Innovation

🛒 Amazon launched Rufus, an expert shopping assistant, in beta for a select group of U.S. customers on their mobile app. Rufus utilizes Amazon's product catalog and web information to answer questions, make recommendations, and aid in product discovery within the familiar Amazon shopping experience. More customers will gain access to Rufus in the coming weeks.

💻 Amazon uses LLMs for improved chatbot customer service with Amazon Lex technology. Coca-Cola creates diverse content and gains consumer insights with OpenAI's GPT-4. JPMorgan Chase enhances financial operations and client satisfaction using IBM Watson for data analysis. Netflix and Spotify personalize recommendations using BERT-enhanced algorithms. The New York Times optimizes ad strategies with OpenAI's GPT-3. Generative AI at the Super Bowl improves targeted ads. IBM Watson aids healthcare professionals with diagnosis and treatment recommendations. These LLMs and AI technologies drive innovation, efficiency, and tailored user experiences.

🔍 Google's AI Overviews impact publisher visibility, showing for 17% of queries in the US and UK. AI summaries started in May in the US, were cut back, and are now broadly analyzed by Authoritas over 6,599 keywords. They are altering search result rankings: Martha Stewart's article on wasps, now below Google's AI summary, used to rank first. AI summaries push organic results down, with Press Gazette's editor list example demoted in search. Laurence O'Toole of Authoritas predicts AI Overviews will expand, altering traffic for publishers reliant on Google—up to half of site visits. AI Overviews link to pages outside the top ten results 60% of the time, suggesting significant impact on search rankings.

📱 WorldVue to become the in-room entertainment provider for Loews Hotels & Co by 2027. Four hotels will be upgraded in 2023, with the rest following by 2025. This includes 26 hotels, with eight in Orlando, Florida. WorldVue HUB, first piloted at Loews Arlington Hotel in early 2024, enhances guest experiences with streaming apps, events calendar, messaging, and more. System integrations with Delphi and Cendyn will automate updates across properties.

💸 After leaving SHR Group in October 2023, the founder launched Growthblade Partners following a 6-month break. With 30+ years of experience and 4 successful exits, including a 5.5x return on Avvio's sale to SHR Group for Calculus Capital, the founder now offers "GTM as a service" to help scale-ups face growth challenges with experienced partners and without the need for long-term fulltime hires. For more information, visit growthblade.com.

🟡 Paint brand Dulux announces "True Joy" as the Colour of the Year for 2025, a bright yellow hue selected to inspire optimism and creativity. True Joy was chosen for its bold, sunny disposition that adds cheerfulness to interiors, with three key trends influencing the selection: joyfulness, craftsmanship, and heritage. Complementary colour palettes were revealed, including Bold Colour Story for education and office spaces, Human Colour Story with neutral shades for warmth, and Proud Colour Story with deep tones for hospitality and residential areas. Previous Colours of the Year include Wild Wonder for 2023 and Sweet Embrace for 2024.

🍳 Saladplate, part of Informa Markets, serves as the official content and engagement hub for the Hospitality, Food, and Beverage sector. It offers insights, weekly news updates, a monthly newsletter, and a bi-monthly e-magazine. The platform boasts access to over 10,000 brands, companies, and products, as well as registration and updates for more than 35 international trade events.

🏡 Noida, 10th September 2024: Bhanu Chopra, Founder and Managing Director of RateGain Travel Technologies Limited, an AI-powered SaaS solutions provider for hospitality and travel, has been elected as Co-Chair of ASSOCHAM’s National Council on Travel & Tourism. The travel and tourism industry, contributing 7.7% to India's GDP in 2023, anticipates becoming a $3 trillion economy by 2047, creating 200 million jobs. RateGain operates in 100+ countries with 3,200+ customers and 700+ partners, serving major hotel chains, airlines, and car rentals.

🏗️ Rosewood Residences Naples, a 42-unit waterfront condo development by Ronto Group and Wheelock Street Capital, commences construction in Naples, Fla., featuring ocean views and amenities like pools and firepit areas. Lillian Wu designs common spaces. Rosewood currently operates 34 properties across 21 countries and plans 24+ new projects in 7 years. Le Petit Pali Brentwood opens in LA in November, becoming Palisociety's 8th city hotel, with further expansion in 2025. Prizeotel rebrands to Prize by Radisson, with new properties in Gdansk (2026) and Berlin (2027), adding to 21 existing hotels. U.S. hotel industry shows YOY growth with occupancy at 63.9% (+1.9%), ADR at $153.67 (+1.6%), RevPAR at $98.18 (+3.6%), led by Tampa (+15.2% occupancy) and Seattle (+12.5% ADR).

💻 AI systems in Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) minimize human error, accelerating order processing, hence enhancing customer experience. AI assists in trend analysis, identifying peak times, popular items, and guiding inventory management, also aiding in staff scheduling. U.S. restaurants annually waste 22-33 billion tons of food, but AI can mitigate this by updating inventories, making sustainable recommendations, and promoting underperforming menu items. AI adoption is increasing among QSRs, promising improved experiences for customers and staff while boosting cost efficiency.