March 03, 2023
Siegel Sez
At the Agilysys Inspire Users Group no bartender is safe especially when Richard Tudgay from Highgate and Jeff Parker from Sage Hospitality join Rich Siegel in their taking over the bar! She survived!
There have been many discussions this year amongst those in the hotel technology world regarding which conferences to attend. Personally, I’m exhausted talking about this. I’m amazed at how many times it gets brought up and I’m sure it will continue for the next few months. For those of you in the hotel and travel space, the one event that needs to be on everyone’s bucket list is ITB in Berlin. That is where I will be next week. Imagine being a tech provider and there are lines to get into your booth. That’s common at ITB. It’s truly an amazing experience, not just from the hotel world, but also what seems like every country in the world trying to promote travel to their country. I can’t wait, it’s been too many years since ITB has taken place, thanks to the pandemic. Berlin, here I come.
Industry events aside, my love of users’ groups, where I get to meet and talk with hoteliers that use products, continues. This week I was at Agilysys’ Inspire at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It was proudly shared, that it was their largest crowd ever. It was a lot of fun and as great as the sessions were, the social events are what makes users’ groups so enjoyable. The conversations can go from eye-opening to hilarious. If a vendor invites you to their users’ group and it is at all possible, then go. I started my tech career in the PMS world and our annual users’ event was always a highlight. After I created Hospitality Upgrade, I’ve had numerous opportunities to attend these events, oftentimes speaking about the state of technology. I still live for them. Thank you Agilysys for the invite, it was a great experience.
Speaking of events, at Hospitality Upgrade our users’ group type of meeting is our Executive Vendor Summit, which is coming up at the Loews Hotel in New Orleans on March 29. We’re rocking and rolling with the number of attendees this year and of course we have historically stretched the boundaries of what is acceptable when putting on events. It helps keep previous attendees coming back and we are excited to see so many first timers this year. A big thank you to Virgin Hotels, Choice Hotels, Loews Hotels, Aimbridge Hospitality and Highgate for having their technology leaders join us for our always eye-opening CIO session at EVS. Putting themselves in front of nearly 100 attendees from the vendor community is no small feat, and what is asked of them is always eye-opening. New Orleans, here we come!
I hope everybody has been following Doug Rice and his Definitely Doug column that follows. His very strong belief in the future of SSI (self-sovereign identity) has never wavered and his belief that the future is now makes sense. It’s a long blog this week but carve out some time to read how the world of self-check-in and opening hotel room doors is evolving. The sessions Doug has done at HITEC and at our Executive Vendor Summit over the last couple of years regarding SSI have always been well received. No one is arguing the need, just how long it will take to implement. Carve out 10 minutes or so and read Definitely Doug. I promise it will get you thinking outside the box.
Here now is Definitely Doug along with all the latest happenings in the world of technology for our industry. I will see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what! If you’re not also a reader of Hospitality Upgrade, please take a second to subscribe to our issues in print and/or digital by clicking here
Hospitalityupgrade.com/subscribe. Thank you!
Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com
Definitely Doug
Could Your Car Key Open Your Hotel Room?
Long-term readers of this blog know that I rarely focus on a single company or product. My goal is to help readers understand new and emerging technologies, when and why they might be useful, and what to consider if you are buying them.
But this week’s blog, and another one soon, will deviate from this format to look at new companies that are, to me, just too interesting to ignore. I am not compensated by these companies, and these are NOT recommendations to buy. Today’s company is early stage, deployed at a launch site but not proven at scale. I want to give you a deep dive because it provides a glimpse, however tentative and imperfect, into core technologies that I think will be an important part of the future in hotels and travel, with potential big benefits to the hotel, to guests, and to the objective of greater security, data privacy, and compliance.
Today’s blog is about
PassiveBolt, a company that is spearheading the marriage of digital access control with self-sovereign identity (SSI). I have been watching it for six or eight months with the usual skepticism I apply to most early-stage efforts. But unlike most, PassiveBolt’s progress is playing out largely as it had predicted. It just went live with its first commercial hotel deployment, meaning that this marriage, long discussed in concept, has moved from the world of the theoretical to the practical. First deployments hardly represent proven, scalable technologies, but every successful innovative product starts with a launch site, so the good ones are worth watching.
If you’re not familiar with SSI, it’s time to change that. SSI is a key element of Web 3.0 and it’s coming like a freight train. Most of the supporting standards are now fully vetted and published by the
Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), the same organization that defines HTML and other standards that run much of the Internet. I published SSI primers in
this blog about 18 months ago and
this one from two years ago, and I have not been disappointed with the pace of progress since.
