New Strategy Chairs to Join HTNG’s Global Strategy Team
HTNG announces two new Strategy Chairs to join its Global Strategy Team and lead the Staff Recruiting and Engagement Pillar, and the newly launched Distribution Pillar.
Press Releases
HSMAI’s Curate Event Explores AI and Innovation
Hospitality industry senior executives from sales, marketing, and revenue management disciplines convened for Curate: An HSMAI Executive Insights Forum, on March 26, 2019 at Thompson Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee. The event, exclusive to companies that are Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) organizational members, generated thought-provoking conversations on issues of interest and relevance to all hospitality industry professionals.
Choice Hotels Wins Prestigious Technology Visionary Award
Building on its eight decades of innovation, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) was named a Hotel Visionary Award winner by Hospitality Technology in the Enterprise Innovator category for the creation of choiceEDGE, a proprietary, cloud-based global reservation system (GRS) and distribution platform. The award, which honors hotels that deliver enterprise solutions, was presented to Choice yesterday at HT-NEXT 2019 in New Orleans. HT-NEXT is produced by Hospitality Technology and Hospitality Technology Next Generation.
Net Lag Is Real: Over Forty Percent Of Millennials Say Researching A Vacation Is Overwhelming
New research from Hotels.com reveals that North American millennial travelers are experiencing net lag, a.k.a. scroll fatigue from never-ending research when booking a vacation. Whether it's a long trek through the Himalayas or a relaxing stay in a hotel treehouse, the struggle to book the perfect trip is real. Luckily, to help ease some of the stress, Hotels.com has announced the winners of the 2019 Loved by Guests awards—hotels rewarded based on their guest reviews.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando Offers New In-room Wine By The Glass System
Guests at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort enjoy premium in-room design features, such as an in-mirror television in the bathroom vanity, and an iPad for ease of making requests at the tap of a button. Now, guests in select room categories have the convenience of dispensing a glass of wine on demand at the touch of a button, through Plum, the Resort's new on-demand wine system. Guests no longer have to wait for room service to arrive and uncork the bottle before enjoying a glass.
Park MGM's New Ideation Studio Introduces First-of-Its-Kind Convention Experience with Cisco Webex Teams
The way people meet continues to evolve, and Park MGM and Cisco are ready to provide that next-level meeting experience in the new 7,000-square-foot Ideation Studio, the most recent member of elite meetings association IACC. Working with Cisco Systems, Park MGM is the world's first hotel to offer groups Cisco Webex™ Boards and Cisco Webex Teams, providing teams a combined real and virtual meeting space for collaborating, video calling, whiteboarding and sharing notes, files and presentations.
Bumble and Moxy Hotels Partner to Launch ‘BumbleSpot #attheMoxy’ to Empower Meaningful Connections
Bumble, the female-first networking app, and Moxy Hotels, Marriott International's playful experiential brand, have teamed up to launch 'BumbleSpot #attheMoxy' - fun, empowered locations at select Moxy Hotels nationwide where Bumble users can bring their connection from the digital sphere to real life. BumbleSpots are places that have been verified by Bumble as inclusive environments to meet your Bumble connections - across dating, friendship and professional networking. Moxy Hotels is Bumble's first nationwide partner to be designated as a BumbleSpot, and more BumbleSpot locations will launch across the United States and Canada over the next year.
Emma, the World's First Digital Mountain Assistant, Kicks Off the 2018-19 Winter Season in Beta at Keystone Ski Resort
- Emma, a first generation technology, offers guests real-time information on everything from snow conditions and parking to rentals and personal performance stats
Robot Butlers Recharge Guest Experience At Vdara Hotel & Spa
Vdara Hotel & Spa welcomes the newest additions to its team with Fetch and Jett - two Relay robots responsible for delivering snacks, sundries, and even spa products directly to guest suites. These talented bots work alongside their human colleagues to transport an array of frequently forgotten and requested amenities including shaving and dental kits as well as tasty bites and drinks from Market Café. "Fetch and Jett are a fun and convenient addition to our team at Vdara. Guests enjoy the novelty of having their morning coffee and other items delivered by a robot, which frees up time for the rest of our staff to focus their energy on requests that require a higher level of service," said Vdara General Manager Mary Giuliano. "We're committed to creating special experiences for each guest, and I'm certain this will be a memorable one."Designed and built by robot developer Savioke, Fetch and Jett are fully autonomous indoor delivery robots that use advanced technology to seamlessly navigate around people and objects. The robots can prioritize multiple requests and wirelessly communicate with the hotel's systems - even operating the elevators autonomously. Upon receiving a request, a hotel employee will load items into the robot's compartment before inputting the guest's room number and hitting the "GO" button. Its secure, tamper-proof lid prevent items from being removed until the robot reaches its destination.Fetch and Jett will call a guest's room when they arrive and once the door opens, their lids will automatically unlock for guests to retrieve their snacks and travel kits. After removing their items, Fetch and Jett will ask the guest for feedback on their service before traveling back to their docking stations - typically taking less than five minutes to complete a delivery. As a hat-tip to the property's dog-friendly policy, Fetch and Jett's exterior resembles the coats of different canine breeds. The helpful (and housebroken) robots provide a fun and refined experience for guests at the hotel and spa.
