News Briefs

Concord Hospitality, the award-winning hotel management and development company currently operating over 140 hotels across North America, is pleased to announce the promotion of Patti Cameron to Senior Director of Talent Acquisition. Since joining Concord, Cameron has been a cornerstone of the team, showcasing unparalleled dedication in attracting, hiring  and retaining top-tier talent. Her leadership has helped foster a workforce of outstanding caliber, building dynamic, high-performing teams that form the backbone of Concord Hospitality. 

Cameron is a seasoned talent acquisition executive with more than 20 years of experience. She joined Concord in 2019, bringing with her a wealth of expertise from her previous roles in staffing and workforce planning across industries including pharmaceutical manufacturing, consumer products and healthcare.  For the last five and half years, Cameron and her team have achieved an extraordinary milestone: filling nearly every position internally, with only one role ever outsourced. Her strategic vision and leadership have been pivotal in driving the company’s expansion, fostering strong relationships and building high-performing teams that continue to support Concord’s ongoing success.

In her new role, Cameron will lead and manage the recruitment and hiring processes for diverse teams across multiple hotel properties, ensuring the selection of talent to drive performance and exceed sales targets. She will play a critical role in fostering collaboration among departments, including operations, finance and human resources, to ensure seamless alignment with organizational goals. By developing and executing strategic hiring initiatives, she will not only support workforce growth but also contribute to broader business objectives, ensuring every department is equipped to deliver exceptional results. 

“I’m honored and excited to accept this promotion and look forward to continuing to work with our incredible team and business partners to hire the most talented hospitality professionals,” said Patti Cameron, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition. “By advancing Concord’s mission and helping to set the standard for excellence, I’m eager to keep uncovering those ‘needles in the haystack’—individuals whose unique skills and potential set them apart—and to watch them thrive as they take on new challenges and grow in their careers.”

Recognized for her dedication to helping others, Cameron is deeply involved in philanthropic efforts. She is known to coordinate donation drives with Concord hotels and the corporate office to support families in Western North Carolina and is a passionate dog rescue advocate,  Cameron fosters dogs for several Raleigh-based rescues, embodying Concord’s commitment to making a positive difference in the community.

“Every achievement we’ve reached as a company is a direct reflection of the incredible people who make up the fabric of Concord Hospitality,” said Mark Laport, President and CEO of Concord Hospitality. “Patti’s well-deserved promotion is a testament to her unwavering commitment and impact on our success. Her ability to cultivate a culture of connection and innovation has been instrumental in our growth, and we are confident her leadership will continue to drive remarkable accomplishments for our company.”

Tucker’s Farm Corp. has acquired Pizza Factory Inc., a restaurant franchisor. The acquisition was completed via the Farm’s franchisor platform Wonder Franchises. Founded in 1979 by Danny Wheeler and Ron Willey, Pizza Factory has approximately $94 million in system sales across 84 franchisees and 110 restaurants. Since 2012, the business has been led by owner and CEO, Mary Jane Riva, who will stay on as CEO moving forward.

In 2023, Tucker’s Farm launched Wonder, a franchise-focused holding vehicle, with $30 million of committed, long-term equity capital. Wonder is dedicated to partnering with and acquiring emerging to mid-size brands with the goal of long-term growth. Wonder’s priority is to be a great partner to sellers and a responsible steward for world-class brands and related assets.

“We’re extremely excited to be acquiring Pizza Factory and to be partnering with MJ to take Pizza Factory to the next level. We love the longevity and stability of the system, the passion that MJ and her team have for their franchisees, and the community-focused culture of the brand. We feel fortunate to be partnering with someone with as much character and knowledge as MJ and believe there’s a great fit both culturally and in terms of our respective skillsets. We’re excited to have the deal closed so we can now focus on driving value for our franchisees,” said Adam Lewin, a partner on the private equity team at Tucker’s Farm and CEO of Wonder Franchises.

This is the third franchise transaction for Tucker’s Farm in recent months, after portfolio company VIO Med Spa, the nation’s med spa franchisor, was successfully sold to Freeman Spogli in September 2024, and Wonder acquired The Decor Group, the leading holiday decorating franchisor with 245 franchised territories and $75 million in system sales, in November 2024.

Riva received HT's Top Women in Restaurant Technology - Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.  

“I’ve been part of this system for more than 30 years and this company means the world to me. I chose Wonder because I really felt they were the partner that could help improve and grow the system but would do so in a way that took good care of the brand and the franchisees. The Wonder team is smart, young, and energetic – all things that I love – but the thing that really stood out compared to other groups was the way they asked so many questions. They didn’t come in with a ‘we know best’ mindset, they truly wanted to learn about Pizza Factory, understand what’s gotten us this far, and build on what we’re doing. The better I’ve gotten to know their team, the more confident I am that Wonder is the right partner and that the next chapter for Pizza Factory will be a great one.” 

A community staple in 100-plus communities, Pizza Factory has stayed true to its roots with hardworking operators, family-friendly dining and high-quality products, offering fresh, hand-tossed pizza, pasta, wings, sandwiches, salads, beer, wine and more. With multiple restaurant designs, an Express model, and robust off-premise dining options including delivery and mobile ordering through a custom app, Pizza Factory is built to excel in the restaurant industry moving forward.

Grubhub, a leading U.S. food ordering and delivery marketplace, and Olo, a leading restaurant technology provider, have expanded their partnership to integrate Grubhub with Olo Dispatch. With Dispatch, restaurants can outsource delivery for orders generated through their own website and apps leveraging a network of third-party delivery service providers, now including Grubhub. This integration builds on Grubhub and Olo's existing relationship where Grubhub orders are directly sent to restaurants' point-of-sale system via Olo Rails.

