by
Rich Siegel
6.23.2023

Siegel Sez 6/23/23

Siegel Sez 6/23/23

Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

REVENUE MANAGEMENT & ANALYTICS

GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

MARKETING

SALES & CATERING

BACK OFFICE

COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

FOOD & BEVERAGE

PAYMENT PROCESSING

OPERATIONS

SECURITY

MARKET REPORTS

PIQUED OUR INTEREST

Finally, the week of dueling conferences will be here. Many of you reading this will be heading to Toronto or Las Vegas this weekend. Some will be going to both cities, but that is a bit crazy to me. Being a naturally curious person, I am tempted to head to the Toronto Airport early next Wednesday morning to see who will be on the two early morning nonstop flights from Toronto to Las Vegas on Air Canada and WestJet. It might be a challenge after the many Tuesday night parties that will be going on.

Anyway, I am glad this is a one-time thing this year only with the two shows planned in 2024 for June (HITEC) and October. A few months ago, Doug Rice did a great job looking at the two shows and got great feedback from a survey he did asking which event readers would attend. It was very heavy on HITEC attendance. In his Definitely Doug column that follows today, Doug has done a masterful job looking at the pluses and minuses of both shows.I  encourage you to take a moment and read through his column even if you aren’t attending either event. It does a great job looking at the state of the technology industry.

Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online will be at both events, but I will be in Toronto. I’ve been entrusted to moderate two HITEC panels on Monday so I hope you will join us. The first one is pointed toward those attending HITEC for the first time and what to expect. Isn’t it great there is a large number of first timers this year? Historically the audience for this session is half and half with first timers along with those who have been many times. I am working on a few surprises that rarely work but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try again. We shall see. The second session I am doing is a focus on the post-pandemic travel and how things have changed along with what to expect moving forward. It is great that Anthony Melchiorri, who is famous from the Travel Channel TV show Hotel Impossible, will be joining us. Once a hotelier, always a hotelier in my book. Join us at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday -- we will try to make them fun and informative.

Again, I strongly encourage you to read Definitely Doug that follows. He really did a great job comparing both events. If you are attending HITEC you should follow Doug’s lead and visit some of the newer and smaller companies. Many could be the future of technology for the industry. We thank Doug for a great column along with the latest technology news that is happening. I hope wherever you are next week it’s a great week for you. It’s hard to believe July is nearly upon us. The first half of the year went quickly (my knee recovery notwithstanding). I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you know what. For those in the US, have a great Fourth of July weekend!

‍

Rich

‍rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

If you are still on the fence about which of the two competing trade shows to attend next week, then you are a master procrastinator.

If you are still on the fence about which of the two competing trade shows to attend next week, then you are a master procrastinator. And if you wonder if you made the right choice, I guarantee you are not alone. But stay with me and I will try to provide some insight into whichever show(s) you plan to attend.

Each year since I have been writing this column, I have spent a few weeks prior to HITEC researching the exhibitors. I particularly focus on the first-timers, because experience tells me that is where I will find most of the interesting and potentially disruptive innovations. At the show itself, I visit as many of them as I can, to round out my initial research and to assess what is truly new and interesting. That results in my post-HITEC column.

This year will be a bit different. Much as I would like to, I cannot physically attend both HITEC and The Hospitality Show (“The Show”) without wasting too much time in what is already the busiest week of the year for me. But I have spent a lot of time studying the agenda and exhibitors of both shows, so this week’s column will be a preview comparison and guide to what to look for on the exhibit floors.

The TLDR version is: The Show has a very strong lineup of sessions and speakers and should be an excellent conference, if not all that heavily oriented to technology. HITEC has a much stronger exhibition floor if you want to see technology vendors and innovation, and has more technology content in the program.

Comparison Preview

As of last Friday, there were 334 confirmed exhibitors at HITEC (including 89 who are first-timers), and 309 for The Hospitality Show (all first-timers). A total of 73 companies are exhibiting at both shows.  Total reserved exhibit space was 58% more at HITEC than at The Show, versus only 8% more exhibitors, reflecting a larger average booth size for HITEC.

But for technologists, these raw statistics are a bit misleading. At HITEC, 92% of the exhibitors and 94% of the exhibit space is devoted to companies that provide technology. For The Show, the corresponding numbers are 48% and 49% respectively (and that’s counting some companies where technology is just a small part of their hospitality business). In fairness, The Show was never promoted as a technology show, but more of a general hotel show with a significant technology component – which it is.

At The Show, 18% of exhibits will showcase non-technology services (like brokerages, staffing agencies, tax advisory services, renovation services, and the like). Another 16% represent hotel suppliers, of everything from food to cleaning equipment to bathroom amenities. 10% offer equipment and furnishings, and 5% are hotel companies. Technology is not segregated on The Show’s exhibit floor, so a revenue management system vendor may be squeezed between an ERC tax credit advisor and a bathroom amenity supplier.

In addition, The Show’s exhibit hours (nine hours over two days) are much shorter than HITEC’s (15 hours over three), and unlike HITEC, the exhibit show hours compete with some conference sessions that are likely to be well attended.

Based on my informal research, the attendee list at The Show will include a lot more senior non-technology executives than typically attend HITEC – a good number of hotel company CEOs and other business executives are planning to attend, as well as CIOs, COOs, and CTOs. Several are speaking at the conference, which will make it an interesting program. How many of them will visit the exhibit floor and how much time they will spend there, particularly given the strength of the competing conference program, is an open question.

Obviously, vendors exhibit at shows where the likely attendees align with their target audience. Some tech vendors sell primarily to specific departments within the larger hotel group corporate organizations, which will be well represented at The Show. Others sell to smaller groups, independents, or to specialized technologists at multiunit companies; those will be better represented at HITEC. Many sell to both, accounting for the 73 companies exhibiting at both shows.

As for the conference program, The Show offers a variety of options, including several sessions focusing on technology. Most of the sessions look interesting, although not necessarily from a technology standpoint. By my count, only three of twelve main-stage sessions will be of interest specifically to technologists. The breakout sessions split more evenly; I counted 14 sessions with significant technology elements vs. 13 without (although the organizer classifies only five as technology oriented, so I might have been overly generous).

The Show has confirmed some top-notch speakers, including CEOs of Marriott, BWH, Hyatt, Sonesta, Wyndham, MCR, Sage Hospitality, Red Roof, RLJ Lodging Trust, and United Airlines, and several COOs and CIOs as well. However, many of the technology sessions are vendor-heavy panels or, in a few cases, presentations by a single vendor. While I have a lot of respect for many of the individual speakers in these sessions, this format is often subtly (or not so subtly) biased and rarely as engaging as when the speakers have no commercial agendas to push.

HITEC’s conference program is more technology oriented, although some sessions are geared to other interests, such as finance or club management. There will be more technology meat in most of the sessions, and I give a lot of credit to the volunteer HITEC Advisory Council for pulling together a strong program, despite no budget other than for keynote speakers. It certainly has good material for the day-to-day practitioners who make up the bulk of the hoteliers who attend.

Having said that, true thought leaders for most emerging technologies (such as Web3, Generative AI, Natural Language Processing, and machine learning) spend 100% of their time working in their field, something virtually no one in the hospitality industry can do. If you want to know what is really happening in disciplines such as these, you need to get the best 100%’ers as speakers; you just will not find the same level of knowledge or presentation depth within our industry.

HITEC has never done a very good job of attracting top subject matter experts on emerging technologies from outside the hotel industry, and there are none on the agenda for Toronto. The Show does only slightly better, with one senior IBM executive speaking on Generative AI.

True thought leaders in emerging technologies rarely speak at conferences for free unless a key customer twists their arm. If organizers really want leading-edge technical content, they need to budget speaker fees and travel expenses for experts who have no commercial reason to attend. HITEC does this for keynote speakers, who typically cost at least $25,000 plus expenses; I would like to see them eliminate one keynote speaker and use the budget to get multiple thought leaders in emerging technologies (who typically can be had for a quarter or so of the cost). Most of the sessions on emerging technologies at HITEC (including ones I have spoken on) are nowhere near as good as ones I can find online from people and companies specializing in those technologies. Yet their knowledge is critical if hotel technologists are to help their businesses thrive in the years to come.

Another difference in the program is that The Show has several breakout sessions featuring speaker(s) from only one single vendor with a major commercial interest – never a good move if it is more than a brief sponsor message. HITEC rarely, if ever, lets a single vendor drive an educational session. At the very least, a panel with competitors will help keep commercial claims in check.

As for attendees, The Show promises to draw a diverse crowd from across the spectrum of the hotel industry, and it will not be short of top-notch hotel technologists. HITEC attendees will be much more technology oriented (with a smattering of representation from finance, clubs, and other disciplines). One of the drawing cards many technologists cite for HITEC is the opportunity to network with industry peers, away from day-to-day business concerns. It is harder to predict the attendance mix at The Show, but I expect the majority (I am guessing 75-90%) will be non-technologists. Having said that, The Show has done a good job of recruiting some of the top technology leaders in the industry as well, so while the numbers may be small, the purchasing power is not.

A last point of comparison is that HITEC will be much more international than The Show. Most of The Show’s speakers, attendees, and exhibitors will be from the U.S. Many international colleagues I have spoken with in recent weeks were not even aware of The Show when they made their plans to attend HITEC, and a few are not even now. This is important, because many hospitality technologies today are much further advanced and innovative in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia than in North America. With essentially no focus on overseas markets at The Show, there is risk of a tunnel vision with respect to innovation and the future of technology. It is a global market, and the U.S., with the dominance of large brands, is increasingly the follower rather than the leader. The big brands are just too difficult for most startups to penetrate, so they focus elsewhere.

What to Look for at the Exhibits

To get a sense of what will be on display, I categorized the technology exhibitors (based on the floor plans as of two weeks ago) into groupings such as front office, back office, guest-facing, and the like. As noted before, less than half of The Show exhibitors are technology providers (vs. almost all at HITEC), but even just among the tech vendors, there were significant mix differences.

The largest category at HITEC is guest-facing technology (19% of technology exhibitors, vs. 11% at The Show). On the other hand, back-office technology is most common at The Show (16%, vs. 14% at HITEC). Hardware vendors account for 15% of the mix at The Show vs. only 8% at HITEC. Communications vendors (encompassing networking and telephony) represent 15% of exhibitors at both shows. Marketing, sales, and distribution technology account for 10% of HITEC vendors vs. 5% at The Show, while operations technology is 11% of exhibitors at The Show vs. 7% at HITEC.

