me&u has launched a reservations product for hospitality venues, co-designed with Aria Restaurant.
The new offering combines reservations management, voice AI for phone enquiries and bookings, and functions and event management in one platform. It is designed to replace the mix of separate systems many restaurants, pubs and bars use to manage guest bookings and related data.
The launch pushes the Australian hospitality technology group further beyond its roots in digital ordering. me&u says it already processes more than one million orders a week across more than 6,000 venues and holds 28 million guest profiles across its network.
The move comes as reservations software becomes a more contested part of hospitality technology. DoorDash recently agreed a USD $1.2 billion deal for SevenRooms, while American Express owns Resy and Tock and is acquiring The Fork for USD $700 million. OpenTable has also partnered with Uber to offer restaurant bookings through Uber Eats.
For me&u, the product broadens its reach across the guest journey, spanning phone calls, bookings, orders, payments and follow-up marketing. The company argues that hospitality operators often rely on five to seven technology suppliers, each holding separate customer information, which makes it harder for venues to build a single picture of diners and regular guests.
Kim Teo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of me&u, said the company built the product to solve that problem.
"For operators, system fragmentation holds them back from delivering the intended guest experience consistently. A guest who hosted their engagement party at a venue could visit three months later and appear in the system as a first-time guest, or someone who needs an accessible spot might not have one allocated on arrival because the phone and table management systems can't automatically handle that request," Teo said.
She described the product as a combined alternative to separate booking, phone and event management tools.
"me&u Reservations has been created alongside some of Australia's best operators, using their direct feedback, to resolve that fragmentation, a real pain point for venues, and to do it ten times faster than legacy technology. It's a single product built with AI at its core, rather than as a feature bolted on after the fact," Teo said.
Market pressure
me&u is entering a category that has become strategically important because reservations systems sit close to valuable customer data and repeat business. Operators use that information to recognise returning guests, tailor service, manage special requests and market directly after a visit.
The company contends that ownership changes among larger rivals could create an opening for an independent supplier focused on venues rather than payment cards or delivery apps.
"The incumbents being snapped up by financial services companies and delivery giants presents an opportunity for us. The business models of these companies thrive on consumer loyalty to cardholders or delivery service users. We believe it will be difficult for them to stay completely focused on building the best technology for maximising operator revenue, margins and guest loyalty to a restaurant brand," Teo said.
Aria rollout
The product is already live at Aria in Sydney, part of the Solotel group led by the Solomon family. Solotel's estate includes 16 venues, ranging from community pubs to fine-dining restaurants, and Aria served as the first live test for the new system.
Elliot Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of Solotel, said the group had not previously seen a single product that covered the same ground.
"An AI-enabled product that could handle both bookings and event management, while also giving a venue a single view of the customer and one source of truth from a data perspective. It eases admin time so we can focus on our guests instead," Solomon said.
He said the value for venues lay in having a fuller record of each guest's preferences and history across different sites.
"Our portfolio spans 16 venues, from local community pubs to fine-dining restaurants. It's the little things, knowing a guest's name, where they like to sit, and what they like to drink and eat, that make them feel seen and taken care of," Solomon said.
Solomon also pointed to the speed of development and deployment across the group.
"What's been most surprising is the pace. We started talking to me&u around the end of last year, and six months later the product had been built and rolled out across our group. We basically co-designed the product. If we wanted something in the product, the team would say it was going to be built in a day or in a week. It's felt like a genuine partnership, and the rollout has been relatively seamless and intuitive. Aria, our most complex venue, is an iconic fine-dining institution where we want to give guests the best of Australia. If it can work at Aria, it can work anywhere. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to transform their guest experience," Solomon said.
Data strategy
At the centre of me&u's pitch is the claim that reservations data can be tied directly to ordering and payment records already flowing through its system. When a returning guest books a table, the company says staff can see details such as dietary requirements, drinks preferences and previous visits before the diner arrives.
That approach relies on scale as much as software design. me&u says more than 73 per cent of adult Australians have used its system at least once, giving it a large base of existing diner profiles as it expands from ordering into reservations.
"The number one priority for the best hospitality operators is guest experience. We believe an all-in-one guest-facing tech stack, built by a team that serves operators, is what the industry desperately needs and wants," Teo said.