News Briefs

Apaleo has announced a major milestone: 1,000 hotels and serviced apartments are now using its open property management platform for hospitality, marking a doubling of locations in just 18 months. 

These properties – spanning 24 different countries worldwide – account for a total of 50,000 rooms. Across the whole portfolio, 60% of the properties are made up of hotels, while 40% are serviced apartments. The platform powers more than 40% of serviced apartments in Germany today, where Apaleo is headquartered.

Apaleo’s client base is made up of forward-thinking hotel groups and tech-enabled hospitality businesses, with customers including staffless serviced apartment operators like Limehome and Numa, distinguished selected-service hotels such as Soho House-designed Mollie’s, Vagabond Club and Lindemann Hotels, and alternative accommodation concepts like Raus (offering outdoor cabins), L’Escale Royale (floating boats), and Tin Inn (shipping containers). This demonstrates the inherent flexibility of the platform, as it can be heavily adapted to suit any hospitality segment.

The driving force behind Apaleo's impressive ascent is its groundbreaking API-first approach to property management, firmly positioning the company at the forefront of the hospitality revolution. Anchored in cutting-edge MACH architecture, Apaleo empowers hospitality businesses with unparalleled speed, reliability, and limitless flexibility to create their preferred property management tech stack, unlocking what it calls ‘composable hospitality’.

The open hospitality platform was also recently selected by global hotel developer, investor and hotel chain citizenM to accelerate its innovation, efficiency and drive its ambitious plans for growth. 

Martin Reichenbach, CEO of Apaleo said: “This is a huge milestone for us and it demonstrates the undeniable advantages of API-led, open hospitality platforms. The increasing adoption we’re seeing for this best-of-breed technology among hotel and serviced apartment brands shows that the legacy, all-in-one approach is slowly dying and that transformative platforms that empower companies to adapt to changing markets, and continuously renew and expand their guest offering, are the future. 

“We’re excited to support forward-thinking hotel and serviced apartment brands as they transition away from legacy property management software systems, and we take great pride in leading the charge in the hospitality revolution."

Domino's Pizza Inc. introduces its new and improved loyalty program. 

Domino's Rewards offers loyalty members even more opportunities to earn and redeem points across its corporate and franchise store locations. Domino's enhanced rewards program allows customers to:

• Earn points for less
  • Loyalty members will now earn 10 points on every order of $5 or more
• Redeem points for even more menu items – and earn free Domino's after just two orders
  • Members can redeem a variety of points for more menu items:
    • 20 points: A free dipping cup, a 16-piece order of Parmesan Bread Bites or a 20 oz. drink
    • 40 points: An order of Bread Twists or Stuffed Cheesy Bread
    • 60 points: A medium, two-topping pizza; pasta; Oven-Baked Sandwich; or a 3-piece order of Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes
• Earn more rewards
  • Loyalty perks are now even better, as members will have exclusive access to member-only deals, special discounts and opportunities to earn bonus points!

"We are thrilled to give the brand's loyal customers additional ways to earn free Domino's items more often," said Mark Messing, Domino's vice president of digital experience and loyalty. "At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino's is doing the opposite. We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster."

Marketing a LTO 

From now until Oct. 22, 2023, rewards members can take advantage of a limited time offer to redeem 20 points for a free order of Domino's new Pepperoni Stuffed Cheesy Bread, which is normally a 40-point redemption, in celebration of the product's recent launch. 

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.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings is doing away with its automated phone answering system. From now on, customers will have a real person at the restaurant taking calls for their orders. 

"Our guests have told us loud and clear that they want to speak with a human when placing orders," said Carl Bachmann, Chief Executive Officer of BurgerFi. "Technology is critical for innovation, but AI for guest service was not providing an exceptional experience for our guests. Becky – our AI – has been removed. It's time for her to go, so we're saying ciao, baby! We want our guests to know we welcome them back – and their calls!"

As the rest of the world moves toward AI, Anthony's, owned by BurgerFi International Inc., is keeping it real and priority is doing what's best for the guest. The company will no longer use an automated answering system and instead will have humans operating their phones. Customers will get to chat with a live person instead of an AI. "Everyone at Anthony's must be serving a guest or someone who is," said Bachmann." It must be a win for the guests, a win for the team members and a win for our stakeholders."

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store  introduces Cracker Barrel Rewards. Members of the unique program can earn Pegs (like points) through restaurant or retail purchases and redeem them for rewards.

Plus, members can enjoy more of what they love from Cracker Barrel with Birthday, Anniversary and Surprise Bonus Rewards, and one-of-a-kind digital experiences just for being a member.

Earn Pegs toward Rewards

The program is inspired by Cracker Barrel's iconic and beloved peg game. Members earn Pegs on qualifying purchases made at all Cracker Barrel locations, on CrackerBarrel.com and in the Cracker Barrel app for every dollar spent, including to-go, delivery, catering and retail merchandise.^* The program is free and easy to join, and members receive a complimentary Barrel Bite appetizer just for signing up. To enroll, guests can visit any Cracker Barrel location nationwide, the Cracker Barrel app or CrackerBarrel.com.

Starting Sept. 25 and through Nov. 6, Tims Credit Card holders can get up to $10 back on transit fares every Monday when they use their card to tap onto a transit system that accepts Metrolinx's Presto contactless payment.

"We're so excited to be partnering with Metrolinx and some of the largest public transit systems in Ontario to give Tims Credit Card holders the opportunity to save money on their transit fares every Monday for a limited time," said Markus Sturm, Senior Vice President of Financial Services and Digital at Tim Hortons.

Loyalty Pays

Fans can apply for the Tims Credit Card through the Tim Hortons app and once approved, immediately can  their card to Apple Pay or Google Pay and be ready to get up to $10 off on transit fares on their Monday commute with this offer.

• 78% of customers want to receive discounts from a restaurant’s or hotel's loyalty program, according to, according to HTs 12^th annual 2023 Customer Engagement Technology Study.

Cardholders can also earn 5 Tims Rewards Points per dollar spent on their transit purchases. Points can be redeemed for more free coffee, beverages and food at Tim Hortons restaurants as a way to help fuel their Monday commutes.