To understand future trends, I put a special focus on the new exhibitors each year. To be sure, many of them will not be successful, and established vendors as well as startups can produce great innovations. But I cannot think of a major area of technology innovation that was not preceded by a bunch of new companies showing off new concepts at major trade shows in the years leading up to their success. Looking at the new exhibitors each year as a group is usually a good indicator of what will be mainstream in a few years.

My comments that follow are based on a review of 89 first-time exhibitors at HITEC. For The Show, all exhibitors were first-time, but I identified and reviewed 40 that were either startups or early-stage companies, or that were larger companies serving other industries but entering hospitality (or the North American market) for the first time. Only four companies appeared on both lists, so there were 125 “new” exhibitors to review.

An important note before we dive in is that with just a few exceptions, I have done no due diligence on these companies or products. I base my summary almost entirely on published statements and claims, which we all know might occasionally be just a bit exaggerated. Caveat emptor!

Guest Journey Software. This was by far the largest category for new exhibitors, with 20 companies. I wrote about this evolving category last summer in a two-part blog (here and here), which discusses the reasons why this is so important to both revenue generation and cost reduction. It includes a host of capabilities to enable guests to manage every aspect their stay digitally. And whereas in prior years, guest journey focused mostly on check-in, check-out, text messaging, upselling, and mobile key, this year’s newcomers are filling in other gaps, including digital food and beverage ordering; mobile pay; local information, activities, and ticketing; digital compendiums; wayfinding; and digital tipping. None of these applications are new (many of them emerged during Covid or shortly before), but they are maturing and tuning their deployment models to meet the needs of more and more hotels.

Five new exhibitors are showing digital tipping platforms, a much-needed capability where the competitive field (mostly startups) is starting to get crowded. I wrote about digital tipping last summer; new companies I see this year include Grazzy and TipYo (both at The Show), and buku, Kickfin and Tip&Go (at HITEC). And as I surmised might happen in last summer’s article, established player Evention has now entered the field as well (also exhibiting at HITEC), both directly and working with existing tipping platforms to handle back-end tip distribution and reporting requirements.

Robotics. This was the second biggest category of new exhibitors, with a total of eight. Hardware robots were a topic of one of my recent blogs (two parts, here and here), and exhibitors to look for include Boston Intelligent Robotics, Keenon and Richtech Robotics (all at The Show), Robotis (at HITEC), and Piaggio Fast Forward and Tailos (at both events).

Software robots may not have the R2D2 personalities of some of the hardware robots, but can do a great job at automating repetitive, menial tasks (I covered Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, near the end of this article from about a year ago). While a few hotel companies are large enough to build their own RPA capabilities, the cost is far beyond the reach of most. However, both of the vendors that I mentioned in that article as targeting smaller hotel groups and individual hotels, Aphy and Robosize ME, are exhibiting at HITEC this year (Aphy will pitch in the E20X startup competition, in which Robosize ME won the Judge’s Choice Award last year). If you have not looked at RPA before, it is worth a detour.

Conversational AI. This was the next biggest category, with six new players this year, on top of at least a dozen established companies. Also known as chatbots when used in a hotel service context, I first wrote about them three years ago, and several of the companies mentioned in that article are still around and exhibiting at one of the shows.

It will be interesting to see whether conversational AI technology has advanced much with the explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms in the past year. Most of the products I have seen to date can handle maybe 80-85% of guest requests automatically, with the remainder requiring human assistance. This seemed to be a plateau that was hard to get past using older AI technologies; will we see 90% or higher with newer ones? The field is getting very crowded and commoditized, and it has become increasingly challenging for products to stand out. Conversational AI is also starting to show up as an embedded capability in many legacy products that interface directly with guests, reducing the market opportunity for standalone chatbots.

First-time exhibitors in this category include KORE.AI, LocalEyes, Myma.ai’s Book Me Bob, Net Tech, Stobee, and Tenyx (all at HITEC).

Other Highlights. The remaining new exhibitors were spread over several more tightly defined categories. I cannot cover them all here but will call out some that caught my attention during my pre-show research.

Several shared the common element of generating incremental revenue or reducing costs in labor-intensive areas like parking (AirGarage and Pave Mobility at The Show; Premium Parking and SP+ at HITEC)  and unattended retail sales (365 Retail Markets and Digit 7, both at The Show). Electric Vehicle charging is also a hot area (see my earlier blog here), with new exhibitors including Evercharge and Jule at HITEC and EvoCharge at The Show. EV charging is increasingly a source of revenue both through direct charging fees and through food and beverage revenue earned from day guests while vehicles are charging.

In the engineering domain, new exhibitors that sounded interesting included bodhi, with its Internet-of-Things (IoT) cloud-based building management platform at HITEC, and two companies in water management technologies (PAUL Tech at HITEC, and ESGWaterMetrics at The Show – the latter so new it had no published website listed or searchable). Location Tech (at The Show) provides technology to identify and/or alert based on sensors for staff alerts, facilities maintenance, water and environmental management, and other IoT applications.

Others that caught my attention include The Aggressive Good (food supply chain optimization, HITEC); Ready Credit (enables cash acceptance in cashless environments, The Show). PassiveBolt, which I covered in a blog three months ago, is also participating in E20x and exhibiting at the E20x pavilion; it is the first commercial product I have seen using Web3 self-sovereign identity to enable you to unlock not just one but multiple hotel rooms in different brands, as well as your home, rental car, and office, all with one mobile app.

Conclusion

Because of my focus on emerging technologies, I will be attending HITEC in Toronto rather than The Show. I will do my best to visit every first-time exhibitor, at least briefly. Having said that, with 89 stands to visit and only 15 hours of floor time, I will not have time to visit every single one, and it will be a quick look at most. If you are a first-time exhibitor at HITEC and I miss you, or if you are a startup or new to the industry and exhibiting only at The Show, please feel free to reach out to me at the contact information below and we can schedule some time the week of July 3 via a quick Zoom call.

I will write up my impressions from any notable new products and services I find in Toronto (or in follow-up calls) in my next blog, scheduled for July 14. I look forward to seeing many of you in Toronto, and hope that those who choose Las Vegas also have a great event!

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated incorrectly that Youtip had rebranded as buku. They are separate and unrelated companies.

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Click here to read more of Doug's column:
Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

Douglas Rice
Email: douglas.rice@hosptech.net
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ricedouglas

- InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
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- Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
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InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, today announced the appointment of Anne Frye to the role of President, the Americas. Since joining InnSpire in mid-2022, Frye has served as the company’s Vice President of Growth & Business Development.
www.innspire.com

PPDS continues to strengthen North America hospitality team with appointment of Tom Novotny as new Regional Manager
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Shiji Announces Michelle Silverman as Senior Vice President of Global Accounts, Strengthening Its Hospitality Technology Leadership
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has announced the promotion of Michelle Silverman to the role of Senior Vice President of Global Accounts. Silverman, a long-standing member of the Shiji team, brings extensive industry experience and a proven track record of success to her new position.
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Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
Cloud5 Communications, a leading provider of communications and technology solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, has today announced the appointment of hospitality technology sales veteran, Mark Speck, as  Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development.
cloud5.com

Shiji Accelerates Enterprise Platform Growth with Appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect to accelerate the growth of the Shiji Enterprise Platform. Wietse brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, making him a highly seasoned professional with a deep understanding of operations and technology.
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- Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
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- Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
- Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
- Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto

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Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
Maestro PMS is making hotel payments easier than ever, thanks to the recent integration with b4’s online payment platform, TransForm. TransForm helps hotels fight fraud and win more chargebacks by ensuring raw credit card data stays hidden from everyone except the cardholder.
www.maestropms.com

UrVenue to Showcase Hospitality's 1st PXMS at HITEC Toronto; 1st Full-Suite User Revealed!
For the first time hospitality’s newest technology category – the Property Experience Management Solution (PXMS) – will be on display at HITEC Toronto. Developed by UrVenue, UV Enterprise is a full-stack technology platform that drives commerce, manages operations, and enhances the guest experience through unified booking and itinerary management for non-room, experience-based inventory.
www.urvenue.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase Two Way Engagement Tool GuestXMS’s Newest Features at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase a NEW suite of features to its innovative mobile engagement and feedback tool, GuestXMS. The enhancements are enabling operators to gain enhanced insight into guests’ needs and expectations.
www.maestropms.com

Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
Jonas Chorum is excited to announce that our staff-facing mobile app has a brand-new module. Chorum Mobile gives hoteliers key hotel management functionality, right from your phone. This new module introduces revenue management on the go. The ChorumPMS app can be downloaded for iOS and Android, allowing you to oversee hotel operations and housekeeping from any mobile device.
jonaschorum.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
This month at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase the latest enhancements to its popular Web Browser based cloud and on-premises all-in-one PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. The industry’s preferred provider of PMS solutions will display an array of NEW software tools and technologies in Booth 1225 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre June 27 to 29.
www.maestropms.com

Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto
Attendees at this year’s HITEC®, the world’s largest hospitality technology conference, will get an exclusive preview of the latest advances in hotel technology from Above Property Services (APS®).  The company is a long-time featured exhibitor at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference, hosted by HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals), which takes place in Toronto, Canada, June 26-29, 2023 (booth #1009).
aboveproperty.com

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- Great Wolf Resorts Partners With APS to Modernize Reservations Technology
Great Wolf Resorts, North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, has selected  Above Property Services (APS®) to modernize its technology across their 19 properties across the country. Great Wolf Resorts’ strategic decision to partner with APS was part of an ongoing effort to enhance capabilities and the overall guest experience.
www.aboveproperty.com

- P3 Places the Booking Engine at the Heart of Hotel E-Commerce Experience at HITEC 2023
Hotel operators at HITEC Toronto will have an opportunity to learn how they can automate tasks, enhance the guest experience, and boost direct revenue by placing their booking engine at the heart of their e-commerce experience.
www.P3hotels.com

- New Hotel SERP Feature Alert: Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel Is Live/ GCommerce Solutions
The new Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel is live on desktop and mobile. Learn about this impactful new Google hotel search feature.
www.gcommercesolutions.com

