Insights & updates.
Operator stories, product news, and thoughts from the HOPS team.
Follow us on LinkedIn
Your Chefs Aren't the Problem. Your Purchasing Process is.
Your Chefs Aren't the Problem. Your Purchasing Process is.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Hospitality Tech and AI: Better Outputs Start with Better Operational Context
There’s a lot of AI noise in hospitality tech right now.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Lets Talk Hops: Live Visibility Beats Month-End Surprises
You find out you lost £12K last month. On the last Thursday of the month at 5pm.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Production Items, Yield Drift, and Hidden Margin Loss
Robbie Francis explains why yield tracking on prepped items is one of the most overlooked margin controls in hospitality operations.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
180 the Strand, Now on Hops
180 the Strand selected Hops to support a complex multi-venue operation with distinct concepts, workflows, and shared back-of-house requirements.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Hops Academy and the Live Group Chat for Operators
Hops Academy combines practical learning with a live operator chat, giving teams real-time support from both Hops and the wider community.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Same Dish, Same Price, Different GP
Why two sites can sell the same dish at the same menu price and still land completely different GP.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
A Techie and a GM Walk Into a Bar...
Robbie Francis and Aaron Resch share how Hops was shaped from both sides of hospitality: building systems and running service.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Count Stock in Your Team’s Language
Stock accuracy improves when teams count in operational units they understand, not supplier units they have to convert.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Leeds Late-Night Sector: Operator Insight from the Ground
Hospitality products cannot be built at a distance. This field visit in Leeds fed real late-night operator insight back into Hops product development.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
11:47pm: Cash-Up Chaos Is a Systems Problem
When cash-up runs on checklists and spreadsheets, mistakes become routine. Hops Finance captures context in real time and reduces morning firefighting.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Actual GP First, Then Theoretical GP
The gap between actual and theoretical GP is where money leaks become visible, but only after actual GP is trustworthy.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Arcade Case Study: Configurable Workflows in Real Service
Arcade needed software that matched real service workflows. Hops was configured around their operation, not the other way round.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Clean Actual GP Before Anything Else
Before recipes and deep variance analysis, operators need one thing first: a clean actual GP built on disciplined SOP execution.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Why Blended GP Hides Margin Leaks
A single blended GP percentage hides accountability. Department-level margin visibility is where actionable control begins.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Credit Notes Should Set Off Alarm Bells
Credit notes are often identified but never recovered. Hops closes that gap with structured recovery paths and auditable workflows.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Built for Operators: Mildreds on Why Hops Fits Hospitality
Mildreds shares why Hops works for real hospitality operations: configurable workflows across inventory and finance that adapt to the business, not the other way round.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
What Is Hops? Hospitality Operations, Simplified.
Hops connects purchasing, stock, invoices, and finance into one clear picture, so operators can spot margin issues earlier and act faster.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Here's what I've learned working 20 years with some of the UK's best Hospitality Operators.
Here's what I've learned working 20 years with some of the UK's best Hospitality Operators.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Where Margin Leaks in Hospitality Operations
A practical field guide to the operational layers where hospitality margin is either protected or lost.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: At Hops®, we sat in a room and thought about every scenario an operation might face in the context of an authorisation.
At Hops®, we sat in a room and thought about every scenario an operation might face in the context of an authorisation.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Let’s be honest: suppliers don’t always get it right.
Let’s be honest: suppliers don’t always get it right.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Our orders have arrived, we’ve confirmed the right quantity turned up.
Our orders have arrived, we’ve confirmed the right quantity turned up.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: We’ve already talked about contextual ordering, the first opportunity to protect margin: making sure you don’t order the wrong stuff in the first place!!!
We’ve already talked about contextual ordering, the first opportunity to protect margin: making sure you don’t order the wrong stuff in the first place!!!
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Are you structuring your orders around your suppliers, or your operation?
Are you structuring your orders around your suppliers, or your operation?
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Ordering in hospitality is widely perceived as a chore: you order the veg, raise the PO, tick, tick boom.
Ordering in hospitality is widely perceived as a chore: you order the veg, raise the PO, tick, tick boom.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Some hospitality operators use systems that plug “supplier products” straight into recipes.
Some hospitality operators use systems that plug “supplier products” straight into recipes.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: If your stock take is a nightmare.....if you buy it in pallets, use it in grams but have to count it in bottles…this post is for you!!!!!!!!!
If your stock take is a nightmare.....if you buy it in pallets, use it in grams but have to count it in bottles…this post is for you!!!!!!!!!
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Managing suppliers is a mess: there’s no “one-stop-shop” in hospitality
Managing suppliers is a mess: there’s no “one-stop-shop” in hospitality You order a few items from one supplier, a few from another, etc etc And whilst you can’t control HOW you
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Most hospitality tech in the market tries to “eliminate the chaos”.
Most hospitality tech in the market tries to “eliminate the chaos”.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: The final instalment in our series: Why the f*** are chefs still using spreadsheets!?
The final instalment in our series: Why the f*** are chefs still using spreadsheets!?
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Spreadsheets FEEL comfortable, familiar and cheap………but for many chefs, they’re actually NOT the ideal solution.
Spreadsheets FEEL comfortable, familiar and cheap………but for many chefs, they’re actually NOT the ideal solution.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: For chefs still using spreadsheets familiarity is the tip of the iceberg:
For chefs still using spreadsheets familiarity is the tip of the iceberg: It’s also the perceived low cost (perceived being the key word there 😂) - You pay someone to build the s
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Yo people!
Yo people!
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: “It works for now” is costing you more than you think.
“It works for now” is costing you more than you think.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: One of the things I’m most proud of about Hops is the team we’ve built.
One of the things I’m most proud of about Hops is the team we’ve built.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: “I’m not a techy, I don’t think I’ll “get” your app.
“I’m not a techy, I don’t think I’ll “get” your app.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: I don't know about you, but I hate it when I see AI for AI’s sake.
I don't know about you, but I hate it when I see AI for AI’s sake.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: The vision for Hops Academy is to become an industry-recognised credential.
The vision for Hops Academy is to become an industry-recognised credential.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Most hospitality tech is built from a single lens for a single vertical.
Most hospitality tech is built from a single lens for a single vertical.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: Hops® endured a few iterations before it became what it is today......
Hops® endured a few iterations before it became what it is today......
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: The "what" adds value to your business.
The "what" adds value to your business.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Founder POV: On Tuesday, I got off a call with the Ops Director of a large hotel chain that we provide technology for (You know who you are 😉).
On Tuesday, I got off a call with the Ops Director of a large hotel chain that we provide technology for (You know who you are 😉).
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Hops Inventory: Control, Clarity, and Real-Time Insight
Hops Inventory gives operators tighter control over sourcing, margins, and performance, trusted by teams like SushiDog, Yakinori, and Boundary Shoreditch.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Founder POV: Good Tech Still Fails with Poor Implementation
Robbie Francis breaks down why even good hospitality tech underperforms without proper implementation, ownership, and ongoing operational discipline.
Robbie Francis
Founder, Hops
Providing the Right Tools for Your Operations
Built by ex-operators, Hops helps hospitality groups like Granger & Co. and Mildreds run smoother operations with simple, practical tools.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
A Fresh Chapter: Introducing Hops to Our Customers
Opsimize has rebranded to Hops. In this customer update, Robbie Francis and Aaron Resch share why now, what changes, and what stays the same.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations
Opsimize Rebrands as Hops — The Home of Hospitality Operations
Opsimize has officially become Hops, introducing a new brand identity, improved UX, and a modular platform built for hospitality teams.
HOPS Team
Product & Operations