Innovation

📈 Kevin Bentley, Head of Technology at Jollibee Foods Corporation, with over 20 years of experience, will speak at MURTEC 2025 on "Personalizing the Guest Experience." Bentley's background includes marketing technology at Johnson & Johnson and automation at Inspire Brands. Discussion points include improving service time, streamlining operations, leveraging technology, and reducing labor costs. Attendees can register for MURTEC 2025, "Experience Matters," at MURTEC.com.

📅 Global business travel industry projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2028. 💰 Black Box Technologies reveals 100% of corporate travel buyers demand urgent action on fragmentation. ✅ To combat inefficiencies, TMCs embrace AI, automation, and machine learning for optimized productivity. 🚀 Gen A expectations include consumer-grade, personalized solutions as they join the workforce in three years. 📍 Sammit Khanndeparkar of London Stock Exchange underscores TMCs' strategic partnership role. ✍ TMCs focus on ROI, with AI-powered platforms and collaboration to reduce fragmentation and align with future demands.

💻 In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, fewer companies see legacy technology as a barrier to digitalization in 2024 (23%) compared to 2022 (33%), per Eaton's study. This change is attributed to advances in AI and ML. Demand for data centres is rising due to AI, with 42.3% upgrading facilities, 38.6% expanding capacity, and 32.8% improving IT performance. Utilities expect up to 49% more grid capacity needs in the next decade. Manufacturers view AI as key for ESG goals (66%) and energy optimization (55%). Large building owners (54%) plan to install management systems within a year to optimize energy use. Eaton's Brightlayer software aids businesses in digital transformation through AI, ML, and big data.

💰 Qi, in partnership with Ant International, launched SuperQi in July 2024, aiming to digitize financial services in Iraq. SuperQi has 11 million cardholders and 5 million mobile app users, targeting over 15 million users by 2027. It offers a digital lifestyle super app and integrated digital bank, available in Arabic, English, and Kurdish. The platform has over 20,000 POS merchants, 10,000 cash-out agents, and projects to engage over 30% of Iraq's population by 2026. Qi's efforts have increased the banked rate from 5% to nearly 50%.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016, covers food and beverage trends and hosts the "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. He wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), spent five years in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times, and graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University. Thorn was in Beijing during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, won a Neal Award in 2006, and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Contact him at [email protected]

📢 In 2024, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) reached a record 33 active partnership agreements. Key new partners include DIRECTV HOSPITALITY (gold partner) and silver partners The Coca-Cola Company, Cvent, Jacaruso Enterprises, and LG Electronics USA. AHLA members exceed 30,000, encompassing 80% of franchised hotels and the 16 largest U.S. hotel companies. DIRECTV HOSPITALITY will support major AHLA events, with The Coca-Cola Company’s portfolio expanding over 138 years. Cvent, since 1999, will sponsor event technology, and Jacaruso Enterprises offers sales services and training. LG Electronics USA provides smart hotel TVs ranging from 43 to 86 inches for the U.S. hospitality industry.

🏖 Travel Tech Essentialist newsletter, sponsored by the Travel Tech Association, highlights the tension between AI-driven efficiency and human touch in travel innovations. Merry Christmas and happy 2024 from the newsletter, with wishes for success in 2025. Travel Tech expands Advocate membership to assist startups and SMBs, offering webinars, networking, and access to the Innovation Policy Newsletter. In May 2025, the Travel Tech Start-Up Summit followed by the Policy & Innovation Showcase will take place in Washington, DC. The industry expects structural changes like the power shift towards Asia and anticipates AI replacing 31% of traditional customer service roles, despite only 13% preferring this change. For more details, visit the full results and analysis.

💻 Digital transformation in the food service industry continues post-COVID-19, focusing on robotics in kitchens, advanced data analytics for decision-making, and a shift towards back-office technology priorities. Restaurants integrate AI and machine learning to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and inform growth strategies. The shift from front-of-house to back-office innovations addresses labor shortages and economic pressures, aiming to improve operational efficiency and profitability. Effective strategies include building integrated systems, prioritizing flexible solutions, and aligning technology with guest experience enhancements.

📈 Major advertising and marketing highlights from 2024, according to The Drum: Palliative Care Queensland's ad with The Pixies' soundtrack resonated in August, AMV BBDO's 'Never Just a Period' campaign for Bodyform stood out, KFC's 'Believe in Chicken' by Mother took a darkly humorous route, Marmite's April ad from Adam&EveDDB humorously imitated an investigative documentary, and Loewe's ad featuring Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy cleverly addressed the brand's name pronunciation. Notable marketing moves include Guinness facing supply shortages due to successful marketing, Adidas Sambas becoming trendy, Liquid Death reaching a $1.4bn valuation, and Rhode's lip gloss phone case going viral. In contrast, The Body Shop and TGI Friday's entered administration, while Dr Martens and Nike lost cultural cachet. Looking ahead, marketers hope for stable budgets and political climate post-2024 elections. In media, the US Supreme Court agreed to review a potential TikTok ban set for January 19, 2025, while TikTok's CEO met with president-elect Donald Trump seeking a resolution. Omnicom and IPG's significant deals bookmarked the year, with agency acquisitions including WPP's NCA, Havas' B2B Ledger Bennett, Dentsu's Tag Worldwide, and Publicis' shopper agency Mars United. Investments in AI technology surged, with WPP dedic