Hospitality × Technology × Leadership

Senior hospitality tech leadership, on the pass when you need it.

Fractional leadership, non-executive board support and hands-on AI and technology expertise for hospitality operators and the tech businesses that serve them. Over fifteen years inside the industry's best-known platforms, now working directly for you.

Book an intro call → See the services
Order up4 services on the pass
#01LEAD

Fractional leadership

  • Interim CRO / CCO / MD
  • Go-to-market plan
  • Sales team build
Served: 1–3 days/wk
#02BOARD

Non-executive director

  • Board seat
  • Investor-ready strategy
  • Exec coaching
Served: monthly
#03AI

AI for hospitality

  • AI readiness review
  • Guest-journey automation
  • Vendor shortlist
Served: 4–8 wk sprint
#04TECH

Tech for hospitality

  • Stack review: EPOS, booking, pay
  • Integration roadmap
  • Supplier selection
Served: project or retainer
Experience from
BookatableTheForkZapperZonalOrderPayYumpingoHeyGuest
Who we work with

Both sides of the pass.

Most consultants know hospitality or know technology. We have spent a career where the two meet: selling to operators, rolling platforms out across estates, and building the teams that do it.

Operators

Restaurant, pub & hotel groups

Get the right technology in, get more from what you already pay for, and put AI to work on guest experience and margin without disrupting service.

Hospitality tech companies

Start-ups to scale-ups

Senior commercial leadership to find product-market fit with operators, build a repeatable sales engine and land the enterprise accounts that change your trajectory.

Investors & boards

PE, VC & founders

Independent board-level judgement on hospitality tech: commercial due diligence, portfolio support and an experienced non-executive voice in the room.

Services

Four things we do, done properly.

Every engagement is led personally by David. You get senior experience from day one, with no handover to a junior team.

01

Fractional leadership

A seasoned CRO, CCO or Managing Director, part-time.

  • Commercial strategy, pricing and go-to-market for hospitality tech products
  • Building, hiring and coaching sales, account management and partnerships teams
  • Enterprise deal leadership with multi-site operators
  • Interim cover through a hire, a raise or a turnaround
02

Non-executive director

Independent challenge and support at board level.

  • Board and advisory board roles for hospitality tech businesses
  • Growth strategy, fundraising, investor readiness and exit planning
  • M&A support, and leadership of acquired businesses to lay the foundations for scale
  • Mentoring founders and executive teams
  • Introductions across operators, platforms and partners
03

AI expertise for hospitality

Practical AI that frees teams up for guests, grounded in real operations.

  • AI readiness review: where it will pay back across your guest journey and back office
  • Conversational AI for reservations, enquiries and guest communications, so every call, WhatsApp and DM gets answered even on a Saturday at 7pm
  • Guest feedback and data intelligence to drive menu, service and site decisions
  • Vendor evaluation and rollout plans that protect the in-person experience
04

Tech expertise for hospitality

Independent advice on the stack that runs your venues.

  • Technology audits covering EPOS, order & pay, bookings, payments and CRM
  • Integration roadmaps so your systems share data instead of creating it twice
  • Supplier selection, contract negotiation and implementation oversight
  • Go-to-market advice for vendors selling into hospitality
David Charlton, founder of Hospitality Tech Experts
David CharltonFounder & Principal
About David

Fifteen years growing the platforms hospitality runs on.

David Charlton has spent more than fifteen years in hospitality technology, scaling businesses from early-stage start-ups through to established market leaders and exits.

He started in restaurant booking at Bookatable, rising to UK Sales Director as it became TheFork, then built Zapper's UK restaurant sales operation from scratch. Five years at Zonal took him from Sales Director to Commercial Director, running revenue across nine products and the division's executive team. He went on to be CCO at OrderPay and Managing Director UK, then Chief Revenue Officer, at Yumpingo.

Since founding Hospitality Tech Experts in 2023, David has worked as a fractional leader and non-executive with tech firms including Ingredifind, Tipinc, Mosaic by Methodworx, iovox, HeyGuest, F3 Technologies and 125 Data & Insights, covering board roles, strategic advice, M&A and leading acquired companies. Most recently, as Fractional Managing Director of HeyGuest AI, he has been bringing AI into hospitality to improve the guest experience while reducing operating costs.

He also founded and runs Posh Paws, a four-site grooming group in Staffordshire, plus two pet-industry platforms: Dog Groomer Jobs and Microchip My Pet.

Away from work, David served for almost nine years as a Special Police Sergeant with Cheshire and Greater Manchester Police, and was recognised for services to the police in 2014.

