The simplicity is great.

Customer talk
Neil Braude

The Royal National hotel in central London offers more than 1630 rooms to travelers visiting the city from around the world. We sat down with Neil Braude, the hotel director, to hear more about the reasons for adding a Wundermart shop to his hotel.

The Royal National already offers a diverse range of planned and impulse F&B options. With 2 breakfast restaurants, a sandwich shop and a London pub, the hotel cater to many needs. ‘The F&B service is very important to us’, Neil says, ‘as it delivers on the expectation of guests that our hotel offers everything they might need during their stay’.

The simplicity of the shop is a great advantage

With this in mind, why would you add another outlet to the mix? ‘The simplicity of the shop means that it doesn’t rely on staff to operate it, which is a great advantage’, he explains, ‘but apart from this, we also liked the quality of the shop and the way it lifts the look of the lobby.’

With such a fast payback period it’s an easy decision to make.

Performance close to forecast

So, it ticks the boxes of appearance and easy operation, but how are the sales going? ‘We’re delighted and very impressed to see the performance of the shop is close to what was forecasted. At this rate the investment of the shop will be paid off in 4 months.’ For a shop that has been in business for only a few weeks, this is great feedback to hear.

Apart from the sales results there is another reason that Neil is positive about the solution. Staff and guests are also happy with the new shop. ‘It offers both additional revenue and service’, which enhance the overall performance of the Royal National.

It is a no-brainer

What initially sparked his interest in Wundermart was the basic premise. ‘With a 24/7 autonomous shop that is never It is great to talk to a happy customer like Neil, so we asked him what we should say about our shops to convince others. ‘It is a no-brainer. The solution enhances the guest experience and increases revenue; 2 things that are rarely offered in this sector’, he sums up, ‘And with such a fast payback period it is an easy decision to make.’