In light of recent events & the devastating effect the Covid -19 virus has had across the country – in particular the Hospitality Industry, Loyalty Pro & One Chester embarked on a mission to provide not only a lifeline for small businesses but a long term solution to keeping our city alive!

Rob Meakin, Managing Director of Loyalty Pro sat down to discuss how the initiative came about, the effect the pandemic has had on us all & where he sees the future of both the app & hospitality in general.

1. What gave you the initial idea for the one-chester community app?

It was evolution rather than revolution, as we developed a card based community loyalty scheme back in 2017 for CH2/Hoole, and built an app for it a year or so later. We’ve been refining it ever since. The CH2 system has almost 4000 subscribers in the area and has recorded over 1.2 million in purchases. Shoppers have redeemed almost 50k in vouchers earned on spend, plus the scheme had generated over £2.5k for local charity as a result.  I had been talking with Izzy Grey of We Love Good Times about adapting the CH2 system to provide a high-tech successor to the old Charisma card which Chester had some years back. When the covid-19 crisis hit we realised we could provide some extra facilities without charge to help out by widening the area of the CH2 scheme to encompass CH1,3 and 4 as well. Hence we called it One-Chester

2.Why do you think Chester needs an app based community scheme?

Chester and the surrounding areas are far from immune to the decline in the high street that has been prevalent for a decade or two since the rise of out of town shopping and online purchasing. A community based app works for everyone, the traders get a new channel for their offers, local people get incentivised to shop locally, local planners can gain valuable insight into shopping habits and local charities benefit from points donated.

3. Have you noticed a bigger sense of community since the Covid-19 crisis? If so, how?

On the street and in social media, yes definitely. It’s clear people want to support their local community through these tough times. The challenge is for the authorities to adapt to the zeitgeist and assist them in being able to do so.

4. Do you think consumers' shopping habits have changed? If so, how?

We spend a fair bit of time out at the retail areas ensuring our listings are up to date with who is open and what services are being offered, and we have noticed a big queues outside the local butchers and grocers for example, it’s appears that the small clusters of shops in suburbs and outlying villages are benefiting. Whilst this may have started  because the big out of town retail centres have been closed, and supermarkets have been a challenge, I think more people have realised the value of shopping local and hopefully they will continue to do so.

5. How do you see the new Venue Menu feature assisting with the needs of hospitality based businesses?

We added that facility to each business listing because it’s clear that people are not going to be sharing printed menus any time soon. But many independents may struggle to get their menu’s and associated restrictions online and viewable, and also to quickly update them as they adapt. I hope we’ve made it quick and easy to do so.  The big benefit to the public is they can view menus on the app before they reach the venue, or whilst queuing. 

6. Do you think tech could be the future of hospitality in general?

Tech can do so much more than is generally implemented. For example proximity solutions that we already offer can be used to alert the hotel or restaurant when you arrive in the car park, automatically check you in, provide you with welcome and marketing messages on arrival. These things can improve the customer experience, help with social distancing, and cut down on queuing. But it’s not just the hospitality sector who can benefit from this sort of tech - it’s all businesses. During lockdown people have embraced tech such as zoom and contactless payments, these things are not going to go away.

7.How do you see Chester moving forward as we exit lockdown? 

I hope to see Chester being much more pro-active in the changing environment. The local authorities have always appeared to me to be reluctant to embrace and support new ideas and technology, leading to Chester falling behind. For example, many towns far smaller already have a plan and implementation dates for 5G roll-outs, and other places have put themselves forward to for the trial of new modes of transport such as e-scooters, many towns have shared wifi. Chester is a brilliant place with unique architecture and history but that doesn’t preclude it from enhancing the visitor experience with the modern facilities that people expect these days.

With the restaurants & bars getting ready to open this weekend, we encourage all patrons & restaurants to download the Loyalty Pro App. This is completely free of charge & compatible with both Apple & Android devices.

If you are a venue & would like to take advantage of our new & completely free VENUE MENU scheme, please email Rob.meakin@loyaltypro.co.uk for further information.