Ruffl, a hyper-local restaurant booking service available on iOS and Android is set to revolutionise the London restaurant scene and build on the trend towards ‘here and now’, spontaneous dining. Using geo-location and connected directly to a rapidly expanding network of participating restaurants, the Ruffl app allows diners to search, discover and instantly book available tables nearby through a slick, easy to use interface.
More than 450 restaurants have already signed up including top, Michelin-starred eateries as well as local hidden gems for diners to discover.
How it works for restaurants:
‧ Yield Enhancer – Restaurateurs have their own app and quite literally have power in the palm of their hands to update, in real-time, the number of available tables, offers and discounts – thus increasing the volume of ‘walk ins’ and ‘topping up’ existing business as well as providing a powerful tool to combat the high level of ‘no shows’ and cancellations increasingly prevalent in the restaurant industry today
‧ Flexibility & Dynamic Pricing – Enables the restaurant to truly turn the tap ‘on and off’ according to the real-time table availability in the restaurant
‧ Ease of Use – Simple to use interface where members of staff with minimal guidance using a smartphone, tablet or computer can upload availability, updates and offers within seconds
‧ No digital footprint – All ‘deal and discount information’ is only ever available to local potential diners looking for food using the Ruffl app and is never stored on the internet thus avoiding the pressure to run ‘permanent’ special offers
‧ Payment by Results – Ruffl is totally results based without installation fees, monthly subscriptions or training costs. The restaurant only pays a small commission per diner once the diner has been delivered
‧ Simple – With a simple three tap process consumers can discover a selection of local
restaurants within their chosen price bracket and number of diners
‧ Location Based – The app uses a sophisticated algorithm that knows where you are and presents a variety of restaurants nearby, many with deals and discounts, all of which can be instantly booked
‧ ‘Intelligent’ – The app is ‘intelligent’ and the automatic review system will personalise future
results matching individual preferences with nearby availability ‘getting to know’ individuals
and deliver ever more relevant results
‧ Fun & Spontaneous – The thrill of being spontaneous and finding brand new places to
explore and experience
Ruffl was conceived by experienced entrepreneur Aaron Ross and is backed by an influential group of investors including Karen Hanton MBE, serial entrepreneur and founder of toptable.com (sold to Nasdaq listed OpenTable in 2010, in one of Europe’s largest internet transactions), and highly regarded industry expert David Pritchard former European CEO of OpenTable
Founder Aaron Ross comments
“Ruffl reflects the spirit of the times – much more driven by spontaneity and the desire and willingness to experiment in a social context. It is the true bridge between the new generation customer and a powerful, yield enhancing tool for the restaurateur.’
Investor Karen Hanton MBE said
“Since exiting toptable in 2010 I have had the opportunity to get involved in numerous ‘me too’ restaurant booking ventures. Ruffl is by far and away the most exciting prospect I’ve seen with a truly original approach. Unlike anything currently available, Ruffl enables restaurants to re-establish full control of the booking process and ‘own’ their own inventory’.
Aaron Ross, founder of RUFFL
Aaron is an experienced entrepreneur with a track record in disruptive innovation. A self confessed IT geek at heart.
Aaron first took his IT expertise into the realm of absence management in the form of FirstCare. Aaron grew FirstCare to become the UK’s largest absence management specialist, setting the industry standard to this day and dominating the UK market. In five years as CEO at FirstCare he grew the company from two employees to over 120 and saved the UK economy tens of millions in reduced costs associated with employee absence.
In late 2012 Aaron discovered a great new restaurant two streets away from where he lived. During a chance conversation with the owner of the restaurant he asked him when they had opened, to which the reply was “five years ago”. Realising that he must have walked passed the restaurant over 100 times and never really noticed it, he started thinking about how many independent restaurants – must – regularly lose out to the larger chains, simply because people don’t know where they are and what they offer.
Aaron decided to turn his entrepreneurial attention to the vibrant London restaurant scene and launched restaurant-brokering agency Anqa shortly afterwards. October 2013 sees Anqa launch an innovative consumer app, Ruffl, which is set to revolutionise the London restaurant scene. Anqa is backed by an influential group of investors including serial entrepreneur and toptable founder Karen Hanton and David Pritchard, former European CEO of Opentable. Ruffl will offer the future of city dining, helping diners discover restaurants they never knew existed and allowing restaurants to find diners when they need them most.
Aside from Aaron’s business ventures he has a passion for encouraging entrepreneurship in young people. He is involved with some great not-for-profit organisations and charities and is proudly a trustee for The Diana Award and chair the United World Colleges GB. Aaron is looking to revolutionise hyperlocal consumer transactions one app at a time.
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