HTNG Insight Summit Agenda Announced
There are many great sessions and workgroup meetings to look forward to at the upcoming HTNG Insight Summit! Make sure you're joining your peers on 25-26 September at the Plug 'N Play Headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA for this not-to-miss event.
Hospitality Upgrade Announces Recipient of the John Cahill Student Seat for the 2018 CIO Summit
Hospitality Upgrade Publisher and President Rich Siegel today announced the next recipient of the John Cahill student seat will be Juan Jesus Trevino, a student of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. The upcoming CIO Summit will be held Sept. 5-7, 2018, in Seattle.
OpenTravel Alliance and Industry Experts Present Powerful Use Cases for New Release 2.0 Object Model
The OpenTravel Alliance, the not-for-profit responsible for developing and maintaining interoperability for disparate systems in all verticals of the travel industry, hosted a Tech Talk workshop on the release of the 2.0 Object Model for attendees June 21 at the HITEC® Houston 2018 trade show and conference in Houston.
How is the Hospitality industry leveraging Artificial Intelligence to provide an awesome User Experience?
In the 21st century, industries that remain adamant about integrating new technologicalrevolutions are most likely to regress in their course of development. Businesses across the globehave realized how important it is to include contemporary digital technology to drive constantgrowth and revenue. The last decade has seen incredible innovations and breakthroughs in thelandscape of digital solutions. One of such compelling technologies is Artificial Intelligence(AI).
HITEC Houston Online Registration and Housing Bureau Open; Advisory Council Announced
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the world's largest Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), has announced that attendee registration for its HITEC Houston is now available online as well as hotel reservations. Selected by HFTP leadership for their experience and expertise, the HITEC Houston Advisory Council will determine event's education program. HITEC Houston will be the second, and largest, HITEC event of 2018, and will take place from June 18-21 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas USA.
trivago creates a stand-alone sales subsidiary to accelerate hotel direct business
trivago, a leading global hotel metasearch, announces the foundation of trivago Hotel Relations GmbH, a new wholly-owned subsidiary that will foster strong direct relationships with independent hotels. The company will focus on empowering hoteliers around the world to be more competitive online and to drive more direct bookings through their hotel websites.
Funding to Travel Startups Nearly Doubles Over 18 Months
The forthcoming Phocuswright report, The State of Travel Startups 2017, highlights the astonishing influx of funding into travel startups over the past year and a half. In the first decade that Phocuswright tracked funding (2005 through 2015), travel startups attracted US$33 billion in capital. From 2016 through 2Q17 – a period of just 18 months – travel startups raised $29 billion, nearly doubling the total amount raised since 2015 to $62 billion.
Cabin Raises Over $3 Million in Seed Funding and Launches Moving Hotel
Cabin, the first hospitality transportation company on a mission to make the most of every waking and sleeping moment, today announced it has secured $3.3 million in seed financing and launched a moving hotel. Cabin's one-of-a-kind overnight travel experience enables people to reclaim their time while saving money by consolidating both transportation and accommodation into one simple and delightful experience.
RG Hotels Boosts Revenue At Magnuson Hotels’ Memphis Property By 400% In 6 Months
Since mid-January 2017, RG HOTELS, the industry-leading hotel management company, has boosted revenue at the Magnuson Grand Memphis Airport Hotel, one of the 1000 Magnuson Hotels properties around the world, by 400%. RG HOTELS was chosen to manage the hotel because of the company's dedication to revamping hotels' revenue and profitability, two key performance-related factors that has made Magnuson Hotels one of the largest hotel groups in the world.
HFTP Announces Keynote Speakers and Opening Party for HITEC Toronto
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producer of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), has added four keynote speakers to this year's education program: Dave Berkus, super angel, author and entrepreneur; Alex Tapscott, CEO at Northwest Passage Ventures; Kevin Rosen, Esq. CIPP/US, partner at Shutts & Bowen, LLP; and Robert Villanueva, executive vice president at Q6 Cyber.
HEDNA Announces New Leadership
HEDNA (the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association) announced its 2017 Board of Directors and new members of the Executive Committee at its recent Global Distribution Conference in San Diego, California.