How Technology Is Making De-Flagging Easier and Levels the Playing Field for Going Independent
Aaron Shepherd | October 31, 2023
Travel Outlook’s Annette, The Virtual Hotel Agent™ Revolutionizes the Caller Experience at Camelback Resort
Travel Outlook The Premier Hotel Call Center | October 26, 2023
Operations
Ditch Your Legacy System: A Case for Making Your Hotel PMS a Strategic, Profit-Generating Asset
Steve Lapekas | September 27, 2023
By Steve Lapekas “You have to spend money to make money” – this advice that most of us will encounter at some point in our lives, especially regarding business. But as any successful business owner can surely tell you, strategically spending money is only half of the equation. In fact, most books or experts that promise to provide an easy-to-follow blueprint to financial success will inevitably start with one critical suggestion: save money and avoid unnecessary spending and debt. Simply put, “you have to save money to make money.” This becomes even more imperative when we focus on industries that historically operate on razor-th...
How Sharing Information Between Hotel Departments Via Tech Is Changing the Future of Hospitality
Warren Dehan | September 26, 2023
Hotels are breaking down the walls between departments and improving their knowledge and situational awareness of the marketplace — powered by PMS technology By Warren Dehan Hoteliers have become accustomed to seeking excellence within each department, with each group internally supporting the other through consistency and diligence. However, today’s operations call for greater collaboration than in years past. Individual workers today have much greater responsibility and face more scrutiny from managers and guests. Hotel workers are expected to oversee multiple aspects of hospitality simultaneously, and roles spanning multiple depart...
When It Comes to Technology, Should Hotels Look for Form or Function?
Bob Palloni | September 12, 2023
Why unlocking success comes down to choosing proven systems, not bright shiny objects By Bob Palloni The hotel industry is in a constant state of evolution, shaped by advancements in almost everything we use: from online travel platforms to the pervasive influence of social media on how people discover and book accommodations. As a result, the need for reliable and efficient technology, including a Property Management System (PMS) has become more critical than ever before. Amidst the continuous influx of new and innovative tools that reshape the travel and hotel sector, the task of determining which solutions are truly essential an...
Amadeus’ Latest iHotelier® StayPlus Capabilities Enable Curated Hotel Experiences That Drive Profitability
amadeus | September 12, 2023
The industry leading central reservations system and booking engine offers a strategic set of integrated capabilities for hotels to capture and convert more bookings September 12, 2023— The rising need for hotels to generate more revenue-enhancing opportunities that go beyond guest rooms has contributed to demand for a central reservations system (CRS) and booking engine that is simple, intuitive, and has the power to personalize guest experiences. Today, Amadeus is proud to introduce iHotelier StayPlus™ – an innovative set of capabilities that empower hoteliers to create curated guest experiences and manage promotions all in one ea...
Travel Outlook Partners With Thrio to Advance the Travel Industry Customer Service Experience
Travel Outlook The Premier Hotel Call Center | September 7, 2023
With Thrio's Revolutionary Cloud Contact Center Technology, Travel Outlook Is Taking Consumer Reservations and Customer Service to the Next Level SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO (September 2023): Travel Outlook, The Premier Hotel Call Center™, is pleased to announce a partnership with Thrio, a revolutionary contact center platform that’s making waves in the customer service industry. As the first and only call center certified by the Kennedy Training Network (KTN), Travel Outlook uses a unique, industry-leading sales approach developed exclusively by KTN to train their reservations specialists. With the KTN system, Travel Outlook closes up to ...
Whistle for Cloudbeds Expands Worldwide
CLOUDBEDS | September 6, 2023
Lodging businesses worldwide can now engage guests at every step of their journey using Cloudbeds’ industry-leading guest communication platform. San Diego, California — Sept. 06, 2023 — Cloudbeds, the hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, today announced the worldwide availability of Whistle for Cloudbeds, the company’s award-winning guest communication platform. Integrated directly with the Cloudbeds Platform, Whistle for Cloudbeds gives properties the tools to drive incremental revenue, increase guest satisfaction, streamline internal operations, a...
