News Briefs

Fastpayhotels, a B2B accommodation distribution platforms, announces the launch of Zinantis, a new Distribution Private Club, through DerbySoft, the leading technology provider of high-performance Connectivity services.

Zinantis is a unique brand where members can access direct inventory from global hotel chains, guaranteeing the lowest distribution costs. Stemming from the Greek word for encounter, Zinantis offers frictionless onboarding processes for suppliers and distributors and will enhance the distribution content for all members. Members will benefit from a wide range of data reporting, making Zinantis a win-win for suppliers and distributors.

Elodie Leunen, CEO of Fastpayhotels explains, “Our unique tech will offer a set of exclusive solutions to chains and distributors at a cost of distribution adapted to every business model. We aim to be the distribution club for a group of members who understand the actual environment and want better visibility, not only for bookings but for inventory gaps, and opportunities for sales. It makes sense to us to partner with DerbySoft and combine efforts in creating the best frictionless onboarding process to access chains’ direct inventory.”

The three rules for Zinantis, Trust, Care, and Exchange, promote transparency and unique technology created by Fastpayhotels and DerbySoft to resolve key issues in the distribution process.

“DerbySoft is always on the search for unique opportunities to flex our Connectivity services and technology, and Zinantis is it for this unrivaled members-only club,” states Duane Overgaard, President of Connectivity Services and SVP for DerbySoft. “Zinantis offers technology that coincides with DerbySoft, and we appreciate being involved in this launch.”

Officially launched in September, Zinantis is already live with major global chains, followed by a growing waitlist of suppliers.

Shiji, a global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.

The integrated iOS and payment device solution simplifies guest service for hotel restaurant servers, providing them with an effortless tool to cater to their guests' needs. As a certified Apple partner, Shiji and IPORT guarantee exceptional performance and reliability. Hoteliers can choose from multiple device options, including iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and iPhone, ensuring flexibility and compatibility with their operations.

“IPORT products are built around modularity and flexibility that empower our hospitality customers to do more with the iOS platform. We are thrilled to partner with a leading iPad and iPhone cloud PMS and POS platform provider like Shiji,” said Chris Lawson, Head of Partnerships, IPORT. “We look forward to innovating with Shiji in disrupting legacy, monolithic providers who have limited the industry from harnessing the power of iOS and mobility. The future is bright, and the possibilities are endless with IPORT, iOS, and Shiji.”

"The partnership with IPORT is a significant milestone for Shiji in our commitment to provide innovative technology solutions for the hospitality industry," said Ryan King, Senior Vice President of Shiji in the Americas. "By combining our expertise with IPORT’s hardware solutions, we empower hoteliers to streamline restaurant operations and deliver exceptional guest experiences. This collaboration represents another step forward in our dedication to driving success in the Americas, and globally."

The tablet and payment device solution seamlessly integrates with multiple payment gateways, allowing hoteliers to choose the system that best suits their needs. By simplifying the payment process, it reduces operational complexities, minimizes errors, and saves valuable time and resources for hoteliers.

SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, announced the launch of a new solution for restaurants: Revenue Management. The product serves as an engine for operators to generate more sales and profitability from the same seats, using data science to recommend how to optimize availability and increase table utilization.

To survive current economic conditions, restaurants need solutions that can save them time, reduce their labor costs and increase their sales and profits. Inspired by effective revenue management strategies long-used by the travel industry, Revenue Management extends this practice to the restaurant industry. The product automates these processes without the need for analysts, additional staff or high-priced consultants to manage changes, helping to:

• Fill more seats, more often to increase sales by reducing the time seats sit empty
• Save time and reduce burdensome labor costs by automating in-depth analysis, quickly making changes with a 'do-it-for-me' option
• Provide operators with easy-to-digest insights along with ready-to-use actions that demystify proven steps taken by revenue leaders

Other systems on the market today may offer reporting on a handful of insights, but none help operators immediately action revenue-focused suggestions with a 'do-it-for-me' option that has an instant impact on their operations. Sample actions include recommendations on party size or dining duration configurations, when to institute cancellation policies to decrease last-minute cancellations, floor plan configuration recommendations and more. Diners also benefit, with more available reservations, a better dining experience (e.g. being sat on time and not being rushed out the door) and more unique experiences and offerings to choose from when dining out as operators have more time to focus on the guest experience.