Last summer, SSI became an official part of Microsoft’s Azure suite (under the name
Entra Verified ID) and it is rapidly evolving into national
digital identity programs within the European Union. Just two weeks ago, the EU published the architecture and reference framework for its SSI
identity wallet, a technology very similar to the one used by PassiveBolt and covered below. EU adoption of SSI is no surprise, since it natively implements the major principles of the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), giving individuals real and secure control over their personal data and vastly simplifying compliance (and lowering risk) for anyone, such as hotels, that use it.
SSI is not about access control, it’s about proving who you are in a secure, privacy-first manner. Access control just happens to be the first application where I have seen it applied commercially in hotels. Many more are in the works; watch this space.
CORPORATE NEWS
- Jonas Hospitality Continuing to Unify Products under Jonas ARC
Jonas Hospitality is expanding Jonas ARC, a platform that unifies integrations through a single API. Jonas Hospitality, a division of Jonas Software, is a family of technology brands that serves the hotel, spa, and private club industries with operational, marketing, and distribution software.
jonaschorum.com
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Onyx CenterSource Appoints Daniele di Bella as Vice President & Head of Global Sales
Onyx CenterSource, a leading global provider of B2B payments and business intelligence to the hospitality industry, today announced the appointment of Daniele di Bella as vice president & head of global sales, responsible for accelerating revenue, developing new sectors and contributing to marketing and business strategies.
www.onyxcentersource.com
- Nomadix Appoints Wireless Technology Sales Leader Carl Jefferys to Asia Pacific Region
Nomadix® Inc​., a technology leader in hospitality and multi-tenant industries, today announced Carl Jefferys as Director of Partner Sales, APAC. With a long history in wireless technology, Jefferys will provide expanded leadership and regional focus to continue building on the company’s growth and momentum in APAC through strategic alignment with partners across key verticals.
nomadix.com
GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Cloudbeds Partners With Leading Revenue Management Systems
Cloudbeds, the leading hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, today announced a significant expansion of its revenue management offering through new partnerships with leading industry innovators.
www.cloudbeds.com
- Maestro PMS Recognizes Hotelier Challenges, Innovates to 'Voice of Its Clients'
Maestro PMS, the hospitality industry’s most trusted and proven provider of web and mobile property-management systems, deployable in the cloud, on-premises or any hosting environment, recently added a number of new features to its leading all-in-one PMS solution. The updates are a regular part of Maestro’s innovation strategy tailored to ensure its customers remain on the cutting edge of PMS technology.
maestropms.com
- Jonas Chorum on Capterra’s Best Hospitality Property Management Software Shortlist
User reviews from hoteliers elevated Chorum PMS as one of the highest-rated and most popular hospitality management products, with an overall score of 4/3/5.
jonaschorum.com
RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION
- P3 to Showcase Advances in End-to-End Digital Ecommerce Hotel Guest Experiences at ITB Berlin
P3 CEO to highlight industry issues at ITB Berlin 2023, including need for investment in both digital and physical hotel properties.
www.p3hotels.com
REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS
- Amadeus Gets Appointed as a Business Intelligence Provider of Ascott
As travel continues to return across the world, hoteliers must consider how to stand out amid increased competition. With this in mind, Amadeus’ Demand360 will be implemented for use across Ascott’s properties, supporting them in making data-driven decisions in revenue management against their competitive set in the hospitality sector.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com
- IDeaS Success Leads to Significant Investment in the Client-First Experience
What do you get when you bring together passion, commitment, and a deep understanding of technology? You get a best-in-class client experience that ensures client success, supports aggressive growth goals, and sets the organization apart from competitors.
ideas.com
- Loews Hotels & Co Realizes Highest Catering Revenues in Company History with IDeaS
Optimizing meeting space is proven to lead to increased revenues but requires the right people, processes, and technology.
ideas.com
GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY
- Uniguest Releases Next Generation Digital Hotel Guest Directory To Enhance Guest Experience
- New Nonius Customer Portal: Ticket Tracking and Feedback
- Columbia Beach Resort in Cyprus Deploys InnSpire's Guest Journey App to Offer a Seamless Digital Guest Experience
- The WorkNomads Lab Hotel Selects INTELITY for Mobile Guest Experience
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For more information on Guest Facing Technology for 3/3/2023
MARKETING
- Sojern Recognized for Excellence in Digital Marketing by Hotel Tech Report
We’re excited to announce that Sojern has ranked amongst the top Digital Marketing Agencies globally in the 2023 HotelTechAwards. The HotelTechAwards are produced by Hotel Tech Report, the leading authority on hotel software and digital transformation in the hotel industry. The HotelTechAwards rank the world’s best hotel software companies and products based on authentic, timely reviews from real users.
