Volaris Group Strengthens Foodservice & Hospitality Vertical with Acquisition of HGEM
UK-Based guest experience technology firm joins Volaris-owned CaterTrax
Toronto, ON and Bath, UK – Volaris Group (“Volaris”) today welcomes HGEM, an award-winning provider of Guest Experience Management solutions for the foodservice and hospitality industry. HGEM joins CaterTrax, a Volaris Group company. This deal further builds Volaris and CaterTrax leadership in the foodservice and hospitality sector and positions HGEM to benefit from the scale, industry knowledge, product portfolio and operational excellence found at CaterTrax.
HGEM, founded in 2003, is a pioneer in the hospitality sector. Originally coining the terms ‘Guest Experience Management’ and ‘mystery dining’, the company’s mission is to empower the hospitality industry with the tools and services they need to establish GEM as a core business discipline. Today, HGEM serves over 5,000 sites across the UK, including many leading hospitality brands such as Brewdog, Pret A Manger, Wagamama, Nando’s, Travelodge, and Heineken’s Star Pubs & Bars.
Under the CaterTrax umbrella, HGEM will have access to the extensive market knowledge and complimentary product portfolios to provide enhanced benefits for clients across the foodservice and hospitality sectors. CaterTrax, a prominent provider of catering management software, streamlines efficient customer ordering processes from major hospitality providers across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Clint Tyler, CEO of CaterTrax, believes the deal will bring benefits to the food service and hospitality sectors. “We are excited to welcome Steven and the HGEM team to the CaterTrax and Volaris family. There is a clear alignment in our cultures, core values and intense focus on the customer experience. Together, we can leverage our collective expertise and technology to enhance our offerings and help provide critical guest insights to our clients.” said Tyler.
HGEM will continue to support their customer and products under the direction of Managing Director Steven Pike, with the support of Clint Tyler and the CaterTrax team. Pike brings more than 15 years of experience in enterprise software and has led the development of HGEM’s modern suite of software products.
“HGEM has become a well-known and respected brand serving the hospitality industry. Our success has been founded on the close partnerships we have developed with clients and our drive to continually innovate our software and services.” said Pike. “The acquisition provides us with a valuable opportunity to build on this foundation. We were delighted to find in CaterTrax and the wider Volaris Group a compatible set of values, as well as a wealth of expertise and resources that we can tap into. This will position us well for the next phase in our mission and will help to further grow our client base.”
Volaris Group Leader, Jeff Luchetti, anticipates the integration as an opportunity to further provide innovative solutions for the ever-evolving industry. “We are thrilled about the acquisition. HGEM’s market position and mission-critical ethos made it an attractive pairing for Volaris,” said Luchetti. “Expanding and diversifying the Volaris portfolio of food service and hospitality software companies provides even greater opportunities to share market knowledge and best practices while encouraging talent development across teams.”
About HGEM
HGEM’s Guest Experience Management software helps hospitality businesses to benchmark against a wide range of experiential and operational measures. The product facilitates actions to improve the consistency and quality of the guest experience, and ultimately drive sales. Sources of insight include branded surveys, online reviews, mystery guest audits, and AI-driven opinion mining on guest comments. Offering several integration options, including menus, CRMs, responses and vouchers, HGEM empowers operators with a comprehensive view of the customer to help drive bottom-line decision-making. For more information visit www.hgem.com.
About CaterTrax
CaterTrax is the leading catering management software for North America’s largest food service management companies. Offering a suite of software solutions for catering, take-out, and floor stock, CaterTrax powers thousands of operations in the non-commercial food service industry. For additional details visit www.catertrax.com.
About Volaris Group
Volaris acquires, strengthens, and grows vertical market technology companies. As an Operating Group of Constellation Software Inc., Volaris is all about strengthening businesses within the markets they compete, enabling them to grow – whether that growth comes through organic measures such as new initiatives and product development, day-to-day business, or through complementary acquisitions. Learn more at www.volarisgroup.com.