Notably, Revenue Management also gives operators insights into how much demand was missed across booking channels by summarizing data on recent reservation attempts. This helps operators better manage these channels and optimize their books to offer more reservations across their most profitable channels.

"With Revenue Management, we are delivering on our promise to help operators make more money, providing a product that automatically executes on strategies used by the most successful hospitality brands throughout the world – without having to add team members or search out implementation experts," said Angela DeFranco, VP of Product at SevenRooms. "This tool is both proactive and reactive, helping operators uncover untapped opportunities while simultaneously working to identify potentially harmful configuration issues that may restrict venues from maximizing sales and profitability. Today's operators are busier than ever, and we are excited to bring Revenue Management to hospitality operators, helping them automatically fill more seats, more often while continuing to elevate their guest experiences."

Data Travel, LLC announced it has launched Hapi Guest Focus on Salesforce AppExchange, empowering hotel companies to craft personalized guest check-in experiences and drive upsell opportunities right at the front desk.

Hapi Guest Focus is currently available on AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=81d4effe-5575-4b05-a4bd-65282de68eed

Hapi Guest Focus

Hapi Guest Focus empowers front desk team members to leverage the wealth of guest data residing in Salesforce. By transforming this data into actionable insights, hotels can now curate exceptional guest interactions starting at time of arrival. Through the app, front desk agents can curate the check-in process, view guest preferences, and even facilitate restaurant reservations and spa appointments, creating a seamless and personalized arrival experience.

Hotel operators have long struggled to provide a truly personalized guest check-in experience due to the lack of readily available guest preferences and profile information. Now, through Hapi Guest Focus, front-desk employees have that critical information in their immediate purview without having to switch back and forth from one system to the next.

Comments on the News

• "Hapi Guest Focus surfaces the 360 degree view of guests for the agent, creating actionable insights when it matters,” said Luis Segredo, CEO of Data Travel. We are excited as this is only the next step, and more will follow to assist agents."

• "Hapi Guest Focus is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as it accelerates business transformation for customers by enhancing customer experiences,” said Alice Steinglass, Executive Vice President of and General Manager, Platform at Salesforce. “AppExchange is constantly evolving to connect customers with the right apps and experts for their business needs.”

Mews announced its acquisition of Nomi, a Nashville-based hospitality startup, as it continues focusing on its mission to enable remarkable guest experiences. Nomi will be included within Mews Guest Journey, empowering hoteliers to provide a hyper-personalized experience for guests. 

Founded in 2021, the Nomi team has developed a local tour guide for travelers, using predictive analytics and AI to respond to recommendation requests while considering the personality type of each user, unique preferences, interests and needs. For hotels, Nomi delivers real-time customer insights, helping them to better understand their guests, make data-informed operational decisions and provide brilliant guest experiences. 

Nomi was founded by Tim Drisdelle, a former Apple engineer who worked on Siri and Apple retail payments, and Natasha Drisdelle who has worked in the hospitality industry for almost twenty years, including time as a director of Omni Hotels & Resorts. Natasha was also founder and CEO of hotel management company, Lord & Liberty Hotels where the idea for Nomi originated. 

Tim Drisdelle, who now leads the Guest Experience engineering team at Mews, commented, “Nomi grew out of our hotel management company, Lord & Liberty, as we recognized the pain point for travelers looking for great local spots that match their unique preferences. We built Nomi to bring back joy and wonder for every traveler and we’re excited to continue this journey as part of Mews to help hoteliers enhance the guest experience even further.” 

