In Any Event: How Smart POS Technology Is Transforming Entertainment and Travel

Entertainment venues as well as travel and hospitality operators have promised frictionless service for years, but long lines persist. Fans and travelers still miss key moments by waiting in line for concessions or hotel check-ins, compromising satisfaction and operator revenue. Traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems, meant to streamline these transactions, fall short, creating bottlenecks rather than eliminating them.

However, advances in POS technologies—such as in-seat ordering, cashierless concessions and integrated payment systems—are reshaping experiences across entertainment and travel. These innovations don’t merely cut wait times. They open entirely new revenue streams by enabling continuous engagement. Smarter POS solutions can turn previously disrupted experiences into uninterrupted satisfaction, leading to happier guests and higher profits.

Guests Expect Faster, More Personalized Experiences

Mobile Tech Upends the Live-Event Playbook

Seamless Payments Redefine Travel and Leisure

Turning to the Future of Connected Experiences

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Guests Expect Faster, More Personalized Experiences

Fans and travelers expect the same ease and speed from venues that they already get from retail and dining experiences. With self-service now the norm elsewhere, events and hospitality must evolve—or risk falling short of guest expectations.

Consumers now expect convenience, speed and personalization everywhere.

Across events and travel, guests expect greater convenience, speed and personalization at every touch point. As technology improves experiences in other industries, fans and travelers want the same from stadiums, hotels and transportation hubs. For example, 58% of business travelers want more self-service options, with many expressing strong interest in automated expense tracking (54%), digital and/or biometric identification (50%) and mobile access to destination information (49%). Among travelers ages 18 to 24, 80% want tech-enabled personalized recommendations—far higher than the 62% of travelers ages 65 and older.

57%

of eventgoers would spend more with in-seat ordering, rendering convenience a revenue driver, not just a service upgrade.

Frictionless service improves satisfaction—and drives spend.

Convenience doesn’t just make guests happier—it also makes them spend more. A recent study found that 57% of eventgoers would increase their snack spending if in-seat ordering were available. Frictionless experiences like these strengthen loyalty while opening new revenue streams for operators that meet rising expectations. As seamless ordering becomes table stakes, the cost of inaction to vendors will only grow.

Venues are taking notice and scaling frictionless checkout.

Operators are responding to rising guest expectations with rapid upgrades to their infrastructure. According to a recent Stadium Tech Report survey, 53% of venues featured more than five cashierless stands in 2024, up from just 39% in 2023. This sharp increase shows how quickly frictionless checkout has moved from experimental to essential—reshaping how fans interact with concessions while giving venues more flexibility to reallocate staff and drive throughput.
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Mobile Tech Upends the Live-Event Playbook

Mobile-first platforms have reshaped how fans order, pay for and enjoy live events. Nearly all attendees buy food or merchandise, and most would spend more if they could order from their seats. Venues using smart POS systems reduce wait times, increase spend and boost operational efficiency.

In-seat ordering can turn fan downtime into spending time.

81%

of eventgoers want to order food from their seats.

Mobile ordering isn’t a niche preference—it’s now central to the live-event experience. A study from Boldyn finds that 98% of eventgoers buy food and drinks, and 86% purchase merchandise. Average spend sits at $50 for concessions and $67 for merchandise, but those numbers could be higher. More than eight in 10 attendees say they’d spend more if ordering were more convenient, and most want to order food (81%) or merchandise (73%) without leaving their seats.

Self-service kiosks speed up lines—and open new revenue lanes.

Waiting in line still ruins live events for too many guests. Verizon reports that long waits for food or merchandise directly undermine the fan experience. Many venues have turned to self-service kiosks and cashierless checkout, cutting average transaction times to under a minute. As adoption grows, venues are seeing higher throughput, bigger spend and leaner staffing models.

Real-world rollouts show how quickly venues can modernize.

