News Briefs

Just Salad, the fast-casual restaurant chain with a mission to make everyday health and sustainability possible, announced it has raised $200M in capital from an investor group led by Wellington Management, alongside D1 Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman, and Stripes. The capital raise values the company at approximately $1 billion. Proceeds of the transaction will be used to support new unit growth as well as continued investment in menu innovation, advanced technology initiatives and customer experience.

“The quick-service food industry is in the early days of disruption, and the average consumer desperately wants healthy, craveable, convenient and accessible options; no one does that better than Just Salad,” said Nick Kenner, Founder & CEO of Just Salad. “We are proud to partner with world-class investors like Wellington, D1, Neuberger Berman, and Stripes to propel our next phase of growth. We have a tremendous runway to build Just Salad into a leading national restaurant brand, and this investment demonstrates the confidence in that opportunity and our team’s ability to achieve that goal.”

Just Salad opened in New York City in 2006 to meet the demand for those in Midtown wanting fast, healthy, and sustainable offerings. Since then, Just Salad has successfully expanded its menu to include salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups and smoothies, all prepared with homemade dressings, prepped-daily produce, from-scratch recipes and fresh, flavorful ingredients. Proteins are marinated overnight and cooked fresh in the restaurant throughout the entire day.

Just Salad operates nearly 100 locations across urban and residential markets in New York, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Just Salad’s intense focus on the customer experience and disciplined real estate selection process have driven best-in-class unit economics and industry-leading same store sales growth supported by increased traffic, all leading to dramatic revenue growth and strong profitability at both the store and enterprise-level.

Sustainability Matters

Just Salad is a Certified B Corporation, committed to meeting high standards for social and environmental performance. As the home to the longest-running reusable bowl program in the U.S. restaurant industry, Just Salad prevents approximately 43,000 pounds of single-use packaging waste each year. Since 2021, the company has saved over 160,000 meals from landfills and avoided more than 430,000 kg of CO₂e through its partnership with Too Good to Go. See Just Salad’s Impact Report for more details on the company’s sustainability initiatives.

Church’s Texas Chicken has named Roland Gonzalez as its new Chief Executive Officer. With a wealth of experience in the global quick-service restaurant industry, Gonzalez will lead the legendary brand’s next phase of global growth and evolution, having played a key role in its transformation over the last two years as Chief Operations Officer. He succeeds Joe Guith, who was named to the post in 2022.

A highly respected executive with a passion for building and motivating cross-functional teams, Gonzalez brings an extensive track record of driving operational excellence through global business strategies and process improvement, strengthening franchisee partnerships, enhancing guest experiences and expanding brand reach in highly competitive categories and geographic markets. Prior to joining Church’s Texas Chicken®, he held senior leadership roles at major quick-service restaurant brands, including Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, where he implemented successful global growth strategies and delivered high-impact results across RBI’s portfolio of 20,000+ restaurants.

“Church’s Texas Chicken has made significant strides toward revitalizing its legendary brand by focusing on delivering outstanding, bold-flavored chicken, enhancing service and value to customers and staying true to our community-oriented roots. We thank Joe for being an important part of the first major phase of our transformation as he moves on to his next chapter,” said High Bluff Capital Partners founder Anand Gowda. “Our priority now is to build on this progress and significantly accelerate our momentum and expansion as we strive to reach $2 billion in system sales within the next few years while maximizing franchisee profitability.

“To that end, we are thrilled to welcome Roland Gonzalez as our new CEO – a visionary leader who already has had a tremendous impact on Church’s transformation as COO,” he continued. “His deep understanding of the QSR industry, commitment to growth-focused operational excellence and dedication to driving franchisee profitability make him the ideal leader to guide Church’s through its next major evolution.”

Gonzalez previously held numerous executive positions and key business operations roles including Executive Vice President for Operations at Virtual Dining Concepts and Head of Global Operations Standards and Strategy at Restaurant Brands International.

Hotels’ efforts including higher pay and a broadening range of benefits have improved staffing levels over the past year, but nearly two-thirds (65%) of surveyed hotels continue to report shortages, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and AHLA Gold Partner Hireology.

