Amazon Officially Enters Restaurant Technology Market with SevenRooms

SevenRooms, an all-in-one reservation, seating and guest management platform, announced an investment from Amazon’s Alexa Fund to introduce in-service, voice-enabled technology for the restaurant industry. The funding marks the first investment the Alexa Fund has made in a restaurant technology company, and will pave the way for SevenRooms to integrate Amazon Alexa into its restaurant operations and guest relationship management experience.

SevenRooms is a front-of-house technology company entirely focused on empowering operators to establish and maintain a direct relationship with their guests. Building on its track record of delivering best-in-class tools for restaurant operators and a deep understanding of front-of-house operations, the company will leverage the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) to build an Alexa skill that enables restaurant operators to use a wide array of voice commands for everyday in-service use. For example, managers could ask Alexa about the guests sitting at table 12, while servers could ask if any guests in the dining room have allergies. The technology will help operators create a more personalized experience for their guests at an instant, without having to lift a finger. Understanding guest data and having immediate access to the correct information through Alexa can help a restaurant make every guest feel like a regular more easily, converting a one-time diner into a frequent guest.

“Voice-powered technology is already impacting every industry, and continues to play a central role in the daily lives of consumers and the businesses they interact with,” said Joel Montaniel, Founder and CEO of SevenRooms. “At SevenRooms we are always looking at ways our technology can streamline operations while personalizing and humanizing the guest experience. Hospitality operators have long relied on an interface or screen to access information, taking attention away from their guests and operations. Voice eliminates this need, enabling them to shift their attention back to what matters most: the guest. We are excited to leverage this investment from Amazon to bring Alexa to SevenRooms, furthering our mission of enabling high-touch hospitality by creating powerful tools that are invisible to guests, but invaluable to the operator."

“Much like Amazon itself, SevenRooms is a company that understands the importance of an incredible customer experience. By deploying their technology, restaurant operators can make smarter decisions on marketing, guest relationship management, staffing, and more, and ultimately present dining guests with a more enjoyable experience,” said Paul Bernard, Director of the Alexa Fund at Amazon. “We have been impressed by the company’s growth over the past year, and we are eager to see more restaurants begin to adopt SevenRooms and utilize Alexa as a way to interact with its service.”

Following a $8M Series A funding round, led by Comcast Ventures in December 2017, SevenRooms has been able to accelerate its strategic growth plans, with the addition of new restaurant, nightlife and enterprise customers around the globe over the past nine months, as well as nearly doubling its total number of employees.