Innovation

🏠 Shiji Group unveiled its rebranding at ITB Berlin, aligning its global hospitality technology presence with a redesigned identity and a simplified portfolio of 10 product groups. Creative Brand Director Robert Hoffmann-Lohse explained the "Day and Night" theme, which underscores Shiji's mission to enhance travel experiences through advanced technology. The rebranding involved renaming products, such as "Daylight PMS" for property management systems, and creating a design system with a 24-hour color palette. The rebrand aims for coherence, customer orientation, and future-readiness, with a strategy to resonate across diverse markets from Singapore to Berlin.

😉 On April 1st, a joke about KITT speaking dog language was shared, highlighting KITT's real capabilities in the hospitality industry. KITT, an AI assistant, offers 24/7 multichannel support in over 40 languages, streamlining bookings and automating responses. Its advanced features aim to enhance customer service and operational efficiency in hotels.

📌 UATP, a global payment network, announced HRS as a new merchant, enabling UATP payments for business travelers and groups with HRS' corporate lodging technology. This partnership marks UATP's first large-scale hotel acceptance, offering direct access to HRS' business-travel ready hotels and integrated invoice automation, billing, and reconciliation. Announced one day before UATP’s Airline Distribution® 2025 event in Budapest, the collaboration aims to create an ecosystem for business travel, optimize corporate account holders, and expand UATP's footprint amidst rising corporate travel demand. HRS' AI-powered platform technology and UATP's payment expertise offer enhanced automation and reporting for corporate travel managers.

📌 UATP, a global payment network, announced HRS, a corporate lodging and payment platform, as a new UATP Merchant, marking UATP's first major move into hotel acceptance. This partnership allows for UATP payments at a wide array of business-travel ready hotels and offers invoice automation, billing, and reconciliation from a single provider. The announcement came ahead of UATP’s Airline Distribution® 2025 event in Budapest, with discussions led by UATP CEO Ralph Kaiser and HRS CEO Tobias Ragge on March 19. The collaboration is expected to enhance payment efficiency for corporate travel managers, HRS’ core market, where UATP accounts are commonly used. HRS provides an AI-powered platform for hotel procurement, booking, and payment, while UATP adds its payment expertise to the sector. Both companies aim for mutual benefits from their aligned technological innovations.

💳 UATP, a global payment network, partnered with HRS, a corporate lodging and payment platform, becoming a UATP Merchant to accept payments for business travelers. This partnership allows access to HRS' business-travel ready hotels and provides invoice automation and financial reporting. Announced on the eve of UATP's Airline Distribution 2025 conference in Budapest, it marks UATP's entry into hotel acceptance. HRS' AI-infused platform and UATP's payment expertise aim to streamline corporate travel and payments, expanding options for travel suppliers.

🏨 Hotels struggle with managing online bookings via multiple OTAs, risking overbookings and inconsistent rates. STAAH Channel Manager acts as a central hub for real-time syncing of availability and pricing, preventing errors and operational inefficiencies. It offers real-time updates, automation, rate parity, user-friendly dashboard, and seamless integration with hotel systems, improving efficiency and guest satisfaction.

💻 At MURTEC 2025, Brandon Barton, CEO of Bite, and Harry Yu, Director of IT at Ono Hawaiian BBQ, discussed strategic tech investments. Yu, with 26 years of tech experience including roles at Dine Brands, Jollibee, and Johnny Rockets, stressed the importance of foundational tech before AI and robotics. Ono Hawaiian BBQ, with 117 locations, focuses on scalable, rapid deployment tech solutions, emphasizing data hygiene and infrastructure as key to effective AI adoption. Robotics are considered but not yet implemented to ensure guest experience remains a priority.

📈 Mews CEO Matt Welle and Chief Product and Technology Officer Josef Starýchfojtů discussed the Mews product roadmap for 2025 on episode 21 of Matt Talks. Mews focuses on innovating hospitality with a commitment to research and development and sharing their roadmap with hoteliers. They acquired Atomize, a revenue optimization platform, and Quotelo, an event management platform, for a holistic approach to revenue and guest experience. New features like Trusted Browser and Trusted Device enhance cybersecurity. The integration details will be released at Unfold 2025, the annual hotel tech forum.