I get asked a version of the same question most weeks in Dubai. A group has three or four venues, a strong brand, a following on Instagram and a feeling that it should have an app. Someone has quoted for one. Is the quote fair, and is the app a good idea?
I run an agency that builds these, so take this with the appropriate pinch of salt. But I was on the client side for eighteen years, buying technology for a restaurant group that grew from six sites to forty-five, and the questions I would ask are the same ones I want clients to ask us.
Start with the mechanic, not the app
An app is a container. What goes in it is the decision that matters. In the UAE the mechanic that works most often for venue groups is cashback held as a balance in dirhams, because guests understand it instantly and it can be spent across every venue in the group. Mindset for AlphaMind Group works this way across Clap, Bar du Port and Iris. Solutions Rewards uses cashback with Black and Gold tiers. Points with tiers, a paid membership club or a surprise-and-delight programme can all be right in different circumstances, but if an agency is talking about screens before it has asked you about the mechanic, the order is wrong.
Ask them what a member will get on their second visit, and how they will know. If the answer is vague, the app will be too.
Ask what it plugs into
The app is only as good as its connection to the till. If a server cannot attach a member to a check in a couple of seconds, the programme will rely on guests scanning receipts or remembering to show a code, and identified spend will stay low. Mindset, for example, connects to MICROS and SevenRooms so that spend and bookings land on the member record without anyone thinking about it.
Ask the agency which of your systems they have integrated with before, in production, not in a demo. Ask what happens when the POS is offline. Ask who you call at eleven on a Friday night when points are not posting.
Ask who owns the data
This one matters more than most operators realise. The guest records the app collects are the most valuable thing it produces. Your contract should say clearly that they belong to you, that you can export them in a usable format whenever you want, and that consent is captured properly under UAE data protection law. Some platforms make leaving very expensive. Find out before you join, not when you want to move.
Ask about the ordinary Tuesday
Launch day is easy. There is a party, the team is briefed, the founder downloads the app in front of everyone. What decides whether the programme works is the fortieth Tuesday afterwards, when the venue is half full, the floor team has turned over twice and nobody has mentioned the app for a month. Ask the agency what they do after launch. Who trains new starters? Who looks at the numbers each week and tells you what they mean? What does month three look like?
At TLC we put more effort into the first ninety days after launch than into the launch itself, because that is where programmes are won or lost. Any serious partner should be able to describe their version of that.
Ask about the summer
Dubai is not a twelve-month market in the way London is. Visitor numbers fall through the hot months and the residents who stay become most of your trade. A loyalty programme earns its keep in exactly that period, by giving regulars a reason to keep choosing you. Ask how the platform will help you run a summer campaign: offers to members who have not visited for a while, a reason for residents to bring friends, a way to reward the people who keep you busy in August. If it cannot segment members by last visit and send something to a specific group, it is a stamp card with a nicer logo.
Native app or web portal. Not every brand needs something in the App Store. For a single venue or a hotel outlet, a web-based portal with a wallet pass can do most of the job with far less friction; we built exactly that for Hotel Indigo London K West. For a group with several venues and a loyal local following, a branded native app usually pays back. Ask the agency to make the case either way rather than defaulting to whatever they sell.
The short version
- Agree the mechanic, and what members get on visit two, before anyone designs a screen.
- Get proof of live integrations with your POS and reservations platform.
- Put data ownership and export in the contract.
- Ask for the post-launch plan for the first ninety days, in writing.
- Make sure the platform can target members by recency for the summer months.
If you are weighing up a quote and want a second opinion, I am happy to take a look, even if you end up working with someone else. Better programmes make for better hospitality everywhere.