Northern Enterprise Awards 2021
10 | Northern Enterprise Awards 2021 project to start that runs alongside our websites and booking engines.” Contact: Mark Hayhurst Company: The Only Way Togo Limited Web Address: www.togo.uk.net with a pub company, however its proactive sales approach is still focused heavily on the north, with clients ranging in size from small cafes to one of the world’s largest beer brewers. It’s no surprise that the hospitality industry was perhaps the hardest hit sector last year when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, with people being forced to stay at home and companies having to close their doors. The last 12 months have certainly been a struggle for a lot of businesses within the food and beverage world as they attempt to recover lost revenues and get their operations running smoothly once again. “Thankfully we were stable enough to ensure that we were able to be here for our clients right the way through the pandemic,” says Mark. “Since the lockdowns have ended, we have seen significant growth and that doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. Our turnover has more than doubled year on year for the last four years.” One of the positive side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is that people have become more tech-savvy and more businesses have turned to focus on their online presence. Many people are now having to work from home and communicate more via things like Zoom. Mark elaborates on how this move to a more digital age has benefitted Togo enormously. “We have seen a surge in online bookings vs phone bookings. They have gone from around 50% online up to around 80%. People now prefer to book online than use any other means. They are also happy to pay a deposit or leave card security when they book. Which means less no- shows and cancellations. “We have also seen pubs now even taking bookings for tables, not just restaurants, and now that people have had the ability to book their table and know they have it for a couple of hours they seem to want to be able to do that and continue to do that. It was a facility that was previously used mainly only in VIP areas of clubs but now it’s becoming more mainstream,” Mark adds. It’s not all about having a great product – Mark is quick to praise the dedication and commitment of the hardworking team behind the scenes at Togo. “Most of our top team are not from within the industry but they are great people that care about the work they do, and they genuinely have a desire to be the best,” he explains. “We believe that for a lot of roles you can train anyone as long as they have a great work ethic, honesty and integrity and we recruit on this basis. Obviously, all of our designers and developers came to us with a great amount of technical knowledge and creative flair in addition to the personal qualities we needed.” Recently, Togo was rewarded for its diligence to the industry by being bestowed with the coveted title of Best Hospitality Booking Systems & Marketing Agency – Yorkshire in the SME News Northern Enterprise Awards 2021. Now, Togo is “launching our consumer app very soon which will be an additional marketing tool for our clients, and we are looking to continue to expand our Spacebook product into more markets,” says Mark excitedly. “We have also recently finished a huge 18-month project for a key global client, so when we have got our breath back, we will be looking for another big corporate
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