Big things just dropped at CaptiveWiFi.

In this episode Adam Forman walks through the most significant platform update in CaptiveWiFi's history. No guests, no interviews — just a straight-talking rundown of everything that has just shipped and what is coming next.

Covered in this episode: the Live Guest Dashboard, built after a conversation with Ben Heppell from Aqua Restaurant Group, now pulling in real-time spend data, loyalty points, CRM tags and a VIP triage from SevenRooms, ResDiary, Airship, Me&U and Klaviyo. A major feedback upgrade with new templates, emoji ratings, WhatsApp and SMS delivery, and SevenRooms feedback reporting. Competitor analysis against up to five locations. Fully branded scheduled email reports. Two brand new WiFi portal designs. And gamification — scratch cards, spin to win and shake to reveal, with live voucher integrations from Airship and Square.

If you work in hospitality and you want to know what connected guest data actually looks like in practice right now, this is the episode to start with.

#CaptiveWiFi #HospitalityTech #GuestExperience #Gamification #GuestData #ProductUpdate #CaptiveConversations

What does it actually take to bring a guest back? Not through aggressive re-targeting or bulk email sends, but in a way that fits inside a premium hospitality experience and makes the guest feel genuinely valued?

In this episode, recorded live on stage at HT360 at ExCeL London, Adam Forman sits down with Ben Heppell, Global Digital Marketing Director at Aqua Restaurant Group.

They talk about the repeat guest challenge that sits at the centre of Ben's role, why ecommerce tactics do not translate into premium dining, and what changes when you start connecting WiFi visit data to your reservation and CRM systems. Ben also shares how Aqua changed the way they measure repeat guest rate and what that revealed about the real problem underneath a metric that looked fine on the surface.

A grounded, honest conversation from a practitioner doing this work in real venues, in real time.

#CaptiveConversations #HospitalityMarketing #GuestRetention #HospitalityTech #CaptiveWiFi #RepeatGuests #HT360

The guest journey doesn’t start at the door anymore.

It starts long before that.

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Natalie Dunning, CEO and Founder of Kitch, to unpack how hospitality is changing and why brands need to rethink how they attract, understand and retain their guests.

From data and CRM to TikTok, discoverability and automation, Natalie shares a clear view of where the industry is heading. This is a conversation built on real experience, from growing up around restaurants to building a business focused on helping hospitality brands connect the dots between marketing, operations and guest behaviour.

What stands out is how much has shifted.

Guests are discovering brands in completely different ways. Loyalty is no longer just about points. And the brands that are winning are the ones thinking more like ecommerce, building relationships before a guest even walks through the door.

This episode is a reminder that hospitality is still about people.

But understanding those people now starts much earlier.

#hospitality #guestexperience #marketing #crm #restaurants #data #captiveconversations

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Chloe Dodd and Alex O’Reilly, two people I’ve known for a while now and whose journey in hospitality is seriously impressive.

From nightclubs and bar floors to national sales roles and multi-site operations, this is a conversation built on real experience. Not theory. Not guesswork. Just years of being in it, figuring it out and now helping other businesses do it better.

We get into where hospitality is still getting it wrong. Missed enquiries, slow responses, teams not aligned and how simple things are still costing operators real money.

There’s also a lot of honesty in this one. About taking risks, backing yourself and why experience across both ops and sales gives you a completely different perspective.

If you’re in hospitality, this will feel very familiar.

And probably a little uncomfortable in the right way.

#hospitality #guestexperience #restaurants #sales #operations #captiveconversations

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Tom Stanley, founder of Williams Stanley & Co, to explore the financial realities facing hospitality operators today.

Tom shares his journey into hospitality finance and explains why understanding the numbers behind a venue is just as important as the guest experience on the floor.

The conversation explores the pressure operators face, how better financial visibility can support stronger decisions, and why hospitality businesses need to think differently about growth, investment and resilience in a changing market.

This episode is a practical and honest look at the intersection between finance, operations and hospitality leadership.

#hospitality #hospitalitybusiness #restaurantindustry #hospitalityfinance #restaurants #hospitalityleaders #captiveconversations

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam Forman sits down with Catherine Gwynne, founder of 2G Design and Build, to explore the psychology behind hospitality design.

Catherine shares her journey from travelling the world in the drinks industry to building a hospitality design company focused on how spaces truly work. The conversation dives into why the best venues start with people, not aesthetics, and how staff experience directly shapes the guest experience.

They explore the importance of flow, acoustics, atmosphere and emotional connection in hospitality spaces, and why operators must design environments that create memories if they want guests to return.

A fascinating conversation about the intersection of hospitality, culture and design.

#hospitality #restaurantdesign #guestexperience #hospitalityindustry #restaurants

In episode 85 of Captive Conversations, Adam speaks with Yaro Tsyhanenko about the hidden blind spot in modern hospitality: the pickup counter.

From building marketplaces in Ukraine to shutting down businesses when the war started, and rebuilding in the US, Yaro shares his journey and the operational problem that caught his attention. The gap between digital ordering systems and real-world pickup.

This episode explores timing, order accuracy, promise time performance, and why “completed” is not the same as “collected.” A must-listen for operators serious about growth and efficiency.

#hospitality #restaurantoperations #delivery #guestexperience #hospitalitytech #pickup #digitalordering

In this episode of Captive Conversations, Adam sits down with Gabrielle Goode, hospitality marketing consultant and founder of thehospitalitymarketer.co.ukGabrielle shares her journey from cocktail bartender in Nottingham to leading marketing roles across The Ivy Collection, Langan’s, Rhubarb and global hospitality brands. But this conversation goes deeper than career milestones. It explores what guests actually remember.“I don’t go there for the food. I go because I’m making a memory.”Together, they discuss emotional personalisation, loyalty done properly, leadership perspective, brand identity, and why hospitality must never lose its human core in a world of automation and AI.If you care about guest experience, loyalty, brand impact and long-term legacy in hospitality, this episode is for you.⸻Subscribe for more hospitality insights and visit www.captivewifi.io#HospitalityIndustry #RestaurantMarketing #GuestExperience #Leadership #HospitalityPodcast #BrandBuilding