www.sojern.com
- dailypoint Announces First US-based Hotel Chain Client
dailypoint expands operations to US territory. The US-based PIAZZA HOSPITALITY, specializing in the development and management of hotels, restaurants and spas in premier locations, has selected dailypoint as a full-service solution partner for customer relationship and guest data management.
www.dailypoint.com
- ACHAT Hotels Has Selected dailypoint to Manage Their Guest Data
the German hotel group ACHAT Hotels, based in Mannheim with hotels in Germany and Hungary, has selected dailypoint as a solution partner for its guest data management. The 30 three- to four-star superior hotels will use the Munich-based company’s hospitality technology solutions in the future.
www.dailypoint.com
SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS
- Knowland Expands Presence in the Middle East
Today, Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, announced its expansion in the Middle East to include Doha, the capital of Qatar. Knowland’s extension into the Middle East will continue throughout 2023 to accommodate the demand and competition facing new hoteliers.
www.knowland.com
- Mills James’ Growth Shows ‘Meetings Business Is Back!’
Award-winning, concierge-level, audiovisual services provider Mills James is on a fast-track for growth. In 2022, the company’s AV for hospitality business exceeded pre-pandemic levels across all client venues, including hotels and convention centers servicing seven states and Mexico .
millsjames.com
BACK OFFICE
- M3 Named 2022 Best Cloud-Based Financial Platform by Innovation in Business
M3, one of the hospitality industry's premier cloud-based financial and data management platform, has been awarded Best Cloud-Based Financial Platform 2022 – USA and LUXlife Charity Excellence Award 2022 in the 2022 Technology Innovator Awards. M3 was chosen above other companies for its innovation, thoughtfulness, helpful methods, and pioneering software.
www.m3as.com
- Financial Future Is Bright at the NOUN Hotel
When the NOUN Hotel in Norman, Okla., recently opened adjacent to the University of Oklahoma campus, PVNG by Aptech was there to power its Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, Statistics, Financials, and Bank Reconciliation processes. Choosing a financial management solution for a new hotel can be a daunting task, but for management of the NOUN the choice was easy due Aptech’s user-friendliness and exceptional support.
www.aptech-inc.com
COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE
- Think Simplicity Launches a Flex Pricing Plan for Hoteliers
- Hotel Internet Services Marks 20 Years of Serving Business Connectivity Needs with Renewed Focus on Advancing Innovation in Online-Based Technology
- Nomadix Partners With Wide Computer Systems to Deliver Technical Innovation to the Middle East Hospitality Market
- Cox, Intel and Future Technologies Collaborate to Deliver End-To-End Private Networks for Commercial Customers
- Nomadix and RN Projects Partner to Deliver Robust Networking Solutions Across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
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For more information on Communications and Infrastructure for 3/3/2023
SECURITY
- VENZA Echo Article Series and Digest Delivers News Coverage and Thought Leadership
VENZA announced the release of a themed article series and monthly email digest—the VENZA Echo. The Echo will fulfill the critical client need for timely information about the industry and emerging cybersecurity threats, while allowing VENZA to provide additional value through its thought leadership.
www.VENZAgroup.com
- VENZA Announces 2023 Hospitality Webinar Series Schedule
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, has released the schedule for its 2023 Hospitality Webinar Series. Alongside the schedule, it has also announced significant changes to the format that promise to deliver unique, insightful experiences that directly address key topics within the industry.
www.VENZAgroup.com
HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS
- Completion Stage Underway for the 12th Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI)
The Global Finance Committee (GFC), jointly sponsored by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), have restarted its work on the 12th Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI).
www.hftp.org
- HSMAI Americas Welcomes New Board Members
The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is proud to announce the members of its 2023 Americas Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
hsmai.org
- HFTP and HSMAI Europe Announce Joint Industry Networking Event on Wednesday, March 8th in Berlin
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Region Europe are thrilled to announce their upcoming industry networking event taking place on March 8 in Berlin. Hospitality, tourism and travel industry professionals are invited to join this long-awaited reunion.
www.hftp.org
PIQUED OUR INTEREST
- Expedia, Microsoft and Travel Experts on ChatGPT
- Cost and Implementation Woes Hamper Hotel Tech Adoption
- This Hotel Asset Manager Wants the Industry to Rethink How Hotels Run
- Caution! Writing a Complaint About a Hotel? You May Get a Reply Like This
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For more information on Piqued Our Interest for 3/3/2023
And now for the You-Know-What...
I'd been working on my business degree for about a year when I finally got to take a popular finance course. I went to the bookstore to buy the text and was shocked to find out that it would cost me $96. I asked how much it was worth if I sold it back at the end of the semester.
"You'll get $24," said the clerk.
"This is insane," I protested as I wrote out the check.
"I know," replied the clerk sympathetically. "I've always thought that a person who buys a book for $96 and then sells it back for $24 should fail the course."