News Briefs

Jack in the Box Inc. announced a strategic leadership restructure as Tony Darden, SVP, Chief Operating Officer, will depart from his role. Darden has been a valued member of the Jack in the Box executive team since June 2021.

“It has been an incredible privilege to work alongside such talented colleagues and franchisees at Jack in the Box the past few years,” says Darden. “I am immensely proud of what we achieved together during my time here.”

Darden’s departure is consistent with a planned restructure that includes Ryan Ostrom, currently serving as EVP, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, assuming responsibility for Jack Operations in addition to his current function. Ostrom has been named Chief Customer & Digital Officer, effective December 6, 2024.

“We are grateful for Tony’s dedication and the many contributions he’s made to the Jack in the Box brand,” said CEO, Darin Harris. “As we look to the future, we have a greater focus on customer centricity and are confident that Ryan’s proven leadership and deep understanding of our customers will help us execute that drive.”

Ostrom has been with the company since February 2021, leading the path for the Jack in the Box and Del Taco digital transformation and modernizing how customers engage with the brands. In this new role, he will continue to drive their initiatives of building brand loyalty and driving operations excellence while fostering alignment and efficiency across teams.

“I am excited to lead this next chapter for the company as this evolution will help us create greater alignment and focus,” said Ostrom. “I am confident that we will navigate this transition seamlessly and continue to drive value for our customers.”

Encore, a global event technology and production services provider, confirmed today the launch of its pioneering ‘Overtime Savings Program’ in the United States, along with additional people-first programs to further support its ongoing workforce in a seasonal industry.

Powered by UKG’s payroll technology, this first-of-its-kind program aims to enhance financial wellness and stability for Encore’s frontline employees, many of whom work in markets that experience seasonal ebb and flow of business volumes.

With 12,000 team members providing event technology and production services at 2,200 hotels and conference venues in 20 countries, Encore faces the same challenges common in the hospitality industry. Seasonal fluctuations often result in workers’ hours varying from ample overtime during peak times to reduced schedules in off-season periods. This seasonality makes it difficult for workers to maintain consistent earnings and creates challenges for companies to retain talent in the off season.

“Encore has always believed its team members are the heart of our story. This people-first mindset motivates us to constantly evolve our team member experience and innovate around challenges, like the impact of seasonality, that the industry previously viewed as immutable,” said Ben Erwin, president and CEO of Encore.

In addition to the Overtime Savings Program, the company launched a Seasonal Leave of Absence Program, which offers team members the flexibility to take time off during slower seasons while retaining full benefits, accruing paid time off, and maintaining their tenure. This unique program enables employees to explore other work opportunities, pursue education, or focus on personal goals without sacrificing benefits or career progression. Both the Overtime Savings and Seasonal Leave of Absence Programs are active nationwide, with plans for global expansion.

“We established the program as another way to support our team members so that they can be at their best in delivering for our customers,” Erwin added. “With this innovation, they can better plan and save their premium overtime pay for periods of the year when they might not work as many hours. Providing this capability and funding a company-paid match for a portion of the savings should motivate financial wellness and enable them to continue to build their career with Encore. Team member reactions tell us we are onto something,” he said.

With a launch just after Labor Day, usage of the UKG Wallet™ increased tenfold compared to the prior year’s period. he company offered an initial savings match, similar to a 401k program incentive match, to reward healthy financial behavior.

“Financial stress is not a problem isolated to our industry, it’s a stressor for nearly everyone,” said Charlie Young, chief human resources officer at Encore. “Nearly 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck¹ and Americans spent $9B in bank overdraft fees in 2023. The more we can do to reduce stress for our team members, the more focused they can be on our customers. We are successful in the event production business because of the unique combination of our technical expertise, hospitality mindset and ability to work under pressure and through challenges. Seasonal fluctuations are part of our business, but with a partner like UKG that understands every industry has unique challenges, we were able to innovate to support those unique needs to make our team members’ lives better.”

Cody Browne, a technical lead with five years of service for Encore in Las Vegas, said he will try the Overtime Savings program, in addition to accruing and saving his Paid Time Off, for the slow season in December in Las Vegas. He hopes the vacation time, in addition to the saved overtime funds, will afford him an out-of-state vacation to visit family. “I love that Encore is creating new opportunities, that’s one of the reasons I am interested in growing my career here,” he said.

Chicostay, a leading provider of hospitality technology solutions and a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), today announced that its digital check-in, in-stay, upsells and check-out solution is now available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and can be deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and integrated with OPERA Cloud via the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform (OHIP). Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a centralized repository of enterprise applications offered by Oracle and Oracle partners.

Chicostay empowers hotels to start digitizing their guest journey experience from post-booking through after-stay, resulting in the hotel being more productive at the front desk and increasing upsell revenues whilst also improving the guest experience. The managed service removes operational work from hotel teams and ensures all your guests receive personalized automated communications to boost the upsell and conversion rates for your products and services. Our two- way integration with Opera PMS ensures all changes are kept updated. Most importantly, our business model enables the service to be a new revenue stream and not a cost.

Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop shop for Oracle customers seeking trusted business applications and services offering unique solutions, including ones that extend Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications.

