Innovation

📈 At the 2024 FSTEC conference in Grapevine, Texas, industry leaders focused on AI and automation in foodservice. Key takeaways: AI is set to revolutionize operations within the next decade, with potential to replace apps on phones. Yum Brands' AI-first approach boosted customer satisfaction at Taco Bell. Tech investments are now essential, with COVID-19 accelerating the adoption rate. Customization of tech solutions is crucial for meeting unique business needs. The use of AI should simplify tasks for employees, focusing on enhancing both front and back-of-house operations.

🔋 AI's rise in the hospitality and restaurant industries leads to better customer service but also higher energy usage. The PJM capacity auction for June 2025-May 2026 cleared at $269.92/MW per day, a significant increase from $28.92/MW for the previous year. Strategies like conducting energy audits are suggested for businesses to manage rising costs.

🏙 Over the 2023 Christmas and New Year’s holidays, more than 115 million Americans traveled, with 6% opting for vacation instead of staying home. Hospitality businesses are encouraged to use programmatic advertising, like Google Display Network, to target potential travelers. Cross-channel campaigns across social media, search engines, email, and display ads are recommended. Mobile advertising is crucial, as many book trips via smartphones; platforms suggested include Google’s Mobile App Promotion Ads and Facebook’s Mobile News Feed Ads. Retargeting campaigns are also vital to capture late bookers.

🏨 A Marriott front desk employee on TikTok (@user9813962494407) with over 16,000 views, reveals the inner workings of hotel check-in systems. Details entered include guest information like email, address, phone number, and car details. Marriott's DOS-based, text code-operated system appears outdated to viewers, resembling software from 1993. Despite being deemed complicated, some users defend its reliability, while others criticize it for being overly complex and not user-friendly. Marriott's response to the video has not been disclosed.

✈ UK Tour Operator Holiday Best partners with travel technology provider intuitive to implement the iVector reservation system and DealFinder cache solution. The collaboration aims to enhance booking processes and offer dynamic and packaged holidays. The partnership enables Holiday Best to support contracts for hotels, flights, transfers, and excursions, including third-party suppliers, improving flexibility and customer choice. The integration of intuitive’s technology is designed to streamline Holiday Best’s operations and maintain competitiveness in the fast-paced travel market. CEO Hakan Kavalci expresses confidence in improving customer booking experiences.

🛫 Travelsphere and Just You, group touring specialists, established an Expert Advisory Team with up to 12 agents from the UK, to gather feedback and shape future tours. Meetings will occur three times annually. A 2024 agent survey with over 400 participants revealed the need for firsthand experience, prompting the largest fam trip programme in 2025. Enhanced regional airport offerings were launched earlier this year, responding to agent input. Agents can apply to join the team by emailing agencysales@travelsphere.co.uk.

🌐 Pogo introduced Pogo Plus, enhancing app functionality with AI to create personalized trip itineraries. The MAGIC technology considers user interests, tourist attraction times, travel routes, and weather. Pogo Plus members receive up to 20% discounts on hotels and flights, can edit itineraries, and access new features like updated Map View and custom categories. Available now on iOS, Android release forthcoming. Founder Scott le Roi promises further developments.

🏨 Modern hotels integrate technology to enhance guest experiences, enabling personalized offers and efficient operations. Automation, like Plusgrade's automated front desk tool, streamlines tasks without replacing human interaction, allowing staff to provide memorable service. Data-driven technologies deliver timely, relevant offers through preferred guest channels, balancing digital convenience with personal recognition. This synergy aims to boost guest satisfaction and hotel ancillary revenue, while reinforcing human connections and service quality.