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.
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.
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 (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.
IHG® values the relationship it has with its guests and understands the importance of protecting payment card data. On Dec. 28, 2016, IHG reported it was conducting an investigation after receiving a report of unauthorized charges occurring on some payment cards that were used at a small number of U.S. hotel properties. IHG hired leading cyber security firms to examine the payment card processing systems for the hotels that it manages in the Americas region. Based on the investigation, IHG is providing notification to guests who used their payment card at restaurants and bars of 12 company managed properties during the time periods from August 2016 – December 2016. An investigation of other properties in the Americas region is ongoing.
A Hospitality Technology survey projected that 54 percent of hotels planned to invest in hotel technology upgrades in 2016. After experiencing the rise in demand, hospitality integration firm Mode:Green has expanded to a second office location in New York on 315 W 36th Street.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is pleased to announce the arrival of its resident mischief-maker, Rose, who will be introduced to select hotel guests today, Tuesday, January10, 2017. Rose is a chatbot developed by The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and its digital marketing agency, R/GA Chicago. Rose's playful concept is unlike other chatbots in the hospitality space as she is savvy, quick-witted and inspiring—reflecting the distinct mystique of the resort and its guests. In alignment with the resort's spirited brand and market-leading creative, Rose will stray from robotic commentary and instead use her Cosmopolitan personality to engage guests. This allows for a higher-level of satisfaction for the customer experience as they can engage in real- time conversation via text message.
Heritage Hotels and Resorts, Inc. has recently announced a new partnership with Whistle, a customer service and communication tool for hotels, which allows team members have the ability to use text messaging and mobile messaging to communicate in real-time with staff members and guests. The launch of Whistle has already improved guest satisfaction scores and TripAdvisor reviews, by optimizing hotel operations for any questions, requests, and arrival logistics, providing instant information for every guest.
Wynn Las Vegas and Amazon announce plans to equip all 4,748 hotel rooms at Wynn Las Vegas with Echo, Amazon's hands-free voice-controlled speaker. The introduction of this technology into every guest room, beginning this month with installation in suites, will be an industry first in the world, allowing guests of Wynn Las Vegas to control various hotel room features with a series of voice commands via Alexa, the brain behind Echo.
The Hotel Chicago-Illinois Medical District (IMD) is now offering free transportation in licensed livery vehicles for all its guests. The partnership with Chicago-based FirstClass Travel, a new on-demand concierge service, allows riders to control their experience – like Uber Black but with professional chauffeurs and at absolutely no charge to guests. Owned by Chicago luxury car icon Joe Perillo, Hotel Chicago-IMD is the first hotel to launch the new black car platform, which is both an app and a smart dispatching system. The 116-room independent boutique hotel has already carved out a niche in the crowded marketplace after opening six months ago, with its "less to stay means more to play" mantra. Located on the edge of Chicago's booming West Loop, Hotel Chicago-IMD offers affordable rates so that guests will have more money in their wallet to enjoy the exciting neighborhood.