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- IDeaS Expands Innovative Pricing Approach with Independent Products
IDeaS, a SAS company, a leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced new capabilities for G3 RMS. Independent Products now allows hoteliers to optimally price each product based on its individually unique demand patterns and any linked rates associated with those products, down to the room-type level.
ideas.com

- Unlocking the Advantages of Dynamic Pricing through the Oaky and IDeaS Integration
IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of automated revenue management software and services, and Oaky, the hyper-personalised hotel upselling solution, are thrilled to announce their partnership and integration. The partnership helps hotels and resorts increase their incremental revenue by leveraging the power of advanced analytics to optimise and automate the upsells they offer guests in real-time.
ideas.com

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- HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
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- INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
- Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
- PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality

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HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Hotel Communication Network will showcase its re-engineered in-room tablet with two-way guest communications at the core. The NEW Navigator 2.0 gives guests and staff more control over the stay experience.
www.hcn-inc.com

Aavgo Partners With the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Convention Center to Streamline Welcome Experience and Operations
Through the agreement, AAVGO has augmented the hotel's check-in experience while expanding remote support to include nearly any task performed by the front desk. Aavgo, the hotel industry’s leading cloud-based SaaS solution for contactless check-in, partnered with the Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center to elevate the guest experience while benefitting from new operational efficiencies through its proprietary Smart Reception Technology.
aavgo.com

Crave Interactive Launches Crave AI: Hotel Guest Service Redefined
Crave Interactive Ltd, a global leader in hospitality technology solutions, is thrilled to announce the release of Crave AI, a ground-breaking guest service solution that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
craveinteractive.com

INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
INTELITY, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, has announced a partnership and live integration with FreshBed, the world’s first bed featuring its own full control climate capabilities. An ideal solution for hotels and wellness resorts, this relationship unlocks the ultimate luxury offering by providing guests with the ability to adjust their complete sleep environment directly from a bedside smart room tablet or mobile app.
intelity.com

Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our enhanced Nonius Cloud Signage Solution, designed to empower you in creating stunning and engaging visual experiences effortlessly, whether you manage a single hotel or a group of properties.
noniussolutions.com

PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality
PPDS, an exclusive global provider of Philips professional displays and complementary solutions, is proud to have made a winning start at InfoComm 2023, with the Philips Tableaux digital signage series being named winner of the inaugural sustainability category at the annual SCN Installation Product Awards.
www.ppds.com

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- Okura Nikko Hotel Management Partners with Ireckonu to Implement a Global Digital Guest Experience Strategy

‍Ireckonu, the industry leader in Hospitality Middleware, CDP and digital guest relationship systems integration, today announced its partnership with Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd (ONHM).   Ireckonu will work with the Tokyo-based luxury hotel firm to centralize all guest data among their entire property portfolio to create an accessible and actionable Customer Data Platform (CDP).www.ireckonu.com

- Knowland Now Available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality and a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced the Knowland platform is available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and will enable integration with the Oracle Hospitality OPERA Sales and Event Management sales and catering management application.
www.knowland.com

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- Aptech to Unveil NEW Solution Upgrades & Financial Reconciliation Integration at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Aptech will reveal a series of upgrades to its three innovative financial-management solutions, PVNG, Execuvue, and Targetvue.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Newport Hospitality Group Chooses Single Provider to Run ALL Financials Processes Across 50 Hotels
Good things come in threes. For Newport Hospitality Group (NHG), this idiom is proven in its recent deployment of Execuvue, Targetvue, and PVNG – three innovative financial-management solutions from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Shiji and Evention Form Strategic Partnership to Enhance Financial Operations in the Hospitality Industry
Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with Evention, a leading provider of financial reconciliation and gratuity management solutions for hotel finance operations. This collaboration aims to enhance financial processes within the hospitality industry, delivering improved efficiency and accuracy to hotel finance teams.
shijigroup.com

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- Nomadix Introduces its Next Generation Nomadix Cloud
Nomadix® Inc​., bringing connected experiences to life, today announced the next generation of its Nomadix Cloud platform, giving partners and property managers more visibility and management capabilities for their Nomadix solutions.
www.nomadix.com

- SONIFI Releases Authentication and Management Platform for Hospitality HSIA and Managed Wi-Fi Services
Leading hospitality technology provider SONIFI has announced the release of a new authentication and management platform (AMP) for its managed Wi-Fi and HSIA services.
sonifi.com

- m3connect Exhibiting at The Hospitality Show 2023
m3connect, one of Europe’s largest managed WiFi providers, will be bringing their expertise in hospitality technology to The Hospitality Show from June 27th – June 29th at The Venetian Convention & Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV, showcasing their premier network services and customizable guest-facing technology solutions.
www.m3connect.com

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- Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
- Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
- Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
- Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
- Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
- Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS

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Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
Shiji and Rivalry Tech partner to enhance guest experiences with seamless digital ordering, empowering operators for accuracy, streamlining operations, and delivering exceptional efficiency in a user-friendly interface.
shijigroup.com

Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.
shijigroup.com

Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is proud to announce the fiscal compliance of Infrasys Cloud POS in Latin America. In the last 5 years Infrasys Cloud POS has grown exponentially in the Americas. Achieving fiscal readiness is an important step in meeting the demand for the solution.
shijigroup.com

Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
Shiji, the leading global hospitality innovator, has announced that one of Los Cabo’s most popular restaurants, Torote Restaurant, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, has successfully implemented Shiji’s Infrasys Cloud POS. This implementation includes integration with the Fiscal Interface, providing a comprehensive and streamlined solution for Torote Restaurant’s operations across the 7 devices installed.
shijigroup.com

Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
To ensure restaurants have the powerful, flexible hardware needed to support nearly any configuration, Oracle announced the Oracle MICROS Workstation 8 Series. Featuring a slim profile with 14-inch touchscreen display and platinum finish, the new workstations deliver quality and durability in a sleek, ergonomic package.
www.oracle.com

Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS
Shiji’s new mobile ordering solution for Hospitality F&B -Shiji Digital Dine, is now available for Infrasys POS customers worldwide, helping hotels around the world improve service quality and increase revenue potential.
shijigroup.com

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- Shiji Pioneers New Hotel Payment Solutions With "Shiji Digital Payby"

‍Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, announced the launch of Shiji Digital PayBy. A transformative integrated payment solution, uniquely tailored for hotel operators and managers, built to facilitate guest experience through faster and more secure, efficient, and globally compliant transactions.shijigroup.com

- ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Unveils Acuity, the Linen Management System Redefining Hotel Operations Efficiency
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, together with ASSA ABLOY Group member, HID Global, has today announced the official launch of the Acuity digital linen management platform.
www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality

- Quore Drives Actionable Intelligence into Hotel Operations
Quore, a leading provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, today announced the recreation of its Reports app, or “Reporting Engine.” The recreation includes new report options, more flexibility, and enhanced capabilities, like scheduled distribution, for hotels to leverage actionable data and trends to make smarter business decisions and improve guest satisfaction.
www.quore.com

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- VENZA Celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary at HITEC and The Hospitality Show

‍VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary at major events this summer. During HITEC (26 – 29 June) and The Hospitality Show (27 – 29 June), the company will be recognizing its accomplishments and history of strong partnerships within the hospitality industry with a series of special events.www.VENZAgroup.com

- The State & Future of Hospitality: “Demystifying the Digital Market & Guide to Commercial Strategy” Empowers the Industry with Invaluable Insights and Expertise
The must-read book provides hoteliers with the latest updates on the digital market, how hotel performance has changed post-pandemic and introduces ways to operate more profitably given the realities of the technology-driven world.
www.kalibrilabs.com

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Finally, the week of dueling conferences will be here. Many of you reading this will be heading to Toronto or Las Vegas this weekend. Some will be going to both cities, but that is a bit crazy to me. Being a naturally curious person, I am tempted to head to the Toronto Airport early next Wednesday morning to see who will be on the two early morning nonstop flights from Toronto to Las Vegas on Air Canada and WestJet. It might be a challenge after the many Tuesday night parties that will be going on.

Anyway, I am glad this is a one-time thing this year only with the two shows planned in 2024 for June (HITEC) and October. A few months ago, Doug Rice did a great job looking at the two shows and got great feedback from a survey he did asking which event readers would attend. It was very heavy on HITEC attendance. In his Definitely Doug column that follows today, Doug has done a masterful job looking at the pluses and minuses of both shows.I  encourage you to take a moment and read through his column even if you aren’t attending either event. It does a great job looking at the state of the technology industry.

Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online will be at both events, but I will be in Toronto. I’ve been entrusted to moderate two HITEC panels on Monday so I hope you will join us. The first one is pointed toward those attending HITEC for the first time and what to expect. Isn’t it great there is a large number of first timers this year? Historically the audience for this session is half and half with first timers along with those who have been many times. I am working on a few surprises that rarely work but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try again. We shall see. The second session I am doing is a focus on the post-pandemic travel and how things have changed along with what to expect moving forward. It is great that Anthony Melchiorri, who is famous from the Travel Channel TV show Hotel Impossible, will be joining us. Once a hotelier, always a hotelier in my book. Join us at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday -- we will try to make them fun and informative.

Again, I strongly encourage you to read Definitely Doug that follows. He really did a great job comparing both events. If you are attending HITEC you should follow Doug’s lead and visit some of the newer and smaller companies. Many could be the future of technology for the industry. We thank Doug for a great column along with the latest technology news that is happening. I hope wherever you are next week it’s a great week for you. It’s hard to believe July is nearly upon us. The first half of the year went quickly (my knee recovery notwithstanding). I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you know what. For those in the US, have a great Fourth of July weekend!

‍

Rich

‍rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

If you are still on the fence about which of the two competing trade shows to attend next week, then you are a master procrastinator. And if you wonder if you made the right choice, I guarantee you are not alone. But stay with me and I will try to provide some insight into whichever show(s) you plan to attend.

Each year since I have been writing this column, I have spent a few weeks prior to HITEC researching the exhibitors. I particularly focus on the first-timers, because experience tells me that is where I will find most of the interesting and potentially disruptive innovations. At the show itself, I visit as many of them as I can, to round out my initial research and to assess what is truly new and interesting. That results in my post-HITEC column.

This year will be a bit different. Much as I would like to, I cannot physically attend both HITEC and The Hospitality Show (“The Show”) without wasting too much time in what is already the busiest week of the year for me. But I have spent a lot of time studying the agenda and exhibitors of both shows, so this week’s column will be a preview comparison and guide to what to look for on the exhibit floors.

