News Briefs

This month chief engineers representing 56 hotels owned and operated by Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) met for the first time at the company’s inaugural Engineering Conference in St. Augustine, Fla. Spearheaded by VP of Engineering Jamison Conrey, the event provided critical education on the role today’s engineers are playing and how their performance is impacting operations, guest satisfaction, and the bottom line. The conference also provided a forum for chiefs to share best practices, receive policy and procedure updates, meet collaborative suppliers, and recognize top performers based on their engagement with HVMG’s exclusive asset management and service optimization solution, OpsTechPro.

“Housekeeping may be the heart of the hotel, but engineering is the backbone,” Conrey said. “For guests to have frictionless stays, all furnishings, fixtures and equipment must be routinely maintained, otherwise they will deteriorate, along with stay experiences, online reviews, and guest satisfaction scores. 

“Having had the opportunity to attend an engineering conference in the past, I felt it was important to create an event where our chiefs can meet face to face, pose questions, share ideas, and brainstorm ways to improve efficiency,” he said. “Engineers should not be siloed. The role they play and the tasks they perform – from interior/exterior beautification and pool maintenance to equipment repairs and guestroom upkeep – are integral to the overall success of our company.”

Protecting Owners’ Investments 

One way that HVMG is supporting its engineers and protecting owners’ investments is with technology. The OpsTechPro asset-management system streamlines operations by automating and tracking the entire interactions cycle. This includes guest requests, workflow communication, front-desk management, lost and found, room inspections and deep cleaning projects, vehicle management, water intrusion and safety management, inclement weather prep, contracts/permits/license management and more. There are modules for onboarding and training, corporate analytics (performance overview portfolio-wide in a single report), and corporate level reporting (by property ranking).

While preventive maintenance was the initial focus of HVMG when it first partnered with OpsTechPro in 2020, Conrey said he quickly came up with different use cases for the technology. In addition to creating a checklist of daily tasks for maintaining mandatory safety protocols during COVID-19, OpsTechPro created similar worksheets for managing capital expenditures, transitioning from one flag to another, and buying/building new hotels. Before long, the IT department also began using the platform for hardware, software, and networking tickets. Most recently, safety programs, insurance procedures, and risk management practices were implemented. 

“This asset management and service-optimization platform is vital to our operations,” Conrey said. “All 56 hotels in our portfolio are using it, and those with the best performance record were recognized at this event.”

HVMG Engineering Awards

The HVMG leadership team, along with Jay Visnjic, Founder and President of OpsTechPro, presented the following Engineering Awards:

• “Full-Service Hotel of the Year” — the Embassy Suites, St. Augustine.

• “Full-Service Chief of the Year” — Csaba Tari, Delta Daytona Beach

• “Select-Service Hotel of the Year” ­— Springhill Suites, Orange Beach

• “Select-Service Chief of the Year” — Gerardo Caledron, Homewood Suites Cathedral City

“We are honored to be HVMG’s exclusive technology partner for all things engineering,” Visnjic said. “OpsTechPro does far more than just provide digital checklists to engineers; we provide financial benefits with a sizeable return on owners’ investments. Unfortunately, a lot of hotels are still managing engineering tasks with pen and paper. If they don’t automate soon, the physical and financial risks can be catastrophic. 

“As technology and AI continue to build momentum across the hospitality industry, OpsTechPro will continue to innovate to meet our customers’ demands,” he said. “I commend Jamison on his vision for this much-needed conference — there should be more like it — and thank HVMG for their continued support as we work collectively to amplify guest happiness, supercharge team efficiency, slash costs, and streamline communications between departments. The end result will be pristine rooms and amenities, happier teams, and lowered equipment costs system wide.”

To date, more than 1,000 properties representing 150,000 guestrooms are using OpsTechPro, with a significant revenue savings increase annually in front desk labor savings, a decrease in guest complaints and rooms comps, plus a 30% increase in the lifespan of the asset.

