AI in hospitality: how to fight staff shortages and peak pressure

An AI answering the phone, a robot wok cooking alongside the team during the rush, a kitchen screen bringing calm to the pass: Dutch hospitality businesses are experimenting fast this autumn with automation against the familiar peak-time pressure. Within two weeks, three independent trade titles reported three separate examples, each addressing a different operational bottleneck. For the hospitality owner, the question is no longer whether automation pays off, but which step fits the investment and guest experience of their own business.

Key takeaways

• Three independent examples (phone, kitchen, prep) show AI is already concretely absorbing peak pressure in hospitality, not a future promise.
• At RCE's restaurants, AI phone assistant Bonnie automatically handles 75% of all phone calls and processes around 100,000 reservations a year (Entree Magazine, 2026).
• AI robot wok Charlie prepares up to six portions at once at Pad Thai's Utrecht Centraal location, delivering a fresh portion every 3 minutes and 58 seconds, supporting the team during the rush rather than replacing it (Misset Horeca, 2026).
• In the second quarter of 2026, Dutch hospitality had 28,100 open vacancies and more than 30% of operators reported a staff shortage (Ondernemersplein/CBS, 2026).
• Since 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act requires businesses to inform guests when they're communicating with an AI system, which also applies to an AI phone assistant or chatbot (VDT Advocaten, 2026).

Three examples, one pattern: AI is tackling peak pressure in hospitality

On their own, each story looks like minor news: a restaurant group handing part of its phone traffic to AI, a new station location with a robot wok, a supplier talking about calmer kitchens thanks to a screen. Together, they form a clear pattern: hospitality businesses are already using AI and digital tools against the well-known staffing pressure at peak moments, not as an experiment for a few years from now.

That's not a coincidence given the current climate. In the second quarter of 2026, Dutch hospitality had 28,100 open vacancies, and more than 30% of operators reported a staff shortage (Ondernemersplein/CBS, 2026). Hiring more people isn't an obvious fix for peak pressure for many businesses: the candidates simply aren't always there. That makes automation, from a simple kitchen screen to a full AI phone assistant, a real alternative for a growing number of operators, rather than a curiosity.

Phone: AI handling reservations and repeat questions without wait times

At RCE's restaurants, the group behind brands including Loetje, Happy Italy and Beers & Barrels, AI phone assistant Bonnie now takes over a large share of incoming calls. RCE saw call volume rise, with many repeat questions: where can I park, are dogs allowed, can I arrive half an hour later. Time that then couldn't go to guests with a more complex question. Bonnie now automatically handles 75% of all phone conversations and processes around a hundred thousand reservations a year, so guests don't face long waits even during peak moments (Entree Magazine, 2026).

That kind of deployment isn't optional. Since 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act requires businesses to let people know when they're communicating with an AI system, including on the phone or in a chat (VDT Advocaten, 2026). Deploy an AI phone assistant, and a guest should explicitly hear they're speaking with an AI system, for example through a short notice at the start of the call. That's more than a legal formality: guests who know what to expect upfront tend to experience a fast, correct answer as pleasant rather than impersonal.

Kitchen: digital screens bringing calm and fewer mistakes during the rush

A second bottleneck isn't on the phone, but on the kitchen floor. Where loose tickets used to come out of a printer, the team now follows incoming orders live on a screen: who placed the order, when it came in, and for which course, including notes such as allergies. According to Sven Janmaat, marketer at supplier unTill Nederland, that brings noticeably more calm to the floor during busy periods (Entree Magazine, 2026).

Businesses such as Kaat Mossel in Rotterdam, Brasa in Purmerend, Brouwerij Oijen and several Van der Valk hotels have used such screens for years, but smaller businesses are increasingly making the switch too (Entree Magazine, 2026). For the guest, that means less movement around the table, since orders no longer travel back and forth between bar, kitchen and pass, and fewer mistakes because an order can't get lost among loose tickets. Of the three examples in this article, this is by far the most accessible step: no robotics, no voice recognition, just a direct effect on the most stressful moments of a shift.

Prep: where an AI robot wok does and doesn't pay off

The most visible form of automation has stood at Utrecht Centraal since 18 September 2026. At Pad Thai's new location, the kitchen works alongside Charlie, an AI robot wok fully configured to the business's recipes. The team adds fresh ingredients, after which Charlie doses the right amount of sauce and spices itself and can prepare up to six portions at once. A fresh portion lands on the counter within 3 minutes and 58 seconds (Misset Horeca, 2026).

Charlie doesn't replace the kitchen team, but supports it during peak moments, precisely at a location where the steady flow of train travelers produces a constant stream of orders. That's the key nuance: a robot wok works well for a focused, repeatable concept with a limited menu, such as a wok dish built on a fixed base of sauce and spices. For a kitchen with a changing menu, dishes prepared fresh per plate, or a smaller, less predictable order flow, the investment usually isn't (yet) justified. Automating prep isn't the first step for most businesses, but more likely the last, and only relevant for a specific kind of concept and volume.

Which step fits your business? Weighing investment against guest experience

In practice, the three examples also form an escalating sequence, from accessible to far-reaching. A digital kitchen screen is worth considering for almost any business with a physical kitchen: the investment is limited, and the effect mainly shows up as calm and fewer mistakes during service, without the guest noticing anything. An AI phone assistant takes more setup, since you need to train it on your own frequently asked questions and booking process, and you need to get the AI Act transparency requirement right, but it pays off mainly with a high call volume and lots of repeat questions. A robot wok like Charlie is the heaviest step: a substantial investment that only makes sense for a focused concept and a volume that justifies it, such as a station location.

Booking volume, concept and team determine which step makes sense, not the order in which the news about them appears. An independent café with a changing menu and a small team probably gains more from a calmer kitchen process than from a robot arm. A chain with multiple locations and a high, predictable call volume is more likely to get a return from an AI phone assistant that handles the same questions consistently at every location.

The human side of automation: getting a grip on scheduling and team communication first

For most businesses, the first, most achievable step against peak pressure isn't a robot arm or a voice computer, but something closer to home: a grip on who's working when and how your team stays informed. Much of the peak pressure these examples try to absorb arises because rosters and communication don't move with the rush, not because there are literally too few hands.

In Horecaflix you manage staff scheduling centrally or per location, with availability and leave already processed in the roster, so you spot where you're short-staffed during peak moments faster. The same grip applies to team communication: a scheduling change or an update before a busy shift reaches everyone who needs it at once, instead of traveling through a separate group chat per location. That's no substitute for an AI phone assistant or kitchen screen, but it is the step that pays off fastest for most hospitality operators, and one you can take tomorrow without a major investment.

Conclusion: automation as an addition to your team, not a replacement

The three examples in this article show that AI and digitalization aren't suddenly taking over hospitality, but are helping out in specific spots where peak pressure hits hardest: on the phone, in the kitchen, during prep. None of the three replaces the team; they absorb what the team can no longer take on by itself. Which step fits your business depends on your volume, your concept and where the pressure hurts most. Not sure where you'd get the most return yourself, from scheduling, from communication, or only later from further automation? Get in touch with Horecaflix, and we'll think through the approach that fits your business.