The Power of Choice: Pick Your Room, Packaging, and Profitability Drive Revenue and Delight Guests
Aaron Shepherd | September 6, 2023
By Aaron Shepherd If you take a trip to your local bakery and – after a moment in line spent surveying the mouth-watering array of carefully curated treats – ask for one of the tarts at the front of the display, the cashier will most likely reply with, “Which one?”. Suppose you are a remote worker who occasionally frequents your company’s nearby office by booking a desk using a tool like SpaceIQ. In that case, you are prompted to choose your desired section and the specific desk you want. When purchasing tickets for a new, highly-anticipated release at most movie theaters, you are presented with a theater seating chart that allow...
Rethinking Hospitality’s Approach to the Workforce: Unifocus White Paper Tackles Staffing Shortages and Rising Costs
Unifocus | September 6, 2023
Special report provides practical tips for addressing the industry’s key challenges DALLAS, TX – Sept. 6, 2023 – Unifocus, the leading provider of workforce management systems to the hotel and hospitality industry, published a proprietary study offering insights into the hotel industry’s ongoing labor shortage and how operators can adapt to achieve and maintain efficiency and profitability. “The Hotelier’s Definitive Guide to Success Amid Staffing Shortages” provides new ways to control costs, optimize staffing efficiency, and reduce turnover to create a sustainable, predictable operations ecosystem. The white paper outlin...
VAI Resort Taps Hapi and Salesforce to Deliver Hyper-Personalized Guest Experiences
HAPI | August 31, 2023
One-of-a-kind desert oasis in Glendale, Arizona, featuring an 1,100-room luxury hotel, will deploy Hapi Guest to personalize the guest experience across all areas of the resort. MIAMI and GLENDALE, Ariz., August 31, 2023 – VAI Resort, a $1 billion, 60-acre oasis featuring a 1,100-room luxury hotel scheduled to open in 2024 in Glendale, Arizona, has partnered with Hapi and Salesforce to personalize and differentiate guest service across the entire resort. The VAI operating team has selected Hapi Guest, a suite of hospitality-ready tools and configurations built for Salesforce CRM, to power a groundbreaking 360-degree personalized guest...
From Clicks to Reservations: How Google Ads Integration Elevates Your Direct Booking Strategy
Cendyn | August 29, 2023
In the age of digital transformation, the hospitality industry has witnessed a significant shift in how travelers plan and book their accommodations. Hoteliers are turning to various online strategies to capture the attention of potential guests, and Google Ads has emerged as a game-changing tool in their arsenal. Searching for desired hotels on the search engine has always been a part of the customer journey, and that is why it is crucial for the hotels to appear as the top result of their prospective customer’s search results. Google Ads, formally known as Google AdWords, is a powerful online advertising platform that allows busi...
Five Ways Hotel PMS Technology Is Saving Independent Hotelier Operations
Warren Dehan | August 29, 2023
Modern PMS technology provides invaluable support to independent hotel operations from training to disaster recovery By: Warren Dehan Independent hoteliers rely on technology to operate today in a way that has never been necessary. Still, many often need help understanding how to approach gaining access to the tools they need within their allotted budget. Without support from a brand, these operators need access to reliable, centralized tools capable of simplifying operations and improving revenue amid an indefatigable labor crisis. Technology providers have stepped up to the plate across the industry to assist in every way possible, bu...
PwC Report: Hospitality Tech Investment Pays Off
PWC HOSPITALITY DIRECTIONS | August 23, 2023
The hotel business ecosystem is exceptionally complex: Brands, owners and operators all strive to maintain profitability in an inherently low-margin, highly competitive sector. The goal? To satisfy investors while also meeting — ideally, exceeding — guest expectations. Hotels also need to attract and maintain skilled talent in the constrained late-pandemic labor market. Facing rising wages and a diminished worker pool, more than 70% of hotel executives are turning to technology tools to automate a portion of their operations and boost employee efficiency.1 PwC experience corroborates the benefits of technology investments. One bran...
