Author: Alastair Winsey, founder of AIVA Revolution

Twenty minutes from order to delivery – that’s the new normal.  

Deliveroo brings dinner to your door faster than you can decide what to watch on Netflix. It’s an extraordinary level of speed and convenience, driven by tech giants with billion-dollar budgets that have completely rewritten how customers expect to be served.

For hospitality, that’s both the challenge and the opportunity. If the sector is going to stay relevant, venues must be more competitive, more forward-thinking, and far more connected to their guests than ever before.

And while hospitality provides a vivid example, this shift is rippling across every service-led sector, from retail to real estate, where relationships and responsiveness now define competitive advantage.

Because the truth is simple: younger generations won’t wait. Whether it’s a wedding, a restaurant booking, or a weekend escape, they expect instant answers. If they don’t get them, they move on, not tomorrow, but within minutes.

And even after they’ve left, the relationship shouldn’t end. Guests who’ve had a brilliant experience rarely return on their own. They’re waiting to be invited back, but most venues never follow up. I experienced this myself on a recent holiday. We had a fantastic stay, but there was no follow-up, no reminder, no reason to return. Another lost opportunity that the managing director probably never even knew existed.

That’s the real gap technology can close.

Because hospitality isn’t just about service anymore – it’s about nurture.