Innovation

📊 CRM technology is crucial for restaurant growth and customer engagement—experts Dave Harris (CTO, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants) and Aaron Abramoff (CFO, The Restaurant People) shared insights in a panel discussion. They emphasized: actionable insights from CRM systems are key; a balance of instinct and data in decision-making is necessary; personalization improves guest loyalty but is complex to implement; ROI on CRM is hard to measure but essential; tech integration needs to be seamless; and AI is becoming vital in CRM strategy, enhancing human decision-making. CRM is a must-have for competitive restaurants.

🏨 STAAH, a channel management platform, interfaces with over 500 OTAs and integrates with more than 100 property management systems. It provides a dashboard for data-driven decisions and features for revenue optimization like promo codes, dynamic pricing, and pooled inventory. The platform also has automations for rate and inventory rules, aiming to boost direct bookings through the hotel's website and improve operational efficiencies by reducing manual tasks. Key questions to consider when selecting a channel manager include the number of connected channels, room types managed, availability management, reporting, implementation time, and support for multiple users.

💾 Digital registration cards streamline hotel check-ins by collecting guest information electronically, often before arrival. Benefits include faster check-ins, fewer errors, improved compliance, a better guest experience, and additional upsell opportunities. They integrate with a hotel's PMS, allowing for advanced automation and seamless operation. Properly designed digital forms can enhance security, accuracy, and compliance, while a personalized pre-arrival experience boosts guest satisfaction. Akia, an AI-powered guest journey platform, helps hotels deliver such exceptional experiences through Mini Apps without the need for developers or downloads. For more details, visit www.akia.com.

📢 97% of visitors leave a website without booking, risking revenue loss to OTAs and competitors. Retargeting ads help re-engage high-intent travelers, encouraging direct bookings. Click-through rates (CTRs) for retargeting ads are 10x higher than regular display ads. Cloudbeds' Digital Marketing Suite simplifies retargeting for hoteliers with AI-enhanced ads, budget control, and performance tracking, aiming to decrease OTA reliance and increase direct bookings.

💳 A Boston Consulting Group survey reveals that 80% of consumers expect personalized experiences. AI enhances hospitality and dining by automating services, providing personalized recommendations, and predicting staffing needs. Hotels use AI for guest journey customization and real-time data analysis for operations, while restaurants employ AI for optimizing labor, inventory, yield, and menu recommendations. Consumers crave control and personalization, leading to self-service options in dining and tailored loyalty programs in hospitality that offer unique perks and discounts. AI gathers data to deliver personalized experiences, like anniversary suite suggestions or allergy-safe menu items, and anticipates needs such as late check-outs for delayed flights. AI supports staff efficiency, not replacement, ensuring personalized guest connections.

📖 Saladplate, part of Informa Markets, serves as the official content hub for the Hospitality, Food and Beverage industry, offering weekly news, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. It hosts over 10,000 brands and provides updates from over 35 international trade events.

🥝 Saladplate, part of Informa Markets, serves as a hub for the Hospitality, Food and Beverage industry, offering insights, news, and trends. The platform features weekly news updates, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. It grants exclusive access to over 10,000 brands and companies, as well as registration and updates for over 35 international trade events.

💾 Vivatel Kuala Lumpur, integrated with STAAH's technology, has streamlined operations, resulting in an 8% increase in website bookings and a significant 23% rise in online revenue. The hotel benefits from STAAH's dynamic pricing, analytics, and social media integration, enhancing marketing strategies and direct revenue share. The efficient tech upgrade at Vivatel has led to improved revenue management and customer service experience.

🏨 SuiteOp, a Guest Operations Platform, secured $3 million in seed funding to expedite development, enhance automation tools, and pursue market expansion. The funding round, led by ScOp with contributions from Dream Capital and strategic angel investors, marks SuiteOp's first external financing. Co-founded by Jean-Emmanuel Losi and Simon Seroussi, SuiteOp was born from the operational challenges of Sosuite, a short-term rental brand in Philadelphia. The platform, addressing labor shortages and fragmented software, now serves various lodging businesses. It offers IoT, smart automation, white-labeled guest portals, and analytics, supporting tens of thousands of units with a fivefold annual run rate increase and a consistent 15% month-over-month growth without customer churn. The new capital aims to enhance automation for efficiency in high-cost, labor-constrained environments and to expand into key markets. SuiteOp was founded in 2023 and enhances property management through a comprehensive, integrated platform.