News Briefs

Equally AI, a tech provider of web accessibility solutions, announced the launch of Flowy. Powered by ChatGPT, Flowy is a game changer for innovative developers looking to build web products that are accessible and for website owners globally to improve web accessibility for all in the content they serve online.

“At Equally AI, we believe that accessibility should be a fundamental part of every web product," said Ran Ronen, Co-founder and CEO, Equally AI. "With Flowy, we've automated the process of accessibility compliance, making it super-fast, scalable, and cost-effective. Developers can now create truly innovative products without worrying about the technicalities of accessibility.”

One of the key features of Flowy is its recommendation engine, which provides developers with suggested code fixes to easily address accessibility issues. This helps developers ensure the quality of their product at every stage of the development process with minimal effort. Ultimately this empowers website owners from global brands to SMBs to improve web accessibility for all.

Accessibility headaches end with Flowy, the all-in-one platform that helps developers ensure the accessibility of their web products. With proprietary technology and features like providing recommendations, guides, explanations, and creative solutions for implementing necessary changes, Flowy streamlines the entire accessibility testing process. Developers can easily scan and categorize accessibility issues, prioritize and address them, and access regular monitoring and compliance reporting to ensure that their products are compliant 24/7 and avoid legal risks for not providing web accessibility for all. Flowy saves developers time, energy, and money while helping them build innovative, accessible products that will empower how websites will operate in better accessible ways for all users.

“We are excited to see what developers will create with Flowy," said Dani Zeevi, Chairman of the Board, Equally AI. "With this cutting-edge technology, the possibilities are endless. We can't wait to see the impact Flowy will have on the industry and the lives of people with disabilities.”

Focus Brands says dual branding is the future of QSR, and the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, is leading the charge. Today, the Focus Brands portfolio boasts 175-plus open dual branded units with at least 65 more in various stages of development across the country. 

Drive-Thru Convenience

The Focus Brands portfolio brands have signed agreements to open more than 50 dual and tri-brand locations in the coming year, many of which include drive-thrus for added convenience as interest in dual branded franchise opportunities continues to surge.

Flexible Store Formats

Focus Brands is among the brands introducing new store formats, including Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box and Panera Bread, which opened its Panera To Go, solely offering Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery shelves where guests and delivery drivers can easily pick up orders.  

Focus Brands has long pioneered the concept of dual branding, predominately in malls and non-traditional locations with Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. Now, the company’s portfolio brands have found new opportunities with streetside dual branded units, which is paving the way for immense franchise growth. 

“Dual branding is the future of our brands, especially on the specialty side of the business,” said Brian Krause, Chief Development Officer at Focus Brands. “There will always be a place in malls, but there is an immense amount of growth opportunity in streetside venues, and, by dual branding, there is more opportunity for enhanced revenue.”

The company invested heavily in consumer research to identify how to create combinations of its iconic brands to resonate with consumers and meet them where they want to be met.

Focus Brands has identified four dual-brand concepts:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon/Carvel
• Auntie Anne’s/Jamba
• Cinnabon/Carvel – Cinnabon Swirl. 

While key consumer benefits vary by dual-brand combination, one consistent benefit has been convenience. Having these brands together in one location makes them far more accessible than they are individually. This convenience also creates opportunity for franchisees, as co-branding leads to an expansive menu that drives enhanced unit-level volume. 

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux is making its largest technological investment in brand history.

Walk-On’s is implementing a systemwide aggregator to consolidate third party orders, partnering with Lunchbox to upgrade its online ordering platform and guest loyalty program, and introducing a partnership with Toast to level up its POS management system.

71% say the ability to integrate with other systems is driving their POS purchase decisions, according to HT’s2 2023 POS Software Trends Report.

Walk-On’s new loyalty program and app, designed by Lunchbox, are scheduled to launch in the first half of 2023 with an improved interface and back-end integration that will create a more seamless user experience for guests and operators alike. 

Continuing with marked enhancements to the guest experience, Walk-On’s is also partnering with BOWEN to modernize the brand’s website presence and streamline the online ordering experience. 

In addition to the upgraded Toast POS system, Walk-On’s is installing Toast Kitchen Display System, and rolling out Toast Go 2 mobile handheld POS devices for tableside and curbside use at current and future locations. 

Walk-On’s will implement a phased rollout across all current locations throughout 2023 and begin immediate implementation at all new restaurants in their development pipeline. 

Information security teams have always had to do more with less, but 2023 might be the year when they are able to do more with more. Riding a three-year trend, 70% of CISOs expect their budgets to increase again this year, while 60% also expect more FTEs, according to the CISO Benchmark Report released by the Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC).

The annual report surveys cybersecurity leaders from consumer-facing industries to assess data about budgets, personnel, and organizational priorities.

The increase in budget and personnel reflects how cybersecurity has grown as a critical part of business operations in many organizations. This year, business disruption emerged as a top 10 (No. 7) risk that organizations currently face, up seven spots from No. 14 in 2021. Similarly, 50% of CISOs now have business continuity/disaster recovery as part of their core responsibilities, an increase of 11 percentage points since last year.

Surprisingly, although fraud in its many forms greatly impacts the bottom line, and continues to be a top risk for organizations, very few CISOs have fraud as part of their core responsibilities, according to the report.  

New this year is an additional benchmark report from RH-ISAC that survey cybersecurity practitioners to understand the challenges and priorities staff have in executing daily job functions.