15+years in hospitality technology
7tech firms advised since 2023
MDplus CRO and CCO roles held

“David's knowledge of the hospitality sector is second-to-none.”

David Gallimore, fellow Zonal executive team member

“He knows the hospitality sector and the HeyGuest business inside out.”

Jenny Carter, HeyGuest
View David on LinkedIn →
Track record

Where the experience comes from.

Booking, payments, EPOS, ordering, guest feedback and AI. David has led commercial growth across nearly every layer of the modern hospitality stack, and seen businesses through fundraises and exits.

iovox · Conversational AI
Fractional Managing DirectorMar 2026 – Nov 2026

Led international growth for an enterprise AI platform that unifies voice, webchat, email, social and WhatsApp guest communications for multi-site operators: market strategy, international partnerships and building the team. Achieved a complaint rate of just 1.5% across AI-handled guest interactions.

YumpingoGuest experience management
Chief Revenue Officer · MD UKJan 2021 – Sep 2023

Joined as UK Commercial Director, became Managing Director UK within five months, running sales, customer success, partnerships, marketing and operations, then took on the global revenue remit as CRO.

Order & pay
Chief Commercial OfficerJul 2020 – Jan 2021

Led sales, onboarding, account management and partnerships as contactless order and pay became essential to reopening hospitality safely after lockdown, including the integration partnership with Zonal.

EPOS & hospitality software
Commercial Director · Sales DirectorSep 2015 – Jul 2020

Responsible for revenue across all nine products in Zonal's Marketing Technologies division (reservations, table management, loyalty, gift cards, mobile ordering and more), with multiple P&Ls and general management of the divisional executive team.

Mobile payments
UK Sales DirectorJul 2014 – Mar 2015

Built the UK restaurant sales operation from scratch: recruited 73 people and signed the company's first 500 merchants within six months, and opened its first regional office in Manchester.

TizaroE-commerce · Interim role
Interim VP SalesJan 2014 – Jun 2014

Prepared the business for sale and helped raise Series A, growing sales revenue by 67%, lifting average order value by over 300% and cutting delivery times from 21 days to 3.

Formerly Bookatable · Restaurant booking
UK Sales DirectorApr 2010 – Dec 2013

Rose from UK Sales Manager (177% year-on-year growth in 2012) to UK Sales Director with a team of 60, adding £2.4m to recurring revenue in 2013 ahead of the company's exit to new owners.

Fractional & non-exec clients since 2023
IngredifindTipincMosaic by MethodWorxiovoxHeyGuestF3 Technologies125 Data & Insights Data & Insights
David's own businesses

An operator, not just an adviser.

Alongside his hospitality tech work, David founded and runs three businesses of his own. Running salons day to day means living the same problems as hospitality clients: staffing, bookings, loyalty, opening new sites and making an acquisition work.

Multi-site operator · Since 2023

Posh Paws

A group of four dog and cat grooming salons across Staffordshire, co-founded with Tim Charlton. It opened in Eccleshall in October 2023, acquired and refurbished a salon in Stone in 2024, then opened Birches Head (2025) and Newcastle-under-Lyme (November 2025), with online booking and its own Wags & Rewards loyalty scheme.

doggroomerstafford.co.uk → Marketplace · Recruitment

Dog Groomer Jobs

A UK job board built specifically for the grooming industry. Groomers create a free profile and get matched to full-time, part-time, freelance and table-rental roles; salons post vacancies and receive matched candidates.

doggroomerjobs.com → Platform · Pet ID database

Microchip My Pet

A UK pet microchip database. Keepers pay once for lifetime registration with SMS scan alerts, anyone can check which database holds a chip, and vets, breeders and implanters get free microchips, keepership transfers and reunification support.

microchipmypet.co.uk →
Working together

Engagements built around service, not hours.

Start with a free 30-minute intro call. We'll agree the problem, the outcome and the right shape of engagement before anything is signed.

Fractional

Embedded leadership

A set number of days each month as part of your leadership team, with clear goals and a monthly review.

Best for: tech companies scaling sales, or covering a senior hire.
Board

Non-executive & advisory

A formal board or advisory seat with regular board meetings, strategy sessions and on-call support between them.

Best for: founders, investors and growing businesses wanting independent challenge.
Project

Focused sprints

Fixed-scope work such as an AI readiness review, a tech stack audit, supplier selection or a go-to-market plan.

Best for: operators with a specific decision to make, fast.
Contact

Let's talk about what's on your pass.

Tell us a little about your business and what you're trying to solve. David will reply personally, usually within one working day.

BasedStafford, UK, working internationally