Mark Shambura has joined Panera Bread as Chief Marketing Officer. Shambura will lead all aspects of marketing at Panera, including Brand Building, Digital & Loyalty, Product Strategy & Consumer Insights. An accomplished marketing leader with broad expertise in the restaurant industry, Mr. Shambura has previously held marketing leadership roles during pivotal growth periods for top brands including Chipotle, MOD Pizza, and most recently Papa Johns.

"Mark brings an impressive background building brands and leading marketing teams for fast-casual restaurants, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to Panera Bread,” said José Alberto Dueñas, Chief Executive Officer. “As Panera continues to evolve our brand, guided by listening to our guests, Mark’s depth of experience and ability will help drive our growth as a brand that serves great food you feel good about eating.”

Shambura previously served as CMO at Papa Johns, where he led a revitalization of the brand by enhancing its iconic “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza” platform, and developing a more modern, innovative omnichannel approach to transform how Papa Johns appealed to both new and loyal consumers. As Executive Director at Chipotle, Mr. Shambura guided the marketing function through periods of both sustained growth and transition, providing leadership over brand strategy, advertising, digital, social, events/sponsorships, promotions, and field marketing, including playing a key role in spearheading its “Real Ingredients” brand strategy.

“I’m proud to join the Panera Bread team and excited to build on the momentum of the brand's transformation as it continues to evolve in service of our guests,” Mr. Shambura said. “Panera propelled and cemented its position at the top of the fast casual restaurant segment through its promise of high-quality ingredients and freshly prepared food, and I’m thrilled to join a highly talented team to help shape its next chapter.”

Prior to his tenure in the restaurant industry, Mr. Shambura gained extensive marketing agency experience, working with a broad array of top global consumer brands for over a decade. Shambura will report directly to José Alberto Dueñas, Chief Executive Officer, and officially assumed the role of Chief Marketing Officer on July 29, 2024.

PolyAI, a pioneer in voice AI solutions for customer experience and service, announced a partnership with OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, expanding PolyAI's guest-led voice assistants to enterprise restaurants. Locations that opt in will be able to take reservations over the phone, answer questions, gain visibility in customer trends, and deliver on-brand experiences - all while alleviating staff time and resources.

This alliance delivers PolyAI's lifelike voice AI to help restaurants tackle challenges around staffing and provide consistent hospitality, even off premise. In a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, 62% of operators said their restaurants did not have enough employees to support existing demand. With onsite staff focused on in-house patrons, restaurant groups routinely miss between 30-60% of phone calls to their front of house (per PolyAI customer data) – meaning missed revenue opportunities and equally valuable customer touch points.

Never miss another call

With this strategic partnership, OpenTable's global network of restaurants will be able to integrate PolyAI voice assistants, built using generative AI and spoken language technologies, to assist their diners in seamlessly booking and managing reservations over the phone, during and outside of operating hours.

"We know how tightly restaurants manage their guest experience and this can be even more complex for our partners doing business at scale," said Susan Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenTable. "We have, and continue to invest in, technology that pushes boundaries and enhances hospitality and our integration with PolyAI is a new way we can drive efficiencies for our restaurants, and diners."

For larger operators, this partnership enables numerous iterations of voice assistants to cater to the unique needs of multi-location and multi-brand portfolios, while providing PolyAI's proven enterprise-grade assurances around availability, security and data protection.

"We have extensive experience deploying voice assistants to hundreds of locations for some of the largest restaurant groups in the world, helping operators resolve up to 70% of calls over the phone without the need for additional staff," said Michael Chen, VP of Strategic Alliances at PolyAI. "This strong connection with the restaurant industry started right from the earliest days of PolyAI. We're thrilled to deepen that further and work with OpenTable to help even more restaurant operators attract more diners, streamline operations and maximize revenue."

Popular fondue restaurant group among the first to dip in

North America-based fondue restaurant Melting Pot is an early adopter in leveraging this partnership. With PolyAI voice assistants rolling out to locations in Indiana, New Jersey and New York and many other restaurants in the implementation stage, the appeal of quick scale is evident. "Locations can go live with a branded, pre-trained voice assistant in as few as three weeks, which for our restaurants, means less time working on technology and more time taking care of our guests." says Randy Barnett, VP of Innovative Technology Systems & Data at Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.

