Chief Executive Officer & President of TheFork, TRIPADVISOR INC
Food Talks con Almir Ambeskovich (CEO The Fork)
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About Almir Ambeskovic
Almir Ambeskovic, Chief Executive Officer and President of TheFork at Tripadvisor, has discussed the company's role in supporting the restaurant industry during the pandemic. In a 2021 interview, he stated that TheFork collaborated with delivery services without charging fees to help restaurants operate during a difficult year. He noted a 53% increase in bookings over three weeks as restrictions eased, and said that from June 1, indoor dining would resume, further boosting growth. Ambeskovic also mentioned that TheFork offered gift cards without commission and provided software worth several million euros to aid restaurants. Ambeskovic has emphasized the importance of mobile technology for TheFork's business, stating in a 2018 keynote that 86% of bookings come from mobile devices. He described the company's strategy of focusing on app downloads and word-of-mouth to reduce reliance on paid traffic. In earlier appearances, he discussed the challenges of fundraising in Italy, noting that it took two and a half years to raise 200,000 euros for his startup, and reflected on the difficulties of building a startup ecosystem in the country. He has also addressed the no-show issue in fine dining, stating that TheFork aimed to bring common solutions for everyone.
Transcript (47 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Juan, here we are. So how was it, this feeling of traveling after so long? Going to the airport, check-in... Did you see any differences?
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Almir Ambeskovic0:12
Where did you travel from? From Malpensa or Linate? Linate reopened now, right?
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Interviewer0:17
Yes, Linate reopened. I traveled from Linate to Madrid. By the way, at Linate you don't even have to take your laptop out of your bag anymore. They have a new, more advanced security system. So from Linate to Madrid, everything seemed normal. Masks were normal. Maybe extra checks on tests and documents for travel, but they don't check your temperature when you arrive at the airport.
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Almir Ambeskovic1:03
No temperature check at the airport, if I remember correctly. But it was free on the flight. The middle seat was empty, so there were only three seats per row. The middle seat has always been the one nobody wants, so at least that's an advantage.
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Interviewer1:51
So you went to Madrid and met the team. People you had never met before. You started at TheFork when?
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Almir Ambeskovic1:58
I started at TheFork six and a half years ago. The company was founded ten years ago. I started as Country Manager for Italy, then gradually took over other countries. Since March 1st, I am the CEO of TheFork, so I manage the whole group. We are in 22 geographies. Only one person who reports directly to me is based in Milan. Everyone else is in different places. During this trip, I saw two of them for the first time in person. We had worked together for a year via video calls, but it was the first time meeting face to face. It's a very strange feeling to know someone well through screens and then see them in person after so long.
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Interviewer3:35
Maybe it's better that people don't see me in person. That's my theory. So, how is the overall restaurant situation? You have a good observatory to see intentions and bookings. What's the situation today, May 2021?
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Almir Ambeskovic4:03
Well, first of all, in all the geographies we are in, restaurants have reopened, obviously with different restrictions. In Australia, everything has been normal for months. In Madrid, restaurants never closed. Now everyone is open, and you can see the recovery is directly proportional to the easing of restrictions. When restaurants open outdoor spaces, you see people going. In Italy, when there were various yellow zones, lunch was open and they did 50% more business than last year. Now only outdoor spaces are open, and less than half of Italian restaurants have outdoor space. But bookings are much higher, meaning there is a huge desire to return to normal. The first thing people want to do after lockdown is go out to dinner.
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Interviewer5:54
So you see a growing trend for the whole summer. But do you see any particular changes or new demands from restaurants?
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Almir Ambeskovic6:17
The trend is growing, even with only outdoor spaces. In the first week, bookings grew by 53% over three weeks. From June 1st, you can also dine indoors, so I see great growth. The difference is outdoor spaces, because they are the only option now. What I would like is for these outdoor spaces to remain, not just be a temporary thing. It would be nice to keep them because it changes cities, makes them more beautiful, and changes habits. In Northern Europe, when it's bad weather, people go to restaurants because it's almost always bad. In Italy, it has to be 26 degrees with the right humidity. Now that the only option is to sit outside, people do it much more. I hope we become a bit less demanding and more adaptable.
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Interviewer8:03
Restaurants have been hit hard. I read data from FIPE: 500,000 jobs lost, 100,000 restaurants closed, over 30 billion in damage. It will be very difficult for them.
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Almir Ambeskovic8:33
It will be a big challenge to keep a restaurant in the black. It's not easy. There are many hidden costs. Now, after being hit hard, it will be tough. We need to recover.
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Interviewer9:02
You reminded me of something. Last week I was supposed to play tennis with a friend and it was pouring rain. I messaged him saying 'what a shame, it's raining, let's postpone.' He said 'postpone? See you on the court at 3.' I said 'but it's raining!' He said 'so what? Where I come from, if it rains, you still play.' So we played in the downpour. I almost died. There's a completely different logic about being outside in the cold. Here in Brighton, there's a movement of open sea swimmers who swim in the freezing sea. It's not like Sardinia, but once you get used to it, it's a state of mind. The English are all outside in their t-shirts, with four coats and a blanket.