The TLDR version is: The Show has a very strong lineup of sessions and speakers and should be an excellent conference, if not all that heavily oriented to technology. HITEC has a much stronger exhibition floor if you want to see technology vendors and innovation, and has more technology content in the program.

Comparison Preview

As of last Friday, there were 334 confirmed exhibitors at HITEC (including 89 who are first-timers), and 309 for The Hospitality Show (all first-timers). A total of 73 companies are exhibiting at both shows.  Total reserved exhibit space was 58% more at HITEC than at The Show, versus only 8% more exhibitors, reflecting a larger average booth size for HITEC.

But for technologists, these raw statistics are a bit misleading. At HITEC, 92% of the exhibitors and 94% of the exhibit space is devoted to companies that provide technology. For The Show, the corresponding numbers are 48% and 49% respectively (and that’s counting some companies where technology is just a small part of their hospitality business). In fairness, The Show was never promoted as a technology show, but more of a general hotel show with a significant technology component – which it is.

At The Show, 18% of exhibits will showcase non-technology services (like brokerages, staffing agencies, tax advisory services, renovation services, and the like). Another 16% represent hotel suppliers, of everything from food to cleaning equipment to bathroom amenities. 10% offer equipment and furnishings, and 5% are hotel companies. Technology is not segregated on The Show’s exhibit floor, so a revenue management system vendor may be squeezed between an ERC tax credit advisor and a bathroom amenity supplier.

‍

If you are still on the fence about which of the two competing trade shows to attend next week, then you are a master procrastinator. And if you wonder if you made the right choice, I guarantee you are not alone. But stay with me and I will try to provide some insight into whichever show(s) you plan to attend.

Each year since I have been writing this column, I have spent a few weeks prior to HITEC researching the exhibitors. I particularly focus on the first-timers, because experience tells me that is where I will find most of the interesting and potentially disruptive innovations. At the show itself, I visit as many of them as I can, to round out my initial research and to assess what is truly new and interesting. That results in my post-HITEC column.

This year will be a bit different. Much as I would like to, I cannot physically attend both HITEC and The Hospitality Show (“The Show”) without wasting too much time in what is already the busiest week of the year for me. But I have spent a lot of time studying the agenda and exhibitors of both shows, so this week’s column will be a preview comparison and guide to what to look for on the exhibit floors.

The TLDR version is: The Show has a very strong lineup of sessions and speakers and should be an excellent conference, if not all that heavily oriented to technology. HITEC has a much stronger exhibition floor if you want to see technology vendors and innovation, and has more technology content in the program.

Comparison Preview

As of last Friday, there were 334 confirmed exhibitors at HITEC (including 89 who are first-timers), and 309 for The Hospitality Show (all first-timers). A total of 73 companies are exhibiting at both shows.  Total reserved exhibit space was 58% more at HITEC than at The Show, versus only 8% more exhibitors, reflecting a larger average booth size for HITEC.

But for technologists, these raw statistics are a bit misleading. At HITEC, 92% of the exhibitors and 94% of the exhibit space is devoted to companies that provide technology. For The Show, the corresponding numbers are 48% and 49% respectively (and that’s counting some companies where technology is just a small part of their hospitality business). In fairness, The Show was never promoted as a technology show, but more of a general hotel show with a significant technology component – which it is.

At The Show, 18% of exhibits will showcase non-technology services (like brokerages, staffing agencies, tax advisory services, renovation services, and the like). Another 16% represent hotel suppliers, of everything from food to cleaning equipment to bathroom amenities. 10% offer equipment and furnishings, and 5% are hotel companies. Technology is not segregated on The Show’s exhibit floor, so a revenue management system vendor may be squeezed between an ERC tax credit advisor and a bathroom amenity supplier.

In addition, The Show’s exhibit hours (nine hours over two days) are much shorter than HITEC’s (15 hours over three), and unlike HITEC, the exhibit show hours compete with some conference sessions that are likely to be well attended.

Based on my informal research, the attendee list at The Show will include a lot more senior non-technology executives than typically attend HITEC – a good number of hotel company CEOs and other business executives are planning to attend, as well as CIOs, COOs, and CTOs. Several are speaking at the conference, which will make it an interesting program. How many of them will visit the exhibit floor and how much time they will spend there, particularly given the strength of the competing conference program, is an open question.

Obviously, vendors exhibit at shows where the likely attendees align with their target audience. Some tech vendors sell primarily to specific departments within the larger hotel group corporate organizations, which will be well represented at The Show. Others sell to smaller groups, independents, or to specialized technologists at multiunit companies; those will be better represented at HITEC. Many sell to both, accounting for the 73 companies exhibiting at both shows.

As for the conference program, The Show offers a variety of options, including several sessions focusing on technology. Most of the sessions look interesting, although not necessarily from a technology standpoint. By my count, only three of twelve main-stage sessions will be of interest specifically to technologists. The breakout sessions split more evenly; I counted 14 sessions with significant technology elements vs. 13 without (although the organizer classifies only five as technology oriented, so I might have been overly generous).

The Show has confirmed some top-notch speakers, including CEOs of Marriott, BWH, Hyatt, Sonesta, Wyndham, MCR, Sage Hospitality, Red Roof, RLJ Lodging Trust, and United Airlines, and several COOs and CIOs as well. However, many of the technology sessions are vendor-heavy panels or, in a few cases, presentations by a single vendor. While I have a lot of respect for many of the individual speakers in these sessions, this format is often subtly (or not so subtly) biased and rarely as engaging as when the speakers have no commercial agendas to push.

HITEC’s conference program is more technology oriented, although some sessions are geared to other interests, such as finance or club management. There will be more technology meat in most of the sessions, and I give a lot of credit to the volunteer HITEC Advisory Council for pulling together a strong program, despite no budget other than for keynote speakers. It certainly has good material for the day-to-day practitioners who make up the bulk of the hoteliers who attend.

Having said that, true thought leaders for most emerging technologies (such as Web3, Generative AI, Natural Language Processing, and machine learning) spend 100% of their time working in their field, something virtually no one in the hospitality industry can do. If you want to know what is really happening in disciplines such as these, you need to get the best 100%’ers as speakers; you just will not find the same level of knowledge or presentation depth within our industry.

HITEC has never done a very good job of attracting top subject matter experts on emerging technologies from outside the hotel industry, and there are none on the agenda for Toronto. The Show does only slightly better, with one senior IBM executive speaking on Generative AI.

True thought leaders in emerging technologies rarely speak at conferences for free unless a key customer twists their arm. If organizers really want leading-edge technical content, they need to budget speaker fees and travel expenses for experts who have no commercial reason to attend. HITEC does this for keynote speakers, who typically cost at least $25,000 plus expenses; I would like to see them eliminate one keynote speaker and use the budget to get multiple thought leaders in emerging technologies (who typically can be had for a quarter or so of the cost). Most of the sessions on emerging technologies at HITEC (including ones I have spoken on) are nowhere near as good as ones I can find online from people and companies specializing in those technologies. Yet their knowledge is critical if hotel technologists are to help their businesses thrive in the years to come.

Another difference in the program is that The Show has several breakout sessions featuring speaker(s) from only one single vendor with a major commercial interest – never a good move if it is more than a brief sponsor message. HITEC rarely, if ever, lets a single vendor drive an educational session. At the very least, a panel with competitors will help keep commercial claims in check.

As for attendees, The Show promises to draw a diverse crowd from across the spectrum of the hotel industry, and it will not be short of top-notch hotel technologists. HITEC attendees will be much more technology oriented (with a smattering of representation from finance, clubs, and other disciplines). One of the drawing cards many technologists cite for HITEC is the opportunity to network with industry peers, away from day-to-day business concerns. It is harder to predict the attendance mix at The Show, but I expect the majority (I am guessing 75-90%) will be non-technologists. Having said that, The Show has done a good job of recruiting some of the top technology leaders in the industry as well, so while the numbers may be small, the purchasing power is not.

A last point of comparison is that HITEC will be much more international than The Show. Most of The Show’s speakers, attendees, and exhibitors will be from the U.S. Many international colleagues I have spoken with in recent weeks were not even aware of The Show when they made their plans to attend HITEC, and a few are not even now. This is important, because many hospitality technologies today are much further advanced and innovative in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia than in North America. With essentially no focus on overseas markets at The Show, there is risk of a tunnel vision with respect to innovation and the future of technology. It is a global market, and the U.S., with the dominance of large brands, is increasingly the follower rather than the leader. The big brands are just too difficult for most startups to penetrate, so they focus elsewhere.

What to Look for at the Exhibits

To get a sense of what will be on display, I categorized the technology exhibitors (based on the floor plans as of two weeks ago) into groupings such as front office, back office, guest-facing, and the like. As noted before, less than half of The Show exhibitors are technology providers (vs. almost all at HITEC), but even just among the tech vendors, there were significant mix differences.

The largest category at HITEC is guest-facing technology (19% of technology exhibitors, vs. 11% at The Show). On the other hand, back-office technology is most common at The Show (16%, vs. 14% at HITEC). Hardware vendors account for 15% of the mix at The Show vs. only 8% at HITEC. Communications vendors (encompassing networking and telephony) represent 15% of exhibitors at both shows. Marketing, sales, and distribution technology account for 10% of HITEC vendors vs. 5% at The Show, while operations technology is 11% of exhibitors at The Show vs. 7% at HITEC.

To understand future trends, I put a special focus on the new exhibitors each year. To be sure, many of them will not be successful, and established vendors as well as startups can produce great innovations. But I cannot think of a major area of technology innovation that was not preceded by a bunch of new companies showing off new concepts at major trade shows in the years leading up to their success. Looking at the new exhibitors each year as a group is usually a good indicator of what will be mainstream in a few years.

My comments that follow are based on a review of 89 first-time exhibitors at HITEC. For The Show, all exhibitors were first-time, but I identified and reviewed 40 that were either startups or early-stage companies, or that were larger companies serving other industries but entering hospitality (or the North American market) for the first time. Only four companies appeared on both lists, so there were 125 “new” exhibitors to review.

An important note before we dive in is that with just a few exceptions, I have done no due diligence on these companies or products. I base my summary almost entirely on published statements and claims, which we all know might occasionally be just a bit exaggerated. Caveat emptor!

