Tony Loeb

📘 Ongoing training for hourly hospitality employees has dwindled to a mere one hour per month, according to the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART). AI-powered training platforms are changing the game, providing employees with simulations of real-world service scenarios. Traditional training methods fall short due to lack of personalization and adaptability, leading to high turnover and guest dissatisfaction. By contrast, AI training has 72% of learning and development professionals reporting improved work quality, with teams completing projects up to 4 times faster than with conventional methods. AI also standardizes training across locations, offering cost-effective solutions that enhance operational efficiency, guest satisfaction, and brand loyalty.

🏨 Caesars Republic Scottsdale Hotel by Hilton opened in March 2024 in Scottsdale, AZ, featuring an 11-story building with 20,000 sq. ft. of event space, a grand first floor pool, a rooftop pool and bar, two restaurants, and 265 guest rooms. The hotel installed over 700 PoE automated roller shades from PowerShades to enhance luxury and sustainability. The shades are integrated into the hotel's BMS for energy conservation, with adjustable settings for optimal comfort and energy efficiency in both guest rooms and public areas. PowerShades' True PoE technology provides cost-effective energy management and easy installation. The shades introduced in 2024 have up to 6Nm torque, quieter motors, and 13x more processing power, fitting diverse window sizes up to 171” wide x 117” deep.

📱 Dunkin' launched an interstitial ad for its heart-shaped "Cupid’s Choice Donut" and Brownie Batter Donut at the end of January 2024, available through February 21, 2024. McDonald's educated users on new app features, while Uber promoted a new subscription program with interstitial ads. These brands exploit advanced segmentation through loyalty programs for high lifetime value consumers. Interstitial ads are recommended for smaller brands with loyalty programs and mobile apps to increase visits and spending.

📈 Kristin Lynch joined Paytronix in 2019, rose to Senior Director in 2023 and serves over 100 clients. She blends 20+ years in brand marketing with restaurant technology, focusing on AI-enhanced personalization and guest experience. Lynch values the balance between human interaction and automation, advocating for tech that enhances, not replaces, hospitality, including the use of gamification.

🏡 Opened in March 2024, Caesars Republic Scottsdale Hotel by Hilton in Scottsdale, AZ, is an 11-story hotel with 20,000 sq. ft. of event space, including pools, bars, two restaurants, and a 7,000-sq-ft ballroom. Over 700 PoE automated roller shades from PowerShades have been installed throughout the hotel's 265 guest rooms and public areas. These shades can be controlled by guests via in-room panels and are integrated into the Building Management System for energy conservation. The PowerShades’ True PoE technology offers cost-effective energy management with easy installation, and the updated version introduced in 2024 features up to 6Nm torque and quieter motors. PowerShades provided custom-fit automated shades as large as 171" wide x 117" deep.

🏡 Hotels have historically personalized guest experiences using data from repeat stays and loyalty programs. Short-term rentals (STRs), lacking repeat visitor data, now use AI and local insights to offer real-time, contextual personalization, such as recommending activities or upselling services based on current conditions. This ecosystem-based approach connects STRs to local communities, driving economic benefits and redefining hospitality personalization. AI integrates with human local knowledge, enhancing guest experiences and revenue opportunities, representing a strategic shift in hospitality value delivery.

🍕 In response to rising tariffs, inflation, and economic uncertainty, restaurant operators focus on controlling costs while maintaining guest experience. Toby W. Malbec, VP of Global Restaurant Technology at Church's Texas Chicken, emphasizes the importance of inventory management, recommending tight integration with menus, detailed sales tracking, and historical modeling. Skip Kimpel, President & CEO of Magicgate, suggests using IoT sensors for stock monitoring, POS integration, and AI-driven alerts to optimize inventory. Operators are advised to consider ingredient substitutions to mitigate the impact of price hikes.

💾 PAR Technology Corp. launched its PAR POS Spring Release to enhance restaurant operations with contactless payment options, like Pay via SMS and QR code with PAR® Pay. The release features Geofencing Integration for kitchen prep timing, tailored pricing on item modifiers, and improved tax support for regions like Ontario, Canada, and third-party delivery services. A new Data Feed reduces item sync times to near-instant. PAR POS was featured in HT's "POS Software in 2025: Key Trends and Features on the Horizon.

💾 PAR Technology Corp. introduced its PAR POS Spring Release, enhancing core performance and adding features like guest convenience, in-store resilience, and platform extensibility. New functionalities include Pay via SMS, QR code payments with PAR® Pay, loyalty account in-store payments, and open order additions. The update offers Geofencing for ETA on Kitchen Chits, customizable item modifier pricing, expanded tax support (including Ontario's quantity-based taxes and marketplace facilitator taxes from DoorDash and Uber Eats), and an improved real-time Data Feed for faster item availability updates. These upgrades aim to improve transaction speeds, table turnover, kitchen efficiency, and profitability while ensuring accurate tax reporting and seamless system integration.