Innovation

📱 In Barcelona, Spain, on November 19, 2024, Shiji introduced AI-driven review responses to ReviewPro, aimed at helping hoteliers manage feedback efficiently. This feature supports personalized replies in multiple languages, integrates with platforms like Booking.com and Google, and optimizes hotel staff productivity by streamlining the review management process. Shiji, founded in 1998, now has 5,000 employees across 80+ subsidiaries and serves over 91,000 hotels, 200,000 restaurants, and 600,000 retail outlets globally.

💸 E-commerce and Revenue Management must align for maximum efficiency and ROI, focusing on revenue increase and understanding the guest journey. Their unification under one leader, sharing KPIs like ROADS, RevPAR, and Direct Share, is essential, regardless of which department takes the lead, ensuring constant communication and mutual respect.

📈 Debunking hotel industry BI myths, this article clarifies that separate systems (for reservations, CRM, etc.) do not comprise a comprehensive Business Intelligence (BI) solution. True BI integrates all data for a 360-degree view, enabling informed decision-making, operational efficiency, enhanced guest experience, and revenue growth. Modern BI offers real-time analytics, predictive insights, and interactive dashboards. Contrary to belief, BI is affordable through SaaS and cloud computing, with scalable solutions and subscription-based pricing. Ultimately, implementing a comprehensive BI tool like Demand Calendar can transform hotel operations significantly.

💻 Noida, 19th November 2024: Mukesh Kumar appointed as General Counsel and Company Secretary of RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, joining as Senior Vice President – Legal & Compliance. With over 20 years of experience in legal roles at companies like PVR INOX Limited, NIIT, and Hero Motors Limited, Mukesh is recognized for his expertise in regulatory and corporate governance. He received Indian Achiever’s Award in 2022 and Golden Pinnacle Award in 2023. Bhanu Chopra, RateGain's Founder and Chairman, emphasizes the strengthening of their legal and compliance structure for global expansion. RateGain, founded in 2004, is a significant processor of electronic transactions and travel intent data, partnering with 3,200+ customers and 700+ partners across 100+ countries.

✈️ British Airways experienced an IT glitch around 5pm Monday, causing a two-hour disruption and impacting worldwide and domestic flights, including from Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City. Delays continued into Tuesday, with the potential for further disruption. This follows previous IT issues in May last year, spring 2017, and February 2020. British Airways apologized for the inconvenience and worked to minimize the impact on travelers’ plans.

📌 STAAH, a New Zealand-based provider of hotel channel management solutions, on November 19, 2024, announced that its Max Channel Manager is now on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and deployable on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, integrated with OPERA Cloud. It aims to maximize online distribution, enhance performance, scalability, and security, and improve operational efficiency and revenue for hotels. Rajesh Ghanshani, Director of Partnerships at STAAH, highlighted the commitment to the Oracle community and the benefits for customers, leveraging OCI's comprehensive cloud services. Oracle PartnerNetwork offers partner engagement tracks including Cloud Build, Cloud Sell, Cloud Service, Industry Healthcare, and License & Hardware.