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Greek Australian’s restaurant booking system wins $275 million US patent valuation
The Greek Herald, 12 December 2022
An advanced ‘world first’ intelligent restaurant booking system, invented by veteran Sydney restaurateur and proprietor Peter Petroulas, has just been awarded a US patent, valuing his start up business WizButler at $275 million.
WizButler is a never-been-done-before technology solution which manages restaurant space instead of a fixed number of restaurant tables. The algorithm dynamically reallocates tables in real time and dynamically reallocates every booking to optimise space and bookings on the dining floor.
The technology can autonomously take 50 percent more bookings online in real time during a busy service than any other booking system.
Mathematicians from MIT, Cornell University and technology companies like Apple, Amazon and Oracle have been aware of the inefficiencies of existing systems for the last twenty years but have failed to find a solution.
WizButler Founder and CEO, Mr Petroulas, said the issue was that all prior attempts to solve the problem fell into the trap of trying to improve the existing process by trying to develop more advanced mathematical search algorithms, while still allocating bookings to a fixed pool of tables and table combinations.
Mr Petroulas, inspired by the “think different” approach of Apple founder Steve Jobs, reimagined the problem.
“WizButler is a technology solution which manages a restaurant’s space rather than a fixed pool of restaurant tables,” Mr Petroulas said.
“By developing a 3D solution, it is not only a better solution but a realistic and practical solution to the restaurant booking allocation conundrum that the previous 2D systems could not solve.”
Mr Petroulas added that WizButler’s space management system is completely configurable and can be customised to a restaurant’s style of operation, whether it be a cafe, bar, casual dining or formal restaurant.
“It’s evident that this is genuinely disruptive technology and that space management and dynamic allocation will form the basis and framework of a new era in hospitality booking systems and the existing 2D systems will struggle to remain relevant,” the CEO said.
Petroulas previously managed the awarded GPO Grand Group of restaurants and bars in Sydney’s 1 Martin Place, which included the highly respected venues of Prime Steak Restaurant, Intermezzo Italian Restaurant, Postales Spanish Restaurant, GPO Cheese and Wine Room, Sosumi Sushi Train and Crystal Boudoir Cabaret. Mr Petroulas closed the precinct in June 2020 after 18 years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.