Spending a morning with Hospitality leaders at a recent briefing hosted by Ops Club, meant there was only one topic on everyone’s mind: the Budget. The conversation was honest, practical, and full of insights that cut through the noise.
Here are the themes that stood out and what they mean for suppliers and partners looking to show up for operators in the months ahead.
This was the strongest message in the room. Operators will look at every other line on the P&L before cutting labour, for two clear reasons:
Their teams are already under pressure.
Many employees are struggling with rising living costs and taking even a few hours away risks losing the best people. As one operator said: “Why would I risk my strongest shift leaders for the sake of 15 minutes?”
Lower staffing means slower service, reduced standards, and fewer repeat visits.
The priority right now isn’t labour cuts — it is labour productivity. With consumers spending less, experience is everything.
This idea resonated across the room. People aren’t falling in love with Hospitality in the way they used to. This means operators are focusing on protecting and empowering the teams they already have.
In order to to do this, they’re looking at:
This was also an area of discussion in our recent webinar with KAM and late night operator, Nightcap. Watch the webinar here on demand.
Customer behaviour is too unpredictable for 12-month forecasts to be relied on. Operators are rebuilding their 2026 forecasts already because the old models no longer hold.
They need support to forecast:
And they need to do it far more frequently than before.This is where tech can really show it’s true value. Next-gen solutions underlined by AI capabilities can now forecast with much greater accuracy than legacy models. By accounting for real-time variables such as weather, school holidays, local events, and more, these forecasts can better support GMs to be ready for anything the shift might bring.
Popeyes COO, Neil Williamson, described the results of using a next-gen WFM:
1% labour improvement in the first 4-6 weeks. Easy to use, intuitive. GMs are getting used to it and already believe in the benefits.
With the business-rates review landing next year, operators expect significant pressure. The operators in the room weren’t asking for miracles — they were looking for practical support that protects their teams and their customer experience.
The biggest opportunities are in:
Budgets are tightening, but expectations aren’t.
➡️ If you want to find out more on how Sona can help reduce costs, manage accurate forecasting and better equip teams, please chat with us today.