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With two British home teams in action, the tournament presents a major opportunity for hospitality operators to attract new audiences, increase dwell time and maximise revenue throughout matchdays. 

Hospitality businesses are well positioned to benefit from high footfall during major sporting events, but technology is increasingly providing the edge when it comes to speed of service, upselling opportunities, operational efficiency and customer retention. 

From mobile ordering and AI forecasting to smart POS systems and personalised promotions, tech is helping venues increase revenue without adding friction to the guest experience. 

Let customers order without leaving their seats 

During major matches, many customers do not want to risk missing key moments by queueing at the bar. Mobile ordering technology allows venues to keep orders flowing while customers stay seated. 

QR ordering and payment systems allow guests to browse menus, place orders and pay directly from their phones, while digital menus can support upselling through prompts for add-ons, extra drinks or sharing dishes at the point of ordering. 

For operators, that creates opportunities to promote another round of drinks, premium serves or halftime food offers without adding pressure to front-of-house teams. 

Speed up service with integrated POS systems 

Long wait times can directly impact spend during high-footfall events. Integrated POS and payment systems help venues process more transactions quickly while keeping service moving. 

Modern hospitality platforms now combine payments, ordering and reporting into a single system, with self-service kiosks and handheld payment devices designed to reduce queues and improve speed of service in busy environments. 

Faster transactions mean venues can serve more customers during peak periods while also reducing abandoned purchases when bars are busy. 

Use AI forecasting to prepare for busy fixtures 

One of the biggest challenges during major tournaments is predicting demand accurately. Underestimate footfall and service suffers. Overestimate and costs rise unnecessarily. 

AI-powered forecasting tools are increasingly helping hospitality operators anticipate sales patterns and staffing requirements by combining data from POS, labour and inventory systems into a single dashboard. 

Christian Mouysset, Co-Founder of Tenzo, says: “Major football tournaments consistently drive hospitality demand. Tenzo’s data shows Euro 2024 delivered +11.3% average sales growth overall, with the group stages driving +15.1% uplift, while the 2022 World Cup delivered +18.6% average sales growth.”

For venues expecting World Cup crowds, more accurate forecasting can help ensure popular products remain in stock while staffing levels match demand. It also allows operators to identify which fixtures are likely to generate the highest spend and prepare accordingly.

Mouysset adds: “To capitalise on this demand, operators need to be able to react both before and during service, for example, to ensure staffing is aligned with forecast demand and to capitalise on upselling opportunities based on average spend per head. The operators seeing the strongest results are those using technology to respond in real time to gauge performance as it happens, rather than finding out it wasn’t as successful as they thought after the fact. After all, busyness is not always a sign of success.”

He continues: “Operators need to track labour, inventory and sales in real time to spot demand shifts and make decisions to protect service levels and maximise revenue. Instead of relying on retrospective reporting after the match has ended, operators can take real possession of each shift, adjusting staffing, stock, prep levels and promotions based on activity in the venue and on the field.”

Build upselling directly into digital menus 

Digital menus give operators far more flexibility than printed menus during fast-paced events. 

Venues can highlight limited-time bundles, premium drink upgrades, sharing dishes or halftime promotions based on live demand. QR ordering systems also create more opportunities for automated prompts such as “add fries”, “upgrade your drink” or “order another round”. 

This kind of embedded upselling becomes particularly valuable during major sporting fixtures where customers are ordering quickly and staff are under pressure. 

Tenzo’s data also reveals that England and Scotland fixtures have historically driven some of the highest spikes in demand, with sales uplifts of around 13-15%, while average transaction values increased by around 6%. According to Mouysset, this demonstrates that customers are spending more per visit during major fixtures, not simply visiting more frequently.

Use real-time data to optimise performance 

Sporting tournaments create huge spikes in operational data across short periods of time. Hospitality operators are increasingly using analytics platforms to make faster commercial decisions while events are still taking place. 

Operational dashboards can bring together sales, labour, inventory and customer feedback into one place, allowing operators to identify bestselling products, peak ordering periods and higher-margin sales opportunities in real time. 

For multi-site operators, visibility across venues can help teams react quickly throughout the tournament and adapt promotions, staffing or stock levels where needed. 

Mouysset says AI is now evolving beyond forecasting alone: “By securely connecting an operator’s data with an LLM, the business can ask AI to evaluate the data, identify trends and answer questions regarding how sales may be affected this time, transitioning data insights into reliable predictions and shift ‘game plans’.”

He adds: “The operators that will win this World Cup season will be the ones truly utilising their data - using AI forecasting and real-time insights to make smart decisions each shift.”

Turn tournament visitors into loyal customers 

The World Cup may only last a few weeks, but the customer relationships built during the tournament can continue long afterwards. 

Integrated hospitality platforms increasingly allow venues to capture customer data, loyalty sign-ups and marketing permissions during the ordering journey. That gives operators the opportunity to continue marketing to customers after the tournament ends through targeted offers and promotions. 

As venues prepare for another summer of major sport, hospitality technology is becoming less about novelty and more about commercial advantage. The operators that combine fast service with smart upselling strategies are likely to see the biggest gains when demand peaks. 

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