Julie Grieve, founder and CEO of Criton, has also joined Stampede as a commercial consultant and adviser. Criton, a provider of guest apps for independent hotels, was acquired by Nonius, the global hospitality technology vendor, last year. Ms Grieve’s addition to the team comes as Stampede increases its focus on the hotel sector.

Patrick Clover, founder and CEO of Stampede, said: “It’s great to get Julie on board, she brings incredible industry experience and operating know-how, gained at one of the UK’s most successful hospitality tech startups of recent times.

“It also comes at an important juncture for Stampede, where we are entering our next phase of growth, working more with hotels, and aiming to take the business to the next level.”

Ms Grieve added: “Patrick and the team have carefully built a fantastic product, the evidence of which includes such a high quality client roster. It’s an exciting time for Stampede, and I look forward to bringing my hotel experience into the business and helping to guide commercial strategy over the months ahead.”

Additionally, Christian White has joined the company as head of commercial, moving from Fresh Car Group where he was director of operations. As a previous operations manager at both Signature Pub Group and G1 Group, Mr White brings extensive experience from the pub and restaurants, bars, and nightclub market.

He said: “Having experienced the challenges that the hospitality sector is facing, I cannot wait to work with Patrick and the team on extending the reach of our amazing platform.”

Mr Clover added: “I am delighted to have hired someone of Christian’s calibre and experience into the business, and I know that he will continue our laser focus on delivering exceptional tools for the hospitality industry.”

Stampede was founded in 2016 by CEO Patrick Clover, and develops innovative marketing tools for the hospitality sector including data capture tools to create segmentable marketing audiences for operators while delivering an improved digital guest experience. The system offers branded booking systems and guest WiFi and enables customers to build dynamic mailing lists and customer profiles.

Stampede’s intelligent hospitality email marketing platform is also used by clients including Signature Pub Group, Lane7 Group, Glendola Leisure, MacDonald Hotels, and Montpeliers Group.

Mr Clover said: “Lane7 grew its database by almost 300% year-on-year in 2022 utilising our platform, while expanding from 4 to 12 locations. It’s a classic case of the approximately 80% of businesses that use email marketing as their primary way to retain customers and keep them coming back.”

Mr Clover says the industry environment is driving technological change.

He noted: ”With the economic pressure on the industry, there’s a growing appetite for simpler, cost-effective solutions that come with the latest technology such as automation and AI, and we’ve translated this to a number of new and soon-to-launch features on the platform.

“Overall, we are helping our clients to cut through complex existing technology and marketing that doesn’t deliver return on investment. Our systems are built to improve business efficiency and drive profitability.”

Stampede is also preparing for an external investment round to support planned international expansion.