Guest Journey Software. This was by far the largest category for new exhibitors, with 20 companies. I wrote about this evolving category last summer in a two-part blog (here and here), which discusses the reasons why this is so important to both revenue generation and cost reduction. It includes a host of capabilities to enable guests to manage every aspect their stay digitally. And whereas in prior years, guest journey focused mostly on check-in, check-out, text messaging, upselling, and mobile key, this year’s newcomers are filling in other gaps, including digital food and beverage ordering; mobile pay; local information, activities, and ticketing; digital compendiums; wayfinding; and digital tipping. None of these applications are new (many of them emerged during Covid or shortly before), but they are maturing and tuning their deployment models to meet the needs of more and more hotels.

Five new exhibitors are showing digital tipping platforms, a much-needed capability where the competitive field (mostly startups) is starting to get crowded. I wrote about digital tipping last summer; new companies I see this year include Grazzy and TipYo (both at The Show), and buku, Kickfin and Tip&Go (at HITEC). And as I surmised might happen in last summer’s article, established player Evention has now entered the field as well (also exhibiting at HITEC), both directly and working with existing tipping platforms to handle back-end tip distribution and reporting requirements.

Robotics. This was the second biggest category of new exhibitors, with a total of eight. Hardware robots were a topic of one of my recent blogs (two parts, here and here), and exhibitors to look for include Boston Intelligent Robotics, Keenon and Richtech Robotics (all at The Show), Robotis (at HITEC), and Piaggio Fast Forward and Tailos (at both events).

Software robots may not have the R2D2 personalities of some of the hardware robots, but can do a great job at automating repetitive, menial tasks (I covered Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, near the end of this article from about a year ago). While a few hotel companies are large enough to build their own RPA capabilities, the cost is far beyond the reach of most. However, both of the vendors that I mentioned in that article as targeting smaller hotel groups and individual hotels, Aphy and Robosize ME, are exhibiting at HITEC this year (Aphy will pitch in the E20X startup competition, in which Robosize ME won the Judge’s Choice Award last year). If you have not looked at RPA before, it is worth a detour.

Conversational AI. This was the next biggest category, with six new players this year, on top of at least a dozen established companies. Also known as chatbots when used in a hotel service context, I first wrote about them three years ago, and several of the companies mentioned in that article are still around and exhibiting at one of the shows.

It will be interesting to see whether conversational AI technology has advanced much with the explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms in the past year. Most of the products I have seen to date can handle maybe 80-85% of guest requests automatically, with the remainder requiring human assistance. This seemed to be a plateau that was hard to get past using older AI technologies; will we see 90% or higher with newer ones? The field is getting very crowded and commoditized, and it has become increasingly challenging for products to stand out. Conversational AI is also starting to show up as an embedded capability in many legacy products that interface directly with guests, reducing the market opportunity for standalone chatbots.

First-time exhibitors in this category include KORE.AI, LocalEyes, Myma.ai’s Book Me Bob, Net Tech, Stobee, and Tenyx (all at HITEC).

Other Highlights. The remaining new exhibitors were spread over several more tightly defined categories. I cannot cover them all here but will call out some that caught my attention during my pre-show research.

Several shared the common element of generating incremental revenue or reducing costs in labor-intensive areas like parking (AirGarage and Pave Mobility at The Show; Premium Parking and SP+ at HITEC)  and unattended retail sales (365 Retail Markets and Digit 7, both at The Show). Electric Vehicle charging is also a hot area (see my earlier blog here), with new exhibitors including Evercharge and Jule at HITEC and EvoCharge at The Show. EV charging is increasingly a source of revenue both through direct charging fees and through food and beverage revenue earned from day guests while vehicles are charging.

In the engineering domain, new exhibitors that sounded interesting included bodhi, with its Internet-of-Things (IoT) cloud-based building management platform at HITEC, and two companies in water management technologies (PAUL Tech at HITEC, and ESGWaterMetrics at The Show – the latter so new it had no published website listed or searchable). Location Tech (at The Show) provides technology to identify and/or alert based on sensors for staff alerts, facilities maintenance, water and environmental management, and other IoT applications.

Others that caught my attention include The Aggressive Good (food supply chain optimization, HITEC); Ready Credit (enables cash acceptance in cashless environments, The Show). PassiveBolt, which I covered in a blog three months ago, is also participating in E20x and exhibiting at the E20x pavilion; it is the first commercial product I have seen using Web3 self-sovereign identity to enable you to unlock not just one but multiple hotel rooms in different brands, as well as your home, rental car, and office, all with one mobile app.

Conclusion

Because of my focus on emerging technologies, I will be attending HITEC in Toronto rather than The Show. I will do my best to visit every first-time exhibitor, at least briefly. Having said that, with 89 stands to visit and only 15 hours of floor time, I will not have time to visit every single one, and it will be a quick look at most. If you are a first-time exhibitor at HITEC and I miss you, or if you are a startup or new to the industry and exhibiting only at The Show, please feel free to reach out to me at the contact information below and we can schedule some time the week of July 3 via a quick Zoom call.

I will write up my impressions from any notable new products and services I find in Toronto (or in follow-up calls) in my next blog, scheduled for July 14. I look forward to seeing many of you in Toronto, and hope that those who choose Las Vegas also have a great event!

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated incorrectly that Youtip had rebranded as buku. They are separate and unrelated companies.

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Click here to read more of Doug's column:
Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

Douglas Rice
Email: douglas.rice@hosptech.net
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ricedouglas

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

- InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
- PPDS continues to strengthen North America hospitality team with appointment of Tom Novotny as new Regional Manager
- Nomadix Appoints Hospitality Technology Sales Leader Jeff Johns
- Shiji Announces Michelle Silverman as Senior Vice President of Global Accounts, Strengthening Its Hospitality Technology Leadershi
- Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
- Shiji Accelerates Enterprise Platform Growth with Appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect

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InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, today announced the appointment of Anne Frye to the role of President, the Americas. Since joining InnSpire in mid-2022, Frye has served as the company’s Vice President of Growth & Business Development.
www.innspire.com

PPDS continues to strengthen North America hospitality team with appointment of Tom Novotny as new Regional Manager
Adding more than 20 years of top level hospitality experience, Tom Novotny will play a crucial role in PPDS’ accelerated growth ambitions in North America.
www.ppds.com

Nomadix Appoints Hospitality Technology Sales Leader Jeff Johns
Nomadix Inc., bringing connected experiences to life, today announced the appointment of Jeff Johns, hospitality and energy management technology sales veteran, to Nomadix as Global VP of EMS Business Development. He brings over two decades of experience in sales leadership, product planning and energy management technology adoption.
nomadix.com

Shiji Announces Michelle Silverman as Senior Vice President of Global Accounts, Strengthening Its Hospitality Technology Leadership
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has announced the promotion of Michelle Silverman to the role of Senior Vice President of Global Accounts. Silverman, a long-standing member of the Shiji team, brings extensive industry experience and a proven track record of success to her new position.
shijigroup.com

Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
Cloud5 Communications, a leading provider of communications and technology solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, has today announced the appointment of hospitality technology sales veteran, Mark Speck, as  Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development.
cloud5.com

Shiji Accelerates Enterprise Platform Growth with Appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect to accelerate the growth of the Shiji Enterprise Platform. Wietse brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, making him a highly seasoned professional with a deep understanding of operations and technology.
shijigroup.com

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GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

- Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
- UrVenue to Showcase Hospitality's 1st PXMS at HITEC Toronto; 1st Full-Suite User Revealed!
- Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase Two Way Engagement Tool GuestXMS’s Newest Features at HITEC Toronto
- Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
- Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
- Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto

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Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
Maestro PMS is making hotel payments easier than ever, thanks to the recent integration with b4’s online payment platform, TransForm. TransForm helps hotels fight fraud and win more chargebacks by ensuring raw credit card data stays hidden from everyone except the cardholder.
www.maestropms.com

UrVenue to Showcase Hospitality's 1st PXMS at HITEC Toronto; 1st Full-Suite User Revealed!
For the first time hospitality’s newest technology category – the Property Experience Management Solution (PXMS) – will be on display at HITEC Toronto. Developed by UrVenue, UV Enterprise is a full-stack technology platform that drives commerce, manages operations, and enhances the guest experience through unified booking and itinerary management for non-room, experience-based inventory.
www.urvenue.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase Two Way Engagement Tool GuestXMS’s Newest Features at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase a NEW suite of features to its innovative mobile engagement and feedback tool, GuestXMS. The enhancements are enabling operators to gain enhanced insight into guests’ needs and expectations.
www.maestropms.com

Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
Jonas Chorum is excited to announce that our staff-facing mobile app has a brand-new module. Chorum Mobile gives hoteliers key hotel management functionality, right from your phone. This new module introduces revenue management on the go. The ChorumPMS app can be downloaded for iOS and Android, allowing you to oversee hotel operations and housekeeping from any mobile device.
jonaschorum.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
This month at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase the latest enhancements to its popular Web Browser based cloud and on-premises all-in-one PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. The industry’s preferred provider of PMS solutions will display an array of NEW software tools and technologies in Booth 1225 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre June 27 to 29.
www.maestropms.com

Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto
Attendees at this year’s HITEC®, the world’s largest hospitality technology conference, will get an exclusive preview of the latest advances in hotel technology from Above Property Services (APS®).  The company is a long-time featured exhibitor at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference, hosted by HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals), which takes place in Toronto, Canada, June 26-29, 2023 (booth #1009).
aboveproperty.com

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RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

- Great Wolf Resorts Partners With APS to Modernize Reservations Technology
Great Wolf Resorts, North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, has selected  Above Property Services (APS®) to modernize its technology across their 19 properties across the country. Great Wolf Resorts’ strategic decision to partner with APS was part of an ongoing effort to enhance capabilities and the overall guest experience.
www.aboveproperty.com

- P3 Places the Booking Engine at the Heart of Hotel E-Commerce Experience at HITEC 2023
Hotel operators at HITEC Toronto will have an opportunity to learn how they can automate tasks, enhance the guest experience, and boost direct revenue by placing their booking engine at the heart of their e-commerce experience.
www.P3hotels.com

- New Hotel SERP Feature Alert: Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel Is Live/ GCommerce Solutions
The new Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel is live on desktop and mobile. Learn about this impactful new Google hotel search feature.
www.gcommercesolutions.com