“While American hotels have largely recovered from the pandemic, hotel employment is still nearly 10% below pre-pandemic staffing levels,” said AHLA President & CEO Rosanna Maietta. “The hospitality sector is committed to attracting and retaining talent, investing in workforce development, and creating good jobs for millions of Americans, and we are working hard in Washington to ensure we have a policy environment that supports these efforts.”

Hotels have focused on rebuilding the hospitality workforce since the pandemic. Incentives such as higher pay, flexible working hours and providing hotel discounts, along with participating in job fairs and advertising, lowered the percentage of hotels reporting staffing shortages from 76% in May 2024 to 65% at year-end. Among the hotels surveyed, 9% described themselves as “severely understaffed,” down from 13% in May 2024. 

“The hospitality industry faces a dual challenge: staffing shortages, particularly in key roles like housekeeping and front desk, coupled with the need to retain existing talent,” said Adam Robinson, Hireology Co-Founder & CEO. “While wage increases and other efforts by hoteliers are positive steps, we must prioritize career mobility and create clear paths for advancement to truly attract and retain the workforce we need."

More than seven in 10 of the hotels surveyed (71%) said they had job openings they were unable to fill despite active searches. On average, hotels are trying to fill six to seven open positions per property.

The most mentioned shortages were in housekeeping (38%), followed by front desk roles (26%). Hotels also reported having difficulty finding workers for culinary positions (14%) and maintenance roles (13%). 

Hotels’ most frequently reported strategy for attracting and retaining workers was offering higher wages (47%). Approximately one-fifth of the surveyed hotels (20%) said they were offering flexible working hours, while 13% reported providing hotel discounts, and 9% participate in job fairs and advertising.

Career opportunities as strong or better than ever, say most hoteliers

A strong majority of those surveyed (72%) said they believe that career opportunities in hospitality are better than ever or at the same levels since the pandemic.

AHLA continues to advocate for policies and legislative changes that expand opportunities for the workforce. Additionally, the AHLA Foundation administers workforce development initiatives to help hotels fill open jobs and raise awareness of the industry’s 200+ career pathways. These include the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship program, a partnership with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Empowering Youth Program, which recruits young adults for entry-level hotel positions and works with community-based organizations to empower them with training, tools, and support that will lead to permanent careers in hospitality.

Methodology: AHLA’s Front Desk Feedback survey of 282 hoteliers was conducted in partnership with AHLA Gold Partner Hireology between December 6, 2024 and January 3, 2025.

Based in London, the roomangel Foundation is a newly established non-profit organization on a mission to transform hotel distribution. Structured as a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG), the Foundation invites hospitality stakeholders to join.

This groundbreaking initiative unites booking engine providers and lodging establishments for the first time, creating a fairer market by restoring distribution power to the industry and booking power to travelers.

In addition to providing consumer regulatory oversight, the Foundation will serve the industry with a suite of cutting-edge technology solutions, including:

• A trusted stamp for hotel websites, boosting direct bookings and consumer confidence
• A revolutionary new hotel search and booking platform.
• A powerful data ecosystem to drive better decisions and optimize demand.

These innovations are designed to disintermediate hotel distribution, protect consumers, and elevate the search and booking experience.

Travelers rely on centralized search to compare accommodation options, which has historically given Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) a competitive edge. While hotels prefer direct bookings, they have struggled to compete with OTAs’ convenience, marketing budgets, and loyalty programs.

The roomangel Foundation seeks to address this longstanding challenge by providing a platform that offers centralized hotel search designed for the customer while delivering reservations via the hotel’s direct channel, eliminating the need for third-party agents.

“This is the first global initiative in our industry’s history to present a viable solution to a decades-old problem,” says Brian Reeves, founding member of the Foundation. “roomangel aggregates inventory intelligently in one place, removes the influence of commissions and persuasion, and instead ranks results by best value for travelers’ convenience. It also provides a reliable verification system, including an independent value-for-money calculation, reinforcing trust in direct hotel bookings.”

