are utilizing predictive ordering technology. Learn how to use your data to predict your guests’ next order and offer it up before they even ask. 

99 Problems, Butts in Seats Ain’t One
A virtual or ghost restaurant is one that doesn’t have a traditional storefront. Instead, all food is produced in house but only served to customers via delivery. It’s also an opportunity to try new concepts and menu items based purely on performance data. We’ll explore the technical and marketing side of having 99 problems, but butts in seats ain’t one.

How a’Bot It? 
Many companies are experimenting with artificially intelligent bots as an interface to allow guests to place orders. Robots themselves are not exactly warm and hospitable (remember HAL 9000?). Check out our bot in action while learning how tech can work in tandem with marketing to create the perfect bot to converse with and place an order.

Running a 100-year old company like a startup
4th Generation Owner, Niki Russ Federman was pretty much born in a herring barrel, with a sharp knife in her hand and a penchant for caviar. Hear how Russ & Daughters’ landmark retail shop, its online business, Russ & Daughters Cafe, Russ & Daughters Bagels and Bakery, and Russ & Daughters at The Jewish Museum (early 2016) have evolved into a booming biz.

Can you hear me now? Audio Ordering
The advent of new technologies like Siri, Alexa, and Home have made it easier than ever to get what you want simply through talking. It’s already possible to request music, add items to your Amazon shopping cart, and even order food by having a conversation with these devices. What can restaurant companies do to make sure the next time a guest is hungry, it’s your pizza being delivered or your restaurant that gets the reservation? What does the future of audio ordering mean for the restaurant industry? 

Live Streaming Workshop 
One of the newest ways to connect with your online following, live stream video allows you to showcase real-time snippets of restaurant activity and simultaneously interact with your social media community. In this workshop, learn hands-on all about live streaming as a unique marketing tactic from start to finish. 

Let’s All Get Along, Y’all
We all want to better serve our restaurant customers, but approach and styles can be very different sometimes. Hear from a speaker with a history of helping companies build collaborative workspaces to learn how, finally, IT and Marketing can work together to build something beautiful. 

The New POS
Many restaurant brands are turning away from legacy POS companies to embrace the new and shiny devices out there. So who’s the best? What are the pros and cons of leaving a legacy system behind? And will those old brands catch up?