News Briefs

Enso Connect, a digital guest experience platform for short-term rental professionals, announced a strategic partnership with Extenteam, a premier staffing agency serving the vacation rental industry. The collaboration introduces "EnsoAssist," a unique solution that combines Enso Connect's advanced automation and AI-powered unified inbox with Extenteam's professional hospitality dedicated team members.

Through this partnership, Enso Connect customers can now have easy access to round-the-clock assistance for their guests. The combination of Enso Connect and Extenteam partnership gives you the automation and human touch element that every business needs. Guest services specialists will be able to respond to inquiries from Airbnb guests, as well as guests from other OTAs and direct bookings, through email, SMS, and WhatsApp messages using the Enso Connect platform.

The services include handling booking inquiries, early check-in and late check-out requests, and addressing any other questions guests may have throughout their stay.

"This collaboration unites two industry leaders—one in global talent and the other in guest experience technology. It enables hospitality professionals to scale without the need for extensive human resources infrastructure or the expense of hiring full-time local employees," said Francois Gouelo, Cofounder and CEO of Enso Connect. "It allows Extenteam to use Enso Connect's AI-powered unified inbox technology to give short-term rental managers best-in-class guest services support around the clock."

"We are thrilled to partner with Enso Connect to offer this unique service to the short-term rental industry," said Ari Eryorulmaz, CEO of Extenteam. "By combining our expertise in hospitality support with Enso Connect's innovative technology, we can provide a comprehensive solution that allows hospitality professionals to focus on their core business while ensuring their guests receive exceptional service."

With EnsoAssist, scaling hospitality professionals can focus on business operations and growth. Meanwhile, the EnsoAssist team manages guest communications and resolves issues before, during, and after their stay.

Existing Enso Connect customers can reach out to request the EnsoAssist pricing options and get set up with 24/7 guest services support directly through their Enso Connect platform.

InnSpire, a provider of innovative hospitality technology solutions that help drive seamless, world-class guest experiences for some of the world’s most iconic hotels and brands, announces the global rollout of its transformative InnSpire.ONE AI platform, which is reshaping the landscape of luxury hotels worldwide. InnSpire.ONE AI represents a monumental leap forward in hotel operations, offering an integrated ecosystem that enhances communication, delivers personalized guest interactions, optimizes task management and facilitates executive decision-making.

"InnSpire.ONE AI marks a pivotal moment in the hospitality industry," said Martin Chevalley, InnSpire’s CEO and Co-founder. "This platform empowers hotels to elevate service standards, maximize efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge in today's rapidly evolving market."

The key features and benefits of the InnSpire.ONE solution include:

Personalized Guest Engagement: Leveraging AI-powered chat, InnSpire.ONE intelligently curates real-time replies in the brand tone and language, enhancing guest interactions by promptly addressing inquiries, offering personalized recommendations and proactively anticipating guest needs. This not only enhances the guest experience but also cultivates loyalty and elevates the brand experience.

Transformative Staff Communication: InnSpire.ONE AI fosters seamless communication among hotel staff, breaking down barriers and streamlining workflows. Through user-friendly interfaces and intelligent algorithms, staff members collaborate efficiently, boosting productivity and enhancing guest satisfaction.

Effortless Task Management and Efficiency: With InnSpire.ONE AI, task management becomes frictionless. The platform intelligently assigns and prioritizes tasks, while providing real-time progress tracking. This ensures meticulous attention to detail, enabling staff to efficiently deliver exceptional guest service and communication.

Strategic Insights Hub for Executives: InnSpire.ONE AI serves as an indispensable hub for strategic insights at the executive level. By consolidating data from diverse sources and leveraging advanced analytics, executives gain valuable insights into operational performance, guest preferences and market trends. Armed with this information, they can make informed decisions to drive profitability and enhanced competitive position.

"InnSpire.ONE AI allows hotels to harness the power of data and analytics, ultimately driving revenue growth," added Chevalley.

Since its initial launch at HITEC 2023 in Toronto, InnSpire.ONE AI has been successfully deployed at The Don CeSar, an iconic resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, and is currently being implemented at a number of hotels across nearly every continent, showcasing its global relevance and impact for guests, staff and management. Through its innovative features and intuitive interface, InnSpire.ONE AI is reshaping the hospitality landscape, allowing these luxury hotels to elevate service standards, optimize efficiency, and remain ahead in an ever-evolving industry.

Parker Harvey, Room Division Director at The Don CeSar Resort, said, "At The Don CeSar Resort, our guests are at the heart of everything we do. With InnSpire.ONE AI, we're able to enhance our guest chat experience in ways never thought possible. From seamless communication to personalized attention, this innovative platform allows us to exceed guest expectations, ensuring each stay is unforgettable. InnSpire.ONE AI isn't just a tool; it's our secret to delivering unparalleled hospitality."  

For a deeper insight into InnSpire's comprehensive guest journey platform, which includes InnSpire.ONE AI solutions, mobile check-in, mobile key, casting, connected guestroom TV, entertainment solutions and more, please explore www.innspire.com.

