By Lea Mira, RTN staff writer - 5.5.2026
Restaurant operators have more data than ever before. What they often lack is a practical way to use it in the moments that matter most. That gap is at the center of a new platform launched this week by Guestologie, which is positioning itself as a different approach to guest engagement—one that moves beyond traditional loyalty programs and CRM systems toward real-time, operational decision-making.
The company’s premise is straightforward. Restaurants are losing high-value guests at an alarming rate, and existing tools are not designed to address the problem at the point where it can actually be solved: during the visit. According to data cited by the company, 45% of diners switched their favorite restaurant last year, and fewer than one in five returned the following year.
Guestologie’s platform is designed to intervene in that moment. It identifies high-value and high-potential guests as they arrive, generates contextual guidance for staff and recommends specific actions intended to improve the guest experience and increase the likelihood of return visits—all without requiring a new app, a loyalty program or a major change to existing systems.
The company refers to this approach as “Action Intelligence,” a term meant to distinguish it from analytics-heavy platforms that generate insights but often fail to translate them into operational execution. “Restaurants know that relationships drive revenue, but they lack a system to act on that knowledge in real time,” said Ryan Volberg, founder and CEO of Guestologie.
The concept reflects a broader shift in how restaurant technology is evolving. While loyalty programs and CRM platforms have traditionally focused on tracking past behavior, operators are increasingly looking for tools that can influence outcomes during the guest experience itself. That includes enabling staff to recognize returning guests, tailor service interactions, and create moments that drive repeat visits.
Guestologie is entering the market with early traction. The platform has already been deployed across dozens of locations, including operators such as Earls Kitchen + Bar, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Red Robin, and Hawksmoor. According to the company, operators using the platform are reporting measurable gains in guest retention and revenue, including a reported 10x monthly return on investment and increases in reservation volume.
For multi-location operators, the appeal is not just in the data but in how that data is operationalized. Rather than requiring teams to analyze dashboards or interpret reports, Guestologie delivers recommendations directly to the front line, where they can be acted upon immediately. That focus on execution may help address a long-standing challenge in restaurant technology: bridging the gap between insight and action.
The company’s leadership team brings a mix of experience across restaurant operations and technology development. Volberg previously co-founded Vivonet, one of the industry’s early cloud-based POS platforms, and has held leadership roles spanning payments, workforce technology, and enterprise restaurant systems. The broader team includes executives with backgrounds at Google, Chick-fil-A, Bloomin’ Brands, and other large-scale restaurant and technology organizations.
That combination of operational and technical experience is reflected in the product’s design, which emphasizes ease of adoption. Guestologie is intended to layer onto existing systems rather than replace them, allowing operators to deploy the platform without significant disruption to their current technology stack.
The timing of the launch is notable. Restaurant operators continue to face pressure from rising costs, increased competition, and shifting consumer expectations. At the same time, third-party platforms—ranging from delivery aggregators to reservation systems—are capturing valuable guest data that restaurants often cannot fully access or leverage.
Guestologie’s thesis is that the operators who succeed in the coming years will be those who regain control of the guest relationship and use that insight to drive more personalized, consistent experiences. That is easier said than done. But by focusing on real-time decision-making at the point of service, the company is aiming to provide a more direct path from data to revenue.
For an industry that has long invested in understanding its guests, the next phase may be less about collecting more data and more about using it more effectively.
