Innovation

💻 STAAH's March 2025 product update enhances Channel Manager, Booking Engine, and ReviewMinder. New Channel Manager features include customizable landing page options (Availability, Bookings, Reports), smooth navigation, and easy updates. Multi-currency support and currency conversion tools are now integrated into the Reports (V2) with feature parity with V1. Booking Engine upgrades allow customizable booking page views, list view as default, easy toggling between views, and timezone selection for reports (UTC or local). SwiftBook offers a single page confirmation, optimized payment gateways, and no redirection for credit card collection. ReviewMinder introduces an AI-Assisted Response Tool for Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Google (Meta), editable before submission, and requires a subscription. Victoria, Australia, enforces a 7.5% Short Stay Levy starting April 1, 2025, with property managers required to collect 8.11%. New integrations include Little Travel Group and Nexi, a leading European PayTech.

💻 Susan Lucas, after an elective in college sparked her interest, combined tech and business and entered the restaurant industry as an interim IT leader. Advocating for mentorship and cross-generational learning, Lucas values the guidance received and given throughout her career. She was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at MURTEC on March 11, recognizing her journey, contributions to restaurant technology, and efforts in nurturing future leaders. The awards were sponsored by Milagro.

🛡 Marriott International partners with PathSpot Technologies for enhanced food safety across its 9,300+ properties. PathSpot's real-time hygiene management system, including hand scanners and SafetySuite software, helps Marriott properties save 2-8 hours daily in back-of-house operations, improves health standards, and reduces food waste and energy consumption. The collaboration also involves Marriott's minority equity investment in PathSpot. The company emphasizes innovation in hospitality, focusing on health and safety for guests and efficiency for associates.

🛒 Marriott International partners with PathSpot Technologies to introduce a hygiene management system across its 9,300+ properties, enhancing food safety with handwashing validation and equipment monitoring. With over $7 billion in F&B sales and 53 Michelin stars globally, Marriott's collaboration aims for efficient procedure monitoring and improved customer safety. PathSpot's technology saves 2-8 hours daily in back-of-house tasks, contributing to reduced maintenance costs and decreased food waste and energy use. Marriott also made a minority equity investment in PathSpot.

🚿 Marriott International partners with PathSpot Technologies for hygiene management in its 9,300+ properties globally. This collaboration provides real-time contamination detection with handwashing validation and equipment monitoring, elevating food safety standards. Marriott, with $7 billion in sales, 53 Michelin stars, and over 10,000 F&B operations, aims to enhance guest health and safety. PathSpot's technology saves properties 2-8 hours daily in monitoring, while also improving maintenance efficiency and reducing food waste and energy consumption. Marriott has also invested in PathSpot.

🛒 Marriott International, Inc. partners with PathSpot Technologies, Inc. to introduce hygiene management technology across its 9,300+ properties worldwide. This collaboration aims to improve health and safety with a handwashing validation system, focusing on Marriott's $7 billion in food and beverage operations and 53 Michelin stars. PathSpot's Hand Scanners and SafetySuite anticipate saving properties 2-8 hours daily in monitoring, while enhancing food safety and sustainability. Marriott also made a minority equity investment in PathSpot.

🏨 Palm Holdings will reopen Edinburgh's Haymarket Hub Hotel under IHG’s Garner Hotels brand in June after a £2 million investment. Spacebrand designs the refurbishment, led by Fitzsimons, incorporating energy-efficient VX4 Smart Thermostats. The hotel, supporting social causes, will donate £1 per guest to Action Against Hunger. Garner Hotels, launched in August 2023, has 23 open hotels and 94 in development, with Haymarket joining 61 European properties.

🛩 Airbus plans to introduce a "commercially viable" hydrogen-powered, fully-electric passenger aircraft possibly by the late 2030s. The ZEROe aircraft will feature electric propeller propulsion systems, four propellers, and hydrogen fuel cells that emit only water when using renewable energy-produced hydrogen. Technologies include four two-megawatt electric propulsion engines and two liquid hydrogen tanks. Airbus reaffirms its commitment to hydrogen for aviation decarbonization, with further refinement and testing of associated technologies to come.