Olo Dispatch seamlessly selects service providers, including in-house couriers, based on optimal price, timing, availability, and other criteria. Olo's automated matching technology enables restaurants to get orders out the door and into the hands of customers faster and in the most cost-efficient way. With Dispatch, brands can quickly deploy delivery at a national scale with integration into their POS and kitchen production systems. This allows brands to strengthen direct relationships with their customers while offering a convenient and branded delivery experience through their own channels.

"As demand for digital ordering and delivery grows across third-party and owned channels, we're proud to expand how we support our merchant partners and create more earning opportunities for Grubhub's delivery partners," said Kyle Emmett, senior director of retail media and merchant solutions at Grubhub. "With our nationwide delivery network, we help merchants manage their delivery operations, reduce costs, and better meet customer demands."

"At Olo, we always strive to do what's best for our customers, and adding a great partner like Grubhub to our Dispatch network is a perfect example," said Kacie Gonzalez, vice president of product partnerships at Olo. "Giving restaurant brands more delivery service provider options gives them more flexibility, reliability, and competitive pricing, while allowing them to grow their direct ordering channels and own their guest relationships."

This integration with Olo Dispatch joins Grubhub's On-Demand Delivery and Supplemental Delivery services that help restaurants easily scale up their delivery operations when it's needed most.  

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux, the nationally renowned restaurant and sports bar, will be relaunching its guest engagement platform with Paytronix Loyalty. The new Walk-On’s Rewards loyalty program is being deployed to help the brand support its franchisee community as it seeks to increase growth in the coming years.

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux selected Paytronix as the loyalty program best suited to round out its approach to guest engagement, particularly for its best-in-class platform. Paytronix will support the brand’s inherent belief in Southern hospitality while also growing loyalty sales to double digits across all locations.

Related: 82% of customers want to receive discounts as a benefit of their loyalty program membership, according to HT's 2024 Customer Engagement Technology Study 

“We want to better establish the foundation of our brand through loyalty, and Paytronix is the perfect fit to support our fast-growing franchisee community,” said Mark Foulds, Vice President of Digital Media and Consumer Engagement at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux. “Its rich feature set includes the data-driven measurement and reporting necessary to give our franchisees greater visibility into how our loyalty program is performing. It’s a one-stop shop for SMS push and pull marketing campaigns.”

Designed to scale to the needs of the brand, the Paytronix loyalty program will enable Walk-On’s franchisees to capture guest data, make data-driven decisions and optimize their programs using real-time ROI analysis and reports. All while delivering the rewards and experiences that lead to more visits, higher spend per visit, and an increase in the value of each customer.

“Our franchisees are asking for a loyalty platform with more personalization that will help them build deeper relationships with their guests,” said Mike Lester, CEO of Walking Tall Brands and a member of the Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Franchise Advisory Council. “Through enabling greater personalization via segmentation, targeting, and offers based on guest transactions, Paytronix Loyalty will provide both convenience and access to the data and information necessary to learn what our guest journey is and how to increase their visit frequency.”

“Paytronix is incredibly pleased to play a key role in Walk On’s growth plans,” said Paytronix Chief Customer Officer, Andrea Mulligan. “We’ll be working closely with their franchisees and marketers to get the best of their loyalty program. Walk On’s is a highly respected institution in the South, and the greater hospitality industry. We look forward to collaborating and finding new ways to leverage their belief in Southern hospitality to create value for their customers and new growth opportunities for their franchisees.”

Guestline, an Access Company, released figures highlighting the benefits of online bookings and check-ins to help meet guest demand. The data indicates Guestline's GuestStay self-service technology to be a revenue generator for hoteliers with 2.4 million self-service travelers checking in and purchasing additional services.

Guest self-service has also given hotel teams back 6,000 hours of labor time and, together with Guestline's Direct Booking Manager, captures first party data for hotels to improve their communications with guests.

In 2024, Guestline recorded a staggering 2.3 million online check-ins completed via GuestStay. An additional 120,000 self service check-ins through on-property kiosks generated incremental revenue of 2.6%  as guests purchased additional services such as breakfast - increasing hotel revenue beyond the room booking.

The impact of GuestStay technology and kiosks also benefits the hotel's team. 72,000 guests opted for autonomous checkouts receiving automated invoices without staff intervention. Each digital interaction not only boosted staff efficiency but also elevated guest satisfaction by eliminating traditional bottlenecks especially at peak times.

Eric Neumann, Managing Director of Classik Hotels Berlin, "Guestline has helped us gain more time. I have more time for my team, and my team has more time to offer our guests excellent service and an enjoyable stay – and that's the most important thing."

In addition, GuestStay’s digital registration cards captured 800,000 personal email addresses directly for hotels, converting third-party bookings into valuable first-party data. This provides hotels with valuable data to build stronger guest relationships and drive loyalty through targeted communications.

The Direct Booking Manager (DBM) booking engine secured 1.2 million bookings in 12 months, from 2023 - 2024, with 6.7% facilitated through seamless integration with Google Connector, further optimizing revenue streams for hoteliers.

These figures highlight how adopting self-service touchpoints not only improves the guest experience through convenience but also assists operational efficiencies. By automating routine tasks to eradicate the zombie culture and creating new revenue opportunities, hotels can refocus their efforts on creating memorable guest experiences.

“With almost 50% of travelers preferring to use tech rather than the reception desk and guest expectations on the rise self-service technology is no longer a luxury but a necessity for forward-thinking hotels,” said Chris Jones, Senior Product Manager, Guestline. “By integrating digital tools like GuestStay and Direct Booking Manager properties can improve guest engagement, reduce reliance on manual processes freeing up time to provide a better guest experience and drive meaningful growth.”