Innovation

🍚 Beef 'O' Brady's operates in 20+ US states and is collaborating with SoundHoundAI for phone orders. SoundHound's voice AI answers 100% of calls and can handle multiple orders, allowing staff to focus on service. Nearly 80% of US diners expect AI to dominate food ordering soon. SoundHound's AI is deployed in over 10,000 locations and the company recently acquired Allset to expand its reach. Beef 'O' Brady's emphasizes innovation for customer satisfaction, integrating AI to streamline ordering.

📈 In Nashville, Tennessee, Groups360 introduced GroupSync Planner+, a hotel planning and booking tool for enterprise-level event organizers. The web-based GroupSync marketplace showcases live availability at over 25,000 properties worldwide and offers instant booking for events with 10 to 25 rooms and up to 50 participants. Planner+ delivers a customizable approval process, financial reporting tools, and later will integrate Master Service Agreements and preferred hotels. Christian Oliver, Groups360’s SVP of product, highlighted Planner+'s ability to save time and money while standardizing corporate event planning.

🚀 Ashu Singhal, FREENOW’s chief product and technology officer, commits to enhancing urban mobility in Europe. Partnering with Incognia, they aim to bolster platform trust, focusing on fraud prevention without customer friction. Incognia's CEO André Ferraz emphasizes this collaboration's role in FREENOW's secure service delivery and customer satisfaction growth.

🛑 Today's global tech outage was caused by a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, impacting organizations using Microsoft Windows, notably in the airline, financial, healthcare and broadcasting sectors. Hospitality and foodservice were also affected, highlighting the need for businesses to understand technological dependencies, have a business continuity plan, and embrace redundancy with manual procedures and backup systems to ensure operations can continue during such incidents.

📈 GHENT, Belgium—Lighthouse released Channel Manager, an AI-powered solution addressing pricing, promotion, and distribution for independent hotels. The platform integrates Stardekk and automates pricing and promotions based on real-time data. Features include AI-driven rate recommendations, automated rate parity, real-time distribution, support for over 65,000 hotels, local customer service, and connectivity with over 200 OTAs and 50 PMS systems. Lighthouse CEO Sean Fitzpatrick aims to grow independent hoteliers' top-line revenue and enhance guest experiences.

💸 Priceline and Cover Genius have partnered to offer enhanced travel protection for flights, hotels, rental cars, and packages. Cover Genius' XCover platform integration allows Priceline’s North American customers to access policy details, support, and instant payments for approved claims. The collaboration aims to improve insurance experiences and has already increased insurance attach rates for Priceline. XCover Protection is currently available to Priceline customers in the United States and Canada.

🔊 Beef 'O' Brady's, operating in more than 20 states, partners with SoundHoundAI for AI-assisted phone ordering. SoundHound's voice AI, trained on the chain's menu, is live in all corporate locations and available for franchises, handling 100% of calls even during peak periods. As the 2024 Summer Olympics approach, the system offers enhanced ordering convenience. SoundHound AI, deployed in over 10,000 restaurant locations, recently acquired Allset, aiming to transform the voice commerce ecosystem. Nearly 80% of U.S. diners expect AI to manage most food ordering soon.

☕ Starting 3 September, Pret's Club Pret membership will offer a 50% discount on up to five barista-made drinks per day for £5/month until 31 March 2025, then £10/month. The current Club Pret offers five free coffees daily and a 20% food discount for £30/month. YourPret Barista launched in September 2020 costing £20/month, later increased to £25 and then rebranded to Club Pret at £30/month. Pret's UK&I MD Clare Clough cites over a quarter of a billion coffees served since the pandemic as a sign of success. The chain now provides Arabica Filter Coffee at 99p and croissants from £2.30 to £1.99, with earlier price cuts on egg mayo sandwiches and tuna baguettes. Pret has cracked down on QR code sharing and issued refunds for app issues. Leon challenges Pret with a £25/month coffee subscription including a 20% food discount.

🔊 Beef 'O' Brady's, a US family sports bar and grill chain in over 20 states, partners with SoundHoundAI for AI voice ordering. Corporate locations plus franchises now employ the system that handles 100% of calls, even during busy periods. SoundHound's AI, active in over 10,000 restaurants, can answer menu queries, and was boosted by acquiring Allset, an online ordering platform. Nearly 80% of US diners foresee AI in food ordering soon, aligning with the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics rush.