Innovation

💰 Marriott International, the world's largest travel company with 8,700 properties, renews its 10-year exclusive digital F&B ordering agreement with IRIS. Kansas City Marriott Downtown, with over 970 rooms, experienced a 30-minute reduction in customer wait times and significant revenue increases: 87% in order volumes and 94% in F&B revenue. IRIS integrates with third-party systems like Oracle Simphony Cloud and Stripe. Digital orders through IRIS's app are 20-30% higher than traditional orders, signaling a shift towards a mobile-first trend. IRIS's new features aim to improve operational efficiency and revenue potential amid recruitment and inflation challenges.

🏠 Scott Steinberg, during the Hotel Technology Forum, explained exponential technology growth, innovation, and adopting a futurist mindset. He used Wembley Stadium to demonstrate exponential growth, mentioning it could fill with water in 49 seconds with rates doubling every second. He encouraged hospitality leaders to embrace trends and technology proactively. Innovation involves repurposing existing resources, and thinking like a futurist requires challenging assumptions and considering strategic alternatives.

📣 Marriott International renews a 10-year exclusive F&B mobile dining agreement with IRIS, extending their partnership that has already seen a double-digit increase in mobile orders and revenue. Kansas City Marriott Downtown reports a 30-minute reduction in customer wait times and an impressive 87% year-on-year increase in order volume, alongside a 94% jump in F&B revenue. Digital orders through the app are 20-30% higher in value than traditional orders. IRIS's solution is now operable across Marriott’s portfolio of 30 brands.

🧮 Lighthouse's AI categories: Predictive AI (forecasts, structured data), Generative AI (creates content, unstructured data), Automation (process-driven, no data learning). They use Google Cloud Platform for AI model deployment and have a diverse Data Science team. They embrace innovation with an "Innovation roadmap" and partner with Google's Certified AI Experts. ChatGPT gained 1 million users in 5 days post-Q4 2022 release. Lighthouse's projects range from predictable to highly uncertain in scope and outcome.

💰 A survey by Uber for Business involving 250 frequent UK taxi users revealed 82% prioritize comfort to avoid fatigue, and 31% list comfort among their top three priorities, equaled only by short wait times. Over three-quarters (78%) find taxis simplify work/life balance, although 35% experience frustration due to delays (51%), disruptions (40%), and expense processing (26%). Manual expense processing, taking an average of 40 minutes monthly, is still common among 47% of respondents. Priority pickups and various vehicle options, including Uber Business Comfort and Lux, are benefits for business travelers using Uber’s business profiles. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of these travelers and 77% of C-level executives prefer ordering green vehicles. Over half (54%) want their companies to track carbon emissions, which Uber for Business Sustainability Dashboard enables.

🏖️ On the Beach achieved a 25% increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £31 million, with revenue up by 14% to £128.2 million, and a 15% rise in total transaction value reaching £1.21 billion for the year ending on September 30. The company experienced a 13% growth in summer passenger numbers over 2023 and plans expansion into Ireland. CEO Shaun Morton anticipates doubling TTV to £2.5 billion and reaching an £85 million adjusted pre-tax profit in the future.

📅 ATPI Group launches CrewHub, a booking platform for group travel. 🚀 The self-service technology is designed to simplify business travel for groups of any size and industry, allowing bookings from various airports or routes to a shared destination. 🕑 CrewHub claims to cut booking time by up to 60%, taking approximately one minute per traveler, based on an example of coordinating 11 individuals. Initially created for Marine and Energy customers, it will be trialled in Q1 2025 before rolling out across all ATPI business lines within the same year.

🏖️ "Inspire My Holiday" launched the new portal "Find an Agent", set to reach over one million consumers by 2025. It allows users to locate travel agents based on holiday type, class, agent location, and specialties. Registration is free for both consumers and agents. The soft launch included agents from Flight Centre, Travel Counsellors, Advantage, PTS, Hays Travel, and The Travel Network Group. The official launch is scheduled for Boxing Day, targeting the peak sale period.

📆 Amadeus Cytric integrates with Hubli, revolutionizing corporate travel with one-stop booking for flights, accommodation, mobility, and meeting venues. Over 60% of business travel is for meetings, yet manual processes are common. This partnership is a response to customer demand for seamless planning. Hubli, valued at $598.2 billion in 2022, is projected to grow to $2,309.4 billion by 2032, offering policy-compliant, sustainable, and safe booking options.