The LOKE Story

As we celebrate LOKE´s Anniversary month, Co-founders Matt Khoury and Tom Booth recall the infancy of LOKE and muse on what the business stands for today.

It all started 7 years ago, in Adelaide, Australia. Our two founders, Matt and Tom, have a deep love for the industry and wanted to make a difference. They always believed in the power of food and drinks to connect people, and this passion was not born yesterday.

Matt Khoury remembers being 6 years old when he started helping in the kitchen of his family´s restaurants, cafes and takeaway stores. By the age of 15, he was also supporting his cousin with the management of his nightclub. Hospitality is in his DNA. And Matt saw it not only as a livelihood but also as a way to build communities. 

Tom Booth’s deep passion for cooking, eating and hosting was the seed in his relationship with Matt when they first met. In particular, Tom’s infamous lamb BBQ and his love of bringing friends and family together really is what brought our two founders closer. They share the same values and both view hospitality as a binding force that gathers people. 

Matt’s Lebanese family and Tom’s Greek heritage both involved large gatherings; always with bountiful food and drinks in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. 

By the time the pair formed LOKE in 2014, they had turned their shared passion for hospitality into a way of life and a mission. Surrounding themselves with people who shared their spirit, Matt and Tom set out to solve some of the age-old issues faced by the industry worldwide. The ambition was always and will always be to empower hospitality businesses and unlock their full potential with the help of technology. 

The LOKE foundations were built as the team visited thousands of hospitality venues, gathering feedback, testing and constantly adapting the solution based on real experiences. Early sales trips around Australia were done with the means that were available then: using rented cars, sleeping in motel rooms or on friends and family couches, while visiting as many venues as possible.

The first clients were early adopters of what was then the first-generation technology of its kind. Their enthusiasm, trust and love for LOKE is what allowed the company to gain momentum and progressively grow its customer base; leveraging those relationships in order to entice more and more operators to join.

As the company grew, hiring the best people became a top priority. The best engineers created LOKE’s early technology for guests to connect via social media, collect points and redeem them for free items. This simple idea is what allowed the team to get started and find their feet in the world of technology for hospitality! LOKE also introduced what was a groundbreaking and highly innovative solution at the time: customer contactless payments via their phone. 

Since its humble beginnings, LOKE has attracted major hospitality brands globally. As the company expanded, Matt and Tom were fortunate enough to see the LOKE family grow; thanks to an increasing number of customers and hospitality and technology experts within our various departments.

The solution has evolved and keeps on evolving as the team continues the tradition of listening to the industry and staying abreast of trends to always offer the best and most innovative solutions.

LOKE has learned from its mistakes, by failing, getting back up and trying again. Always staying true to its core values and remembering the reason why the company was created in the first place: to improve the hospitality experience while creating loyal and valuable customers for clients. When they win, LOKE wins. And together they continue to grow and shape the hospitality industry for today, and the future. Constantly taking its chances, LOKE always adapts, never gives up.