To achieve this, the Foundation is launching a new hotel search and booking platform that will be directly connected to its hotel partners’ booking engines. This pioneering partnership with industry-leading direct distribution providers was introduced during the inaugural Booking Engine Summit, held in Dubai in October 2024. At the event, a select group of industry leaders hailed the initiative as “the biggest change in the history of our industry.”

‍The roomangel Foundation is inviting hospitality stakeholders to join this movement and reshape the future of hotel booking. Learn more at roomangel.org/join

Learn more about The roomangel Foundation.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) has acquired from Ruby SARL the Ruby^TM brand and related intellectual property for initial purchase consideration of €110.5m (~$116m¹). Ruby is a premium urban lifestyle brand for modern travelers in must-visit city destinations and provides hotel owners with space-efficient designs and an attractive, flexible concept that IHG expects to rapidly expand globally.

Established in 2013, the Ruby brand currently operates 20 hotels (3,483 rooms) in major cities across Europe and has another 10 pipeline hotels (2,235 rooms). There are 9 hotels open in Germany (across Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart), 3 in the UK in London, 3 in Austria (Vienna), 2 in Switzerland (Geneva and Zurich), and 1 in each of Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands. The pipeline hotels are set to open over the next three years across more European cities including Edinburgh, Marseille, Rome and Stockholm.

Ruby hotels offer a stylish yet relaxed charm, blending soulful design and authentic stories rooted in the cities they call home. The brand’s ‘Lean Luxury’ approach includes signature touches ranging from a great bed and shower in guest rooms created with restoration and relaxation in mind, to unique cocktails in destination 24/7 bars, all coming together to connect guests with sought-after cities at the right price.

As our 20th brand, Ruby will extend IHG’s appeal to modern, lifestyle-focused travelers, and offers hotel owners a cost-efficient and highly adaptable premium hotel concept, in an industry segment characterized by high barriers to entry and space constraints, often referred to in the industry as ‘urban micro’. Efficiencies for owners are delivered through space-saving designs and a high degree of operational standardization and automation, including self-service kiosks for speedy check-in.

Ruby is already well-established in Europe and has proven to be successful for both new build locations as well as being highly conversion-friendly, including for adaptive re-use across a range of commercial property types, with several successful office conversions. Reflecting this, the Ruby brand has achieved a net system size compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% over the last five years. The seller of the brand anticipates growing their portfolio of Ruby-branded hotels substantially further, and IHG expects to grow the brand with other hotel owners in Europe and globally. This builds upon IHG’s proven track record of successfully internationalizing brands that it has organically developed and acquired. IHG expects to have the Ruby brand ready for development in the US by the end of the year.

Joining forces with IHG allows Ruby hotels to draw on a powerful enterprise platform of distribution and technology systems, as well as one of the world’s biggest and most powerful hotel loyalty programs, IHG One Rewards. IHG expects the urban micro sub-segment to continue experiencing strong demand from travelers around the world, and this in turn would support ongoing rooms supply growth at higher rates than the global hotel industry. IHG is targeting the Ruby brand to grow to more than 120 hotels over the next 10 years and accelerate to more than 250 over 20 years across owners globally.

Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said:
“We are delighted with the acquisition of Ruby, which further enriches our portfolio with an exciting, distinct and high-quality offer for both guests and owners in popular city destinations. This acquisition demonstrates our focus on building our presence in large, attractive industry segments and using our experience of integrating and growing brands and hotel portfolios. The urban micro space is a franchise-friendly model with attractive owner economics, and we see excellent opportunities to not only expand Ruby’s strong European base but also rapidly take this exciting brand to the Americas and across Asia, as we have successfully done with previous brand acquisitions.”

Michael Struck, Founder and CEO of The Ruby Group, added:
“We have carefully selected IHG as the right partner to take the Ruby brand and our international expansion to the next level. IHG’s distribution powerhouse, the fact that Ruby perfectly complements IHG’s portfolio, and its proven track record of successfully preserving identity and culture when integrating brands gives us great confidence as we embark on this next chapter together. Combining the global reach and resources of IHG with the efficiency advantages of our operational and construction model will drive superior returns for our investors and real-estate partners, alike. Also, the timing could not be better. Our unique solutions for efficient adaptive re-use of office space are in high demand, positioning us for strong growth.”

