How NFC Tags Are Transforming the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is evolving rapidly, with venues constantly looking for smarter ways to improve customer experience, increase efficiency, and drive additional revenue. One of the most effective technologies helping businesses achieve this is NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.

From instant access to digital menus to seamless customer engagement and review generation, NFC tags are becoming an essential tool for restaurants, bars, hotels, cafés  and event venues across the UK.

What Are NFC Tags?

NFC tags are small wireless chips that allow customers to interact with digital content simply by tapping their smartphone against a tag, card, or sign. No app download is required, a quick tap can instantly open:

• Digital food and drinks menus
• Ordering systems
• Booking forms
• Wi-Fi access pages
• Loyalty programmes
• Social media channels
• Review platforms
• Promotional offers

For hospitality businesses, this creates a fast, modern and frictionless customer experience.

Driving More Customer Reviews

Online reviews have become one of the most powerful marketing tools in hospitality. Positive reviews build trust, improve local search visibility, and influence where potential customers choose to eat, drink, or stay.

NFC tags make it incredibly easy for customers to leave reviews while their experience is still fresh.

With a quick tap, guests can be directed straight to review platforms such as:

• Google Reviews
• Trustpilot
• Feefo
• TripAdvisor
• Facebook Reviews

Instead of asking customers to search manually for a business online, NFC removes friction completely. This significantly increases the likelihood of guests leaving feedback before they leave the venue.

For hospitality businesses, more positive reviews can lead to:

• Improved Google rankings
• Greater customer trust
• Increased bookings
• Higher footfall
• Stronger online reputation

Faster Customer Interaction

Speed and convenience are crucial in hospitality. NFC tags allow guests to access information instantly without needing assistance from staff.

Whether customers are viewing a menu, checking event details, ordering drinks, or accessing exclusive offers, NFC technology removes unnecessary delays and improves the overall customer journey.

This also helps staff work more efficiently during busy periods, allowing them to focus on delivering exceptional service.

Boosting Sales Through Instant Promotions

NFC technology creates valuable up-selling opportunities at exactly the right moment.

With a simple tap, businesses can promote:

• Special offers
• Premium drinks upgrades
• Desserts and extras
• Event tickets
• Gift vouchers
• Loyalty rewards
• Seasonal promotions

Because the experience is instant and interactive, customers are more likely to engage, helping venues increase average spend and encourage repeat visits.

Improving Customer Engagement

Hospitality brands thrive on customer loyalty and repeat business. NFC tags create interactive touchpoints throughout the customer experience.

Businesses can encourage customers to:

• Follow social media channels
• Join mailing lists
• Enter competitions
• Sign up for loyalty schemes
• Download apps
• Access exclusive content
• Share feedback instantly

This helps venues grow their digital audience while building stronger long-term customer relationships.

Reducing Printing Costs and Waste

Traditional printed materials quickly become outdated. Menus change, prices fluctuate, and promotions evolve regularly.

NFC-enabled digital content can be updated instantly without reprinting signage or menus, helping hospitality businesses reduce costs while supporting sustainability goals.

Contactless and Hygienic Experiences

Modern customers increasingly expect contactless experiences. NFC technology provides a clean, convenient alternative to shared printed menus, leaflets, or physical information points.

This helps businesses create a more modern and customer-focused environment while improving operational flexibility.

The Future of Hospitality Is Interactive

Customer expectations continue to evolve, and businesses that embrace digital convenience are gaining a clear competitive advantage.

NFC technology is no longer a novelty,  it’s becoming an essential tool for venues looking to improve service, increase engagement, strengthen online reputation, and drive more sales.

For restaurants, hotels, bars, cafés, and event spaces across the UK, NFC tags offer a simple but powerful way to modernise operations and create memorable customer experiences.

View Our Full Range of NFC Enabled Products

Martyn’s Law – How it affects the Hospitality Industry

“Martyn’s Law”, officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, aims to improve security and preparedness at publicly accessible locations in the UK. It requires certain premises and events to assess and mitigate the risk of terrorist attacks, with different tiers of requirements based on venue size and expected capacity.

The law is named after Martyn Hett, who died in the Manchester Arena attack on the 22nd May 2017, and seeks to ensure lessons are learned from that tragedy by requiring venues to take steps to enhance public safety.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

Key Objectives:

• Improve Protective Security: The law aims to enhance the security measures in place at publicly accessible locations to better protect the public from terrorist attacks.
• Organisational Preparedness: It mandates that organisations responsible for these locations develop and implement plans to respond effectively to potential terrorist incidents.
• Tiered Approach: The legislation uses a tiered system, meaning different venues and events will have varying levels of requirements based on factors like capacity.

Who is Affected?

• Publicly Accessible Locations: The law applies to a range of venues and events where the public has access, including entertainment venues, retail spaces, food and drink establishments, museums, sports grounds, and more.
• Standard Tier: This tier applies to premises with a capacity of 100-799 people.
• Enhanced Tier: This tier applies to venues and events with a capacity of 800 or more people.

Key Requirements:

• Risk Assessments: Duty holders must assess the potential vulnerabilities of their premises or events to terrorist attacks.
• Security Measures: Organisations may need to implement security measures like enhanced surveillance, physical barriers, or security personnel.
• Preparedness Planning: Developing and documenting comprehensive plans for responding to a terrorist incident is crucial.

