Hospitality in 2026: The Value Reset
Customers are rewriting what "worth it" means. Operators are rewriting their playbooks. This report unpacks what changed in 2025, what's coming in 2026 and where the biggest opportunities are hiding in plain sight.
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Inside the Report:
- How Australians dined in 2025
- How solo dining is on the rise
- What customers want on menus
- How operators are managing rising costs
- The shift in revenue channels
- AI and tech in daily operations
Key takeaways from the report include:
The dining room is no longer the whole story Dine-in's share of revenue dropped 11% in a single year. Takeaway, delivery, events and digital channels are stepping up, opening new ways for venues to diversify and grow.
Menus are catching up to how people live Health-conscious and sustainable food top customer wish lists, while demand for bottomless drinks and plant-based options softens. Diners are eating with intention, and menus are evolving alongside them.
AI has quietly become essential Nearly every operator (98%) is now using AI in some form, and more than 1 in 4 say they can't operate without it. It's a remarkable shift in confidence, and a sign of how thoughtfully the industry is putting technology to work.