Further details on the acquisition agreement and financial overview:

• Initial purchase consideration of €110.5m (~$116m¹) for IHG to acquire the Ruby brand and related intellectual property consists of an upfront payment of €109.9m that has been paid on completion of the transaction and a fixed deferred payment of €0.6m payable upon approximately half the hotels joining IHG’s system.
• As part of the master franchise and development agreement with Ruby, initial franchise fees receivable by IHG from the current 20 open hotels and the current pipeline of 10 hotels (which are all expected to open by the end of 2027) are anticipated to be approximately $8m in 2028, which would be the first full year when all 30 hotels would be in IHG’s system.
• Taking into consideration further development by the seller to open more hotels beyond their current pipeline, together with IHG’s plans to expand the Ruby brand with other hotel owners globally, franchise fees by 2030 are anticipated to be in excess of $15m.
• The seller’s operating company is not being acquired by IHG and will continue to operate the current open hotels and any future hotels that the seller develops under the brand.
• Open, pipeline and all future Ruby hotels operated by the seller will enter into individual franchise agreements with IHG and pay to IHG brand royalty fees and System Fund fees.
• To incentivize further growth in the brand by the seller, potential additional payments ranging from €nil up to €181m ($190m1) may become payable in 2030 and 2035. Future payments are contingent on the number of Ruby-branded rooms operated by the seller at the end of the preceding year. A payment of €9m ($9m1) would be paid to the seller if they grew to operate in excess of 10,000 Ruby-branded rooms. This scales up to the maximum potential total if they grew to in excess of 20,000 rooms, a scale that is approximately six times bigger than the current open hotels. IHG’s planned growth of the brand with other hotel owners is excluded from the calculation of any potential additional payment to the seller.
• The integration of all 20 currently open Ruby hotels into IHG’s system is expected to commence later in 2025 and be completed by 31 March 2026. This would increase IHG’s global system size by approximately 0.3%. The current pipeline of 10 hotels when open would add a further ~0.2% to IHG’s system.
• Integration operating costs for IHG of approximately $10m are expected to be incurred in 2025. Including further one-time costs, in 2026 a broadly breakeven contribution to IHG’s operating profit is anticipated, with growth in profitability forecasted thereafter.

Notes:

¹ Converted at an exchange rate of €1:$1.05, using the approximate rate as at 14 February 2025

Shift4, a provider of integrated payments and commerce technology, announced a comprehensive partnership with Alterra Mountain Company, the operator of 19 premier mountain destinations. Shift4 will power all payments across all of Alterra’s properties, streamlining transactions for hotels, restaurants, lift ticket sales, and the company’s Ikon Pass online sales.

Alterra Mountain Company is world-renowned for its portfolio of mountain destinations, offering premier outdoor experiences to skiers and riders across North America. With this partnership, Shift4 will enhance the guest experience at Alterra's destinations by providing a seamless, secure, and efficient payment infrastructure that supports everything from lodging and dining to ticketing and online purchases.

“Enhancing the guest experience is at the heart of everything we do, and Shift4’s commerce solutions will help us continue to deliver a frictionless experience for our guests, both on-site and online,” said Gui Karyo, Chief Technology Officer, Alterra Mountain Company. “Their expertise in managing high-volume payment environments across multiple touchpoints makes Shift4 the ideal partner as we continue to grow and enhance our destinations.”

“We are excited to partner with Alterra Mountain Company to power payments at their incredible destinations across North America,” said Michael Isaacman, Shift4’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Our technology is designed to simplify and secure the entire commerce experience, from purchasing an Ikon Pass online or a lift ticket at the resort to paying for your hotel room or a meal at the lodge. We look forward to helping Alterra deliver an exceptional and seamless experience for guests across all destinations.”

Shift4’s solutions are trusted by leading resorts, sports venues, and entertainment destinations worldwide, transforming the way guests interact with payments across industries. To learn more about Shift4’s capabilities in the travel and hospitality industry, visit shift4.com/hospitality.