Independent Hoteliers: Centralize Your Data
Warren Dehan | August 16, 2023
To gain a competitive advantage, hotel operators must embrace centralized data practices to help them level the playing field against established brands By Warren Dehan It may not seem important, but is your hotel’s data centralized? Hospitality has parted ways with many traditions over the years, from physical room keys to guest books, but one thing that is never to return is guests’ and operators’ patience. No one likes to wait, whether checking into a room, requesting more amenities, or reacting to a guest’s needs at a moment’s notice. This goes for all operators, and as independent hoteliers continue to compete against ...
It’s Possible To Do More With Less During a Labor Shortage: Here’s How
Amadeus | August 9, 2023
As travel continues to recover, some airlines, hotels, restaurants, and event venues worldwide are struggling to keep up with demand due to labor shortages. And while labor shortages are nothing new, the pandemic brought about some fresh challenges, including the phenomenon of “revenge travel,” or the concept of consumers making up for lost time by booking more and longer travel experiences. The overall impact that this increase in consumer demand has had on labor within the hospitality industry has been enormous. The State of Labor Shortages Labor shortages are impacting businesses’ productivity, efficiency, and profitability a...
Meyer Jabara Hotels’ Journey Culture Reaping a 75% Employee Retention Rate
Meyer Jabara Hotels | August 8, 2023
Implementing principles of continuous cultural improvement is slashing the management company’s turnover rate through empowerment and accountability [Danbury, Conn., August 8, 2023] — Meyer Jabara Hotels is reporting a 24.20% turnover rate through the first half of 2023. With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics citing 70% to 80% turnover annually as the industry norm, this 46-year-old hotel ownership and management group is obviously doing something right. With hotel operators still feeling the sting of the “Great Resignation,” MJH is revealing its secret to employee retention success. “Our biggest competitive advantage is wha...
Controlling Hotel Labor Costs With New Integrations to Business Intelligence Platforms
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | August 2, 2023
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky HITEC in June 2023 came and went with lots of incredible outings from vendors. While AI was perhaps foremost on the mind, what really stood out for us was the ability for integrated platforms to offer actionable insights to guide incremental profitability for hotels. Speaking from experience, the two of us have worked extensively on helping hotels increase their net operating incomes (NOI), which then has positive second-order effects elsewhere, including the flexibility to innovate in other areas or even to seek more favorable terms from the bank. Driving NOI as well as topline revenues is the name of the g...
Cloudbeds Announces Partnership With Vrbo
Cloudbeds | July 27, 2023
Full API integration will grant Cloudbeds customers access and visibility to a worldwide market of vacation rental-focused travelers San Diego, July 27, 2023 — Cloudbeds, the hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, today announced its integration with Vrbo. Through a full API connection, owners and operators can manage all aspects of their Vrbo listing through the Cloudbeds platform. The integration creates a superior user experience with automation in onboarding, managing rates and availability, reconciliation, and more. As one of the world’s premier ...
Hospitality Industry’s New Tipping System: What You Need to Know
EHL Insights | July 26, 2023
By Michael Gyger, Sébastien Fernandez How tips are distributed can quickly become a hot topic in restaurants and hotels. Employees care about justice and want to be rewarded according to their efforts. Is it fair that a server who is capable to deliver a better service than his or her colleagues (and gets more tips) has to put all the money earned in a pot that will be equally shared with other employees? Or, is it fair that a server keeps all the tips received when part of the excellent customer experience is also shaped by fellow colleagues (chefs, runners, bartenders)? None of these systems is totally fair, but they are used in many re...
LasoExperience Empowers Hotels With Seamless Integration of Maestro PMS for Enhanced Guest Interactions
Maestro | July 25, 2023
Rollout of the joint technology is underway at three iconic East Coast properties [CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 25, 2023] — LasoExperience, a guest-experience SaaS platform that builds meaningful relationships with guests, and Maestro PMS, a web browser based cloud and on-premises all-in-one property-management system for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups, announces an integration partnership that will empower hotels to deliver exceptional guest experiences through personalized and relevant interactions, such as booking their stay, mobile check-in/out, mobile keys, purchasing ...
