Automatic

🏡 Opened in March 2024, Caesars Republic Scottsdale Hotel by Hilton in Scottsdale, AZ, is an 11-story hotel with 20,000 sq. ft. of event space, including pools, bars, two restaurants, and a 7,000-sq-ft ballroom. Over 700 PoE automated roller shades from PowerShades have been installed throughout the hotel's 265 guest rooms and public areas. These shades can be controlled by guests via in-room panels and are integrated into the Building Management System for energy conservation. The PowerShades’ True PoE technology offers cost-effective energy management with easy installation, and the updated version introduced in 2024 features up to 6Nm torque and quieter motors. PowerShades provided custom-fit automated shades as large as 171" wide x 117" deep.

🏡 Hotels have historically personalized guest experiences using data from repeat stays and loyalty programs. Short-term rentals (STRs), lacking repeat visitor data, now use AI and local insights to offer real-time, contextual personalization, such as recommending activities or upselling services based on current conditions. This ecosystem-based approach connects STRs to local communities, driving economic benefits and redefining hospitality personalization. AI integrates with human local knowledge, enhancing guest experiences and revenue opportunities, representing a strategic shift in hospitality value delivery.

🍕 In response to rising tariffs, inflation, and economic uncertainty, restaurant operators focus on controlling costs while maintaining guest experience. Toby W. Malbec, VP of Global Restaurant Technology at Church's Texas Chicken, emphasizes the importance of inventory management, recommending tight integration with menus, detailed sales tracking, and historical modeling. Skip Kimpel, President & CEO of Magicgate, suggests using IoT sensors for stock monitoring, POS integration, and AI-driven alerts to optimize inventory. Operators are advised to consider ingredient substitutions to mitigate the impact of price hikes.

💾 PAR Technology Corp. launched its PAR POS Spring Release to enhance restaurant operations with contactless payment options, like Pay via SMS and QR code with PAR® Pay. The release features Geofencing Integration for kitchen prep timing, tailored pricing on item modifiers, and improved tax support for regions like Ontario, Canada, and third-party delivery services. A new Data Feed reduces item sync times to near-instant. PAR POS was featured in HT's "POS Software in 2025: Key Trends and Features on the Horizon.

💾 PAR Technology Corp. introduced its PAR POS Spring Release, enhancing core performance and adding features like guest convenience, in-store resilience, and platform extensibility. New functionalities include Pay via SMS, QR code payments with PAR® Pay, loyalty account in-store payments, and open order additions. The update offers Geofencing for ETA on Kitchen Chits, customizable item modifier pricing, expanded tax support (including Ontario's quantity-based taxes and marketplace facilitator taxes from DoorDash and Uber Eats), and an improved real-time Data Feed for faster item availability updates. These upgrades aim to improve transaction speeds, table turnover, kitchen efficiency, and profitability while ensuring accurate tax reporting and seamless system integration.

📡 Cloudbeds launched Cloudbeds Labs, an AI-focused innovation hub, to transform hospitality operations. Its two AI solutions, Signals and Engage, aim to improve revenue and marketing optimization, and manage phone interactions, respectively. Signals forecasts demand with over 96% accuracy up to 180 days in advance and can outperform competitors by 15% or more. Engage, an AI voice concierge, operates in five languages and offers voice-driven bookings and upselling. Both products are designed to boost direct bookings, increase operational efficiency, and reduce labor costs.

🏨 Personalization in hospitality is now expected, with travelers desiring control over their experience and add-ons for convenience and comfort. Hotels are adopting a retailer mindset—offering dynamic upsell opportunities, transparent pricing, and personalized experiences—to drive direct bookings. A Quantum Metric survey reveals 32% of consumers remain loyal to brands for perks and discounts, while 89% would reconsider loyalty if perks were removed. Hotels are advised to leverage guest data, offer diverse upsell opportunities, and promote off-peak travel to meet the needs of cost-sensitive travelers and build brand loyalty.

📡 Cloudbeds launched Cloudbeds Labs, an innovation hub for AI-driven operations in hospitality, featuring Signals and Engage solutions. Signals forecasts demand with 96%+ accuracy up to 180 days out and can outperform competitors by 15% or more. Engage, an AI voice concierge, operates in five languages and can process voice-driven bookings and upsell services. Cloudbeds Labs promotes rapid AI tool development, co-development with hotel partners, and integration with the Cloudbeds PMS platform.

💾 PAR Technology Corp. unveiled its PAR POS Spring Release, enhancing guest convenience with contactless payment options like Pay via SMS and QR code, and allowing payment through loyalty accounts. The update introduces Geofencing Integration for ETA on Kitchen Chits, streamlines pickup operations, and offers tailored pricing on item modifiers. It also improves tax support catering to regions like Ontario, Canada, and incorporates marketplace facilitator taxes from delivery services. The platform now allows custom data management via API, with significant performance boosts, reducing sync times to nearly instant. The release aims to balance stability and innovation for restaurant operators.

💰 Loyalty check sizes are increasing across restaurant concepts and c-stores, with 50% of FSRs, 44% of QSRs, and 31% of c-stores seeing over 10% growth year-over-year. However, 12-25% of brands experienced declines, and about a quarter saw no significant change. The 2025 Paytronix Loyalty Report highlights the importance of AI-enhanced data analytics, qualitative behavior feedback, and personalization to drive loyalty spend and visit frequency. AI-driven personalization, smart upsells, and relevant offers can transform loyalty programs into revenue generators. Note: As an AI language model, I don't have direct access to external content such as the "2025 Paytronix Loyalty Report" and therefore cannot extract data or content from it. The summary provided is based on the information you included in the initial request.