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REVENUE MANAGEMENT & ANALYTICS

- IDeaS Expands Innovative Pricing Approach with Independent Products
IDeaS, a SAS company, a leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced new capabilities for G3 RMS. Independent Products now allows hoteliers to optimally price each product based on its individually unique demand patterns and any linked rates associated with those products, down to the room-type level.
ideas.com

- Unlocking the Advantages of Dynamic Pricing through the Oaky and IDeaS Integration
IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of automated revenue management software and services, and Oaky, the hyper-personalised hotel upselling solution, are thrilled to announce their partnership and integration. The partnership helps hotels and resorts increase their incremental revenue by leveraging the power of advanced analytics to optimise and automate the upsells they offer guests in real-time.
ideas.com

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GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

- HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
- Aavgo Partners With the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Convention Center to Streamline Welcome Experience and Operations
- Crave Interactive Launches Crave AI: Hotel Guest Service Redefined
- INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
- Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
- PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality

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HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Hotel Communication Network will showcase its re-engineered in-room tablet with two-way guest communications at the core. The NEW Navigator 2.0 gives guests and staff more control over the stay experience.
www.hcn-inc.com

Aavgo Partners With the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Convention Center to Streamline Welcome Experience and Operations
Through the agreement, AAVGO has augmented the hotel's check-in experience while expanding remote support to include nearly any task performed by the front desk. Aavgo, the hotel industry’s leading cloud-based SaaS solution for contactless check-in, partnered with the Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center to elevate the guest experience while benefitting from new operational efficiencies through its proprietary Smart Reception Technology.
aavgo.com

Crave Interactive Launches Crave AI: Hotel Guest Service Redefined
Crave Interactive Ltd, a global leader in hospitality technology solutions, is thrilled to announce the release of Crave AI, a ground-breaking guest service solution that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
craveinteractive.com

INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
INTELITY, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, has announced a partnership and live integration with FreshBed, the world’s first bed featuring its own full control climate capabilities. An ideal solution for hotels and wellness resorts, this relationship unlocks the ultimate luxury offering by providing guests with the ability to adjust their complete sleep environment directly from a bedside smart room tablet or mobile app.
intelity.com

Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our enhanced Nonius Cloud Signage Solution, designed to empower you in creating stunning and engaging visual experiences effortlessly, whether you manage a single hotel or a group of properties.
noniussolutions.com

PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality
PPDS, an exclusive global provider of Philips professional displays and complementary solutions, is proud to have made a winning start at InfoComm 2023, with the Philips Tableaux digital signage series being named winner of the inaugural sustainability category at the annual SCN Installation Product Awards.
www.ppds.com

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MARKETING

- Okura Nikko Hotel Management Partners with Ireckonu to Implement a Global Digital Guest Experience Strategy

‍Ireckonu, the industry leader in Hospitality Middleware, CDP and digital guest relationship systems integration, today announced its partnership with Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd (ONHM).   Ireckonu will work with the Tokyo-based luxury hotel firm to centralize all guest data among their entire property portfolio to create an accessible and actionable Customer Data Platform (CDP).www.ireckonu.com

SALES & CATERING

- Knowland Now Available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality and a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced the Knowland platform is available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and will enable integration with the Oracle Hospitality OPERA Sales and Event Management sales and catering management application.
www.knowland.com

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BACK OFFICE

- Aptech to Unveil NEW Solution Upgrades & Financial Reconciliation Integration at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Aptech will reveal a series of upgrades to its three innovative financial-management solutions, PVNG, Execuvue, and Targetvue.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Newport Hospitality Group Chooses Single Provider to Run ALL Financials Processes Across 50 Hotels
Good things come in threes. For Newport Hospitality Group (NHG), this idiom is proven in its recent deployment of Execuvue, Targetvue, and PVNG – three innovative financial-management solutions from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Shiji and Evention Form Strategic Partnership to Enhance Financial Operations in the Hospitality Industry
Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with Evention, a leading provider of financial reconciliation and gratuity management solutions for hotel finance operations. This collaboration aims to enhance financial processes within the hospitality industry, delivering improved efficiency and accuracy to hotel finance teams.
shijigroup.com

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COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

- Nomadix Introduces its Next Generation Nomadix Cloud
Nomadix® Inc​., bringing connected experiences to life, today announced the next generation of its Nomadix Cloud platform, giving partners and property managers more visibility and management capabilities for their Nomadix solutions.
www.nomadix.com

- SONIFI Releases Authentication and Management Platform for Hospitality HSIA and Managed Wi-Fi Services
Leading hospitality technology provider SONIFI has announced the release of a new authentication and management platform (AMP) for its managed Wi-Fi and HSIA services.
sonifi.com

- m3connect Exhibiting at The Hospitality Show 2023
m3connect, one of Europe’s largest managed WiFi providers, will be bringing their expertise in hospitality technology to The Hospitality Show from June 27th – June 29th at The Venetian Convention & Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV, showcasing their premier network services and customizable guest-facing technology solutions.
www.m3connect.com

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

- Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
- Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
- Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
- Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
- Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
- Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS

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Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
Shiji and Rivalry Tech partner to enhance guest experiences with seamless digital ordering, empowering operators for accuracy, streamlining operations, and delivering exceptional efficiency in a user-friendly interface.
shijigroup.com

Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.
shijigroup.com

Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is proud to announce the fiscal compliance of Infrasys Cloud POS in Latin America. In the last 5 years Infrasys Cloud POS has grown exponentially in the Americas. Achieving fiscal readiness is an important step in meeting the demand for the solution.
shijigroup.com

Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
Shiji, the leading global hospitality innovator, has announced that one of Los Cabo’s most popular restaurants, Torote Restaurant, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, has successfully implemented Shiji’s Infrasys Cloud POS. This implementation includes integration with the Fiscal Interface, providing a comprehensive and streamlined solution for Torote Restaurant’s operations across the 7 devices installed.
shijigroup.com

Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
To ensure restaurants have the powerful, flexible hardware needed to support nearly any configuration, Oracle announced the Oracle MICROS Workstation 8 Series. Featuring a slim profile with 14-inch touchscreen display and platinum finish, the new workstations deliver quality and durability in a sleek, ergonomic package.
www.oracle.com

Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS
Shiji’s new mobile ordering solution for Hospitality F&B -Shiji Digital Dine, is now available for Infrasys POS customers worldwide, helping hotels around the world improve service quality and increase revenue potential.
shijigroup.com

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PAYMENT PROCESSING

- Shiji Pioneers New Hotel Payment Solutions With "Shiji Digital Payby"

‍Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, announced the launch of Shiji Digital PayBy. A transformative integrated payment solution, uniquely tailored for hotel operators and managers, built to facilitate guest experience through faster and more secure, efficient, and globally compliant transactions.shijigroup.com

OPERATIONS

- ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Unveils Acuity, the Linen Management System Redefining Hotel Operations Efficiency
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, together with ASSA ABLOY Group member, HID Global, has today announced the official launch of the Acuity digital linen management platform.
www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality

- Quore Drives Actionable Intelligence into Hotel Operations
Quore, a leading provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, today announced the recreation of its Reports app, or “Reporting Engine.” The recreation includes new report options, more flexibility, and enhanced capabilities, like scheduled distribution, for hotels to leverage actionable data and trends to make smarter business decisions and improve guest satisfaction.
www.quore.com

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SECURITY

- VENZA Celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary at HITEC and The Hospitality Show

‍VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary at major events this summer. During HITEC (26 – 29 June) and The Hospitality Show (27 – 29 June), the company will be recognizing its accomplishments and history of strong partnerships within the hospitality industry with a series of special events.www.VENZAgroup.com

MARKET REPORTS

- The State & Future of Hospitality: “Demystifying the Digital Market & Guide to Commercial Strategy” Empowers the Industry with Invaluable Insights and Expertise
The must-read book provides hoteliers with the latest updates on the digital market, how hotel performance has changed post-pandemic and introduces ways to operate more profitably given the realities of the technology-driven world.
www.kalibrilabs.com

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PIQUED OUR INTEREST

Outdated Human Resources Technology Exacerbates Hotel Staffing Problems‍

‍Study Identifies Most Important Factors in Guest AI Acceptance

‍‍The Power of an "Ecosystem Approach" in Hospitality

‍‍Diet Water, Melted Ice Cream, Blowfish Among Top 10 Most Unusual Room Service Requests, Hotels.com Reports

Finally, the week of dueling conferences will be here. Many of you reading this will be heading to Toronto or Las Vegas this weekend. Some will be going to both cities, but that is a bit crazy to me. Being a naturally curious person, I am tempted to head to the Toronto Airport early next Wednesday morning to see who will be on the two early morning nonstop flights from Toronto to Las Vegas on Air Canada and WestJet. It might be a challenge after the many Tuesday night parties that will be going on.

Anyway, I am glad this is a one-time thing this year only with the two shows planned in 2024 for June (HITEC) and October. A few months ago, Doug Rice did a great job looking at the two shows and got great feedback from a survey he did asking which event readers would attend. It was very heavy on HITEC attendance. In his Definitely Doug column that follows today, Doug has done a masterful job looking at the pluses and minuses of both shows.I  encourage you to take a moment and read through his column even if you aren’t attending either event. It does a great job looking at the state of the technology industry.

Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online will be at both events, but I will be in Toronto. I’ve been entrusted to moderate two HITEC panels on Monday so I hope you will join us. The first one is pointed toward those attending HITEC for the first time and what to expect. Isn’t it great there is a large number of first timers this year? Historically the audience for this session is half and half with first timers along with those who have been many times. I am working on a few surprises that rarely work but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try again. We shall see. The second session I am doing is a focus on the post-pandemic travel and how things have changed along with what to expect moving forward. It is great that Anthony Melchiorri, who is famous from the Travel Channel TV show Hotel Impossible, will be joining us. Once a hotelier, always a hotelier in my book. Join us at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday -- we will try to make them fun and informative.

Again, I strongly encourage you to read Definitely Doug that follows. He really did a great job comparing both events. If you are attending HITEC you should follow Doug’s lead and visit some of the newer and smaller companies. Many could be the future of technology for the industry. We thank Doug for a great column along with the latest technology news that is happening. I hope wherever you are next week it’s a great week for you. It’s hard to believe July is nearly upon us. The first half of the year went quickly (my knee recovery notwithstanding). I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you know what. For those in the US, have a great Fourth of July weekend!

