Life Is Not Fair
Michael “Schatzy” Schatzberg
??Hospitality|Investor?? Food Service|Technology|Innovation|Emerging Brands|Restaurant Owner|Venture Capitalist|TechStars Mentor|Advisor|Co Founder| Podcaster???Influencer?? Managing Partner|Talk Show Host
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Friends of Branded!
Happy Saturday and I hope you had a great week!
Life is not fair! How many times have you heard that, felt that or believed that?
My daughter is a rising second grader and the wonderful teachers at her school have explained to me that this is an age where fairness is a big deal. A very big deal.
I suppose I’ve never grown out of that phase, b/c I’ve been obsessed with fairness my entire life, have no intention of changing that and to be clear, I’m also completely comfortable with that.
Despite my obsession with fairness, I do know that adage or maybe response when someone believes that they’ve been treated unfairly; “who says life is fair, where is that written?”
Therefore, if you believe in fairness, but you also understand that life isn’t fair, are you simply stuck in an unwinnable situation and destined to be frustrated when unfairness presents itself and is not correctable?
Well, in certain situations (probably many in fact), yes, yes your are.
In life, sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield. The important thing is to understand which role you’re playing in any given situation and to a certain extent, accept it and move on.
However, I’m not remotely a defeatist person (and I encourage you not to be one either). When faced with challenges, obstacles or otherwise, if I believe the juice is worth the squeeze, I’m going to exhaust every path until I figure out how to get through it, around it, under it, over it or make the best of the situation as I can.
Bringing it home and of course back to the world of hospitality, I’ve been hearing a great deal lately about how unfair the industry is specifically to restaurant operators. As an operator-centric platform, we’re on the team, we hear you and most importantly, we want any and all injustices to be addressed! Will we, as an industry, be successful at addressing all the things that are unfair? Spoiler alert, not a chance, but we can address many of them.
The most recent spat or maybe rants of unfairness I’ve been hearing about is specifically about restaurant pricing and to be crystal clear, while Branded works in the world of hospitality and for our platform, we define that as any venue that sells or serves food & beverages and engages with guests. As you can imagine, the breadth and depth of venues that sell or serve food and beverage and engages with guests is large! This includes restaurants, hotels, stadiums & arenas, airports, colleges & universities, corporate cafeterias, and more (yes, this single industry that is “hospitality” is a wonderfully BIG one).
When I bring up the issue of pricing and this unfairness, I’m specifically talking about restaurant pricing and the surge of attention on dynamic pricing or as Branded prefers to call it, revenue management. This week alone I read a number of articles on dynamic pricing and the overall frustration customers are experiencing and as one journalist wrote, a “driving sense of fatigue.”
There’s no question that Branded is best known for its work in the restaurant industry and specifically with emerging technology, innovation, and brands. As written above, we view the hospitality as being much broader than that and includes the myriad of venues that serve and sell food and beverage.
I’m thrilled that sports and entertainment play such a large role in the world of hospitality and how important F&B is to the sports and entertainment experience. Yes, I accept that fans don’t go to the game, match, concert or show for the food & beverage, but I bet it’s rare that you’ve ever been to a live event and not engaged or enjoyed an F&B offering.
This weekend on both sides of the pond, the CONEBOL Copa America tournament (in Miami) and the UEFA European Championship (in Berlin) will take place. While I can’t imagine any match-up wouldn’t garner incredible attention, Argentina vs Columbia in the Copa America Finals and Spain vs England in the Euro Cup Finals are both juggernauts!
No, the H^2 is not attempting to be your weekend sports section, but our engagement in The Tamias Fan Zone fueled by ComAve and the official fan zone of the CONBEBOL Copa America, has been an amazing experience for Branded and I are say a demonstration of how emerging tech, innovation and brands can contribute value and increase the fan engagement at these live events.
This weekend I’ll be down in Miami for meetings with our global partners at ComAve as we work towards building the world’s largest sports fans community. You’re correct, our ambition isn’t a small one and our goal is to create a worldwide community for sports fans (and I think you all know what Branded feels about the importance of community). No, we’re not specifically focused on what happens on the field, court, or pitch, but we know that fans want to be engaged, rewarded for their loyalty and desire personalized experiences. These are all themes that were mentioned above in the Top of the Fold as I wrote about restaurants and they’re pervasive in all aspects of hospitality.
Branded invites readers of the H^2 that are interested in learning more about our portfolio companies, and investment strategies to become part of our Access Hospitality Network.
While everyone is getting their summer started we are brining you a special Hospitality Hangout re-wind episode this week! Michael Schatzberg, “The Restaurant Guy,” and Jimmy Frischling, “The Finance Guy,” sat down with Don Fox, former CEO of Firehouse Subs.
Tune in to learn about his rise from Dishwasher to CEO. Don also shared a few career highlights, including an incredible story about him and Shaq - you won’t want to miss it! So fire up the grill or pop open a cold Pepsi and enjoy this re-wind special!
Who made the B List?
TECHNOLOGY
Navigating the Restaurant Market: Strategies for Success with Multi-Unit Brands
By: Seth Temko, Solutions Services Partner at Branded Hospitality Ventures
The restaurant industry is dominated by single-unit operators, but the real challenge lies in capturing the attention of the few multi-unit brands through patience, persistence, and exceptional value.
MARKETING
BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS: 2024 Restaurant Technology Outlook
By: Rev Ciancio, Head of Revenue Marketing at Branded Hospitality Ventures
Do you love industry reports? I love industry reports. I especially love industry reports when they have accuracy, relevancy and share insights on what I need to be thinking about to move my business forward!
That’s it for today!
See you next week, (about the) same bat-time, same bat-channel.
It takes a village!
Branded Hospitality Ventures ("Branded") is an investment and advisory platform at the intersection of food service, technology, innovation and capital. As experienced hospitality owners and operators, Branded brings value to its portfolio companies through investment, strategic counsel, and its deep industry expertise and connections.
Learn more about Branded here: Branded At-A-Glance