Innovation

📖 Saladplate is the official hub for Hospitality, Food and Beverage content, part of Informa Markets. It features weekly news updates, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. The platform offers exclusive access to over 10,000 brands and companies, a comprehensive supplier directory, and updates from over 35 international trade events.

🏨 In the hospitality industry, hoteliers face over 33 million Google search results for "PMS" (Property Management Systems), with sites like HotelTechReport listing 273 providers and LinkedIn featuring over 1,000 options. The abundance of choices can cause indecision and confusion. Implementation times for PMS can be misleading, with some providers promising a one-day setup, but issues often arise months later. Complex environments, like hotels with multiple departments, require more extensive training and setup time. Integration quality of PMS APIs is essential, especially for accurate pricing and operational decisions. Accounting issues with new PMS often surface during monthly audits or fiscal year-end, leading to financial discrepancies and compliance risks. Inadequate PMS reporting affects decision-making and strategic planning. Larger properties face additional challenges with complex revenue streams and the integration of additional systems. Consultants might have conflicts of interest or lack understanding of the hotel's specific needs. Involving staff from different departments in the PMS selection process is crucial. PMS implementation failures can provide insights for future decisions. The true cost of PMS ownership can escalate with additional features, integrations, maintenance, and upgrade fees.

🏨 Travelers view an average of 141 pages of content before booking. Google Performance Max for Travel Goals (PMTG) increases website traffic by 30% and clicks by 6% for hoteliers. In a study from January to May 2024, PMTG campaigns yielded 31 times Return On Ad Spend (ROAS), with 32 room bookings, a 6% Click-Through-Rate, $0.04 cost per click, and 62,000 average clicks per hotel. PMTG improves hotel bookings by enhancing visibility across Google channels.

🚢 Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages partners with IDeaS for cruise industry revenue management solutions. IDeaS will provide RMS technology aimed at optimizing cabin pricing, demand-based forecasting, and automating processes. The partnership addresses historical forecasting challenges in the cruise industry by leveraging science-based strategies for revenue maximization and future scalability. Virgin Voyages acknowledges the unmatched power of IDeaS' revenue management expertise. This collaboration signifies IDeaS' expansion into the cruise industry and its commitment to pioneering RMS technology across new verticals.

🏖 Travelsoft announces the launch of Travelsoft Pay, an embedded payment service developed with Worldpay, aimed at improving payment solutions for its clients globally. The service promises advanced services, preferred payment methods, real-time transaction monitoring, and same-day bank transfers. Features include minimising fraud with Worldpay's Fraudsight, live refunds within 30 minutes, and automated payouts via a user-friendly dashboard. Charles Tandonnet, VP of Travelsoft, highlights the need for better international payment solutions. Maria Prados of Worldpay emphasizes the goal to simplify payments for travel sellers.

✈️ Accelya, a leading airline software provider, has strengthened its leadership team with three significant appointments: Gianni Cataldo as chief product officer, Tye Radcliffe as chief customer success officer, and Alastair Pooley as chief information officer (CIO). The strategic changes aim to scale operations and drive digital transformation for airline partners. Cataldo brings over 25 years of product innovation experience, Radcliffe joined Accelya in 2021 with a background in airline and travel tech, and Pooley offers over 20 years of IT and cybersecurity expertise. CEO Sam Gilliland anticipates a new era in airline retailing and modernisation with these appointments.

✈ Fuji Dream Airlines, a Japanese regional carrier, and IBS Software collaboratively migrated airline operations to AWS cloud-native platform, boosting operational efficiency and scalability. The migration from Tokyo's on-premises data center to AWS was completed within 48 hours by IBS Software's Aviation Operations Solutions team, with no outages. This transition ensures higher availability, reliability, and improved performance for the airline, along with proactive issue management and operational cost reduction.

🏨 Oliver Hospitality, founded in 2009, launched the "Invited by Oliver" loyalty program and achieved 9,200 signups in three months. The brand operates properties in the Southeast and California, focusing on personalized experiences for guests. The tech for the program was developed with Amadeus, complementing existing tools and managed in-house for customer engagement. Success metrics include new member signups and booking actualization rates, aiming for all guests to become members. The program integrates with Infor HMS PMS for front desk efficiency. Key advice: involve all departments early and allow plenty of time for implementation.