A wide-ranging discussion at Cornell University on the impact of technology in the hospitality realm, involving two- dozen industry leaders, touched on such topics as the adoption of cloud computing, best practices for rolling out new technologies, and online marketing strategies.A full report on the event, "High-Tech, High-Touch: Highlights from the 2016 Entrepreneurship Roundtable," by Mona Anita K. Olsen and Jennifer Blumenfeld, is available from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research. Olsen is an assistant professor and academic director of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration, where Blumenfeld is a student.In a session titled "Voice of the Crowd on the Cloud," panelists noted that consumers, acting as "the crowd" on social media platforms, now serve as social and environmental responsibility watchdogs, holding businesses accountable for their actions. "The cloud gives the consumer a loud, amplified voice; companies are held to a higher than ever level of morality and accountability as a result," said Larry Hall, president and CEO of Trillium Services Group. Hospitality businesses were advised to use the same social media connections to mitigate consumers' concerns while building public trust.Roundtable participants addressed the pros and cons of in-house versus outsourced technology systems, suggesting that while outside contractors may deliver a better solution in a more timely fashion, hospitality businesses are advised to create an in-house technology team to oversee implementation and delivery of new services. One hurdle for the industry in technology implementation is its conservative outlook, participants said. Jules Sieburgh, of Jules A Sieburgh LLC, said, "Not legacy systems, but legacy thinking is what is holding us behind in the hospitality industry."When new technologies are implemented, hospitality businesses should not lose sight of the person-to-person interactions that define them, roundtable participants noted. Christopher Sanson of Code Union suggested the use of technology at "the pain points," specifically in the food and beverage industry where improvements are made in the back-of-house without directly affecting the front-of-house guest experiences.About the Center for Hospitality ResearchThe purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Duetto • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel GroupAbout the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurshipengages leading industry experts and faculty to educate students and provide them with experiential opportunities to learn all aspects of entrepreneurship. To support these critical goals, the Pillsbury Institute offers students, entrepreneurs, and faculty an expanding range of courses, programs, and activities focused on advancing students' entrepreneurship knowledge and mastery.Institute Members: BCV • CPG Real Estate • Dartcor Management Services • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • HarborStone Hospitality • HotelPlanner.com • InterContinental Hotels Group • Interstate Hotels & Resorts • The Leading Hotels of the World • Loews Hotels and Resorts • Montage Hotels and Resorts • Newport Hospitality • The Original Agency • Phipps & Co. • Praxis Summit • RoomKnights • Seaview Investors • Spencer Stuart • Sushi Maki • Sweet Street Desserts • Thayer Lodging, Brookfield Hotel Properties • Trillium Services Group • Turano Baking Company • Valley Forge Fabrics • The Venetian • Waterford Hotel Group, Inc. • Yotel • Yui Designs
Sunray, the network provider widely regarded as the hospitality industry's HSIA visionaries, will unveil the next phase in hotel network management innovation in December, 2016. In addition to Sunray's Umbra service suite, this next phase includes real-time wireless connection quality monitoring and an intelligent auditing system.
The 2016-2017 Global Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) have officially begun their term. The association leaders represent a wide variety of segments within the hospitality industry, including: clubs, consulting, hotels, finance, technology and more. The HFTP Global Executive Committee and Board of Directors volunteer their time and professional expertise to help guide and progress the association to the forefront of the industry as it carries out its strategic plan.
Almost all travelers who own a smartphone rely on their devices to enhance their travel experience in several ways, according to a new survey released today from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™. The study finds travelers use technology to provide easy access to information and directions, capture pictures and video, and stay in touch with family and friends.
By the time a guest arrives at your hotel, his or her expectations have been set by everything they have gleaned from your website and online ads to past guests' reviews to word-of-mouth from friends and family. Now it's time to deliver the promise. Is your team ready?
VacayStay Connect announces agreement with Diamond Resorts International® to provide vacation homes to members of THE Club® at Diamond Resorts International®.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants received a report on July 15, 2016 of unauthorized charges occurring on payment cards after they had been used by guests at the restaurant in one of our hotels. We immediately began to investigate the report and hired leading cyber security firms to examine our payment card processing system. Findings from the investigation show that malware was installed on servers that processed payment cards used at the restaurants and front desks of some of our hotels. The malware searched for track data read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was being routed through the affected server. The malware primarily found track data that contained the card number, expiration date, and internal verification code, but in a small number of instances it may have found the track that also contains the cardholder name.
ZUMATA, a Singapore-based hotel distribution and technology company, along with DHISCO, the world's leading hospitality distribution company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, today announced a reciprocal agreement aimed to increase each other's hotel inventory while accelerating their mutual geographic expansion of distribution.
Thousands of attendees at this year's Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) will have the opportunity to see the launch of three new enterprise security innovations from VENZA®. As a featured exhibitor at this year's event, VENZA will be offering an exclusive preview of their cutting-edge advancements at their booth #1639. The company will also unveil its highly anticipated new brand identity at what is recognized as the industry's most important gathering, which will be take place June 20-23 in New Orleans, LA.
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) Global Vice President and Global Technology Consultant Lyle Worthington, CHTP was selected by the International Hospitality Information Technology Association (iHITA) to deliver the keynote address at its 2016 Annual Conference. The 23rd Annual iHITA Research Conference is co-located with HFTP's 2016 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITECSM) event and will take place on Sunday, June 19, 2016 in room R05 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana USA.