Innovation

🍴 The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show® announced the 2025 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Award winners, highlighting foodservice equipment and technology advancements. The Show will run from May 17–20 and will feature a Kitchen Innovations Showroom. Award-winning products such as Alto-Shaam's Origin™ convection ovens, American Metalcraft's BuffetBoost™ Warming Block, Appliance Innovation's SimpliciTea 1500, and Atosa USA's Chillstream™ Undercounter Frozen Food Dispenser, among others, demonstrate significant improvements in efficiency, sustainability, and performance. Products like these aim to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and reduce waste, with an emphasis on real-world impact for foodservice operations.

🍳 The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show® announced the 2025 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Award winners, which will be showcased at the event from May 17–20, 2025. The awards recognize advancements in foodservice equipment and technology that enhance kitchen operations and drive growth. Attendees can explore these solutions, which aim to improve kitchen workflows, sustainability, and consistency. The Show brings together various sectors of the foodservice industry and features discussions on kitchen equipment innovation (Saturday, May 17 at 11:00 a.m. CT) and networking opportunities (Saturday, May 17 at 12:00 p.m. CT).

🍕 The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show announces 2025 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Award winners, exhibiting groundbreaking foodservice equipment and technology. The Show, to be held May 17–20, will showcase these innovations in Chicago. Innovations include Alto-Shaam's high-velocity Origin™ convection ovens, American Metalcraft's BuffetBoost™ Warming Block heating to 190°F in seven minutes, and Appliance Innovation's SimpliciTea 1500 that preserves fresh brewed tea quality. Atosa USA's Chillstream™ dispenses frozen products, while Bridge Appliances' OMM Automated Egg Cooker cooks 36 eggs in three minutes. Carter-Hoffmann's CHrisper Station doubles standard holding time for fried foods, and Charter House Innovations' RoboFry X4 is a compact fry automation solution. CookUp Group's Scraegg cooks eggs in 15 seconds, and Doyon's Dual Fuel Gravity Charcoal Oven combines charcoal and electric heating. Judges from global brands evaluated submissions for impact and value to foodservice operators.

🛃 The hospitality industry is integrating AI for identity verification, enhancing security and customer experience. Traditional manual checks are giving way to AI-powered systems, like self-check-in kiosks in hotels, which verify identities in seconds, or digital pre-check systems for airlines, exemplified by Delta FlyReady. These AI solutions can spot inconsistencies and fake IDs more effectively than humans. As digital IDs emerge, they will further streamline the identity verification process, reducing human intervention and security risks. AI and LLMs evolve to detect fraud more accurately, suggesting a future with less face-to-face interaction in hospitality and more automated experiences. Albert Roux of Microblink, with 20+ years' experience in fraud and identity solutions, champions these advancements for smoother, safer travel.

🏨 In Maryland, Hotel Investor Apps (HIA) implemented its financial management software for Peachtree Group's hospitality division, which manages over 120 hotels and restaurants. The software introduces advanced accounting, automations, and efficiencies, including intercompany functionality, approval workflows, and a global vendor structure. Utilizing HIA's ERP software, Peachtree Group enhances financial reporting and operational efficiency, with single sign-on capability through Microsoft Active Directory, improving user access and corporate oversight. This collaboration underscores Peachtree's commitment to technology and best practices in financial management.

📓 B&B HOTELS launched B&B Home, a new extended stay brand, with the first hotels opened in Suresnes, Brides-les-Bains, and Forcalquier. The extended stay market is expected to triple in the next eight years. The brand aims to open ten properties by the end of the year. WOJO, with Kasada Capital Management, highlights how coworking spaces in hotels can drive revenue, as seen in Nairobi where every dollar spent on coworking generated three dollars in other services. Kasada plans to have 10 coworking sites by 2025. WOJO is ready to expand in Europe via management contracts or franchises.