Innovation

🌍 Wholesalers in the travel industry, like Tourico Holidays, purchase in bulk to resell to businesses. Bedbanks, such as BedbankGlobal, store and distribute accommodation inventories. DMCs/Receptives, including Abercrombie & Kent, offer local, customized travel services. Web platforms like Booking.com and Expedia provide real-time access to travel products, while metasearchers like Kayak and Skyscanner compare prices. TUI and Thomas Cook create packaged travel deals, airlines like Emirates offer complete packages and manage loyalty programs. Corporate programs, exemplified by American Express Global Business Travel, offer tailored services with benefits. Retail Travel Agencies (e.g., Flight Centre) and B2B Distribution Groups (e.g., Virtuoso) enhance product distribution and customer reach. Technological companies such as Roibos support the distribution strategy with advanced tools.

📦 Grubhub expands its Campus Dining service to over 60 schools, reaching over 4.5 million students. University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Tampa, University of Missouri, Howard University, and Tulane University among new partners. Grubhub's university partnerships grew by 21%. Robot delivery is available on over 20 campuses, with University of Mississippi, Prairie View A&M University, University of New Mexico, and University of Houston joining this semester. Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is implemented at Ursinus College, University of Virginia, and Lindenwood University, with schools like Stevens Institute of Technology and Loyola University Maryland already using it. Sustainable solution by Topanga.io's ReusePass program is deployed at Virginia Tech and SUNY New Paltz, with several other universities already on board. Grubhub+ Student provides $0 delivery and additional benefits for partnered school students.

🎶 Restaurants must ensure their music streaming service and sound system are compatible and reliable, without connectivity issues or playback errors. Public performance licenses are essential when playing music publicly, as copyright infringement fines can vary from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars per violation. The licenses, typically issued by PROs like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR in the US, protect artists and avoid legal action against the business. Multiple licenses may be needed for different songwriters or additional uses like music videos.

📍 Grubhub expands its Campus Dining to over 60 schools, now reaching 500,000 new students, for a total of over 4.5 million. New university partners include Alabama at Birmingham, Tampa, Missouri, Howard, and Tulane, increasing Grubhub's university partnerships by 21% to over 360. Automated robot delivery by Cartken, Kiwibot, and Starship is expanded to nearly a dozen new schools, already serving 20 campuses and delivering hundreds of thousands of orders. Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is being deployed at Ursinus College, University of Virginia, and Lindenwood University, with previous implementations at Stevens Institute of Technology, Montclair State University, and Loyola University Maryland. Grubhub partners with Topanga.io for reusable packaging, with Virginia Tech and SUNY New Paltz joining this semester, adding to schools like Ohio State University and Boston University. Grubhub Campus Dining offers on- and off-campus ordering, and students at partnered schools get free Grubhub+ Student, offering $0 delivery fees, lower service fees, and other benefits.

📢 Penta Hotels, with locations in Europe and Asia, intensifies focus on guest experience by using THN's Form Builder to gather guest preferences on their website. They offered a €5 discount for survey participants, resulting in 608 submissions in two weeks, tripling the response rate of their email campaigns. This direct engagement strategy provided insights and optimized booking incentives, demonstrating the tool's effectiveness in increasing online visitor engagement.

🎁 On August 24, Cheba Hut offers free Kool-Aid to its dine-in and carryout guests. The first 200 visitors receive a "Cottonmouth Cures" cup for free Kool-Aid for a year. Embracing kitchen display systems (KDS) and just-in-time service, Cheba Hut prioritizes fresh food and customer respect. Their loyalty app, featuring games like "Flippy Bird," caters to evolving customer preferences alongside a flexible approach to third-party delivery services.

🤖 Elad Inbar, CEO of RobotLAB, discusses robotics in hospitality, highlighting that sensor technology advancements dropped prices by a factor of 10. Customer-facing robots feature virtual faces and speak clearly, while industrial robots focus on utility. Robotics address labor shortages by automating tasks, with delivery robots starting at $15/day, cleaning robots at $20/day, and cooking robots at $30/day, offering a strong ROI for business owners.

👨‍💻 Attribute-Based Selling (ABS) is revolutionizing the hospitality industry by personalizing guest rooms selection and enhancing revenue. Hotels are integrating ABS into cloud-based property management systems for real-time availability and seamless guest experiences. Dynamic pricing is vital for ABS success, adjusting rates based on demand and customer behavior. Hoteliers must evaluate attributes individually for profitability and avoid overwhelming guests with excessive choices. Simplifying booking processes, listening to feedback, and using technology to analyze guest preferences are key. With continuous refinement, ABS can significantly contribute to hotel revenue and guest satisfaction.

💾 Agilysys, Inc., a global provider of hospitality software solutions, acquired the SaaS spa management company Book4Time, Inc., which serves the most Forbes 5-Star-rated spas. Book4Time operates in over 100 countries and is integrated with over 60 technology providers. The acquisition, closed for approximately $150 million USD, strengthens Agilysys' global presence and offerings. Agilysys CEO, Ramesh Srinivasan, anticipates leveraging both companies' strengths to accelerate hospitality technology innovation. Financial impacts will be discussed in the Agilysys fiscal 2025 second quarter earnings call in October 2024.

📢 Martin Soler, former hotel general manager turned fractional CMO and co-founder of 10minutes.news, shares insights on hotel tech on Aug. 21, 2024. Soler emphasizes the importance of prioritizing guest needs over fleeting tech trends, focusing on what won't change, such as the desire for connectivity, personalization, reduced wait times, and more services. This approach echoes Jeff Bezos' philosophy of distinguishing the essential from the transient in the hospitality industry.