News Briefs

More than one-third of adults expect to visit a casino during the next 12 months, according to the October 2023 edition of the American Gaming Association Outlook.

With more than 1,000 casinos to choose from across the United States, Grand Casino Hotel Resort, part of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation located in idyllic Shawnee, Oklahoma, decided to invest in state-of-the-art hospitality-focused technology from Agilysys to attract a greater share of adults planning casino visits and keep them coming back for more.

To elevate Return on Experience (ROE), a key hospitality metric that recognizes the financial benefits of better serving both guests and staff, Grand Casino Hotel Resort invested in the following cloud-native Agilysys solutions:

• An intuitive, cloud-based application that empowers restaurant patrons to choose their own seats while making a reservation.  The solution also enables restaurants and other establishments to maximize space utilization.
• An award-winning point-of-sale (POS) system that brings leading-edge security along with ease-of-use and transaction efficiency to sales transactions across the property.  An intuitive interface minimizes staff training and a broad array of features support a wide variety of customer preferences for point-of-sale transactions.
• A contactless, mobile self-service food & beverage (F&B) ordering system that provides user-friendly order-and-pay experience, whether in a food court, bar, restaurant or room.
• A commission-free room and activity guest-facing web booking experience that encourages upselling unlimited amenities, such as room upgrades, spa treatments, golf tee times, dining reservations and activity appointments as part of an integrated itinerary that makes it easier for guests to see and manage trip schedules.
• An innovative system for the procure-to-pay process that enhances productivity and minimizes waste to optimize vendor relationships and purchasing across all departments and locations.
• A spa management application that ensures an exclusive spa experience for every guest while optimizing therapist and treatment room utilization.
• A golf course and pro shop management application delivering personalized player experiences that drive revenue and streamline operations.

“These Agilysys cutting-edge solutions not only improved hotel operations, but also our casino operations.  This interoperability allows our guests to easily use player club points or our tribe-wide gift cards as payment,” said Grand Casino Hotel Resort’s Chief Technology Officer Justin Dunsworth.  “Since switching to Agilysys, we have successfully reduced the need to maintain our own infrastructure for these applications, making the investment highly worthwhile,” he added.

The casino hotel destination, located a short drive east of Oklahoma City, is the perfect weekend getaway.  The property features more than 125,000 square feet of gaming space with 2,000-plus of the newest Vegas-style slot machines and Oklahoma’s only Keno lounge.  Also on site is a luxury 14-story hotel tower and several guest dining selections.

“Gaming and hospitality players must set themselves apart and technology empowers them to do so,” said Agilysys Vice President of Sales Darren Student.  “Our solutions maximize ROE by enabling staff to serve guests better through personalization and allowing guests to interact with the property however they choose – whether through their mobile devices or in person. The winning ticket? The right technology and an end-to-end ecosystem of state-of-the-art integrated software modules,” he concluded.

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. 

Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill, the Fast Casual Restaurant destination for their authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, announces a new collaboration with Gift A Meal, an innovative cause-marketing platform committed to addressing local hunger in the local communities where Naf Naf restaurants operate.

Through this collaboration, every customer who captures a photo of their delicious Naf Naf order will trigger a donation to a local food bank. The initiative is designed to provide a meal to those in need, aligning with Naf Naf Grill's commitment to bring people together and share a meal beyond the dining table.

"We are very excited to embark on this journey with Gift A Meal, we remain focused on making a real positive impact in the community. The goal is to contribute in helping those facing food insecurity especially after the holidays which is a critical time when donations drop. We look forward to the shared success and impact this program will bring, as we work together to make a difference, one photo, one meal at a time." -Nico Nieto, CMO of Naf Naf Grill.

"GiftAMeal is thrilled to join forces with Naf Naf.. Everything on Naf's is delicious, fresh and beautiful, and their craveable food leads to mouth-watering photos and now customers can turn those into a meal for their local community food bank! We are excited to watch the Naf Naf customers help heal hunger across 12 states - spice it up and share a photo!" - Gift A Meal's Alison Van Bergen

The program will be available across all Naf Naf Grill 39 locations nationwide, until the end of February.

To learn more about Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill, visit nafnafgrill.com

ParTech, Inc. (PAR) introduces the PAR Wave - an all-in-one touch panel.

The PAR Wave reflects PAR’s commitment to meeting future restaurant industry needs, seamlessly blending functionality, performance, security, and innovative design. It emerges as a solution for businesses seeking a more efficient and aesthetically pleasing future.

Designed with a focus on innovation and versatility, the PAR Wave perfectly aligns with PAR's dedication to delivering inventive solutions tailored to the evolving demands of the restaurant and hospitality industries.

In response to the rising demand for efficiency, adaptability, and sustainability, PAR Wave, a cutting-edge touch panel, seamlessly integrates with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies. Positioned as a pioneer in forward-thinking hardware, it meets the evolving goals of brands striving for excellence.

Recent industry trends emphasize the increasing importance of innovative design and functionality among leading brands, echoing the broader shift towards next-generation hospitality solutions. PAR recognizes the growing significance of these aspects in restaurant operations and strives to provide solutions that harmonize with the evolving landscape.

Restaurants are embracing a future where products must be functional, secure, and designed with the user in mind. The PAR Wave's sleek design ensures maximum efficiency—minimized downtime, supporting contactless transactions, and low-maintenance, user-friendly devices. Drawing on over 40 years of restaurant hardware experience, it embodies meticulous feedback from customers and extensive market research.

PAR believes this will become increasingly important as restaurants seek cutting-edge solutions that resonate with consumers, especially the younger demographic.