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Almir Ambeskovic10:34
A listener asks: how does a restaurant collaborate with TheFork?
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Interviewer10:39
It's simple. There's a contract, some bureaucracy, but then we provide software that the restaurant can use to manage its reservations. It connects to our system to receive bookings. That's the basic part. Then there are a series of marketing tools for restaurants to promote themselves and get more customers. If you think about it, there aren't many things a restaurateur can do for visibility. Advertising on radio or TV is difficult. Facebook and Google ads don't work well. TheFork is a real tool to attract new customers.
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Almir Ambeskovic11:43
Are there countries that are clearly more advanced in terms of the activities restaurants do on the platform?
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Interviewer11:54
Well, we are in Europe, Latin America, and Australia, so we can observe the differences. The beautiful thing about this local business is that a person books a restaurant 100 meters from home, so we understand local habits. Restaurateurs in the North are much more tech-savvy. When we go to sign up a restaurant in Italy, they say 'connect? What do you mean?' But when you talk to a restaurateur in London, Stockholm, or Amsterdam, they say 'show me the software, show me the features.' It's a completely different approach. They are very structured, very technological, and more entrepreneurial. They look at the numbers. In Southern Europe, especially Italy, the restaurateur's focus is on making you happy and giving you a great experience. So the difference is big.
I was also thinking that you were appointed CEO in perhaps the worst moment in history. A pandemic moment to become CEO. How did you handle it? When all this chaos started, you were obviously impacted by the closures.
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Almir Ambeskovic13:54
From a certain point of view, it's better now than a year ago because we have a year of COVID behind us. I try to see it from a positive perspective. We learned a lot and adapted much more. I remember the first time we had to manage restaurant closures and reopenings. It was a disaster. But I look to the future and believe there will be many opportunities for us. We are the connection between the restaurateur and their customer. In this phase, we need to do extraordinary things. We can help and contribute. We have 80,000 restaurants and move millions of people. We can truly impact their lives. It's important to take responsibility and play our role well. I see it as a fortune that this happened in this historical phase. It will never happen again. I accept the challenge.
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Interviewer15:57
Have you launched any particular initiatives to support restaurateurs this year?
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Almir Ambeskovic16:03
We have done many things. We helped economically by offering our software to many restaurants for free, worth several million euros. We organized initiatives. Before the second wave, we launched 'Return to the Restaurant,' involving 10,000 restaurants with a strong investment. We also launched TheFork gift cards in Italy, France, and soon Spain. It's like an Amazon gift card, but you spend it in TheFork restaurants. The full amount goes to the restaurant; we don't charge any commission. Many companies are using them as incentives. It's a concrete way to help an industry that has been heavily impacted.
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Interviewer18:22
If you had to say what TheFork's competitive advantage is, why it has grown so much, what are the main components?
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Almir Ambeskovic18:56
TheFork helps the end user. We positioned ourselves from the restaurant's point of view: what does a restaurant need? They need customers. So we help them make their customers happy. That's our mission. For the customer, we help them discover restaurants. We have all types, from Michelin-starred restaurants to the one around the corner. We also introduced dynamic pricing to the restaurant world. It's a tool that helps restaurants fill seats and helps people discover new places. If you see a restaurant offering 50% off, you might try it, and if you like it, you become a regular customer. We are a customer acquisition tool for restaurants.
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Interviewer21:34
Fabrizio Trombetti on LinkedIn congratulates you and asks: have you ever thought about creating software that works locally, even offline?
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Almir Ambeskovic22:29
I remember when we started, many restaurants didn't have internet. We used SMS on Nokia phones. There was pressure from Portugal, especially Lisbon, where internet didn't reach well. But connectivity has improved, so we don't feel that need anymore.
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Interviewer23:11
Regarding food delivery, how do you relate to it? There was an explosion of home delivery. Where do you position yourselves?
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Almir Ambeskovic23:30
There are differences in positioning. Delivery is about hunger and wanting food brought to you. TheFork is about wanting an experience. You go to a restaurant where they serve you, and you don't have to wash dishes. The experience is evaluated not just by the food but also the atmosphere. We don't see them as competitors. During the pandemic, when restaurants were closed, we connected them with delivery systems for free. The riders are heroes. They gave people access to food during lockdown. From a business perspective, delivery benefited from the situation. I hope we will benefit from the recovery.
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Interviewer25:18
How do you organize yourself operationally to oversee all the countries? Any tips or guidelines you've acquired, especially since you couldn't travel this year?
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Almir Ambeskovic25:47
Before the pandemic, I was already managing half the countries. During the pandemic, I took over all of them. I used to travel every week, visiting teams. I learned during COVID that you can't do everything from home, but there are possibilities I ignored. I will travel again, but not every week. We learned to build strong relationships remotely. I created a routine: weekly meetings with the leadership team, monthly meetings with all teams, and quarterly roadshows. What we missed are informal meetings by the coffee machine or in the corridor. They provide invaluable information. I will try to recover that through some travel.
