Innovation

🍳 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.

📓 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.

🚧 Nearly 940,000 hospitality jobs will be lost between 2016 and 2025 due to automation. Currently, 34% of travel companies invest over half their tech budget on AI, with projections of 69% in the next 18 months. AI is transforming the industry by replacing various roles with chatbots, self-service kiosks, automated kitchens, predictive maintenance, and dynamic pricing. Workers face a future needing new skills pertaining to AI-assisted customer experience, AI-driven revenue strategies, and service augmentation. The question remains if AI will enhance hospitality or merely reduce costs.

🍴 The 2025 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show® will take place from May 17–20 and showcase the Kitchen Innovations (KI) Award winners, exhibiting groundbreaking foodservice equipment and technology. The Show attracts a diverse foodservice industry audience, including equipment dealers, operators, and educators. KI Award recipients range from Alto-Shaam's Origin™ convection ovens to American Metalcraft's BuffetBoost™ Warming Block and Atosa USA's Chillstream™ Undercounter Frozen Food Dispenser. Innovations address streamlining workflows, improving sustainability, and enhancing consistency, with features such as high-velocity airflow cooking, wireless heating, fresh brew tea dispensing, and automated egg cooking. Additional highlighted products include Carter-Hoffmann's CHrisper Station, Charter House Innovations' RoboFry X4, and Ecolab's integrated Digital Kitchen App. The event will also feature discussions and networking opportunities focused on the impact of cutting-edge kitchen equipment on foodservice operations.

😋 At MURTEC 2025, leaders from Jollibee Foods Corp., City Barbecue, and Blaze Pizza discussed enhancing guest experience through personalization. Jollibee focuses on individual guest engagement, while City Barbecue, with 80% loyalty transactions online but only 4% in drive-thrus, partnered with Flybuy Networks for Bluetooth check-ins. Blaze Pizza introduced kiosks and QR codes for in-store order flexibility. City Barbecue leverages a Customer Data Platform for targeted marketing based on first-time guest preferences, realizing a 60% retention rate when new guests join loyalty programs, compared to 20% without membership. Jollibee uses data tokenization for comprehensive customer profiles.

✈ Air France-KLM becomes the fourth client for Amadeus's Nevio, joining British Airways, Finnair, and Saudia. Stephan Hirmer leads the delivery management for the transition to Nevio, which aims to resolve disconnects between PSS and DCS systems. Nevio simplifies Offer and Order Management, and the Delivery Management Champions group has produced a white paper outlining future delivery improvements. AI is highlighted as an enabler for retail transformation in the industry. The adoption by Air France-KLM is anticipated to create momentum among other carriers for modern retailing.

🏕 UK-based travel tech provider intuitive partners with Florida villa supplier Ocean Beds. Ocean Beds, leading in Florida villa vacations, offers over 3,500 properties in Orlando and Gulf Coast. The partnership enhances booking capabilities through intuitive's reservation platform and website, and expands iVectorOne's global network. Ocean Beds now allows more partners direct API connections, aiming for seamless booking experiences and innovation in the villa rental market.