Running a hospitality business is a constant balancing act. Between running the business, staff management, supplier emails, marketing, and customer service (and more!) there are never enough hours in the day. That’s why we’ve launched a 12-week series on AI Time Savers for Hospo — practical tips and real-world examples of how artificial intelligence can help you reclaim time, reduce admin, and keep your focus on what matters most: your guests.
Each week we’ll spotlight one small, practical way you can use AI in your business — no jargon, no big budgets, just tools and ideas you can start using straight away.
Week 9 Tip: Create your AI prompt library: save your best questions
Last week, you learned how teaching AI about your business transforms generic responses into genuinely useful ones. But here’s what happens next: you craft the perfect question, get a great result, and then… next week you can’t remember exactly how you asked it.
This week is about working smarter: building a simple library of your best AI prompts so you never start from scratch again.
The problem with starting fresh every time
You’re busy. When you need AI’s help, you want results fast. But if you’re constantly trying to remember how you phrased that question last time, or starting every conversation by re-explaining your business, you’re wasting precious minutes.
It’s like having a great recipe in your head but never writing it down – you end up recreating it from memory every single time, and it’s never quite as good as that first perfect version.
How a prompt library works
Think of it as your personal recipe book for AI conversations. Instead of inventing new questions each time, you save the prompts that work well and reuse them whenever you need them.
A prompt library is simply a document (Google Doc, Notes app, whatever you use) where you store:
- Your business brief (from last week)
- Questions that got you great results
- Templates for recurring tasks
- Useful instructions you’ve refined over time
Your essential prompt library: 5 prompts every hospo operator needs
Here are five prompts to get you started. Copy these into your library and customize them with your business details:
1. The Staff Communication Prompt “Using my business context [paste your brief], write a brief team message about [topic]. Keep it friendly but clear, under 100 words, and include any action items as bullet points at the end.”
Use for: Roster changes, new menu items, policy reminders, event briefings
2. The Customer Response Prompt “I received this [email/review/message]: [paste it]. Using my business context and tone of voice, write a response that [addresses their concern/thanks them warmly/resolves the issue]. Keep it genuine and personal, not corporate.”
Use for: Review responses, complaint handling, booking enquiries, compliments
3. The Social Media Prompt “Using my business context, create [number] social media posts about [topic/event/special]. Match our casual tone, include a call-to-action, and make it feel authentic not salesy. Suggest hashtags if relevant.”
Use for: Daily specials, events, new menu items, seasonal updates, team spotlights
4. The Menu Description Prompt “Here’s a dish: [describe it simply]. Using my business context and the way we describe food, write an appealing menu description that’s [X words] long. Focus on [key selling points] and avoid clichéd food language.”
Use for: New menu items, seasonal specials, updating tired descriptions
5. The Problem-Solving Prompt “Here’s a challenge I’m facing: [describe situation]. Given my business context, suggest 3-5 practical solutions that would actually work for a venue like mine. Consider my constraints around [budget/staff/space/time].”
Use for: Operational challenges, slow periods, staff issues, cost problems
Building your library over time
Every time you have a great AI interaction:
- Copy the exact prompt you used
- Note what made it work (“specific numbers helped” or “mentioning our customer type was key”)
- Save it in your library under a clear category
- Tweak and improve it next time you use it
Soon you’ll have 15-20 proven prompts that cover 80% of your AI needs.
Pro tips for your library
- Use categories: Staff, Customers, Marketing, Operations, Menu
- Include examples: Save one great output next to each prompt as a reference
- Share with your team: If you have a manager or partner who also uses AI, share your library so you’re both getting consistent, quality results
- Seasonal versions: Create “[SUMMER]” or “[WINTER]” tags for prompts you’ll reuse each year
- Keep it accessible: Save it where you can quickly copy-paste from your phone or computer
The 80/20 Rule
You’ll probably find that 5-10 prompts cover most of your regular AI needs. Focus on perfecting those before building out an extensive library. Quality over quantity.
Getting started today
- Save your business brief from last week at the top of a new document
- Add the 5 essential prompts above (customized for your business)
- This week, whenever you use AI successfully, add that prompt to your library
- By next week, you’ll have a personalized toolkit that saves you 10-15 minutes every time you use AI
Remember
Your prompt library is a living document. It grows with your business and gets better the more you use it. The goal isn’t perfection – it’s having reliable shortcuts that work when you’re busy and need help fast.
More reading:
Training: Take a deeper dive on this topic – Prompting AI to Work Smarter in Hospitality.
What Is AI (and Why Should You Care)? – week 1
Your AI Writing Assistant: Customer Communications Made Easy – week 2
Menu Engineering Made Simple: Let AI Optimize Your Offerings – week 3
Your AI training coordinator: staff communication made simple – week 4
Your AI recruitment partner: smarter hiring in a tight market – week 5
Smarter supplier and invoice management with AI – week 6
AI help for smarter rostering – week 7
Teaching AI Your Business: the secret to better AI results – week 8