Key Features 

• Versatile Functionality: The PAR Wave serves as a multifunctional touch panel suitable for POS terminals, ordering options, and table games, offering endless possibilities for businesses.
• Slim and Aesthetically Pleasing Design: With a slim and durable design, the PAR Wave takes up minimal counter space, maintaining an aesthetically pleasing ambiance in restaurants.
• Multiple Mounting Options: Traditional POS Terminal Counter Mount, Low-Profile Counter mount (with a collapsible stand), Wall Mount, Pole Mount, Dual-Monitor Pole Mount, Kiosk Mount, VESA mount – the PAR Wave does it all.
• Environmentally Conscious: Intentionally designed for eco-friendliness, the space-efficient design minimizes packaging and shipping impact, reducing the overall shipping and warehouse footprint by 50%.
• Self-Ordering Options: Various guest-facing configurations, including LCD touch screens for advertising, provide businesses with additional opportunities to engage with consumers.
• Durable and Resilient: Withstanding spills, grease, high temperatures, and common cleaners, the PAR Wave ensures reliability in the demanding hospitality environment.
• Powerful Processing Options: Equipped with powerful INTEL CPU processing options, the PAR Wave can run complex software efficiently, offering reliability for diverse operational needs.
• Windows 11 Ready: Keeping pace with the latest technology, the PAR Wave is Microsoft Windows 11 ready, ensuring compatibility with the latest software advancements.

For additional information on the PAR Wave please click here.

Chatmeter, a provider of reputation management and multi-location intelligence, announced the release of Pulse AI: Signals, enabling brands with critical customer and location insights in real time to grow their business.

Multi-location businesses have traditionally used keyword-matching sentiment analysis and Net Promoter Score surveys to get a surface-level understanding of customers. Now, these businesses can type any question into Signals, which will analyze their reviews, social media and surveys to deliver the exact information needed, with the data to back it up, in real time. 

“We’re in a new era for multi-location brands,” said John Mazur, CEO of Chatmeter. “Every brand is at risk of their next mention going viral and costing them millions in revenue before they’re even able to respond. Not anymore, thanks to Signals and its pioneering use of generative AI.” 

Elevating the Guest Experience

“Armed with Chatmeter's insightful data, we've made swift and effective changes to elevate the guest experience,” said Richard Clarke, senior manager of loyalty and guest feedback at Northland Properties. “As a result, we've enjoyed future bookings, repeat stays, and greater guest loyalty. Chatmeter's ability to close the loop on customer feedback and generate positive results is truly impressive.”

Chatmeter was one of the first reputation management platforms to bring advanced sentiment analysis to the market in 2017 and is now the first to use generative AI to empower multi-location businesses to:

• Quickly make better, more informed decisions from real customer feedback through generated reports that answer the mission-critical questions brands have about their customer experience, products, locations, and more. 
• Gain an even deeper understanding of every customer’s experience and how  specific locations are performing by using insights from specific regions, locations, providers, timeframes, and more, along with all of the customer reviews and data, to make informed decisions that drive real business impact. 

Chatmeter is using multiple large language models, including internal models trained on its own data, to deliver actionable insights in real time.

Signals uses an advanced data pipeline to process reviews, social posts and surveys through multiple AI models, including custom-trained versions to deliver the insights multi-location businesses need on topics such as:

• Product feedback
• Customer satisfaction
• Facilities operations
• Critical business risks
• Customer and employee safety
• Regional strengths and weaknesses
• And many more….

Across a multi-location brand, thousands of reviews, social posts and surveys may be processed by Signals daily. With the data processed and stored using AI, businesses can ask questions of their data, and get detailed answers back, including insightful analysis, attributing data and downloadable reports.

Signals is now available to Chatmeter customers with the Performance and Intelligence bundles. Additional Pulse AI features will be available later in 2024. 

Richtech Robotics Inc. (“Richtech Robotics”), a Nevada-based company and a provider of AI-driven service robots, announces its advanced AI capabilities for its robotic solution ADAM at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 held in Las Vegas January 9th-12th, in the North Hall, booth 9335. Richtech Robotics believes these advancements will revolutionize ADAM's capabilities beyond its role as a robot bartender, barista, or boba tea maker, enabling it to engage in sophisticated conversations with customers and emulate human actions with exceptional accuracy.

By analyzing and adapting to human-like motions, ADAM will become more interactive, accurately predicting and catering to customers' needs with improved precision. This advancement aims to not only enhance efficiency in task execution but also create a more engaging and fluid interaction between ADAM and customers. Richtech Robotics believes this innovative feature will redefine the landscape of robotic assistance in hospitality, fostering a seamless and enjoyable experience for patrons while supporting businesses with enhanced operational capabilities.

"This technology not only addresses the current labor challenges but enhances the  guest experience, making the robots more engaging and interactive," said Matt Casella, Richtech Robotics’ President. "Our goal is to alleviate the labor burden, enabling restaurants and bars to support their current staff while focusing on other areas of their business, helping them to grow, scale, and improve their bottom line.” 

The new capabilities aim to elevate personalized interactions and significantly enhance efficiency, facilitating quicker service and seamless integration of robots across various settings. The enhancements will soon be available to customers in the U.S., and are expected to transform the entire robotic dining experience. 

Richtech Robotics completed its IPO in November 2023 and addresses a critical need within the $4.7 trillion U.S. hospitality market, which is forecasted to reach $5.8 trillion by 2027. Despite this growth, technology remains an underdeveloped aspect in the industry, compounded by persistent staffing shortages that prevent restaurants and bars from capitalizing on the industry's resurgence.

As a dedicated partner to hospitality businesses, Richtech Robotics understands the challenges faced by today’s restaurants and bars, and has developed technology that aims to remove such barriers. ADAM, an innovative robot leveraging machine learning, AI, and edge computing, specializes in creating customizable drinks, enhancing productivity and experience through engaging 24/7 service.