ROGER FRANKE

VICE PRESIDENT & CIO, ARAMARK DESTINATIONS

Roger Franke is vice president and chief information officer for Aramark Destinations, which delivers hospitality programs to more than 150 national and state parks, resorts, conference centers and cultural attractions, including Gettysburg National Military Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Lake Tahoe Basin National Forest, Pikes Peak and Yosemite National Park. His responsibilities include technology planning for mergers and acquisitions, hardware and software deployments, setting and directing IT policy, and establishing IT and telecom goals and strategies. He joined Aramark’s sports and entertainment group in 2000 after holding senior technology positions at Boyd Gaming, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. Eight years ago, he moved into his current role.

Last year, Aramark acquired 12 unique outdoor destination properties from ForeverResorts. The biggest challenge for Franke and his team was implementing the company’s standard technology—from reservations and back office to retail and F&B—throughout the locations. Although the project was demanding, they completed it in only five months.

Additionally, a few years ago, Franke began the push to get viable Wi-Fi to every Aramark Destinations location. “It has been a huge challenge, as most of our properties are located in wilderness settings,” he said. Although the project is ongoing, he and his team have made tremendous progress. In December 2023, they brought improved guest Wi-Fi to Yosemite Valley, a wide glacier-carved area in the western Sierra Nevada mountain range in Yosemite National Park, one of the country’s most remote locales. "I’m committed to bringing technology to these parks, because they are so underserved.”

As for the future, Franke will continue the drive for more bandwidth, which will enable AramarkDestinations to deliver a number of modern technology solutions to the properties it serves. He specifically wants to add more mobile and self-help applications, so that guests can purchase tour tickets from a kiosk, for example, or check out at a food and beverage establishment. Food lockers are also a focus. The devices, designed to store food at a certain temperature, are accessible to delivery drivers and customers and facilitate the transfer of meals from restaurants to consumers. “They are revolutionizing the way people pick up take-out orders and are very popular in our park locations.”

Additionally, Franke is working on introducing automation and robotics across the enterprise.“Machines can do a lot to mitigate labor shortages and achieve better employee and guest experiences,” he concluded. “The bottom line for me is leveraging technology in every way possible to increase efficiency, minimize costs, reduce staff workload and streamline the guest journey.”

ROGER’S INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL TRANSFORM THE INDUSTRY.
"This isn’t a flash in the pan. It’s here to stay.

ROBOTICS WILL BECOME MORE MAINSTREAM.
“Robots can be very efficient. The problem is the bandwidth they consume, especially in remote locations,” he said.

AUTOMATION WILL BE USED THROUGHOUT THE INDUSTRY

“Technologies like self-check-out and Amazon’s Just Walk Out can boost efficiency and improve guest satisfaction, and these solutions will continue to proliferate.”