Posts by author

Tony Loeb

2314 posts

Tony Loeb, un expert reconnu de l'industrie hôtelière et du marketing digital, a gravi les échelons de sa carrière, passant de webmaster à Directeur Technique puis co-fondateur de WIHP où il participe à la création Meta I/O. Il a ensuite lancé "Experience", le premier CRM hôtelier mondial, révolutionnant l'expérience client et aidant plus de 4500 hôtels. Actuellement, il innove avec 10minhotel.com, une plateforme et une base de connaissance pour hôteliers, combinant ses passions pour l'hôtellerie et le marketing. Le site propose également un podcast informatif, "10 min pour un hôtelier", démontrant l'engagement continu de Tony pour l'innovation dans l'industrie hôtelière.

3 min

American Express, Toast Partner to Personalize Hospitality Experiences

🍴 American Express and Toast are partnering to enhance dining experiences across the U.S. In 2024, American Express acquired Rooam and Tock, adding 7,000 restaurants to its network, complementing the 20,000 on Resy. American Express Card Members spent over $87 billion on dining in the U.S. in 2024. New tools will be implemented in 2026 to provide personalized hospitality, increasing guest loyalty and restaurant visibility on platforms like Resy and Tock.

2 min

Hostaway Unveils AI Auto Reply for Instant Guest Communication

💻 SoundHound AI Inc. and Acrelec partner to revolutionize drive-thrus globally, integrating voice AI in 25,000+ installations. SoundHound's tech, deployed in over 10,000 restaurants, processes billions of queries annually. This system enhances order efficiency, freeing staff for other tasks. The collaboration supports leading brands like McDonald's and Dunkin', amid rising demand for AI to meet customer needs and labor challenges. Visit SoundHound's website for more on their advanced solutions.

5 min

Closing the AI Gap in Hospitality: Why Hotels Need Industry-Trained Intelligence, Not Guesswork

📈 The hospitality industry contributes over $550 billion annually yet receives less than 0.004% of data for AI training. Compared to legal (76%), finance (14%), and healthcare (10%) data contributions, AI struggles to understand hospitality-specific needs. With predictive models offering limited insights, causal AI provides more accurate demand forecasts, up to 95%, boosting RevPAR by 18% and direct bookings by 27%. This AI shift saves operators over 15 hours weekly, enhancing revenue planning and guest engagement.

5 min

How Sustainable Tech Is Reshaping the Guest Experience

💻 In 2025, hospitality brands are using smart systems and AI to achieve up to 33% energy reductions, 40% water savings, and a 21% cut in greenhouse gas emissions. Artyzen Habitat Hengqin Zhuhai in China implemented sensor-driven heat pumps, while Four Seasons Madrid reduced food waste by 30% with AI, saving €88,000 annually. 80% of hotels offer mobile check-in and digital keys, with 66% of travelers influenced by sustainability in their hotel choices.

2 min

Starbucks Scales Operational Excellence with Green Apron, AI-Powered Service

☕ Starbucks aims for service times under 4 minutes for counter and drive-thru; average drive-thru time is 3 minutes 20 seconds at over 7,600 locations. The company will remodel 1,000 U.S. stores by 2024, with a $150,000 investment per store. A new prototype debuts in fiscal 2026, focusing on community coffeehouses. Starbucks Rewards, with 34 million members, will be revamped by 2026 to deepen loyalty and engagement, moving away from a discount-focused strategy.

2 min

Journey Secures $7.7M to Bring AI-Powered Loyalty to Independent Hotels

💻 SoundHound AI Inc. and Acrelec have partnered to introduce voice-enabled drive-thru systems globally. With over 25,000 installations and support for 80,000 tech deployments, Acrelec collaborates with brands like McDonald's. SoundHound’s AI, already in 10,000+ restaurants, enhances efficiency by automating order processing. This solution aims to modernize drive-thrus, improve customer experience, and address labor shortages. SoundHound handles billions of queries annually, offering seamless, future-ready restaurant solutions.

2 min

Travel Tech Veteran Anurag Mittal Joins Guestara as Co-founder to Spearhead Global Growth

💻 SoundHound AI Inc. and Acrelec announced a strategic partnership to enhance drive-thrus worldwide with AI voice technology. SoundHound’s AI, already in over 10,000 restaurants, integrates with Acrelec's systems, improving order efficiency and staff optimization. With 25,000+ drive-thru installations globally, Acrelec supports major brands like McDonald's and Dunkin'. This partnership addresses restaurant labor shortages and operational demands, aiming to modernize and streamline customer experiences.

2 min

Fraud Is Eating Away at Restaurant Profits — Literally

💸 Gig workers, restaurants, and consumers are impacted by fraud in food delivery. Gig workers lose earnings to scams, with fraudsters using cloned apps to unfairly grab jobs. Restaurants face direct losses and promotional abuses affecting profits, especially small businesses. Consumers sometimes exploit refunds, undermining platform trust. Fraud leads to tightened rules, slower payments, and reduced customer retention, causing financial strain across all parties involved.

2 min

AI Efficiency Soars: Today’s Models Rival 100x Larger Older Systems

💻 Mistral 7B, a 7-billion-parameter language model, outperforms Llama 2 13B, which has almost twice the parameters. Over the past 18 months, AI research shows smaller models trained with high-quality data can outperform larger ones. DeepMind's Chinchilla demonstrated a 70-billion parameter network beating GPT-3’s 175 billion. Newer sparse models like Mixtral 8x7B enhance efficiency by using specialist sub-networks. Leaner AI models reduce costs and latency, benefiting sectors like hospitality by lowering energy usage and expenses.

2 min

Ex-Food Network star Paula Deen closes The Lady & Sons and Chicken Box restaurants in Savannah, Ga.

🏥 Paula Deen, 78, announced the closure of The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box in Savannah, GA, after 30 years, effective July 31. Though the reason remains undisclosed, she thanked patrons for 36 years of support. Deen's four other restaurants in Nashville, Pigeon Forge, Myrtle Beach, and Branson will continue operations. Her Food Network show was canceled in 2013 following a legal deposition. Her YouTube channel has over 583,000 subscribers.

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