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Interviewer28:01
Do you see any particular sectors or types of restaurants growing?
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Almir Ambeskovic28:14
It's difficult to talk about trends now because many restaurants adapted to delivery. Some focus exclusively on that. The trend of reducing costs and focusing on producing food is clear. New openings have decreased. We'll see what happens. There's a globalization effect. Traditional cuisine is giving way to new things. Sushi has become normal. In Italy, local cuisine is still very strong. There's no Italian cuisine, but Milanese, Roman, Neapolitan, Emilian cuisine. That's unique to Italy. In other countries, you see a more important mix.
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Interviewer30:36
Nur Miga asks: what are the major fixed costs for a company like TheFork?
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Almir Ambeskovic30:48
The main fixed cost is personnel. Even our salespeople are employees. During the pandemic, we couldn't reduce that cost. It wasn't easy to keep everyone motivated when there was little to do. The other major cost is technology.
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Interviewer31:42
Speaking of people, there's a big problem with staff in restaurants. Many people changed jobs or were laid off. Now with reopening, it's hard to find people. What advice would you give to restaurateurs?
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Almir Ambeskovic32:24
We don't have direct experience in that specific area. But what we know is that restaurateurs have unique flexibility and adaptability. They pay rent all day and staff all day, but they make their business in the one-hour dinner rush. They do 70-80% of their business in that hour. I have great faith in this category. The staff problem will be minor. The main problem is having customers return. They will find a solution.
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Interviewer33:37
Another topic is online reviews. It's a big issue, not just for restaurants. Fake reviews and competitor reviews are a big topic. How do you approach it?
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Almir Ambeskovic34:01
It's a thorny issue because people like good reviews and dislike bad ones. On our platform, reviews can only be made after a booking, so we know who the person is. We can trace it. Also, someone who goes to a restaurant through TheFork has a lot of information beforehand, so expectations are often aligned. Let me tell you a story. I was in Venice with my family. We booked through TheFork, of course. We were near Rialto Bridge at lunchtime, hungry with crying kids. I looked on TheFork and saw a restaurant with an 8.8 rating. We found it, and the owner served us personally. He said, 'You booked with TheFork, right? I saw the review.' He was proud of those reviews. He served us beautifully and focused on us. Other customers from Rome and Florence approached him for advice. He was serving our customers because they leave positive reviews, which bring more customers. I realized that our customers are treated even better than others. Reviews have a significant advantage.
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Interviewer37:52
I have a personal problem with reviews. I need a granularity that matches my character. Like when I read reviews of Italian restaurants in Brighton and then go there and think 'guys, no.' It depends on what you're used to. Or on Amazon, you see negative reviews for a book because it arrived damaged. That impacts the overall rating. We need a more calibrated tool.
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Almir Ambeskovic38:58
That's the next step. We are collecting more data and starting to use it. Artificial intelligence will guide us.
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Interviewer39:23
There's a chat question about new startups in the restaurant world. If you were starting from zero, what would you do?
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Almir Ambeskovic39:45
I would launch a chain of Italian restaurants around the world. A well-managed restaurant has good margins. A chain allows you to optimize costs and scale. Italian restaurants are the most searched for worldwide. But Italian restaurants abroad are often not run by Italians. In Sweden, they are run by Syrians who resemble the image of a Southern Italian. Made in Italy is already a brand, especially in food. Instead of inventing super sophisticated things, you can think simply and become the largest restaurant chain in the world.
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Interviewer41:25
I was thinking, if I hit my head tomorrow and decided to open a restaurant, which is light years from my character, I would open a chain. Like Bastianich said, I'd do 'Il Gelato del Pelato' or 'Il Ristorante del Pelato'. I'd open in Brighton. But it would be empty. But then TheFork could put 'La Pizzeria del Pelato' in evidence. You have a huge power of visibility for individual restaurants from day one.
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Almir Ambeskovic42:11
That's true. New restaurants that open, most of them approach TheFork. You start with no customers, and TheFork gives you the possibility to not have all the costs of being on the main street. You can be on a side street because people find you through geolocation. Honestly, the first thing I would do is start with TheFork to get known.
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Interviewer42:54
That changes the real estate vision. Before, you had to be on the main street. Now you can find a cheaper place and people will find you anyway.
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Almir Ambeskovic43:15
I remember a case in Milan on Corso Garibaldi. A restaurant was on a side street and wasn't visible. It wasn't doing well. Then it joined TheFork and launched a chain that was hugely successful. People would have an aperitif, get hungry, open the app, find it five minutes away, and go there. It literally opened a world for them.
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Interviewer44:13
We'll save Radetzky for another chat. This was very interesting. I greet everyone who followed us on Clubhouse. We'll stay in touch for the next occasions. Good luck!
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Almir Ambeskovic44:25
Thank you. Thanks everyone.