Hotel Operations

🏨 Coury Holdings introduces Concert Hospitality, targeting full-service and select-service hotels for personalized experiences and operational efficiency. The new entity starts with an initial portfolio of four hotels, including Marriott Westlake in Dallas/Fort Worth, and aims for 10-12 properties by year-end. Chris Charbonnet leads as regional vice president of operations, leveraging over 20 years of industry experience. Concert Hospitality will work closely with strategic partner NewcrestImage for expanding its branded and independent hotel portfolio.

🏦 Dusit Thani Bangkok, a Dusit International hotel, reopens on September 27 after a full rebuild, now featuring 257 rooms, down from 517. The hotel, designed by Andre Fu Studio and Architects 49 Ltd., includes 10 restaurants and bars, a sky lobby, spa, and over 5,000 square meters of meeting space. Small Luxury Hotels enters India via The MRS Group, adding three hotels. IHG expands in Spain with four new hotels, totaling over 500 rooms, set to open by spring 2026. Crescent Hotels & Resorts to manage Virginia's first JW Marriott, opening in 2025 with 243 rooms and 94 condos. Bob W expands into Austria with a 67-unit Vienna property, opening in 2025.

🏡 Miiro launched its first property, Le Grand Hôtel Cayré, in Paris' Saint-Germain-des-Prés in partnership with Michaelis Boyd. The hotel offers 123 rooms and suites, a signature Refresh Room, restaurant Annette, bar Officine Bac, and other amenities. Miiro, a venture by InterGlobal Enterprises, was established in December 2023. Future openings include Barcelona and London, targeting early 2025.

🍕 Toronto-based Lazeez Shawarma, established in 2013, partners with Revel Systems to implement a cloud-based POS across 61 locations. Presented at MURTEC Executive Summit Canada on June 20-21 at Sheraton Centre, Toronto, the partnership aims to support rapid growth and improve guest experience with features like a mobile management system, kitchen display system, and real-time customer display system, enhancing service speed and order accuracy while adapting to market shifts and technologies.

🍕 The food delivery industry, grappling with wage increases and inflation, is turning to robotics as a solution. The National Restaurant Association reported 110,000 restaurant closures in 2020, yet the sector keeps evolving. Robotics, offering operational efficiency and cost savings (cutting costs by 17.71% according to the Association for Advancing Automation), are gaining ground, with the food robotics market projected to grow from $2 billion in 2020 to $5 billion by 2030, as stated by Allied Market Research. Embracing innovation like robotics is crucial for the industry's sustainability and competitiveness.

🍴 A restaurant reservation app enhances efficiency, customer experience, and profitability. Small businesses gain market access while larger ones streamline operations and increase loyalty. Features include easy booking, loyalty rewards, and special promotions, accessible via mobile devices. Financial benefits include reduced fees from direct bookings. Development steps include market research, design, app-building, and leveraging EPOS integration. Launching an app involves using market research to attract users. Rohan, SVP of Engineering at Builder.ai, suggests these strategies.

🍴 Michael Solomonv’s CookNSolo plans to open Jaffa Bar, an Israeli influenced oyster bar, in fall at 1925 N. Howard St., Philadelphia. The 5,000-square-foot, 120-seat space is being developed by Boxwood Architects. The bar will be managed by Kailey Jenkins and chef Andrew Henshaw, with Ryan Mulholland as a partner. Menu items include oysters with passion fruit mignonette and a variety of Middle Eastern inspired seafood dishes. The cocktail program, managed by Sean Byrne, features a Jaffa Orange cocktail. CookNSolo was founded in 2008.

🍴 In the Mediterranean, aïoli is made with garlic and olive oil. In the U.S., aïoli has evolved to include various ingredients and is often used synonymously with mayonnaise. Truffle aïoli, notably made with truffle oil, is trending in the U.S. and is present on 1.7% of restaurant menus, marking a 22% increase over four years. This variety is sought-after for its rich aroma and creaminess, complementing dishes from French fries to highly acidic meals.

🏨 Criterion Capital acquires former Debenhams store at 109-112 Princes Street, Edinburgh, to open the first Zedwell hotel in Scotland. Occupying over 116,500 square feet, the Edinburgh Zedwell is positioned near Old Town, the Royal Mile, and offers views of Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens. Criterion plans a UK-wide expansion with a pipeline of 22 hotels and over 7000 rooms, aiming for assets under management to exceed £6 billion. JLL advised Criterion on the acquisition. Edinburgh is considered the best performing hotel market in Europe.

💻 BWH Hotels partners with Tesla to install EV charging stations at North American properties; Choice Hotels International migrates entire system to Amazon Web Services, decommissions 3,700+ servers, and introduces AI-powered merchandising; Hilton extends mobile messaging platform globally with over 10.5 million conversations across 3,618 properties; IHG Hotels & Resorts focuses on IHG One Rewards app with Google Cloud AI for travel planning; Sonesta International Hotels Corporation progresses on CRM system, new combined website, and upgrades WiFi at 170 hotels. Hilton expects to have its new Property Engagement Platform at all locations by the end of 2026.