Innovation

🚲 DoorDash, a $40 billion third-party delivery service, is acquiring SevenRooms, a customer relationship management business. This deal aims to create a comprehensive platform, akin to Amazon Prime's all-in-one service, and raises concerns over data control and restaurant brand commoditization. Experts like Toby W. Malbec from Church’s Texas Chicken and Robert Peterson from Oracle Restaurants discuss possible benefits and warn of potential threats, such as the misuse of aggregated customer data by DoorDash. Restaurants are advised to audit their tech stacks, read contracts carefully, maintain system flexibility, and demand open APIs to protect their customer relationships.

🏨 Chris Guimbellot, president & CEO of hihotels, highlighted the Advisory Council's impact since its 2023 establishment at AAHOA's meeting in New Orleans. The council, featuring owners from three hihotels brands, Sabre Hospitality Solutions executives, and Guimbellot, meets quarterly via videoconference to optimize franchisee operations and strategies. They've implemented programs like Best of the Best, rewarding quality and guest satisfaction; WhatsApp groups for efficient communication; and HighHub, an educational and operational portal. These initiatives balance franchisee independence with brand evolution, without enforcing stringent standards.

🚧 Louvre Hotels Group, with over 1,700 hotels globally, has chosen RobosizeME to automate voucher reconciliation, a task previously consuming hundreds of hours a month. In Prague, on 12 May 2025, this partnership was announced, aimed at enhancing efficiency and accuracy by reducing manual work and human error. François Couturier of Louvre Hotels Group highlights the shift of team efforts to strategic activities, while RobosizeME CEO Stephen Burke emphasizes the impact of AI and automation in hospitality. RobosizeME offers AI-driven automation solutions for the hotel industry with a focus on reservation, finance, distribution, and front office workflows, boasting certifications like ISO 27001 and GDPR compliance.

🎵 Nearly 72% of hotel guests notice music playing, and sales can increase by over 37% when the music aligns with the brand. The right music sets the tone in hospitality, influencing guest experiences more than decor. Establishing a "sonic identity" helps venues create the desired atmosphere. Hospitality brands can choose global consistency, local flexibility, or full local autonomy for music management. Modern technology offers efficient, scalable solutions for maintaining an engaging and consistent sound environment.

📦 Real Time Ordering, Platinum Relations, and National Computer Corporation launched RTO Tableside Order and Pay, integrating with restaurants' POS systems for direct kitchen communication and payment processing via PAX A77 devices. It offers Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity, supporting various industry use cases, with the added benefit of increased server productivity and faster table turns. Available now in the U.S. and Canada, the solution is offered as a low monthly subscription.

🍴 Real Time Ordering, Platinum Relations, and National Computer Corporation launched RTO Tableside Order and Pay solutions for restaurants. This technology integrates with NCC's Reflection POS systems, allowing servers to send orders directly to the kitchen and process payments using PAX A77 handheld devices with Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity. RTO Tableside facilitates seamless transactions, improves server productivity, controls labor costs, and accelerates table turn rates. Available in the U.S. and Canada, it offers a modern service for a low monthly subscription.

📱 Real Time Ordering, Platinum Relations, and National Computer Corporation launched RTO Tableside Order and Pay solutions, integrating with restaurants' Reflection POS systems for direct kitchen communication and on-the-spot payment processing via NETePay Hosted. Utilizing the PAX A77 device, the solutions offer Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity, applicable for multiple service types, such as QSRs, food trucks, and full-service dining. Available now in the U.S. and Canada, it promises increased server productivity and faster table turnover for a monthly subscription fee.

🏨 IHG Hotels & Resorts' Q1 2025 update showed a global RevPAR increase of 3.3%, with Americas at 3.5%, EMEAA at 5.0%, and Greater China down 3.5%. Rooms revenue saw Business up 3%, Leisure up 2%, Groups up 5%, average daily rate up 2.2%, and occupancy up 0.6 percentage points. Gross system size growth was 7.1% YOY, with 14,600 new rooms opened. Net system size grew 4.3% YOY, totaling 987,000 rooms across 6,668 hotels. IHG signed 25,800 rooms in Q1, marking a 9.4% YOY pipeline increase. A $324m portion of a $900m share buyback program was completed, reducing share count by 1.9%.

🏨 Atomize, a Mews company, offers the first Revenue Management System for real-time price optimization, allowing hoteliers to immediately optimize rates and adapt to market changes. Revenue Managers utilizing Atomize can respond instantaneously to events like surprise concerts, benefiting from increased demand without delay. The RMS monitors data 365 days in advance, factors in various market indicators, and updates rates automatically, contrasting with manual updates that may lead to missed revenue opportunities. Testimonials like that of Jonathan Anthamatten, General Manager at EMA House, highlight the system's impact on maximizing revenue.