Innovation

☕ Harding Group uses Mews for managing multiple hospitality properties in Trolltunga, Norway since January 2024. Mews simplifies reservation management, enhances guest experiences with automated emails and plans for smart locks implementation. Staff training through Mews University is intuitive, likened to using a smartphone. Rate management is streamlined, allowing for pricing years ahead and automating payments with fewer errors. Mews is praised for its continual evolution, likened to upgrading from a Nokia 3310 to the newest iPhone.

🏖 Anna Marie Presutti, appointed President & CEO of San Francisco Travel, aims to reinvigorate tourism and hospitality in San Francisco through innovative strategies and collaboration. On October 6, 2024, she revealed plans including the "It All Starts Here" campaign and addressed emerging travel trends. Presutti highlighted the significance of tourism for the city's economy and opportunities for businesses to partner with San Francisco Travel to foster growth and recovery.

📰 Group bookings represent 30-40% of revenue for business hotels. However, outdated systems for managing accommodation, meeting spaces, and event services can lead to errors and client dissatisfaction. Adopting integrated technology can simplify operations and improve profitability. An online group booking system with real-time availability, automated RFP responses, and integration with PMS and S&C systems can save time and enhance client experience, potentially increasing revenue and efficiency. ????

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, reports on food and beverage trends. He hosted "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast and authored columns for The New York Sun (2005-2008) and Nation’s Restaurant News. Thorn joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 post his five-year stint in Thailand writing for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and was president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council in 2005. A magna cum laude Tufts University graduate with history, he also studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and in China during college years, witnessing the Tiananmen Square events in 1989. Thorn wrote for the Oxford Encyclopedia and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Email: [email protected] Social media profiles include LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

🏨 Since the acquisition in 2022, Choice Hotels International relaunched Radisson Individuals in the Americas as an upper-upscale soft brand for boutique and independent hotels with local character. Over 30 Radisson Individuals properties have opened globally since 2020, 15 franchised by Choice in the Americas. The brand focuses on setting, character, and direction, providing guests with immersive local experiences without sacrificing service. Choice's portfolio now includes 1,000 upscale properties worldwide, with 200+ in development. Direct online reservations for Radisson Americas brands saw a 32% year-over-year increase post digital integration.

📌 Bill Graff, founder and CEO of ONDA, introduced a new hospitality brand merging hostel social vibes with boutique hotel comforts. After a transformative trip through Asia, he innovated a "middle" hospitality concept, launching the first location in Costa Rica, acclaimed for exceptional reviews. As remote work grows post-COVID, ONDA targets the "digital nomad" niche, aiming for 10 Costa Rican properties before international expansion. With technical advances enabling niche services, Bill envisions a "fast casual" evolution in hospitality, paralleling dining industry trends from 70 years ago.

🍺 Oriole, a cocktail bar and live music venue, relaunched at Covent Garden's The Yards after closing in 2022 due to Smithfield Market redevelopment. Led by chef Gustavo Giallonardo, with a Latin American fusion menu, starters range from £11-£13, mains around £20, and a £60 show menu. Bar director Samet Ali crafted a new cocktail menu inspired by the namesake bird. The two-story venue features live jazz and world music, designed by Daytrip Studio. Located at 7-9 Slingsby Place, London WC2E 9AB.

🍔 Majed Mansour and Wissem launched their first business, Graine, a cous cous bar brand, 11 years ago in Paris. Transitioned during Covid, they founded Junk, a burger brand, in 2021 with initial delivery operation. By the following year, Junk expanded to 14 sites across France and opened its first international site. The London site is located on Old Compton Street, Soho. Junk’s menu in London mirrors the French one, featuring a customizable burger, veggie options, truffle double cheeseburger, fries, chicken nuggets, and cookies from Puffy. Plans include opening 10-15 London sites, with interest in Oxford and Manchester, and at least two more sites in France by year-end. Additionally, they aim for Middle East expansion next year. Junk positions itself as a leading smash burger brand globally.

🔍 Over the past 25 years, Google Search evolved with a knowledge base of billions of facts. Google introduced a new Gemini model for Search, enhancing capabilities such as multi-step reasoning. AI Overviews, used billions of times in Search Labs experiments, are now rolling out to U.S. users, with plans to expand globally. Hundreds of millions in the U.S. will access AI Overviews this week, with the expectation to reach over a billion users by year's end.

🛫 Travel and logistics companies face workforce challenges affecting over 3 million employees across the 40 top-grossing firms, with labor shortages and costs up by 40% from 2018 to 2023. Logistics employee turnover increased by 33% post-COVID-19. Annually, 4 million baby boomers retire, with 6,000 pilots hitting the FAA's retirement age of 65. E-commerce growth intensifies demand for logistics workers, as 10-20% of e-commerce revenue goes towards logistics. Despite labor demand and costs rising, productivity in these sectors increased only by 15% from 2018 to 2023, trailing other industries. Outdated workforce planning methods are still common, with one airline's static models leading to 60% misalignment in staffing. AI solutions offer potential benefits, such as predictive models and automation, which can lead to significant operational improvements and cost reductions. Implementing AI can improve workforce management, demand forecasting, and training processes, potentially reducing overtime costs by 15-20% and training bottlenecks by 5-10%.