New AI platform offers hospitality a helping hand

A new AI-driven platform has been launched in Leeds, looking to address the dramatic changes in search and the effect this is having on hospitality venues. Urbanary, an AI-powered discovery platform, gives residents and visitors a smarter way to explore the city’s bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues, giving a personal experience in designing the perfect night out.

Launched by founder James Mills in partnership with Leeds List, the platform aims to create a personalised experience for users and help boost footfall for the city’s hospitality and leisure scene. Some of Leed’s favourite venues have already come on board, with Escapism Bars and Chaophraya being the first to join the platform prior to launch, as well as other local organisations such as Andy’s Man Club and Leeds Food Tours.

The new technology, which uses an AI-powered chatbot to deliver personalised recommendations tailored by age, preferences and mood, is free and can be accessed via a mobile-optimised website. For hospitality businesses, the platform offers an affordable, high-ROI presence online and a first-mover advantage in chatbot-powered discovery.

As part of its launch, Urbanary is partnering with Leeds List to highlight some of the city’s best-loved and lesser-known venues, further reinforcing the platform’s mission to champion local hospitality.

James Mills, founder of Urbanary, said: “I’d always had the ambition to launch something that could benefit my home city of Leeds, and I wanted to do something to support our brilliant hospitality businesses, who are being attacked from every angle, whether that’s high energy costs, or significant changes to web-search facilities. We’re always told to ‘embrace AI’ so I set out on developing a business model that could support this and the footfall in the city centre.

“While we’ve launched in Leeds, it’s clear that the application of this technology is highly scalable. We’re ambitious and want to be the go-to provider of hospitality search, as we look to expand at pace.  We want locals and visitors to explore beyond their usual spots, uncover hidden gems, and give businesses smarter ways to connect with their audience.”

Ellen Miller, founder of Leeds Food Tours, said: “Working with Urbanary felt like a natural fit for us. We want to help people discover Leeds through its established and thriving food scene and Urbanary’s model will help people do just that. It’s great to see a platform that supports local venues and encourages people to explore beyond their usual spots.”

Kelly Summerton, sales manager at Chaophraya, added: “We’re delighted to join Urbanary as it launches in Leeds. We should all be utilising AI more and it's an exciting new platform which we hope will help drive additional awareness of our restaurant among new guests and those who may not have visited for a while.”

Mica Jones, head of sales at Escapism Bars, said: “When James approached us with the idea of Urbanary, we were intrigued by the idea of breathing some fresh life into the Leeds hospitality scene with the use of AI. It’s a useful tool which we hope will drive footfall across all our venues.”

James Mills concluded: “With 800,000 residents and more than 30 million visitors each year, Leeds represents a £350M+ hospitality market and Urbanary is designed to help the city’s venues attract new audiences, increase footfall and connect with people in a more personalised way.

“The initial response to this idea has been phenomenal and we’re looking forward to announcing a range of partnerships in the coming months, in what is a vital time of year for the hospitality trade.”

25 organisations have joined the platform prior to its official launch this week with Head of Steam and Camerons Brewery venues being the latest. The full list of those organisations who have joined Urbanary include LIVIN’Italy, Chaophraya, The Burnt Chef project, Andy’s Man Club, Escapism Bars and Leeds Food Tours.