MURTEC 2026 Recap: AI, Automation, and After Dark — XPR POS on the Ground in Las Vegas

Last week, over 1,200 restaurant technology leaders gathered at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the 31st annual Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference — better known as MURTEC. The XPR POS team was on the ground for all three days, and one thing was clear: the restaurant industry isn't just talking about transformation anymore. It's executing.

Here's what stood out — and why it matters for operators evaluating their technology roadmap in 2026 and beyond.

AI Moved From Buzzword to Business Imperative

If MURTEC 2025 introduced AI as a conversation, MURTEC 2026 made it a mandate. The conference featured an inaugural full-day AI Summit on Day 3 — the industry's first dedicated program designed to guide non-technical restaurant leaders through AI transformation strategy.

Keynote speaker Sol Rashidi, a four-time C-suite executive and recognized as the world's first Chief AI Officer, set the tone with her session "The Human Advantage in the Age of AI." Her message resonated throughout the conference: AI isn't here to replace your team — it's here to amplify human judgment and operational intelligence.

For operators running XPR POS, this trajectory reinforces where we're investing: AI-powered upselling on kiosks, intelligent kitchen routing through our KDS, and data-driven decision-making through our cloud CMS. The AI Summit confirmed that the operators moving fastest are the ones with clean data pipelines and unified systems — exactly the foundation our platform is built to provide.

Self-Service and Automation: No Longer Optional

Multiple sessions reinforced that self-service kiosks and kitchen automation have crossed the threshold from "innovation project" to "operational infrastructure." Leon Davoyan, CTO of Dave's Hot Chicken, and Jack Ahrens from Kura Sushi presented on autonomous operations in action — from IoT-enabled kitchen environments to computer vision monitoring and even drone delivery pilots.

The self-service kiosk market is projected to grow from $14.5 billion in 2025 to over $25 billion by 2030, and the operators at MURTEC aren't waiting. They're deploying kiosks integrated with mobile ordering, KDS, and loyalty — treating them as nodes in a unified ordering ecosystem rather than standalone terminals.

This is the architecture XPR POS has championed from day one. Our kiosks integrate natively with POS platforms like Oracle Simphony, PARPOS, and Genius, while feeding orders directly to kitchen displays and processing payments through FreedomPay, Shift 4, Adyen, and Datacap. The conference validated that this integrated approach is now the industry expectation, not a differentiator.

Payments Innovation Is the New Loyalty Battleground

One of the most forward-looking sessions featured a panel on payments innovation as a competitive lever for loyalty. Tap-to-order, network tokenization, and wallet-linked loyalty programs were positioned not just as checkout enhancements but as strategic tools for driving repeat visits and capturing richer guest data.

For multi-unit operators, the takeaway is clear: your payment stack is no longer just a cost center — it's a guest engagement channel. Operators who can unify payments, loyalty, and ordering data across locations will have a significant advantage in personalization and retention.

This aligns directly with XPR POS's payment integration approach. By supporting multiple payment gateways within a single platform, we give operators the flexibility to optimize for speed, cost, and guest experience across every location — whether it's a QSR drive-thru, an airport concession, or a stadium concourse.

Labor Optimization Remains the North Star

Every conversation at MURTEC eventually returned to labor. Gil Brucken from Flynn Group — one of the largest franchise operators in the U.S. — spoke about maintaining guest connection in an increasingly digital restaurant world. The challenge isn't just reducing labor costs; it's redeploying staff to where they create the most value.

Chris Padilla, VP of Brand Technology at Dine Brands (IHOP, Applebee's), shared how AI deployments are being used to drive efficiency while supporting franchisees — a nuanced approach that recognizes technology adoption at scale requires buy-in, not just rollout.

The consensus? Self-service and automation are labor strategy, not labor replacement. Operators deploying kiosks and automated kitchen workflows are reallocating team members to hospitality, quality control, and guest experience — the things that drive loyalty and repeat visits.

MURTEC After Dark: Sponsored by XPR POS

The highlight of Tuesday evening — and arguably the entire conference — was MURTEC After Dark, and XPR POS was proud to be the official sponsor.

Held at the Victoria Room on Caesar's Rooftop, the event sold out well in advance. Themed "Electric Connections," the evening transformed the rooftop venue into a neon-lit lounge high above the Las Vegas Strip. Guests enjoyed electric entertainment, signature cocktails, and bold bites while connecting with peers in the most relaxed setting of the conference.

For our team, sponsoring MURTEC After Dark was about more than brand visibility. It was an opportunity to bring together the restaurant technology community — operators, innovators, and partners — in an environment designed for the kind of honest, unscripted conversations that drive real progress. The energy in the room confirmed what we already believed: this industry is ready to move fast, and the leaders in attendance are the ones making it happen.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the Victoria Room. The event was standing room only, and the connections made that evening will fuel partnerships and innovation well beyond MURTEC 2026.

What MURTEC 2026 Means for Your Technology Roadmap

If you weren't at MURTEC this year, here's the executive summary:

• AI is no longer experimental — it's expected at enterprise scale, and data readiness is the prerequisite.
• Self-service kiosks are infrastructure, not innovation — they should integrate with your POS, KDS, mobile, and loyalty as a unified system.
• Payments are a strategic channel — tap-to-order, tokenization, and wallet-linked loyalty are table stakes for 2026.
• Labor strategy requires automation — but the goal is redeployment, not reduction.
• The operators moving fastest are the ones with unified, cloud-managed platforms that can scale across locations.

Ready to Build Your 2026 Technology Roadmap?

The trends at MURTEC 2026 map directly to what XPR POS delivers every day: self-service kiosks, deep POS integrations, kitchen display systems, flexible payment processing, and centralized cloud management for multi-location operations.

If you're evaluating your restaurant technology stack for 2026 and beyond, we'd love to continue the conversation we started in Las Vegas. Request a demo or reach out to our team to see how XPR POS can help you move from strategy to execution.