Australian hospitality operators are under sustained pressure. Rising costs, volatile trading patterns and more cautious consumer spending have forced venues to rethink how they generate demand and protect margins. For a growing number of restaurants, the answer is AI.
According to CreditorWatch Business Risk Index data, food and beverage businesses continue to face some of the economy’s highest failure rates, with trading volatility and cost pressures expected to persist through 2026.
Into that environment, Australian-founded restaurant technology platform EatClub has announced a partnership with CommBank to integrate AI-powered dining offers into the CommBank app, which counts 8.8 million active users and records more than 14 million daily logins.
In the past 12 months, EatClub says it has helped fill more than 5.5 million tables that would otherwise have sat empty during off-peak periods, generating incremental revenue for venues across its network.
A yield management model for restaurants
The EatClub model draws on booking patterns, historical trading data and real-time demand signals to identify underutilised trading periods, then surfaces targeted offers to drive diners into venues when capacity is available.
“Right now, a restaurant can be half empty at 5pm and turning customers away at 7pm, all while charging the same price,” said EatClub CEO and Co-Founder Pan Koutlakis. “Our technology helps solve that imbalance.”
Koutlakis draws the comparison to yield management strategies long used by airlines and hotels. “The goal isn’t simply to offer discounts; it’s to better match demand with available capacity and generate revenue from tables that might otherwise sit empty.”
For venues currently on the platform, EatClub reports an average 10x uplift during targeted off-peak windows, translating to approximately a 12% increase in annual revenue. On the consumer side, active users save more than $330 per year on dining and eat out 70% more frequently.
The CommBank integration is designed to accelerate that reach. “This initiative represents a major opportunity for restaurants looking for smarter customer acquisition channels to fill quieter trading periods without relying on broad-based discounting,” said Koutlakis.
CommBank EGM Consumer Finance Joel Larsen framed the partnership as an extension of its existing value proposition to customers. “CommBank already offers customers access to discounts and offers across banking, shopping and travel from CommBank Yello. Working with EatClub is just another way we’re looking to help our customers get more value and save money.”
The partnership follows EatClub’s recent oversubscribed $27 million pre-Series B raise. The platform operates across Australia and the UK with more than 5,000 restaurant partners and over two million app downloads, and was co-founded by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White.
Seven trends reshaping when and how Australians dine out
EatClub’s network data points to a series of meaningful shifts in Australian dining behaviour that operators should factor into their demand strategies.
1. The quietest periods are where the opportunity sits. Across EatClub’s network, the lowest-demand windows remain 2pm–5pm and 9pm–10pm. Effective demand tools focus on these underperforming windows rather than applying across-the-board discounting.
2. Peak periods are shifting. The traditional 6pm–7pm prime dining window has declined from 53% to 49% of bookings over the past year. The 3pm–5pm window has grown from 30% to 34%, and diners eating before 6pm are up 12%. Operators should revisit their assumptions about when peak actually is.
3. Midweek is the real opportunity. Monday to Thursday accounts for 51% of all dine-in occasions, yet many operators focus their energy on weekends. Monday remains the quietest trading night, and even modest cover increases during these periods can have a meaningful impact on weekly revenue.
4. Data should drive demand strategy. Consistent quiet periods, seasonal fluctuations and emerging behavioural shifts aren’t always visible from day-to-day operations. AI-driven platforms can surface patterns that aren’t obvious from the floor.
5. The average party is getting smaller. Solo dining has increased from 26.6% to 30.2% of bookings in the past year, meaning nearly one in three reservations is now for a single diner. Tables of two remain the dominant booking type but have declined from 49% to 46%. Seating plans and offers should reflect this shift.
6. Cuisine preferences are evolving fast. Chinese, Korean, Modern Australian, Japanese and Middle Eastern cuisines have all significantly outperformed overall platform growth on EatClub. This kind of demand intelligence can inform menu development and venue positioning.
7. New customer acquisition matters more than fill rates alone. The strongest demand platforms don’t just fill empty seats; they introduce venues to new customers who return. “The long-term value comes not from a single booking, but from creating future loyal customers,” says Koutlakis.