DerbySoft, an innovative global technology company that connects suppliers with distributors and offers a variety of solutions for the hospitality and travel industries, announced today it has acquired PKFARE, a global leading travel trade marketplace. This milestone transaction brings together two industry leaders, enhancing capabilities and offerings to serve the evolving needs of the travel industry.

PKFARE's reputation perfectly complements DerbySoft's commitment to innovation and excellence. Focusing on breaking down barriers in the B2B travel distribution landscape, PKFARE brings expertise in seamless fulfillment and post-sales services designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.

"DerbySoft is focused on anticipating market needs and empowering our clients with a competitive edge by continually innovating and providing bespoke solutions that address their unique and complex needs," said Ted Zhang, CEO and Co-Founder of DerbySoft. "Adding PKFARE into our platform aligns seamlessly with our goal of accelerating travel commerce." 

While the specifics of the transaction remain undisclosed, this venture aligns with DerbySoft's mission of simplifying the travel business. PKFARE has an extensive global footprint, with approximately 60% of its business from North America, Europe, and the Middle East, and 40% from Asia Pacific.

"This venture represents a strategic step forward in our commitment to innovation and value creation in the travel distribution space," said Jason Song, President and Founder of PKFARE. "By providing our partners with more technological innovation, better services, and ultimately increased value, this partnership will help us deepen our collaboration and offer our customers even more flexibility in the booking process."

DerbySoft and PKFARE will optimize their joint operations by sharing selected corporate functions and technology resources while upholding independent business operations. This collaboration leverages their collective technological expertise to drive innovation and enhance offerings. Customers of both companies will experience seamless service continuity, underlining their commitment to customer satisfaction and robust data security.

LG Business Solutions USA is breaking new ground for the hospitality industry at the 2024 VRMA Spring Forum with the introduction of the brand-new “Pro:Centric Stay™” TV management platform. Believed to be the world’s first all-in-one customizable television platform for the short-term rental industry, this cutting-edge technology will offer a variety of unique benefits and innovative solutions to elevate the guest experience, strengthen brand recognition and guest loyalty, streamline operations and increase profitability.

According to LG Business Solutions USA Senior Vice President Michael Kosla, LG hospitality TVs with Pro:Centric Stay will be the first and only commercial grade solution that allows property managers, hosts and owners to create seamless guest experiences at any vacation home or short-term rental property in the United States.

“LG’s Pro:Centric Stay will present an opportunity for property managers to provide branded welcome messages, create a customized digital guidebook, and offer their guests access to local TV stations and streaming services,” said Kosla.

Welcome screens can be customized with guest names, images and videos and include convenient on-screen buttons to quickly launch popular streaming apps. The digital guidebook can provide essential stay information including property guidelines and safety information, onsite amenities, local area information including dining options, local activities, events and sightseeing. Property managers can also promote services including late check-outs, extended stays, mid-stay housekeeping and re-bookings on the Pro:Centric Stay platform.

A unique innovation of the new LG Pro:Centric Stay platform is the ability to integrate with the management company’s Property Management Software (PMS) enabling the Credentials Clear capability, which automatically logs out of all apps and erases all personal information upon checkout so guests don’t have to manually log out before departing. It also simplifies management by centralizing control of the TVs to give managers instant troubleshooting capabilities and the ability to deploy content changes to single or multiple properties. 

“What LG has created is long overdue and allows the vacation rental industry to provide hotel-type in-room guest experiences for the first time in a comprehensive and seamless fashion,” said Lino Maldonado, President of BeHome247 Technologies, a leading PMS vendor supported by LG Pro:Centric Stay. The platform will also support other leading PMS vendors at launch.

“LG rose to be a leading provider of hospitality TVs by innovating in-demand features and delivering flexible options to suit any need, which continues with the launch of our new Pro:Centric Stay models that deliver enhanced experiences and simple operations for guests,” Kosla added.  “The benefits do not end with the guest; Pro:Centric Stay will also boost operational efficiency for managers by enabling the remote management of operation, usage status, and provided service items for all TVs across multiple properties.”

The new Pro:Centric Stay platform will be available on LG Hospitality Smart TV models [with webOS™ 23] in screen sizes ranging from 43 to 75-inches diagonal.

Powered by insights from more than 100,000 restaurant locations, Toast’s new Restaurant Management Suite provides enterprise brands with the data and insights, control and support, and integrations they need to better manage their businesses.

With innovations like Benchmarking and improved tools like Multi-Location Management and Menu Manager and Publishing Center, Restaurant Management Suite is designed to help restaurants of any size, especially multi-unit brands, perform at their best and grow.

Advanced Restaurant Analytics

According to a recent Toast survey, top challenges for operators include the administrative aspects of the restaurant business, including managing multiple service channels and locations, and interpreting guest data.  With Advanced Restaurant Analytics, restaurant brands can provide their teams with detailed data and insights to know what’s happening across their locations — and why — to make better business decisions

• 85% say integrations with other systems is driving POS purchasing decisions, according to HT's 2024 POS Software Trends Survey

Coming soon: Benchmarking tool that will enable leaders to compare restaurant and menu category performance against aggregated data from Toast restaurants categorized and analyzed leveraging an AI-based classification tool. 