The shift to mobile-first operations is gaining traction across live entertainment. Stadiums and arenas are adopting self-service POS systems. These moves can streamline concessions and enhance guest satisfaction. Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins observed a 15-minute reduction in average line wait time and a subsequent 28% lift in food and beverage sales at their concessions once they implemented mobile ordering at Hard Rock Stadium. In addition, Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes’ decision to bring in dedicated stadium POS provider Cantaloupe reflects a broader trend: Teams are turning to tech upgrades not just for speed but also to drive operational flexibility and revenue growth.

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Seamless Payments Redefine Travel and Leisure

Travelers now expect the same frictionless payments on the road that they enjoy in retail. From cruise cards to unified hotel platforms, digital systems help travel operators streamline transactions, improve guest satisfaction and unlock new revenue streams.

Travel and hospitality brands adopt frictionless payments to streamline the journey.

From cruises to airlines, travel operators are integrating frictionless payment systems to reduce stress and simplify transactions. For example, Carnival Cruise Line will now let guests use onboard cards off the boat at their new Celebration Key destination, enabling seamless checkout for food and beverages with self-service kiosks. Major carriers are adding digital wallets to booking flows, and even behind the scenes, new orchestration tools are helping operators simplify the complexity of travel payments. Similarly, hotels are beginning to accommodate the nearly 80% of guests who are open to fully automated front desks or self-service kiosks. These shifts reduce friction for travelers and guests—delivering faster checkouts, fewer delays and stronger margins for operators.

80%

of hotel guests are open to automated front desks or kiosks.

Unified platforms help operators cut costs and elevate the guest experience.

Many travel firms still rely on fragmented payment systems—often juggling four to six vendors across the funds flow life cycle. More than one-third of travel executives say they’re losing over 10% in profit margins due to these inefficiencies. That urgency is driving action: 82% of travel finance leaders have boosted investment in financial operations tech, and 80% now say they’re open to adopting unified, all-in-one platforms for better control, transparency and adaptability.

Likewise, sophisticated management software is revolutionizing hotel operations, with digital interfaces now allowing guests to order services and book amenities directly from their smartphones. Data analytics enable hotels to personalize guest experiences, offering tailored amenities that greatly enhance overall guest satisfaction.

Frictionless design turns convenience into conversion.

Travelers are more likely to spend when payments are fast and familiar. Outpayce finds that 45% of travelers would be more likely to buy airport extras if they could use their preferred payment method. At Colorado Springs Airport, Hudson Nonstop’s checkout-free store model shows how removing friction can convert last-minute needs into seamless, high-frequency transactions.
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Turning to the Future of Connected Experiences

Self-service solutions have already reshaped events and travel. Now, emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR)—are poised to define the next era of self-service. Operators ready to integrate these tools can enhance personalization, increase automation and bridge the final gap between convenience and connection.

AI is getting personal. Travel and event platforms are rolling out AI-driven chat tools that tailor itineraries and experiences to user preferences in real time. These systems don’t just make recommendations—they automate bookings, surface relevant upgrades and process changes without human friction.

AR helps guests navigate and engage. From virtual tours and real-time wayfinding to instant translation overlays, AR eases stress for travelers and eventgoers alike. According to Amadeus, 75% of travelers say AR tools reduce anxiety during trips.

Operational value is rising too. Airlines use predictive AI to manage disruptions. Concur Travel applies generative AI to expense processing. These capabilities will soon extend to event operations, automating queue management, staffing and dynamic pricing.

AI and AR are complements to, not replacements for, POS infrastructure. They are natural extensions of it. Operators that pair today’s frictionless systems with tomorrow’s intelligent interfaces won’t just eliminate lines. They’ll redefine the guest experience, with benefits accruing to the bottom line.

A comprehensive hospitality experience has to serve guests at every touch point. Technology has made it simpler to provide excellent customer service and reduce friction where it matters most—at the point of payment.”

Jim Castillo
Senior Vice President of Technology, Cantaloupe