Innovation

🏠 HRC, UK's leading commercial kitchen solutions event, partners with the Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) and ceda for its 2025 edition on 17-19 March at Excel London. Over 30 FEA members exhibited in 2024, with an even bigger show anticipated in 2025. The event will feature cutting-edge equipment, seminars, chef demos, and a 90th anniversary celebration, having started in 1935. HRC forms part of Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, alongside IFE Manufacturing, IFE, The Pub Show, and International Salon Culinaire.

🏨 57% of online hotel bookings are abandoned due to complex booking processes. Personalized guest experiences, seamless booking with mobile-friendly platforms like STAAH, and using guest data for tailored amenities can increase repeat visits. Modern travelers expect digital conveniences, such as mobile check-ins and room keys. Room décor upgrades and embracing sustainability, like Accor Hotels' Planet 21, are essential. Dynamic pricing strategies optimize revenue, while positive guest reviews, which 81% of travelers rely on according to TripAdvisor, boost credibility. Encouraging feedback with tools like STAAH’s ReviewMinder enhances trust and loyalty.

🔔 To prevent hotel no-shows and cancellations, it's advised to send guests three well-timed reminders: booking confirmation, a pre-arrival reminder (3-7 days before check-in), and a day-of reminder. Automated messages can confirm arrivals, aiding in room assignment planning. Integration of a hotel CRM, like D-EDGE partnering with LoungeUp, optimizes the entire guest journey.

🔎 The 2024 Customer Engagement Technology Study suggests AI's transformative potential in travel and hospitality, enhancing guest services and operational efficiency. Hotel Communication Network (HCN) introduces AI-powered Navigator 2.0 tablets, named AiMe, at The Hospitality Show in San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Booth #1755. AiMe uses natural language processing for various guest requests. 30% of consumers would use AI for hotel-related queries, while 57% desire voice-controlled environments, 48% request services, and 47% would engage with service chatbots. Hoteliers prioritize technology for guest loyalty (80%), employee productivity (76%), and safety (68%). HCN's DineIN program reports a 20-30% revenue increase, while Guest Choice decreases labor costs by 5%, with a net gain above $10 per room per month. 🏨

🏨 Orascom Hotels Management (OHM), a leading hotelier in the MENA region, implemented Oracle's OPERA Cloud system across its properties, completing the initial installation in just 12 days. The upgrade eliminated over 30 redundant processes, optimized tasks to take 90% less time, decreased call resolution by 60%, and reduced external vendor distribution fees by 90%. OHM introduced 'Experience Ambassadors' to enhance guest service, with check-ins on mobile devices under a minute. Personalized guest experiences are now a focus, with real-time tracking of preferences and tailored parting gifts to drive loyalty.

📰 The 2024 Customer Engagement Technology Study indicates AI will transform the travel and hotel industries by personalizing guest experiences and streamlining operations. Hotel Communication Network (HCN) utilizes AI to offer guests voice command services in multiple languages through their Navigator 2.0 tablets, named AiMe. At The Hospitality Show in San Antonio, hotel operators can experience HCN's technology in Booth #1755. 30% of consumers would use AI to learn about hotels, 28% to select hotels, 27% to explore options, and 26% to plan budgets. HCN's AiMe can perform tasks like ordering food, making recommendations, and scheduling wake-up calls. According to the CET Study, 57% of guests want voice-controlled room environments, 48% to request services, and 47% to communicate via chatbot. Hotel operators aim to invest in technology for guest loyalty (80%), employee productivity (76%), and safety (68%). HCN's DineIN program increased revenues by 20-30%, and their Guest Choice program decreased labor costs by 5%.

📌 Hotels are grappling with high costs from third-party booking platforms, which impede profit margins and access to guest data, hindering direct bookings and loyalty efforts. The introduction of a Customer Data Platform (CDP) allows hotels to centralize guest data, enabling full control over marketing strategies and personalized guest experiences. By leveraging a CDP, hotels can reduce dependence on external channels, optimize marketing, and increase revenue through direct bookings and tailored campaigns. TrustYou's CDP offers hotels a solution to unify guest profiles and enhance the personalization of services, aiming to increase guest satisfaction and drive profitability.

🏥 Jyoti Chopra, Chief People, Inclusion, and Sustainability Officer at MGM Resorts International, detailed MGM Resorts' post-pandemic talent strategy transformation on Oct. 29, 2024. The company shifted from one-size-fits-all hiring fairs to specialized recruitment events, emphasizing employee flexibility, well-being, and engagement. Initiatives include "years of service" pins, Showstoppers Awards, the "Ask the CEO" program, and the Courageous Conversations series. MGM introduced the World of Well-being (WOW) and employed engagement surveys to enhance satisfaction. The MentorcliQ program pairs employees with mentors for their career development.

🍽 Santa Clarita Valley Kitchens, nicknamed The SCV Hub, allows customers to order from multiple restaurants in one transaction since its opening in October 2023, in Southern California. Empower Delivery, featuring 18 commercial kitchens, offers ordering kiosks and online options through TheSCVHub.com, ensuring items are freshly coordinated. The founder, Chris Collins, switched to Empower Delivery after a previous system failed to meet expectations, influenced by OOMI's success in Dallas. Empower's platform improved service speed and reliability, boosting guest satisfaction and efficiency.

🏠 Travel Tech Essentialist introduces "Deep Dives", with around six per year focusing on travel tech companies. Boomerang, founded in November 2021 by Skyler Logsdon, Philip Inghelbrecht, and Augustine Diep-Tran, reimagines lost and found with AI automation. The U.S. spends $5 billion annually replacing lost items, with the average value over $250. Boomerang boasts a 50% return rate, and Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport saw an 85% increase in claims and a 79% found items increase after implementation in January 2023. Boomerang charges businesses a monthly fee and shares profits from sold unclaimed items. The platform handles the complete return process, including shipping logistics, aiming for network effects like OpenTable for seamless experiences across multiple venues.