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Rich

‍rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Siegel Sez 6/23/23

Finally, the week of dueling conferences will be here. Many of you reading this will be heading to Toronto or Las Vegas this weekend. Some will be going to both cities, but that is a bit crazy to me. Being a naturally curious person, I am tempted to head to the Toronto Airport early next Wednesday morning to see who will be on the two early morning nonstop flights from Toronto to Las Vegas on Air Canada and WestJet. It might be a challenge after the many Tuesday night parties that will be going on.

Anyway, I am glad this is a one-time thing this year only with the two shows planned in 2024 for June (HITEC) and October. A few months ago, Doug Rice did a great job looking at the two shows and got great feedback from a survey he did asking which event readers would attend. It was very heavy on HITEC attendance. In his Definitely Doug column that follows today, Doug has done a masterful job looking at the pluses and minuses of both shows.I  encourage you to take a moment and read through his column even if you aren’t attending either event. It does a great job looking at the state of the technology industry.

Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel Online will be at both events, but I will be in Toronto. I’ve been entrusted to moderate two HITEC panels on Monday so I hope you will join us. The first one is pointed toward those attending HITEC for the first time and what to expect. Isn’t it great there is a large number of first timers this year? Historically the audience for this session is half and half with first timers along with those who have been many times. I am working on a few surprises that rarely work but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try again. We shall see. The second session I am doing is a focus on the post-pandemic travel and how things have changed along with what to expect moving forward. It is great that Anthony Melchiorri, who is famous from the Travel Channel TV show Hotel Impossible, will be joining us. Once a hotelier, always a hotelier in my book. Join us at 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Monday -- we will try to make them fun and informative.

Again, I strongly encourage you to read Definitely Doug that follows. He really did a great job comparing both events. If you are attending HITEC you should follow Doug’s lead and visit some of the newer and smaller companies. Many could be the future of technology for the industry. We thank Doug for a great column along with the latest technology news that is happening. I hope wherever you are next week it’s a great week for you. It’s hard to believe July is nearly upon us. The first half of the year went quickly (my knee recovery notwithstanding). I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you know what. For those in the US, have a great Fourth of July weekend!

‍

Rich

‍rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

If you are still on the fence about which of the two competing trade shows to attend next week, then you are a master procrastinator. And if you wonder if you made the right choice, I guarantee you are not alone. But stay with me and I will try to provide some insight into whichever show(s) you plan to attend.

Each year since I have been writing this column, I have spent a few weeks prior to HITEC researching the exhibitors. I particularly focus on the first-timers, because experience tells me that is where I will find most of the interesting and potentially disruptive innovations. At the show itself, I visit as many of them as I can, to round out my initial research and to assess what is truly new and interesting. That results in my post-HITEC column.

This year will be a bit different. Much as I would like to, I cannot physically attend both HITEC and The Hospitality Show (“The Show”) without wasting too much time in what is already the busiest week of the year for me. But I have spent a lot of time studying the agenda and exhibitors of both shows, so this week’s column will be a preview comparison and guide to what to look for on the exhibit floors.

The TLDR version is: The Show has a very strong lineup of sessions and speakers and should be an excellent conference, if not all that heavily oriented to technology. HITEC has a much stronger exhibition floor if you want to see technology vendors and innovation, and has more technology content in the program.

Comparison Preview

As of last Friday, there were 334 confirmed exhibitors at HITEC (including 89 who are first-timers), and 309 for The Hospitality Show (all first-timers). A total of 73 companies are exhibiting at both shows.  Total reserved exhibit space was 58% more at HITEC than at The Show, versus only 8% more exhibitors, reflecting a larger average booth size for HITEC.

But for technologists, these raw statistics are a bit misleading. At HITEC, 92% of the exhibitors and 94% of the exhibit space is devoted to companies that provide technology. For The Show, the corresponding numbers are 48% and 49% respectively (and that’s counting some companies where technology is just a small part of their hospitality business). In fairness, The Show was never promoted as a technology show, but more of a general hotel show with a significant technology component – which it is.

At The Show, 18% of exhibits will showcase non-technology services (like brokerages, staffing agencies, tax advisory services, renovation services, and the like). Another 16% represent hotel suppliers, of everything from food to cleaning equipment to bathroom amenities. 10% offer equipment and furnishings, and 5% are hotel companies. Technology is not segregated on The Show’s exhibit floor, so a revenue management system vendor may be squeezed between an ERC tax credit advisor and a bathroom amenity supplier.

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Click here to read more of Doug's column:
Definitely Doug 6/23/23: What to Look for in Las Vegas, Toronto, or Both

Douglas Rice
Email: douglas.rice@hosptech.net
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ricedouglas

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

- InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
- PPDS continues to strengthen North America hospitality team with appointment of Tom Novotny as new Regional Manager
- Nomadix Appoints Hospitality Technology Sales Leader Jeff Johns
- Shiji Announces Michelle Silverman as Senior Vice President of Global Accounts, Strengthening Its Hospitality Technology Leadershi
- Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
- Shiji Accelerates Enterprise Platform Growth with Appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect

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InnSpire Appoints Anne Frye as President, the Americas
InnSpire, the leading provider of a comprehensive technology suite that helps drive a seamless, world-class guest experience for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, today announced the appointment of Anne Frye to the role of President, the Americas. Since joining InnSpire in mid-2022, Frye has served as the company’s Vice President of Growth & Business Development.
www.innspire.com

PPDS continues to strengthen North America hospitality team with appointment of Tom Novotny as new Regional Manager
Adding more than 20 years of top level hospitality experience, Tom Novotny will play a crucial role in PPDS’ accelerated growth ambitions in North America.
www.ppds.com

Nomadix Appoints Hospitality Technology Sales Leader Jeff Johns
Nomadix Inc., bringing connected experiences to life, today announced the appointment of Jeff Johns, hospitality and energy management technology sales veteran, to Nomadix as Global VP of EMS Business Development. He brings over two decades of experience in sales leadership, product planning and energy management technology adoption.
nomadix.com

Shiji Announces Michelle Silverman as Senior Vice President of Global Accounts, Strengthening Its Hospitality Technology Leadership
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has announced the promotion of Michelle Silverman to the role of Senior Vice President of Global Accounts. Silverman, a long-standing member of the Shiji team, brings extensive industry experience and a proven track record of success to her new position.
shijigroup.com

Cloud5 Welcomes Mark Speck as Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development
Cloud5 Communications, a leading provider of communications and technology solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, has today announced the appointment of hospitality technology sales veteran, Mark Speck, as  Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development.
cloud5.com

Shiji Accelerates Enterprise Platform Growth with Appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Wietse Bijzeit as Vice President Global Solutions Architect to accelerate the growth of the Shiji Enterprise Platform. Wietse brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, making him a highly seasoned professional with a deep understanding of operations and technology.
shijigroup.com

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GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

- Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
- UrVenue to Showcase Hospitality's 1st PXMS at HITEC Toronto; 1st Full-Suite User Revealed!
- Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase Two Way Engagement Tool GuestXMS’s Newest Features at HITEC Toronto
- Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
- Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
- Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto

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Maestro PMS Enables Secure Online Payments with Integration to TransForm by b4
Maestro PMS is making hotel payments easier than ever, thanks to the recent integration with b4’s online payment platform, TransForm. TransForm helps hotels fight fraud and win more chargebacks by ensuring raw credit card data stays hidden from everyone except the cardholder.
www.maestropms.com

UrVenue to Showcase Hospitality's 1st PXMS at HITEC Toronto; 1st Full-Suite User Revealed!
For the first time hospitality’s newest technology category – the Property Experience Management Solution (PXMS) – will be on display at HITEC Toronto. Developed by UrVenue, UV Enterprise is a full-stack technology platform that drives commerce, manages operations, and enhances the guest experience through unified booking and itinerary management for non-room, experience-based inventory.
www.urvenue.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase Two Way Engagement Tool GuestXMS’s Newest Features at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase a NEW suite of features to its innovative mobile engagement and feedback tool, GuestXMS. The enhancements are enabling operators to gain enhanced insight into guests’ needs and expectations.
www.maestropms.com

Introducing: Optimized Hotel Revenue Management from Anywhere with Daily Rate Manager in Chorum Mobile
Jonas Chorum is excited to announce that our staff-facing mobile app has a brand-new module. Chorum Mobile gives hoteliers key hotel management functionality, right from your phone. This new module introduces revenue management on the go. The ChorumPMS app can be downloaded for iOS and Android, allowing you to oversee hotel operations and housekeeping from any mobile device.
jonaschorum.com

Maestro All-In-One PMS to Showcase an Array of NEW Solutions & Enhancements at HITEC Toronto
This month at HITEC Toronto, Maestro PMS will showcase the latest enhancements to its popular Web Browser based cloud and on-premises all-in-one PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. The industry’s preferred provider of PMS solutions will display an array of NEW software tools and technologies in Booth 1225 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre June 27 to 29.
www.maestropms.com

Above Property Services (APS) Debuts the Latest Advances in Hotel Technology at HITEC in Toronto
Attendees at this year’s HITEC®, the world’s largest hospitality technology conference, will get an exclusive preview of the latest advances in hotel technology from Above Property Services (APS®).  The company is a long-time featured exhibitor at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference, hosted by HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals), which takes place in Toronto, Canada, June 26-29, 2023 (booth #1009).
aboveproperty.com

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RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

- Great Wolf Resorts Partners With APS to Modernize Reservations Technology
Great Wolf Resorts, North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, has selected  Above Property Services (APS®) to modernize its technology across their 19 properties across the country. Great Wolf Resorts’ strategic decision to partner with APS was part of an ongoing effort to enhance capabilities and the overall guest experience.
www.aboveproperty.com

- P3 Places the Booking Engine at the Heart of Hotel E-Commerce Experience at HITEC 2023
Hotel operators at HITEC Toronto will have an opportunity to learn how they can automate tasks, enhance the guest experience, and boost direct revenue by placing their booking engine at the heart of their e-commerce experience.
www.P3hotels.com

- New Hotel SERP Feature Alert: Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel Is Live/ GCommerce Solutions
The new Google Property Promotion Ads Carousel is live on desktop and mobile. Learn about this impactful new Google hotel search feature.
www.gcommercesolutions.com

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REVENUE MANAGEMENT & ANALYTICS