Stay Hospitality Selects Mews to Automate Operations and Enhance the Overall Guest Journey
Mews | July 20, 2023
The American short-term vacation rental and hotel management group leverage Mews and its vast hospitality marketplace to upgrade their hotel operations. [NEW YORK– 20th of July 2023] Mews, the innovative hospitality cloud, has been chosen by Stay Hospitality to automate and enhance their growing hotel operations. As a hotel and short-term vacation rental management team, Stay Hospitality handles all aspects of the guest experience for visitors traveling to South Florida. “We love how Mews enables our guests to check in online, ahead of their arrival, saving us a lot of time and labor. Their incredible tech stack supports our visi...
MDO Names New CEO and Strengthens Leadership Team
MDO | July 18, 2023
C-suite in place to continue to build upon and deliver purpose-built solutions for the hospitality industry, spanning Digital Document Management, Budgeting and Forecasting, and enhanced Business Intelligence BETHESDA, MD., JULY 18, 2023 – MDO, a hotel data platform that centralizes and operationalizes critical performance and financial data for hotel companies, is excited to announce the bolstering of its leadership team and the continued evolution of its product suite, debuting refined tools that will help hoteliers make more data-driven decisions to drive profitability. Over the past few months, MDO has strengthened its senior lead...
Fantasyland Hotel Partners With INTELITY for Mobile Guest Experience
INTELITY | July 13, 2023
The exceptionally unique, experience-forward property puts guest convenience first with mobile check-in, mobile key and more Los Angeles, CA (July 13, 2023) - INTELITY®, provider of hospitality’s leading guest experience and staff management platform, has announced today a new partnership with Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta. The fun-seeking hotel has deployed INTELITY’s mobile offerings providing guests with mobile check-in, mobile check-out, and mobile key, while streamlining the day-to-day operations for staff through GEMS® — INTELITY’s suite of staff-facing tools. Located in West Edmonton Mall, the most comprehens...
Cloud-Hosted Hotel PMS Data: Who Holds the Keys and Why It Matters
Warren Dehan | July 11, 2023
By Warren Dehan Answering questions about data stored in the cloud and how hotel & resort operators can curtail uncertainty What’s in the cloud — and who owns it — anyway? Despite the industry’s reliance on cloud computing, security myths and other concerns swirl among discussions about the technology, sometimes leading operators to mistrust potential technology partners. These rumblings can lead to a storm of operational disruptions, leaving hoteliers feeling rudderless in a marketplace that requires constant adjustment and reaction. Hoteliers must be able to trust their technology partners, particularly those hosting an...
KTN President Doug Kennedy Addresses Questions About His Monthly Training Webcast Series
Doug Kennedy | July 11, 2023
Each month, Doug Kennedy presents a live webcast from the KTN headquarters office in Florida, reaching hotel and lodging professionals of all levels around the globe. The rotating menu of topics includes content for all disciplines within the industry, including rooms operations, sales, and even F&B. Some topics have a broad-based theme, such as hospitality & guest service excellence, while others are very specific such as training tips, transient reservations sales, and hotel group and event sales. Everyone who registers receives a link to a live recording which they can view later if they missed the live event, or select segments...
1
Industry Happenings
2
Technology
3
Operations
4
All Things Independent
5
Appointments/People on the Move
Today's News
Rosewood and Murbee Resorts Partner to Expand in Caribbean With Development on Barbuda
Estreya Gosalbez Appointed as General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor
U.S. Hotel Results for Week Ending 2 December
HSMAI Announces 2023 Top 25 Extraordinary Minds
As the first news aggregate for the hotel industry, Hotel-Online is the industry’s must-read daily news source for everything hotel curated for busy professionals. Sign up today for industry news delivered to your inbox.