January 27, 2023
Siegel Sez
For those who have had extended time in the hospitality industry, no matter what their role, you hear the same thing about their experiences — it is all about the people. Those who leave the industry often return because they simply miss the people. To me it isn’t only about the people we have met, but it is the great people we keep meeting. Last night Shannon McCallum the VP of Hotel Operations, Resorts World and Rich O’Brien the VP of Business Development at Expodigital along with a little help from me (on the left above) reignited the Las Vegas chapter of HFTP. As you can see from the picture the turnout was great. So many in attendance reconnected but more importantly there were many meeting for the first time. I live for social gatherings where it is all about meeting new people with a common focus. There were tech leaders from Caesars, MGM, Live Nation and many others along with a mix of vendors and consultants. It was just the greatest time. I met so many people who I had never met before and at the end of the night the common question was, when will the next Las Vegas chapter meeting be? One lives for moments like this. It was a great feeling bringing the industry together.
Speaking of bringing the industry together, on March 29
th at the Loews New Orleans Hotel Hospitality Upgrade will kick off our 18
th Executive Vendor Summit. Bringing competitors together with future partners is a big highlight of our year. We started EVS as a thank you to our partners for doing business with us and it keeps on growing. There were 19 attendees at the very first EVS and last year there was over a hundred. The CIO session at the summit close is always highly anticipated but the connections that are made over the two and a half days is what really makes EVS so unique. Who can be sure where future business will be coming from? Attendees help each other and the stories that are shared are amazing. If you are a vendor with a technology solution and want to join us in New Orleans, you must contact
kim@hospitalityupgrade.com immediately or you will miss the cutoff. If you have never been to EVS you will love it. Those who have attended keep coming back so we are looking forward to a record crowd this year with so many first timers joining us. Please email Kim as soon as possible.
Doug Rice in his Definitely Doug column this week truly amazed me. There are a lot of things I think about when it comes to technology for the hotel industry, but I can’t say electric cars were on the top of the list. I can’t even say that they were on my list. The hotel industry has many options as the use of electric cars grows and charging needs have created challenges. This is a worthwhile read that follows this week’s Siegel Sez opening.
2022 is behind us and the uncertainty of 2023 is now in high gear. But, the positivity I keep hearing is amazing, and the future looks good. We are thankful to be a big part of it when it comes to sharing what is happening in the technology space. Here now is Definitely Doug followed by the latest industry happenings. I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what!
Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com
Definitely Doug
In case you missed my last column from two weeks ago, it included a very short online poll to assess readers’ plans vis-à-vis the two competing technology-oriented trade shows scheduled for June 26-29. I will report the results in my next column, but if you haven’t taken the poll already, I’d really appreciate it if you could complete it now. The average respondent so far needed just over 90 seconds to complete it, and it will help a lot of people who are still undecided whether to head to Las Vegas or Toronto. Thank you!
Electric Vehicle Charging
This week’s topic is Electric Vehicle (EV) charging for hotels. Many luxury hotels have offered this for some time, but it is starting to go mainstream and is now coming onto the radar of many select service and even some economy hotels. But there is a lot of complexity to doing it well and getting business benefits.
I spoke with experts from several companies involved in different parts of the EV charging industry serving hotels and asked them how hotels should think about and evaluate EV charging solutions. There were many common threads and many insights, which I will share. I am indebted to senior executives from Cyber Switching, Evocharge, EVPassport, Stay-N-Charge, and R3charge and thank them for sharing their knowledge and advice. They are all companies I would check out if I were looking for an EV charging solution. These companies offer hardware, software, services, and/or consumer networks to support EV charging.
Why EV Charging for Hotels?
The trend away from Internal Combustion Engines toward electric vehicles is undeniable. EVs account for about 10% of new car sales in the U.S. and have been growing at 40% or more per year for the past six years. Car and Driver identified 43 electric vehicle models on sale in the US in 2023, and this number is roughly doubling every two years. To be sure, the number of EVs on the road is still only around 1% nationwide, although it is as high as 5% in some of the more densely populated areas. Europe is further along, with CleanTechnica reporting that 27.7% of cars sold in Europe have a plug, and 17.3% are fully electric.
There was little hard data on the percentage of hotels that offer EV charging, although the consensus was that in the US it is probably still somewhat under, but possibly approaching, 10%. However, detailed analysis of hotel claims to offer “EV charging” suggests that many of them only offer charging “nearby” (whatever that means) rather than onsite.
For an EV driver, charging on a long overnight trip is not optional, and doing it at the hotel while they relax, eat, and sleep will be much simpler and less time consuming. While most hotel charging solutions are much slower than public fast chargers and will take overnight rather than 30-45 minutes, that is not an inconvenience to most hotel guests. Overnight charging eliminates the need to wait at or near the charger, as is typical for fast chargers. The cost for slow charging that is typically used in hotels is also much lower, often about 1/3 the cost of fast charging.
