TOP NEWS

🥟 Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, a fast-casual brand with 550 locations, was acquired by Rhône, a global private equity firm, from Thompson Street Capital Partners. The executive team remains unchanged, led by President & CEO Chris Dull. The brand continues to serve its classic menu while maintaining quality and hospitality. In the past year, Freddy's generated over $1 billion in system-wide sales across the U.S. and Canada. Acquisition terms remain undisclosed.

📰 Opera Contemporary, part of Angelo Cappellini, is showcasing its furniture at Interior Lifestyle Tokyo from June 18-20, 2025, at Tokyo Big Sight. Featured items include Vertex collection coffee tables with bronzed blown glass and a unique "Balloton" texture, a Label freestanding mirror with a brushed brass finish, and the versatile Sophie armchair with 360° rotation, all located at booth E04-F020 in the Italy pavilion.

📈 In select-service hotels, revenue management often burdens general managers or cluster revenue managers with manual data tasks. This inefficient practice leads to delayed decisions, inaccurate forecasts, and human errors, hindering revenue opportunities. Automation through a Revenue Management System (RMS) addresses these issues by processing real-time data for dynamic rate adjustments, improving forecasting accuracy, and eliminating manual errors. This shift empowers leaders to focus on strategy and guest experience, enhancing profitability and loyalty.

💰 Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho, automated its tip management using TipHaus with Oracle, benefiting over 400 employees, including 150 tipped staff. Previously reliant on cash payouts, Riverside faced transparency and administrative challenges. By adopting this technology, they eliminated cash tip outs and reduced manual errors, saving over 40 hours a month in calculations. Complaints about tips dropped to zero, with staff now receiving earnings twice weekly, enhancing morale and trust.

✈️ Ryanair partners with Booking Holdings, including Booking.com, Kayak, Priceline, and Agoda, providing access to Ryanair flights to over 235 destinations. This collaboration allows customers booking through these platforms to access their myRyanair accounts without additional verification, ensuring they receive crucial flight updates. The partnership highlights efforts to protect customers and provide more choices at lower fares, offering price transparency and enhancing the booking experience for travelers globally.

🍴 Michael Mina, The Mina Group, and Stephen Curry are opening steakhouses in October at The Westin St. Francis hotel in Union Square, San Francisco. Mina's Bourbon Steak and Curry's The Eighth Rule will debut. Curry’s first hospitality venture follows his 2021 launch of Gentleman’s Cut bourbon. The Eighth Rule offers limited seating and craft cocktails. The Mina Group, managing operations, has over 25 concepts. The central Bourbon Lounge will feature seasonal California ingredients.

🏨 September 1st marks National Hotel Employee Day, established in 2022 by the American Hotel & Lodging Association to honor U.S. hotel workers. Mews, co-founded by Richard Valtr and Matt Welle, uses AI to enhance hospitality by automating tasks, allowing staff to focus on guests. Features like AI Smart Tips and Atomize RMS optimize operations. Sandra Alcazar (The Maj Hotel, Philadelphia), Johnny Noonan (The Chloe, New Orleans), and others highlight the benefits of AI in delivering personalized experiences.

📸 From August 27 to September 6, 2025, Hilton Molino Stucky Venice offers exclusive experiences during the Venice Film Festival. Guests can enjoy spa treatments like the Glow and Tone (€140) and Deep Body Stress Relief Massage (€100), sip the Golden Lion’s Grove cocktail (€23) at the Skyline Rooftop Bar, and attend a Cinema Dinner Night on September 6 (€150 per person). Stay in luxurious suites like the Presidential Suite (€6,500/night) and Tower Molino Suites (€1,200/night). Rooms start at €240.

Blog Post Excerpt 📈 Governments are opposing Airbnb to boost housing. AI changes hotel bookings, requiring strategic growth in direct bookings. Tech paradoxically increases time value as it saves time. Tourism fuels 10% of global tax revenue. Hotels struggle with tech adaptability, unlike Google’s seamless AI integration.

🏨 On August 28, 2025, more than 15,000 European hotels joined a collective lawsuit against Booking.com over rate parity clauses, following the European Court of Justice's ruling on September 19, 2024. Led by the Dutch Stichting Hotel Claims Alliance and supported by HOTREC and 30 national hotel associations, hotels from Italy, Germany, and Greece are prominent participants. The suit will be filed in Amsterdam District Court by year-end. Registration closes on August 29, 2025.