What Can Businesses Do To Comply With Martyn’s Law?

Some simple measures that may be appropriate for most premises include:

• Clear evacuation routes and assembly points – ensuring they are signposted and waymarked appropriately – see our range of Fire Exit and Fire Assembly Point signs
• Adding visual reminders of security protocols and contacts to improve awareness and encourage reporting of anything suspicious – see our range of Security Awareness Posters
• Adopting security measures and signposting appropriately to inform those on site – such as CCTV (which legally must be properly signposted), establishing bag check areas and more – see our range of CCTV and Security Signs

Our range of signs and posters have been designed so organisations of all types can demonstrate compliance with Martyn’s Law by doing the simple, affordable and attainable things right.

Even if your business or establishment does not fall under the need to comply with Martyn’s Law, implementing any of these measures demonstrates good security practice under existing Home Office guidance.

Security Signs

Security measures that public premises may need to consider should be signposted to help ensure anyone on site is properly informed. Our range of signs has been developed to help businesses clearly indicate security measures as part of their obligations under Martyn’s Law.

Some of the security measures, which premises may need to implement and properly signpost, include:

• CCTV Systems – must legally be signposted as per data protection laws
• Bag Checking Areas and Procedures
• Security Zones or Checkpoints
• Restricted Areas
• Metal Detectors
• Reminders of security behaviour and advising of reporting points.

Security Awareness Posters

Martyn’s Law requires public premises to take and demonstrate proportionate measures to address security risks. Our range of posters provide a simple, affordable and proactive step to improving safety awareness on your premises as part of Counter Terror guidance from ProtectUK, National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NACTSO).

Bold designs promote security awareness and encourage the public to report any suspicious behaviour. They include write-on areas for you to easily add contact or location details of security staff.

The current UK threat level is ‘Substantial’ – meaning an attack is likely. Official guidance states “Posters are both useful reminders of key security principles for all staff and also promote a good security culture in your organisation that will deter someone intending to cause harm from seeing you as an easy target.”

New 4-Sided Rotary Displays a Winner for Musgrave MarketPlace

Mileta are delighted to announce that we have been working in partnership with Musgrave Market Place, Ireland’s leading food retail, wholesale and foodservice company,  to update their signage range and provide brand new floor-standing rotary units and shelf display layouts for their network of nine wholesale outlets, in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Mileta has been supplying Musgrave with an extensive and varied range of signs and associated hospitality products for a number of years, and we were tasked with refreshing the entire range, including enhancing product packaging, to help reinvigorate interest from their customer base and boost sales.

Not only that, Mileta designed, prototyped and manufactured a new four-sided rotary stand specifically for the task, to provide more space for product display and a more stable rotary motion compared to traditional four sided units.

With stands for both Cafe, Bar & Restaurant Signs and Kitchen & Catering Signs, we supplied 18 rotary stands (one of each type for every branch) in total, which contained the following:

Stand 1: Cafe, Bar & Restaurant:

Side 1: Essential Bar & Licensing Notices.
Side 2: Hotel Bedroom, Toilet and Door Signs, Door Hangers and Dog Friendly Signs.
Side 3: Fire & Safety Signs including; Fire Exit Signs, Fire Action Notices and genral hazard signs.
Side 4: Table Number Packs, Poster/Menu Display and Open/Closed Signs.

For an example layout for our Cafe, Bar & Restaurant stand, click the image below to download our PDF:

Stand 2: Kitchen & Catering:

Sides 1 & 2: Kitchen & Catering Safety Signs, including; Food Prep signs and Catering Sign Packs.
Sides 3 & 4: Cafe, Deli and Buffet Display Products, including; Cafe, Deli & Buffet Display products and Allergen Notices.

For an example layout for our Cafe, Bar & Restaurant stand, click the image below to download our PDF:

Shelf Display Range

Alongside our rotary units we also supplied Musgrave with a range of A4, A5 and 1/3 A4  freestanding clear acrylic poster/menu dispays, A4 and A5 tabletop chalkboards, acrylic Tabletop Numbers and a selection of aluminium poster snap-frames.  All shelving dispay products have been appropiately packaged with eye-catching labels and product barcodes.

After an incredibly busy couple of months for our team, the new product range, along with the rotary displays successfully began shipping to all of the Musgrave stores during April and May.

Trade shop rotary sign display stands and product packaging

We offer two types of rotary display stands that are ideal for placement in trade shops, showrooms and cash & carry warehouses. Both our 4 and 5 sided display stands come with various options for product display configuration and can easily be tailored to suit your exact requirements. All products for hanging on our rotary display stands come appropriately bagged with both header display cards and barcodes. Click the image below to download our PDF specification sheet:

For products that are not suitable for our rotary display units, these products come appropriately packaged for shelf display with eye-catching packaging, which incorporates a barcode label. Download Example Product Selection

We can help with product selection

Getting the right signs and products for your customers is key to helping increase business sales. We discuss with our distributors what signs and products are suitable for their customer base. Many choose a cross-section of Mileta products, incorporating bar & licensing, catering safety, door signs and table numbers. While others prefer to choose a specific area, such as Poster Displays, Hotel & Leisure Signage. For example stand layouts, download our PDFs (above).

For further information and details on pre-stocked units, contact us.