Blog
Practical writing for independent operators on hospitality CRM, bookings, loyalty, EPOS, guest retention and marketing — from the team building Grace OS inside a working restaurant.
20 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
When you adopt a hospitality platform, you hit a choice about card processing. Here is how to weigh the platform's payments against bringing your own, without getting talked into either.
Read17 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · CRM
Your booking system knows one Sarah. Your till knows another. Your WiFi knows a third. Here is why that costs you more than it looks, told through one regular's evening.
Read15 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Hospitality Operations
Running five separate systems costs more than five bills. It costs the time to wrangle them and the data lost between them. Here is the honest case for consolidating, and the honest case against.
Read13 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Marketing
Most venue marketing is a newsletter sent to everyone and a hope. Here is how to use what you already know about your guests to actually fill tables, and how to tell what worked.
Read10 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · EPOS
Most tills know what was sold and nothing about who sat there. When the till and the booking system share one record, small things change all night, and they add up.
Read8 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
Three payment options that suit three different kinds of venue. Here is the honest version of who each one is really for, and what to check before you switch.
Read6 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Loyalty
A standalone loyalty app can only reward what it can see, which is usually a check-in. Loyalty built into the till sees the whole bill, and that changes what it can do.
Read3 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Reservations
Three booking setups, three different bets about where your covers come from. Here is the honest version of who each one suits.
Read1 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
Card fees are one of the larger costs in a venue and one of the least understood. Here is what you are actually paying for, how to read a rate, and how to get money in before the night even starts.
Read29 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Loyalty
Most loyalty schemes either do nothing or quietly train your best guests to wait for money off. Here is how to build one that actually brings people back, from someone who has run the floor.
Read26 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · CRM
Plenty of products carry the word CRM. Far fewer do the five jobs a hospitality CRM is actually for. Here is the working checklist.
Read24 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · EPOS
Three very different kinds of till get pitched to independents, and they suit very different venues. Here is the honest version of who each one is really for.
Read20 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
When you adopt a hospitality platform, you hit a choice about card processing. Here is how to weigh the platform's payments against bringing your own, without getting talked into either.
Read17 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · CRM
Your booking system knows one Sarah. Your till knows another. Your WiFi knows a third. Here is why that costs you more than it looks, told through one regular's evening.
Read15 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Hospitality Operations
Running five separate systems costs more than five bills. It costs the time to wrangle them and the data lost between them. Here is the honest case for consolidating, and the honest case against.
Read13 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Marketing
Most venue marketing is a newsletter sent to everyone and a hope. Here is how to use what you already know about your guests to actually fill tables, and how to tell what worked.
Read10 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · EPOS
Most tills know what was sold and nothing about who sat there. When the till and the booking system share one record, small things change all night, and they add up.
Read8 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
Three payment options that suit three different kinds of venue. Here is the honest version of who each one is really for, and what to check before you switch.
Read6 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Loyalty
A standalone loyalty app can only reward what it can see, which is usually a check-in. Loyalty built into the till sees the whole bill, and that changes what it can do.
Read3 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Reservations
Three booking setups, three different bets about where your covers come from. Here is the honest version of who each one suits.
Read1 July 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Payments
Card fees are one of the larger costs in a venue and one of the least understood. Here is what you are actually paying for, how to read a rate, and how to get money in before the night even starts.
Read29 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · Loyalty
Most loyalty schemes either do nothing or quietly train your best guests to wait for money off. Here is how to build one that actually brings people back, from someone who has run the floor.
Read26 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · CRM
Plenty of products carry the word CRM. Far fewer do the five jobs a hospitality CRM is actually for. Here is the working checklist.
Read24 June 2026 · Simon Hatfield · EPOS
Three very different kinds of till get pitched to independents, and they suit very different venues. Here is the honest version of who each one is really for.
Read