Hotschedules and Fourth Join Forces to Become Global Leader in End-To-End Restaurant and Hospitality Management Technology Solutions
Merger creates the hospitality industry’s first and only fully integrated intelligent operations software and solutions for workforce and cost-control management.
HotSchedules, provider of the leading workforce and inventory management solutions for the restaurant industry, and Fourth, provider of the only integrated hospitality workforce management and cost-control operations platform, today announced they merged business operations in an agreement backed by Marlin Equity Partners and Insight Partners.
Together, the merged company now represents the world’s largest and only provider of end-to-end restaurant and hospitality management solutions for customers across the globe and of all sizes—from a single location or franchisee restaurant to a global restaurant or hotel chain. The combined company’s complete software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution suite including: scheduling, time & attendance, applicant tracking, training, inventory management/procurement, HR/benefits and payroll services now serves customers in 120,000 locations worldwide and is supported by a dedicated, unified team across offices in the U.S., U.K., Bulgaria, China, Australia and UAE.
“The merger of Fourth and HotSchedules presents a huge opportunity for growth and innovation,” said Ben Hood, co-founder and CEO of Fourth and CEO of the newly merged company. “We are excited to join forces with a company that aligns so closely to our mission, values, history, culture and overall commitment to customer success. After overseeing Fourth’s journey to date, it is a dream partnership.”
“Merging with Fourth will enable us to accelerate innovation,” said David Cantu, co-founder and chief customer officer at HotSchedules. “As the two largest players in the restaurant and hospitality vertical, our combined strengths and industry expertise will ensure our customers have the solutions they need to solve complex business problems and remain competitive. We look forward to what the future holds and serving the industry together.”
“We are excited to team up with Insight Partners in order to bring together two industry leaders,” said Doug Bayerd, a principal at Marlin Equity Partners. “Our combined investment underscores our commitment to the hospitality management solutions market and the value these companies provide for their customers.”
Robust Products Enable Customer Growth & Profitability
HotSchedules’ core workforce management, employee engagement and back-of-house solutions combined with Fourth’s workforce management and cost-control operations platform offer customers the industry’s only complete back-of-house hospitality management solution. As a result of the merger, customers around the world now have access to:
- An operations platform that seamlessly integrates with nearly every major POS system, finance platform and many industry-specific third-party applications
- Single sign-on, integrated workforce management and inventory management/procurement software
- Robust compliance functionality to ensure enforcement of directives for labor management, safety, food and cash handling
- Full-service, hospitality-specific payroll, benefits and HR services
- Real-time operational insights, cost-control management and analytics dashboards
- Dynamic, advanced demand forecasting via the company’s robust, predictive algorithms
Existing HotSchedules and Fourth customers will benefit from the combined capabilities and experience of the two companies, advancing the delivery of innovative solutions across both customer bases.
“Our staff and managers enjoy using HotSchedules’ powerful and intuitive scheduling app on a daily basis,” said Anne Ansley, CFO of award-winning PDQ restaurants. “From an operational perspective, HotSchedules has really helped us drive greater efficiency across our entire brand. Combined with the great human resources, payroll and benefits services that Fourth continues to provide us, along with the addition of their advanced analytics and demand forecasting capabilities, this is a game-changer. The combined solutions will significantly benefit the industry, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this technology.”
HotSchedules and Fourth will unite under the leadership of Ben Hood, CEO of Fourth, and an executive team comprised of HotSchedules and Fourth team members. The combined entity will continue to support solutions across their respective platforms. The business will be headquartered in Austin, TX and London, U.K.
District Capital Partners acted as the sellside advisor to Fourth Limited and Insight Partners.