Key insights from the Practitioner Benchmark Report include:

• 83% serve more than one job function, which means that employees have a valuable and diverse skill set across security operations (76%), threat intelligence (66%), and risk management (66%)
• 93% believe they have the necessary skill sets to perform their job effectively

“The retail and hospitality industries are constantly evolving, and so are the cybersecurity challenges they face,” said Suzie Squier, president of RH-ISAC. “The RH-ISAC Benchmark Reports provide valuable insights and actionable information for CISOs and other information security professionals to stay informed about trends and resource allocation among infosec teams.”

The companies represented in the surveys include retail, restaurants, hospitality, travel, and consumer packaged goods/manufacturing companies, and reflect more than 718,000 total locations, 3.4 million corporate employees, and $2.3 trillion in annual sales.

The full reports are available to RH-ISAC members, and summary versions of each report are available to download:

CISO Benchmark Report

Practitioner Benchmark Report

TrustYou announced that with backing from reputed technology investor Ventech, they have completed a management buyback of shares in a recent acquisition. As a result, they will no longer be under the umbrella of Recruit Group, a leading technology group based in Japan. In 2017, Recruit acquired TrustYou intending to invest and expand in the international hospitality and travel market. Recruit made moves outside of Japan to discover “Opportunities for Life” worldwide. Established in 2008, TrustYou has grown from a humble start-up and led the way in travel tech with a strong leadership team that appealed to Recruit and their principles of entrepreneurship within their business holdings and a vast portfolio of software companies. Recruit realized the potential of TrustYou, seeing that the software company established itself globally with its unique all-in-one Guest Experience platform.

Recruit was very pleased with TrustYou’s development and sees a strong future as they continue to innovate and focus on the customer journey. Since Recruit’s portfolio strategy no longer aligns with the further growth of TrustYou, the team was very supportive of the management buyout. “The opportunity to include TrustYou in our overall strategy for the last five years was a positive experience for us to lean into the hospitality sector and understand the importance of technology in travel. TrustYou has a strong foundation, and we have no doubt the company will continue to seek innovative solutions to enhance the guest experience,” says Yoshihiro Kitamura, President and Representative Director of Recruit Co., Ltd.

With new ownership comes a new vision for the company. Ben Jost, CEO of TrustYou, states, “We see TrustYou's future in helping hospitality and travel to make guests happy. Today's core focus is to provide a best-in-class platform for hoteliers, DMO's and travel partners to measure and act on guest happiness via surveys, reviews, and guest communication. We will also be very active in acquiring and building more best-of-breed technology and tools to further increase guest happiness and revenue while decreasing operational cost.”

Seeing the value in this opportunity, venture firm Ventech, with the support of Ventech Managing Partner Christian Claussen, and Jan Webering with BauwensX, led the buyout financing. TrustYou founder & CEO Ben Jost is also a significant investor in the acquisition. Rounding out the remaining capital contribution, Ullrich Kastner, Founder and CEO of MyHotelShop, also participated.

“When the opportunity presented itself to invest in Ben and the team, it was an easy decision. We see a clear path to a significant return on our investment and have complete confidence in the team, and product, to deliver outstanding results.” said Claussen.

Jan Webering, former CEO of one of Europe’s largest engineering IT Service companies, Avenga, and the new chairman of TrustYou’s board, said of the acquisition, “The new holding will focus on creating value by developing technologies that support hospitality providers in delivering an exceptional guest experience. The speed by which consumer expectations change will require dynamic and scalable technology solutions to ensure that travel and hospitality companies can consistently deliver a great experience. In the end, we are here to help make guests happy.”

Cloud5 Communications, a provider of communications and technology solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, has announced the rollout of its Mitel Subscription offering.

Cloud5’s new Mitel Subscription offering allows hotels to more easily and economically experience the benefits of a cloud-based PBX system. Through this offering, properties can better tailor their telecommunications to the business needs and goals of their property – choosing from a range of Cloud5 supported Mitel products and applications.

This offering also allows hotels to select the commercial framework that works best for the specific economic realities of their business. Customers can choose a CAPEX, OPEX or a hybrid model. This economic flexibility removes barriers to entry and empowers hotels to proactively make critical changes to their telecommunications systems at the point of need.

Additionally, Cloud5’s Mitel Subscription offering includes access to the company’s industry-leading, experienced, Mitel-award-winning engineering, project management, install and support teams.

“We all know that a successful hotel business includes solid technologies and systems that support guest and staff communication and engagement – telecommunications systems are a critical part of this,” said Beth Milano, Senior Vice President of Sales & Commercial Development at Cloud5 Communications. “Cloud5’s Mitel Subscription offering allows hoteliers to adapt new telecommunication solutions and services that fit the parameters and goals of their business – including design, product selection and payment. We look forward to providing the hotel industry with an easier and more effective approach to telecommunications that promises improved efficiency, lower operating expenses and an enhanced ability to elevate guest experiences.”

Cloud5 supported Mitel products and applications contained in this offering include:

• MiContact Center
• Mitel Border Gateway
• MiVoice Business Console
• Mitel Business Reporter
• Cloud5 e911
• Cloud5 SIP
• SD-WAN w/4g LTE Failover

Cloud5 is the winner of several Mitel awards, including its prestigious 2022 Mitel Hospitality Expert designation as well as Mitel Hospitality Partner of the year in 2021.

Cloud5’s Mitel Subscription offering is part of a full family of telecommunications and network solutions, including the company’s own cloud-based PBX. Cloud5 is proud to offer and support solutions based on the distinct requirements and economics of its customers – ranging from large, complex full-service hotels and resorts to smaller select service properties. For more information about Cloud5’s telecommunications offerings, visit www.cloud5.com/voice-systems.