News Briefs

Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has been credited with enhancing the quality of in-room entertainment experiences at The Ashbrooke Hotel with the deployment of its GuestCast streaming solution. A luxury property located in Wisconsin that specializes in serving as an adults only retreat, The Ashbrooke Hotel with GuestCast is now able to ensure that visiting guests can seamlessly align content with their unique TV-viewing interests.

As a location catering predominantly to couples and those seeking a break from daily schedules, The Ashbrooke Hotel offers an enticing array of amenities and services designed to guarantee total relaxation and peace of mind. Many of its rooms and suites feature two-person whirlpools and gas-burning fireplaces, while those wishing to enjoy the area’s scenic and cultural surroundings can venture over to the property’s spacious outdoor sundeck or outdoor fire pit. The Ashbrooke Hotel’s decision to adopt GuestCast ultimately comes from the property’s goal to ensure maximum enjoyment while staying a step ahead of the latest trends and expectations.

As the industry’s leading content streaming solution purposely designed for hotel guestroom environments, GuestCast notably guarantees an easy, secure, and instantly personalized in-room entertainment experience regardless of a guest’s familiarity with technology. Unlike competing casting solutions that often feature a complex and time-consuming device registration process, GuestCast ensures that the property’s guests can effortlessly access their own streaming subscriptions as easily as scanning a QR code. Additionally and in contrast to smart TVs, GuestCast sidesteps the need for guests to share sensitive login information which can reduce confidence and deter many from utilizing a guestroom television to view personalized content. Taking guest privacy and security a step further, GuestCast also features advanced device isolation abilities to prevent content from being accidentally or maliciously streamed to televisions located in other guestrooms.

“Regardless of whether they are visiting for a romantic getaway or for a relaxing change of pace, our guests undoubtedly prefer to be able to interact with an in-room entertainment experience that mirrors the instant personalization and ease-of-use that they are accustomed to on a daily basis when at home,” said Fred Anderson, Owner of The Ashbrooke Hotel. “With its compatibility with thousands of mobile streaming apps as well as an interface that’s as secure as it is user-friendly, GuestCast was the clear choice in adopting a streaming platform capable of accommodating the highest service quality expectations.”    

To ensure consistent industry-leading performance, GuestCast is also equipped with an innovative Analytics Dashboard. This feature importantly provides hotel staff with the ability to monitor individual GuestCast device health in real-time, ensuring that any suddenly arising issue is identified and addressed before guest satisfaction rates begin to decline. GuestCast’s Analytics Dashboard can even be used to analyze WiFi signal strength for each guestroom where the solution is deployed, providing hotels with a crucial opportunity to maintain an internet access experience that always represents high-speed and reliable online connectivity.

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. 

Legion Technologies, an innovator in workforce management (WFM), announced the integration of its award-winning Legion WFM platform with SAP SuccessFactors solutions, allowing companies with hourly workers to simplify their employee lifecycle management. Now available on SAP Store, Legion WFM provides companies in labor-intensive industries such as retail and hospitality with the ability to maximize labor efficiency and employee engagement simultaneously with intelligent, automated, employee-centric workforce management.

• Strategic Insight: Get instant insights into employee engagement, manager productivity, labor optimization, and compliance trends.
• Automated Labor Budgeting: Combine accurate long-term demand forecasts with your detailed labor model and scheduling rules to create precise labor budgets.
• Demand Forecasting: Precisely predict demand across all customer touchpoints every 15 minutes.
• Labor Optimization: Empower managers with staffing guidance and labor insights to generate the optimal labor plan.
• Automated Scheduling: Create optimal schedules that match business needs with employee preferences and skills.
• Automated Time and Attendance: Automate timesheet approvals, corrections, and premium calculations.
• Frontline Communication: Unlock the power of digital communication to dramatically improve the experience of frontline hourly workers.
• Instant Wage Access: Support financial well-being and increase retention with access to earned wages in the same app employees use every day—without IT resources.
• Performance and Rewards: Engage and motivate hourly employees with instant feedback and recognition to help them grow and feel valued.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 in Las Vegas, Vox AI's advanced machine learning technology  for  the drive-thru is making its debut. 

The W Barcelona hotel, situated on the famous Barceloneta Boardwalk, recently partnered with IRIS, the leading provider of digital F&B and guest experience platforms, to offer a broader digital ordering experience resulting in a boost in revenue and efficiencies. 

It selected both its mobile dining solution to deliver an in-room dining service and a world of culinary delights direct to its guest’s doors, in addition to its digital guest directory solution to provide all guests with direct access to hotel and local area information, whilst at the same time maximising revenue and profits. 

The luxury hotel, which is popular with both residential and day guests, has reported significant results since implementation. Most notably, a 60% increase in average guest spend across all operations via mobile dining compared to traditional dining. More specifically, since deploying digital dining, 35% of all F&B room service orders are now placed digitally, accounting for nearly half (46%) of all revenue.  

Commenting on the results following installation, Martin Daniel Voštiar, B&F Coordinator, W Barcelona said, “Guests appreciate the ease and efficiency of serving themselves and enjoy the convenience of being able to access information wherever they are, in their own time – they are fully in control of their experience.

“The IRIS app is a convenient and holistic tool that ensures guests have all the information at their disposal and the ordering and booking process is as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Remarkably intuitive, it boasts a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate and manage. Considering the increase in guest spending through online orders, it’s undeniably delivering a substantial return on our investment. 

Operationally, the team has reported significant improvements in efficiencies and guest service management. In-room dining has reduced the workload for its “Whatever/Whenever” team who previously took all room service orders over the phone. They now have more time available to focus on other aspects of their role and enhance guest service, particularly during peak times when phone lines are congested, eliminating the need for guests to wait on hold to place an order. It has also assisted the In-room dining team, allowing them to concentrate solely on preparing and delivering orders more efficiently. 

Alongside mobile dining and ordering, the digital guest directory means guests can easily access information on the hotel facilities, fitness classes, special events and what’s on in the local area. Additionally, guests can download a range of newspapers and magazines, book appointments at the Spa, barber and Tattoo Studio, and view information on the hotel’s services and sustainability policies. A wealth of information is clearly visible and accessible in the palm of the guest’s hand, wherever they are in the property or local area. 

From a guest perspective, they have found it simple and easy to use, and have been swift to adopt the simplicity of self-service ordering from the comfort of their own device, particularly during peak times when staff are busy. 

The hotel has invested heavily in promoting the app (accessible via QR codes) at check-in to ensure guests are provided with complete and accurate information on its facilities and services in the most convenient way possible.  

Offering a more cost-effective, sustainable alternative to traditional paper menus and directories, the hotel team can simply edit and add information online as and when required without the costly and inconvenient job of re-printing and replacing material in all 473 bedrooms. Likewise, they can amend and keep menus and opening hours up to date to ensure the app is always accurate with correct information at no extra cost. Multi-lingual, it delivers a consistent experience for guests, regardless of their nationality and reduced guest wait times with a direct integration to the Micros POS.  

Voštiar continues, “Following its success we are now planning to extend digital dining in 2024 to our Salt Beach Club. Guests will be able to access digital menus via QR codes printed on the sun beds. They will be able to place their order, have a dip in the sea and return to their lounger with their order waiting for them and we look forward to fulfilling this enhanced guest experience next year.”