- IDeaS Expands Innovative Pricing Approach with Independent Products
IDeaS, a SAS company, a leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced new capabilities for G3 RMS. Independent Products now allows hoteliers to optimally price each product based on its individually unique demand patterns and any linked rates associated with those products, down to the room-type level.
ideas.com

- Unlocking the Advantages of Dynamic Pricing through the Oaky and IDeaS Integration
IDeaS Revenue Solutions, a leading provider of automated revenue management software and services, and Oaky, the hyper-personalised hotel upselling solution, are thrilled to announce their partnership and integration. The partnership helps hotels and resorts increase their incremental revenue by leveraging the power of advanced analytics to optimise and automate the upsells they offer guests in real-time.
ideas.com

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GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

- HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
- Aavgo Partners With the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Convention Center to Streamline Welcome Experience and Operations
- Crave Interactive Launches Crave AI: Hotel Guest Service Redefined
- INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
- Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
- PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality

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HCN Bringing NEW In-Room Tablet with Modern UI & Mobile Phone Mirroring to HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Hotel Communication Network will showcase its re-engineered in-room tablet with two-way guest communications at the core. The NEW Navigator 2.0 gives guests and staff more control over the stay experience.
www.hcn-inc.com

Aavgo Partners With the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Convention Center to Streamline Welcome Experience and Operations
Through the agreement, AAVGO has augmented the hotel's check-in experience while expanding remote support to include nearly any task performed by the front desk. Aavgo, the hotel industry’s leading cloud-based SaaS solution for contactless check-in, partnered with the Wyndham Orlando Resort and Conference Center to elevate the guest experience while benefitting from new operational efficiencies through its proprietary Smart Reception Technology.
aavgo.com

Crave Interactive Launches Crave AI: Hotel Guest Service Redefined
Crave Interactive Ltd, a global leader in hospitality technology solutions, is thrilled to announce the release of Crave AI, a ground-breaking guest service solution that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
craveinteractive.com

INTELITY, FreshBed Announce Live Integration & Partnership
INTELITY, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, has announced a partnership and live integration with FreshBed, the world’s first bed featuring its own full control climate capabilities. An ideal solution for hotels and wellness resorts, this relationship unlocks the ultimate luxury offering by providing guests with the ability to adjust their complete sleep environment directly from a bedside smart room tablet or mobile app.
intelity.com

Sneak Peek at the Ultimate Nonius Signage Platform for Hotels
We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of our enhanced Nonius Cloud Signage Solution, designed to empower you in creating stunning and engaging visual experiences effortlessly, whether you manage a single hotel or a group of properties.
noniussolutions.com

PPDS Wins Inaugural Global ‘Sustainability’ Award at Infocomm 2023 with the Power-Free Philips Tableaux Epaper Digital Signage Series for Hospitality
PPDS, an exclusive global provider of Philips professional displays and complementary solutions, is proud to have made a winning start at InfoComm 2023, with the Philips Tableaux digital signage series being named winner of the inaugural sustainability category at the annual SCN Installation Product Awards.
www.ppds.com

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MARKETING

- Okura Nikko Hotel Management Partners with Ireckonu to Implement a Global Digital Guest Experience Strategy

‍Ireckonu, the industry leader in Hospitality Middleware, CDP and digital guest relationship systems integration, today announced its partnership with Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd (ONHM).   Ireckonu will work with the Tokyo-based luxury hotel firm to centralize all guest data among their entire property portfolio to create an accessible and actionable Customer Data Platform (CDP).www.ireckonu.com

SALES & CATERING

- Knowland Now Available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality and a member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced the Knowland platform is available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and will enable integration with the Oracle Hospitality OPERA Sales and Event Management sales and catering management application.
www.knowland.com

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BACK OFFICE

- Aptech to Unveil NEW Solution Upgrades & Financial Reconciliation Integration at HITEC Toronto
Next week at HITEC® Toronto, Aptech will reveal a series of upgrades to its three innovative financial-management solutions, PVNG, Execuvue, and Targetvue.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Newport Hospitality Group Chooses Single Provider to Run ALL Financials Processes Across 50 Hotels
Good things come in threes. For Newport Hospitality Group (NHG), this idiom is proven in its recent deployment of Execuvue, Targetvue, and PVNG – three innovative financial-management solutions from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

- Shiji and Evention Form Strategic Partnership to Enhance Financial Operations in the Hospitality Industry
Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with Evention, a leading provider of financial reconciliation and gratuity management solutions for hotel finance operations. This collaboration aims to enhance financial processes within the hospitality industry, delivering improved efficiency and accuracy to hotel finance teams.
shijigroup.com

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COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

- Nomadix Introduces its Next Generation Nomadix Cloud
Nomadix® Inc​., bringing connected experiences to life, today announced the next generation of its Nomadix Cloud platform, giving partners and property managers more visibility and management capabilities for their Nomadix solutions.
www.nomadix.com

- SONIFI Releases Authentication and Management Platform for Hospitality HSIA and Managed Wi-Fi Services
Leading hospitality technology provider SONIFI has announced the release of a new authentication and management platform (AMP) for its managed Wi-Fi and HSIA services.
sonifi.com

- m3connect Exhibiting at The Hospitality Show 2023
m3connect, one of Europe’s largest managed WiFi providers, will be bringing their expertise in hospitality technology to The Hospitality Show from June 27th – June 29th at The Venetian Convention & Expo Center in Las Vegas, NV, showcasing their premier network services and customizable guest-facing technology solutions.
www.m3connect.com

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

- Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
- Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
- Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
- Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
- Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
- Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS

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Shiji and Rivalry Tech Join Forces to Optimize Guest Experiences in Hospitality
Shiji and Rivalry Tech partner to enhance guest experiences with seamless digital ordering, empowering operators for accuracy, streamlining operations, and delivering exceptional efficiency in a user-friendly interface.
shijigroup.com

Shiji and IPORT Partner to Transform Hotel Restaurant Operations with All-in-One Tablet and Payment Device Solution
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.
shijigroup.com

Shiji Announces Infrasys Cloud POS's Fiscal Compliance Status in Latin America and Highlights Successful Expansion
Shiji, the global hospitality technology innovator, is proud to announce the fiscal compliance of Infrasys Cloud POS in Latin America. In the last 5 years Infrasys Cloud POS has grown exponentially in the Americas. Achieving fiscal readiness is an important step in meeting the demand for the solution.
shijigroup.com

Torote Restaurant Implements Shiji's Infrasys Cloud POS for Enhanced Operations and Growth
Shiji, the leading global hospitality innovator, has announced that one of Los Cabo’s most popular restaurants, Torote Restaurant, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, has successfully implemented Shiji’s Infrasys Cloud POS. This implementation includes integration with the Fiscal Interface, providing a comprehensive and streamlined solution for Torote Restaurant’s operations across the 7 devices installed.
shijigroup.com

Oracle Announces Sleek and Stylish New Restaurant POS Workstations
To ensure restaurants have the powerful, flexible hardware needed to support nearly any configuration, Oracle announced the Oracle MICROS Workstation 8 Series. Featuring a slim profile with 14-inch touchscreen display and platinum finish, the new workstations deliver quality and durability in a sleek, ergonomic package.
www.oracle.com

Shiji Adds New Mobile Ordering Solution “Shiji Digital Dine” to Infrasys Cloud POS
Shiji’s new mobile ordering solution for Hospitality F&B -Shiji Digital Dine, is now available for Infrasys POS customers worldwide, helping hotels around the world improve service quality and increase revenue potential.
shijigroup.com

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PAYMENT PROCESSING

- Shiji Pioneers New Hotel Payment Solutions With "Shiji Digital Payby"

‍Shiji, the global hospitality innovator, announced the launch of Shiji Digital PayBy. A transformative integrated payment solution, uniquely tailored for hotel operators and managers, built to facilitate guest experience through faster and more secure, efficient, and globally compliant transactions.shijigroup.com

OPERATIONS

- ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Unveils Acuity, the Linen Management System Redefining Hotel Operations Efficiency
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, together with ASSA ABLOY Group member, HID Global, has today announced the official launch of the Acuity digital linen management platform.
www.assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality

- Quore Drives Actionable Intelligence into Hotel Operations
Quore, a leading provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, today announced the recreation of its Reports app, or “Reporting Engine.” The recreation includes new report options, more flexibility, and enhanced capabilities, like scheduled distribution, for hotels to leverage actionable data and trends to make smarter business decisions and improve guest satisfaction.
www.quore.com

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SECURITY

- VENZA Celebrates its Fifteenth Anniversary at HITEC and The Hospitality Show

‍VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary at major events this summer. During HITEC (26 – 29 June) and The Hospitality Show (27 – 29 June), the company will be recognizing its accomplishments and history of strong partnerships within the hospitality industry with a series of special events.www.VENZAgroup.com

MARKET REPORTS

- The State & Future of Hospitality: “Demystifying the Digital Market & Guide to Commercial Strategy” Empowers the Industry with Invaluable Insights and Expertise
The must-read book provides hoteliers with the latest updates on the digital market, how hotel performance has changed post-pandemic and introduces ways to operate more profitably given the realities of the technology-driven world.
www.kalibrilabs.com

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PIQUED OUR INTEREST

Outdated Human Resources Technology Exacerbates Hotel Staffing Problems‍

‍Study Identifies Most Important Factors in Guest AI Acceptance

‍‍The Power of an "Ecosystem Approach" in Hospitality

‍‍Diet Water, Melted Ice Cream, Blowfish Among Top 10 Most Unusual Room Service Requests, Hotels.com Reports

And now for you-know-what...

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Discover Return On Experience

Three ecosystems — Hospitality & Leisure, Food & Beverage, and Inventory & Procurement — operate independently and together depending on your needs.

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Let's Get Digital

7 Questions to Ask Before You Invest in a Hotel Mobile App

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CORE Create, Gives Hotels Control of Guestroom TV Content

CORE Create, Enseo’s property content management system, is an easy-to-use web browser allowing hotels to edit and publish user interface updates directly to guest TVs.

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How to Solve Labor Challenges & Improve Staff Retention in Hotels with Modern PMS Solutions

Hotel workers, like guests, want to feel engaged with the property. As labor constraints force more responsibility on fewer hotel team members, those on the front lines want to be sure their increased accountability is accompanied by more capabilities. The best way to address these concerns is through new technology, starting with the property management system.

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