Richard Valtr, founder of Mews, added, “Mews was started to make it easier to personalize Guest Experiences for every traveler and create a community within every hotel. I’m delighted to welcome Nomi into the Mews family as we continue to double down on our mission to enable remarkable guest experiences. We’re excited about working with hoteliers to tailor their guests’ stay to suit their needs and interests.” 

The acquisition was managed by Mews Ventures, the company’s venture and investment arm which was launched to accelerate the technological transformation of the hospitality industry. The Nomi acquisition marks the seventh acquisition for Mews Ventures, with previous acquired companies including Cenium (2022), Bizzon (2022) and Hotello (2023). 

Lunchbox, an enterprise restaurant technology provider that's platformed national and regional QSR brands such as Firehouse Subs, Papa Gino's, Torchy's Tacos, and Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux, has announced the company's newly appointed Food Tech Council. The elite assembly of industry thought leaders is set to advise as council members to further develop the brand's leading enterprise technology solutions.

Quickly following the announcement of Erle Dardick joining as Chief Strategy Officer just last month, Lunchbox is building an advisory bench of industry leaders to set the pace for leading-edge enterprise restaurant technology innovation. Led by Amy Hom, experienced COO and CPO, the Food Tech Council's core mandate is to advise across all decisions pertaining to the product roadmap, order management solutions, and company-wide goals. Each advisory member brings decades of operational knowledge and will deliver unique perspectives across pertinent issues to guide Lunchbox to become the industry's leading enterprise solution provider.

"Joining the Lunchbox Food Tech Council is like stepping into an innovation kitchen, where the recipe for a sustainable future is being crafted," said Amy Hom. "I am looking forward to working with this extraordinary group of experienced council members to support and partner with Nabeel and the talented Lunchbox community."

The Lunchbox Food Tech Council is comprised of 15 industry leaders and 300+ years of combined experience across popular brands, including:

• Amy Hom - Bluestone Lane, REEF technology, Sweetgreen, Red Robin, Wolfgang Puck
• Anand Gala - MOOYAH, Rusty Taco, Dunn Brothers Coffee, Gala Capital Partners
• Atul Sood - Kitchen United, McDonald's, Oventio
• Carin Stutz - McAlister's, Applebee's, Brinker, Kura Sushi and Hawaiian Bros
• David "Rev" Ciancio - Handcraft Burgers & Brew, Branded Hospitality Ventures
• Fred LeFranc - Results Thru Strategy, Engelman's Bakery, Burger King, Ruby's, El
• Torito
• Geoff Alexander - Wow Bao, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants
• Gregg Majewski - Craveworthy Brands, Mongolian Concepts, Jimmy Johns
• Jimmy Frischling - Branded Hospitality Ventures, BOOM, Branded Restaurants, New Oak Capital
• Michael Schatzberg - Branded Hospitality Ventures, BOOM, Branded Restaurants
• Mo Asgari - ByteLeap Software, Milagro Corporation, Conscious Capitalism, MonkeySoft Solutions
• Phil Crawford - CKE Restaurants, Godiva, Shake Shack, Yard House Restaurants
• Robin Robison - Modern Market Eatery, Red Robin, Brinker, Chili's
• Sherif Mityas - BRIX Holdings, TGI Fridays, JAMCO
• Wade Allen - Costa Vida, Milagro Corporation, Ovation, Brinker

"As we scale our innovative offerings, we want the right people in the room to advise us on it all. Lunchbox is committed to solving the gaps in tech solutions to make the operator's life easier and the guest experience optimal," said Lunchbox CEO, Nabeel Alamgir. "We're bringing together the restaurant experts that are demanding more from the tech industry, enabling us to build best-in-class technology solutions to meet the needs of these enterprise operators."

Those interested in learning more about Lunchbox can visit: www.lunchbox.io