Innovation

🚗 The 2024 QSR Drive-Thru Report indicates a 14-second reduction in service time from the previous year, but traditional drive-thrus still struggle, particularly with staffing shortages. QSRs are implementing technology, such as smart kiosks, AI-powered ordering, and integrated payment solutions, to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. AI has shown to exceed human order accuracy, handling 90% of orders accurately compared to humans' 80-85%. These technological advances not only improve speed and accuracy but also assist with labor challenges and promote a better workplace environment.

🏨 A study at the Florida Governor's Conference found that under 10% of the hospitality audience had returned post-pandemic, with the remaining 300-400 being industry newcomers. Over 80% of hospitality workers in many hotels are new hires according to a Qualtrics survey of 1,500-plus stakeholders. Despite near-full staffing, quit rates are among the highest, with nearly three million leaving leisure and hospitality roles between January and April 2024, a 204% increase above the national average. Florida has hit a record high in quit rates recently, as reported by Newsweek. Meanwhile, the use of talent acquisition software in HR is at an all-time high, yet its effectiveness over the past 36 months is questioned due to low long-term retention rates. The article calls for a return to traditional staffing methods, emphasizing engagement, mentorship, and increased training investment to improve staff retention and overall industry success.

📱 Canary Technologies launched its AI Voice platform in San Francisco, California, providing AI-powered hotel assistants for traveler calls, bookings, and operations. The suite includes AI Front Desk Assistant, AI Concierge Assistant, AI Central Reservations Assistant, and AI Booking Agent. This innovation aims to offer instant support, streamline bookings, and improve guest experiences, particularly during peak demand when staff may be overwhelmed. Canary's solutions also free up hotel and call center staff, allowing for better hospitality service.

📱 JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa is deploying Phunware, Inc.'s Smart Hospitality Solution for enhanced guest experience on iOS and Android. The app navigates through 950 guest rooms, the AquaRidge WaterPark, Revive Spa, multiple restaurants, and a golf club. It features on-property navigation, dining reservations, cabana and experience bookings, spa and golf reservations. Phunware CEO Stephen Chen emphasized technology as key to modern hospitality, offering mobile-first solutions for services like check-ins and room service.

📱 Phunware, Inc. is enhancing JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa's guest experience with a mobile app for iOS and Android users. The app features real-time navigation for 950 rooms and various amenities. The resort's Director of Marketing, Christa Wood, highlights the app's role in showcasing amenities and activities. Phunware’s CEO, Stephen Chen, emphasizes technology as a hospitality cornerstone, with the app facilitating check-ins, room access, room service, and activity bookings directly via smartphones.

🏨 Phunware, Inc., a mobile enterprise cloud solutions provider, has launched a Smart Hospitality Solution app for JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, enhancing guest navigation across 950 rooms and amenities like AquaRidge WaterPark and Revive Spa. The app caters to iOS and Android users, offering on-property navigation, dining reservations, cabana and experience bookings, as well as spa and golf reservations. The resort's Director of Marketing, Christa Wood, emphasizes guest engagement with the property's features. Stephen Chen, CEO of Phunware, advocates the necessity of mobile-first experiences in modern hospitality.

💻 Jonathan Weizman, Hotel Tech CEO at Roomchecking.com and a developer, discusses AI's impact on the hotel industry and his daily focus on utilizing it. He highlights the shift from traditional Natural Language Processing (NLP) to advanced AI tools like ChatGPT and Large Language Models (LLMs), which reason through prediction rather than set responses. These models are trained on trillions of words, digesting diverse internet content to learn and predict. The article touches on the phenomenon of AI 'hallucination', where AI predicts plausible text regardless of its truthfulness, exemplified by ChatGPT's over-representation of the number "42" due to its cultural significance.

🏢 Mews, awarded Best PMS at the HotelTechAwards 2025, set for Mews Unfold 2025 in Amsterdam on April 30th at Muziekgebouw. The event will gather hoteliers, tech leaders, and innovators, focusing on how technology enhances hospitality and profitability. Keynote speakers include Dina Belon (Staypineapple), Luca Bavone (Habyt), Nik Jasprica (Lark Hotels), Joe Pettigrew (L&R Hotels), and Mews' own Richard Valtr. The sixth annual forum follows the previous year’s attendance of over 700 professionals.

📊 In Helsinki, on January 28, 2025, Bob W. revealed hotel carbon emissions are five times higher than earlier estimates. Their new tool, LEGIT, developed with environmental consultancy Furthr, discloses per-night guest emission metrics for each room type. Bob W's LEGIT considers factors beyond the HCMI standard, like construction materials and consumables. Applied to Bob W’s portfolio, the new method showed a 419% higher carbon footprint than HCMI estimations. For example, Bob W’s Koti Katajanokka building's emissions jumped from 1.48 kgCO₂e/night to 19.7 kgCO₂e/night. Bob W, the first climate-neutral hospitality provider in 2021, aims for net-zero by 2050, reporting a 90% increase in emissions in 2023 from its portfolio expansion, totaling 4,489 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e).

???? During Disney's fifth annual Global Tech & Data Showcase in Las Vegas, Rita Ferro announced ad-supported monthly active users (MAUs) for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ reached 157 million globally, 112 million domestically. Disney Compass, a new data platform, was introduced, along with a landmark collaboration with Publicis CoreAI. Innovations such as Disney Select AI Engine, expanded ad formats, and global expansion of audience targeting tools were highlighted. In 2024, over 6,500 brands adopted Disney's BridgeID. Disney executives emphasized their strategic investment in technology, data-driven advertising, and global product offerings.