About Us

About Us


Introducing HGEM

Our Story

Software with a Service

HGEM has been a pioneer for over 20 years. In 2003, we were the first to use the term ‘mystery dining’ as a specialist form of mystery shopping. It reflected the deeper and longer experiences that are typical in hospitality, as compared with retail. Hot on the heels of the dot.com explosion, we were the first to use the internet to provide next-day reporting.

Fast forward to the mid-2010's, and there are many more ways to gain insights from guests from surveys and reviews. We embraced these and were the first to use the term ‘Guest Experience Management’ (GEM). Our mission was to establish this as a core business discipline for hospitality businesses and to be the best source of expertise and tools. That mission has been achieved.

Now, in the mid-2020s, HGEM's award-winning platform, The Hub, is used by tens of thousands of venues, large and small. Guest Experience Managers with operations and marketing roles use it to engage with guests and gain insights that help them to grow sales.

But our growth is not just fueled by our amazing software. Because working in partnership with our clients comes as standard. We act as an extension to your team, interested in your strategy and playing our part to help you achieve it. It's how we learn and innovate. Many of our team have had careers in hospitality, so we understand the terminology and the challenges. We call this 'Software with a Service' and you won't find it anywhere else.

Let's see what we can achieve together!


Get to know the people behind HGEM

We’re incredibly proud of the work we do with our hospitality clients to improve guest experience through our insights platform, The Hub — but that’s not all we’re about. At our core, we’re a team of people, passionate about exceptional experiences. Check out who we are and why we’re obsessed with hospitality.

Come and meet our team...

Pradnya Nimbalkar

Pradnya Nimbalkar

Software Engineer

I care about continuously improving the quality of my work in the organisation and delivery of well designed, easy to use software which is enjoyable and simplifies users' life.

Louise Hallett

Louise Hallett

Client Success Manager

I love working with people, tackling challenges, and playing a part in creating amazing guest experiences—all while being part of the best team.

Jess Ward

Jess Ward

Assessment Technical Coordinator

I love helping others and solving problems, every day is different and there’s always a chance to learn something new and improve the experience of all users

Paul Pritchard

Paul Pritchard

Senior Business Intelligence Developer

It’s really important to me that our data is secure, accurate and accessible and that our reporting infrastructure is fast, reliable and always available. We always ensure our reporting is engaging, actionable and insightful.

Emily Batten

Emily Batten

Business Development Executive

I enjoy building relationships with our clients, discussing current challenges and creating solutions to improve the guest experience across so many brands. Every day brings something new and exciting, and I have the best team to share it with!

Suzi Jordan

Suzi Jordan

Senior Business Development Manager

I enjoy supporting clients to make the most of their guest feedback, identifying key trends to highlight where they can continually improve experiences, so their customers come back time and again.

Anna McDonagh

Anna McDonagh

Marketing Manager

Nick Nikolenko

Nick Nikolenko

Software Engineer

I like being part of a team that solves complex problems and has fun doing it.

Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis

Infrastructure and Business Intelligence Manager

I really enjoy identifying the scope for enabling greater innovation and collaboration for internal teams and our clients and working together to deliver new value.

Lauren Gould

Lauren Gould

Head of Operations

I enjoy engaging with our clients and learning about what they are trying to achieve, then in partnership with them, building a solution that can support and help them reach their targets. I’m proud to work in such a fantastic industry.

Graziella Whitehouse

Graziella Whitehouse

Mystery Guest Advisor

I enjoy reading all about different dining experiences and still be part of the hospitality world. A huge bonus is that I work with a wonderful, supportive team.

Ghervana Tanzarella

Ghervana Tanzarella

Support Coordinator

I’m very lucky to be part of a team that is supportive, kind and consistently working hard to help push the standard of hospitality.

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Our Mystery Guests

At HGEM we are fortunate to have a fantastic community of mystery guests that we try hard to nurture and support as stakeholders in 'empowering hospitality'. In return, they go the extra mile to provide detailed and practical feedback on their experiences. If you are interested in becoming one of our mystery guests, please go to mysterydining.net.

Learn more about what we do