OCI is a deep and broad platform of cloud infrastructure services that enables customers to build and run a wide range of applications in a scalable, secure, highly available, and high-performance environment. From application development and business analytics to data management, integration, security, AI, and infrastructure services including Kubernetes and VMware, OCI delivers comprehensive security, performance, and cost savings. In addition, with multi cloud, hybrid cloud, public cloud, and dedicated cloud options, OCI’s distributed cloud offers customers the benefits of cloud with greater control over data residency, locality, and authority, even across multiple clouds. As a result, customers can bring enterprise workloads to the cloud quickly and efficiently while addressing the strictest regulatory compliance requirements. 

"Chicostay's availability on Oracle Cloud Marketplace helps customers with modern hospitality that owners and managers are looking for," said Tony Barker, CEO of Chicostay. ”Chicostay’s participation in Oracle Cloud Marketplace further extends our commitment to the Oracle community and enables customers to easily reap the benets of our digital check-in, in-stay, upsells and check-out solution. We look forward to leveraging the power of OCI to help us achieve our business goals.”

Chicostay, established in 2014, has redened guest experience through technology, gaining traction in the UK and across Europe. Following a successful transition to new ownership in 2024, the company remains focused on its mission to improve hotel guest experiences while lowering operating costs and creating new revenue streams.

In a city where the extraordinary is an everyday experience, Resorts World Las Vegas is ready to elevate luxury and convenience to new heights through an exciting collaboration with technology innovator Alliants. The introduction of an avant-garde contactless guest experience through Alliants technology signals a bold new era for one of Las Vegas's newest state-of-the-art resorts.

Launching in early 2025, the guest experience at Resorts World Las Vegas will be transformed where guests can stroll into their rooms without waiting at the front desk, thanks to a sophisticated contactless check-in process. This remarkable feature also empowers guests to update reservations, add companions, and even share their anticipated arrival time—all before setting foot on the property. The integrated technologies will also support early check-in and check-out capabilities, ensuring guests enjoy maximum flexibility during their stay.

“We are always innovating and finding ways to improve the guest experience,” says Shannon McCallum, Vice President of Hotel Operations at Resorts World Las Vegas. “Creating a truly unforgettable, top-tier, and seamless experience is our highest priority. Alliants is helping us to accomplish that mission with the latest integration of their technology in our resort.”

The suite of services includes a digital key feature that allows guests to access their rooms effortlessly without requiring them to download an app. This innovative service lets guests securely add their hotel room key to their device, providing touchless entry and a seamless experience. Guests can easily navigate their stay, from viewing booking details to accessing their rooms, the pool, the fitness center, and other common areas, all through their mobile devices.

“Our mission at Alliants is to give each of our customers a uniquely tailored experience that works best for them to elevate their guest experiences,” stated Andrew Pirret, SVP Product at Alliants. "By delivering a long-term partnership alongside our technologies, we are thrilled to support Resorts World Las Vegas so they can continue to set new benchmarks in the luxury hospitality industry."

Starbucks is among the retailers impacted by Blue Yonder's ransomware attack.

The attack has disrupted a third-party software system that Starbucks uses to track and manage its baristas’ schedules, forcing the coffee chain to shift to manual mode to ensure its employees get paid properly, a Starbucks spokesperson said in an interview with CNN Monday.

Blue Yonder stated it is “working around the clock to respond to this incident and continues to make progress.” 

The list of companies disrupted by the hack of the supply chain management software provider include United Kingdom-based grocery giants Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. 

Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Blue Yonder was acquired by Panasonic in 2021. In the United States, the company’s customers include large grocery chains such as Albertsons Cos., The Kroger Co. and Wegmans and banners like Harris Teeter.  

Subway announced that John Chidsey, Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will retire from the company at the end of 2024, after five years in the role. Carrie Walsh, Subway's current President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and former Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), will assume the role of Interim CEO, while a search is conducted to identify a permanent successor.

"I am honored to step into the role of Interim CEO, continuing to drive key initiatives to help boost franchisee profitability and delight our guests through innovation," said Walsh. "Through a collaboration with the Subway leadership team, employees and our valued franchisees, we will keep elevating the Subway experience and deliver fresh, quality food to more guests around the globe."

Chidsey joined Subway in 2019 as the brand's first CEO outside of the founding family and led a multi-year transformation of the business. Under his leadership, Subway strengthened its market position by refreshing its menu and guest experience and accelerating digital innovation. Chidsey also led Subway's global growth strategy, with a focus on attracting well-resourced, experienced multi-unit operators and master franchisees. As a result, the brand now has over 10,000 future restaurant commitments and is on track to more than double the number of new restaurant openings in 2024, compared to 2019.

In her role, Walsh will continue to execute Subway's strategic growth plans, leveraging more than two decades of experience building brands across the restaurant, retail and consumer industries, including at YUM! Brands, Pizza Hut and PepsiCo.

Walsh joined Subway in 2019 as a member of Subway's Executive Leadership Team and played a pivotal role in elevating the brand's U.S. and global perception and driving the company's strategic direction. As Global Chief Marketing Officer, she helped bring thousands of new and lapsed fans back to the brand and strengthening Subway's position as a leader in the quick service restaurant and sandwich industries. Most recently, Walsh served as President of EMEA, Subway's second-largest region, where she oversaw operations, finance, marketing and development activity across 50 countries and territories.

Chidsey will transition to a consulting role to ensure a seamless transition, with a particular focus on helping to guide the company's international growth strategy and master franchisee relationships.