The Feed 152- Centralizing restaurant comms with Randall Hom of Hostie
Jun 23, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Randall Hom, Co-founder of Hostie and a seasoned product designer, reveals how his AI-driven platform streamlines restaurant communications by centralizing calls, texts, and emails. He dives into the significant challenge restaurants face with phone inquiries and highlights how Hostie automates 80% of these interactions. Randall also shares insights on the future of AI in restaurants, emphasizing its potential to empower operators while alleviating repetitive tasks, ultimately enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction.
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From Family Eatery To Problem Discovery
- Randall describes converting his family's closed bar into a restaurant and later starting Back-to-Back with his sister.
- Operating the restaurant exposed him to nonstop calls and repetitive guest questions that inspired Hostie.
Multi-Channel Centralized Comms
- Hostie centralizes voice, SMS, email and Instagram DMs into one AI-driven communications platform.
- Integrations with reservation and POS tools let it automate many common guest inquiries across channels.
Prompt Design Cuts Human Transfers
- Hostie reports handling about 80% of calls for many restaurants, with transfer rates near 20%.
- Small changes in prompts and agent phrasing significantly lower human transfer requests.