CORPORATE NEWS
- Agilysys Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter Revenue Rises 26.5% To Record $49.9M
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that deliver High Return Hospitality, today reported operating results for its fiscal 2023 third quarter and period ended December 31, 2022.
www.Agilysys.com
GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Maestro Examines What Independent Hoteliers Want from their PMS’ in 2023
Maestro PMS, one of the hospitality industry’s most trusted and proven provider of cloud and on-premises Web and Mobile property-management systems, is entering the new year with a fresh perspective on what hoteliers want from their mission-critical property systems.
maestropms.com
- Prominent Hospitality Software Solutions Provider Agilysys Receives Two Business Intelligence Group (BIG) Awards
Company receives top accolades for guest- and staff-facing PMS and frictionless PanOptic Kiosk, both of which deliver high return hospitality.
www.agilysys.com
REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS
- IDeaS Names Winner of Fabian Specht Revenue Optimisation Professional of the Year at HSMAI Europe
IDeaS, a SAS company, the world’s leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced Raimund Notz from Preferred Hotels & Resorts as the winner of the prestigious Fabian Specht Revenue Optimization Professional of the Year at the recent Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Europe Awards in London.
ideas.com
- IDeaS Scores in Two Categories of the Hotel Tech Awards
IDeaS, a SAS company, the world’s leading provider of hotel revenue management software and services, announced today it ranked in the Top 10 Global Hotelier’s Choice and Best Places to Work awards in the annual HotelTechAwards.
ideas.com
GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY
- Track streaming services usage with the new Nonius Cast Cloud Managed solution
To enhance service and make sure guests are always happy with the amenities offered, hoteliers can count on tracking the usage of their services. Trend analysis helps the staff identify which services are the most popular in between guests and in which circumstances they are used. It’s also an efficient way to recognize possible performance issues or incorrect usage.
noniussolutions.com
- From Digital Keys to Contactless Payments, Here’s How Hilton’s Consumer-Centric Tech Innovations Are Delivering a Frictionless Travel Experience
According to a new Hilton report, “The 2023 Traveler: Emerging Trends that are Innovating the Travel Experience,” people increasingly want a “frictionless” flow throughout their travel journey in 2023 through self-service options that offer greater choice – convenience and control – while maintaining the human touch of personalized service.
www.hilton.com
MARKETING
- Lodging Interactive Announces 2022 Hotel Christmas Tree Competition Winner
It was a close race, as hotels around the world battled it out for Lodging Interactive’s first annual Instagram Hotel Christmas Tree Competition that aimed to support local hotel charities. The stakes were high, and the competition was fierce, but in the end, only one could come out on top – the JW Marriott Houston Downtown Hotel.
www.lodginginteractive.com
SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS
- Marriott International Announces Instant Booking Solution for Meetings and Events with Groups360
Marriott International and Groups360 today announced the launch of Instant Booking for Marriott’s portfolio of hotels in the United States and Canada. Marriott International is the first brand to have a direct integration with Groups360 to offer the “Instant Book” functionality for both guest rooms and meeting space at scale on GroupSync Marketplace, providing planners with a streamlined booking process at the click of a button.
groups360.com
COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE
- Cloud5 Launches Mitel Subscription Hosted PBX Offering
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 rollout of its Mitel Subscription offering.
cloud5.com
- Nomadix Releases New Wi-Fi 6 Access Points to Address Market Requirements
Nomadix Inc., a technology leader in hospitality and multi-tenant industries, today announced expansion of its Nomadix Networks portfolio with two new wireless access points (APs) and a significant firmware update. The APs include a wall plate model (AP 6WB) to address the one-AP-per-room requirement and a wall/ceiling model (AP 6SA) for medium, indoor coverage needs in areas such as corridors, staircases and individual rooms.
nomadix.com
- Hotel Internet Services Ensures High-Speed and Reliable WiFi Connectivity for Graduate Hotels
Located in college towns across the U.S. and U.K., Graduate Hotels leverages HIS technology and expertise to deploy networks capable of addressing modern online behaviors and expectations.
www.hotelwifi.com
OPERATIONS
- Curator Hotel & Resort Collection Selects Shiji’s Concept to Power Its Members’ Spa and Golf Management
Shiji's Concept was selected to offer the spa, golf and resort activities management solution as preferred provider for Curator's 97 independent boutique and lifestyle hotels and resorts across the U.S.
shijigroup.com
SECURITY
- VENZA Rolls Out Weekly SAQ Demonstrations to Simplify PCI DSS Compliance
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance tools for the hospitality industry, has announced the creation of live demonstrations to assist hoteliers in completing elements of the PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) process. This new informational opportunity adds to a growing library of free resources available to VENZA clients.
www.VENZAgroup.com
- The Water Tower Inn Upgrades to the Latest in RFID Security Access Technology by ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions
ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions, a leading provider of advanced security technology for the hospitality industry, has announced a successful upgrade of its VingCard Classic door locks at The Water Tower Inn to VingCard Classic RFID.
assaabloyglobalsolutions.com/hospitality
- Puerto Rico Office Marks Next Step in VENZA's Global Expansion
VENZA has announced the establishment of a new office in Puerto Rico. Located in the capital city of San Juan, VENZA now has a permanent operating space to support the data protection and regulatory compliance goals of clients across the Caribbean region and harness local talent to serve its hospitality clients worldwide.
www.VENZAgroup.com
MARKET REPORTS
- Q4 2022 Meeting Volume Outperforms Knowland Meeting Recovery Forecast by 8.4 Percent
Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, released the quarterly update to its U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF) and associated Top 25 U.S. Meetings Recovery Forecast (MRF25) realizing strong performance ending 2022 on a high note and shifting 2023 higher than the Q3 forecast.
www.knowland.com
PIQUED OUR INTEREST
- Davos and the Travel Industry: 5 Takeaways
- ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Hotels Say Goodbye to Daily Room Cleanings and Hello to Robots as Workers Stay Scarce
- How to Find Hotels and Stays with EV Charging
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For more information on Piqued Our Interest for 1/27/2023
And now for the You-Know-What...
One Sunday, a minister played hooky from church so he could shoot a round of golf. St. Peter, looking down from Heaven, seethed. “You’re going to let him get away with this, God?”
The Lord shook his head.
The minister took his first shot. The ball soared through the air 420 yards and dropped into the cup for a hole in one. St. Peter was outraged. “I thought you were going to punish him!”
The Lord shrugged. “Who’s he going to tell?”