• Improved Multi-Location Reporting empowers restaurant leaders to see their entire business at a glance, segment locations, and compare them using an expanded list of key performance metrics.
• The Menu Manager and Publishing Center feature enables teams to effectively manage their menus across locations, including scheduling menu items and price changes for the future, allowing managers to react quickly to changing guest needs and operational costs. Multi-Location Management allows restaurants to efficiently manage and standardize configurations and settings across large location footprints. Enhanced settings management will make it easier to copy virtually any aspect of restaurant configuration across multiple locations.

“With hundreds of locations across multiple geographies, brands like ours need the ability to reduce complexity and manage our operations at scale,” said Adam Kinsinger, Director of Technology at WaBa Grill, an over 190 locations fast-casual brand. “Toast’s consistent investment in enterprise-grade Multi-Location Management and Menu Management tools has made it easier for our teams to drive operational consistency, make settings and menu changes quickly, and reduce administrative workload. Whenever our IT or operations teams can more easily copy a setting or make menu changes across our footprint, it frees them up to focus on other tasks and building for the future.”

Additionally, Toast’s Restaurant Management Suite empowers brands to better manage their business with:

• Partner Integrations + Toast API access: Operators can seamlessly share data between Toast and widely used third-party tools via easy-to-use integrations with 200+ partners. Toast Application Programming Interface (API) access enables brands to share data between Toast and custom apps. Toast APIs also empower brands to build robust custom apps. 
   
• E2EE + P2PE payment security solutions: The Toast platform and all devices provide End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) to enable a high degree of payment security for enterprise brands and their guests. Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) security solutions are also available to meet their security requirements if needed. 
• Enterprise Toast Care: Fully included ongoing support specifically designed for the more complex configurations, tech stacks, and scale of enterprise brands. Enterprise care agents have deep knowledge of the specific configurations, settings, and integrations used by the brands they cover to help resolve issues faster. Enterprise care agents are equipped to support issues that arise with more complex tech stacks.
• Coming soon: Benchmarking tool that will enable leaders to compare restaurant and menu category performance against aggregated data from Toast restaurants categorized and analyzed leveraging an AI-based classification tool. 

Restaurant Management Suite functionality is available to restaurants of all sizes and types in tiered offerings to meet the unique needs of different customers, from small and medium-sized restaurants to enterprise brands.

 Jack in the Box  Inc. is modernizing all of its Jack in the Box and Del Taco restaurants using Qu’s unified commerce platform. The visionary brand that introduced the two-way intercom at the drive-thru in 1951 is bolstering its innovation roots by partnering with Qu as the foundation for Jack in the Box’s digital-focused store of the future.  

Jack in the Box will leverage Qu’s enterprise cloud platform to fuel multi-brand, omni-channel ordering and kitchen fulfillment, enabling the iconic restaurant brand to execute on its digital transformation roadmap and achieve its goal of 20 percent digital sales by 2026.

Digital Expansion Strategy

 “We’re building for growth,” said Doug Cook, SVP and CTO of Jack in the Box, Inc. “Investing in this technology is key to our expansion strategy, increasing connections across ordering channels, geographies, and brands. Our partnership with Qu is the technology foundation we needed to deliver on our digital channel goals, drive automation, and increase efficiency.”

Everything from food lockers, automation, digital menu boards, and AI-enabled voice ordering to kiosks and personalized in-store ordering can be realized with Qu’s cloud-native POS and open architecture. New capabilities and features will be available quickly due to Qu’s frequent software releases and API-friendly approach.

“We weren’t looking for just a POS system. We were looking for a stable platform we could build on for years to come. Our digital roadmap includes constant innovation and multiple upgrades, but none of it is achievable without Qu’s commerce platform. I can’t think of anything we want to do in the next five years that doesn’t revolve around this platform,” said Cook. 

Speed, scale, and multi-brand support were key platform requirements. Although the separate brands have different guest experiences, they have shared technology initiatives. Qu natively supports multi-brand portfolios with one common architecture, menu structure, dataset, reporting, and API infrastructure—from one pane of glass.

With only 15-20 percent of Jack in the Box orders coming from inside the store, Qu’s unique Commerce Cloud plays a pivotal role in managing a high-volume drive-thru business. The triple redundancy of a replicated in-store platform, powered by the industry’s first in-store cloud, keeps stores up and running through internet or public cloud outages. Qu’s integrated kitchen display system (KDS) allows Jack in the Box to increase speed, throughput, and order accuracy across channels.

Franchisees will benefit from Qu by gaining more control and flexibility with an integrated system and access to Notify, Qu’s real-time mobile reporting app. Notify surfaces sales, labor, product, and store-level data using AI and machine-learning for busy managers on the go. The predictive analytics and forecasting capabilities of Notify help franchisees efficiently manage their operations and labor based on demand peaks and valleys.