Smart automation that puts the guest first and keeps the staff attentive to onsite diners is crucial for Barnett: "Anyone who's dined at a Melting Pot knows it's an immersive experience, and by integrating this technology our teams can spend more time delivering the Perfect Night Out to our guests. Having PolyAI's voice assistant answer our guest calls not only offers immediate attention and resolution to those offsite guests preparing for their meal with us, it also preserves that intimate, social environment we provide for our in-house guests and team members."

Barnett reports the voice assistant is popular with Melting Pot team members and guests alike, and that the ability to fully book, change or cancel a reservation through an integration with OpenTable has been seamless. Barnett anticipates wider spread adoption of the platform in the coming weeks and months among Melting Pot's 90+ locations.

The journey starts at the Integration Marketplace

OpenTable restaurants will be able to request an integration with PolyAI via its Integration Marketplace, which powers 150+ integrations among the most widely used restaurant software. Beyond managing reservations over the phone, PolyAI's guest-led voice assistants also offer operators a powerful new channel for implementing consistent brand experiences that can deliver greater personalization, more proactive revenue and upsell as well as offer new ways of collecting diner feedback and tracking customer satisfaction.

Restaurant Tipping Trends

•  In 2024, 38% of consumers say they tip restaurant servers 20% or more. This is down from 42% of consumers last year and 56% in 2021.
• In 2024, 19% of consumers say they tip restaurant delivery drivers 20% or more. This is down from 26% of consumers last year and 38% in 2021.  
• The number of consumers tipping restaurant staff 10% or less jumped 10 percentage points over last year:
  • 30% of consumers tip restaurant servers 10% or less, up from 19% of consumers last year.
  •  42% of consumers tip restaurant drivers 10% or less, up from 32% of consumers last year.

Mews, a hospitality cloud, announced $100 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners, the subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and a strategic credit and financing partner focused on the enterprise software, data and technology markets.

As cloud adoption accelerates across the $15.5 trillion global travel and tourism industry, the new financing will expedite Mews’ growth and strengthen its M&A program to further establish the company as a market leader. The company’s investment and corporate development arm, Mews Ventures, has acquired nine hospitality companies to date, and will continue to invest in technology and teams to accelerate technological transformation across the hospitality industry.

“Hospitality at its core is a human industry, and we are relentlessly focused on driving cloud technology which empowers staff to disconnect from their screens and focus on their guests. We have a huge opportunity to support the world’s most revolutionary hospitality brands to accelerate their digital transformation,” Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, commented. “Receiving financing from an experienced enterprise software investor, like Vista Credit Partners, enables us to expedite our efforts. By investing in both our organic and inorganic growth, we will completely reshape the way hospitality is delivered.”

Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews, commented, “The market is ripe for consolidation. Having successfully acquired nine companies to date, the funds from Vista Credit Partners further progress our position to continue investing in M&A via our investment and corporate development arm, Mews Ventures.”

Over the past year, Mews has demonstrated significant momentum and continued growth. Milestones include:

• A valuation crossing $1 billion
• Expanding its customer base to serve over 5,500 customers in 85 countries, including Strawberry, The Social Hub and Airelles Collection
• Increasing customers in North America by 250% in the last 12 months
• Surpassing 75,000 hospitality staff platform users worldwide
• 54% growth in gross payment volume to over $8 billion year-to-date¹

Mews has also continued to add innovative product functionalities, from its AI-driven smart search to provide users with a context-rich intelligent assistant, to its next-generation Mews Kiosk solution which has seen hotels cut check-in times by a third.

Amy Mathews, Managing Director at Vista Credit Partners, added, “As an integral property management system for hospitality brands worldwide, the Mews cloud platform helps to automate core operational, business and payments processes while empowering staff to provide the best possible guest experiences. We are pleased to provide Mews with a flexible capital solution specifically tailored to its ambitious growth plans as the team drives transformation across the rapidly digitizing global hospitality sector.”