News Briefs
- 11/27/2023
Modern Market to Open First Drive-Thru Location
Modern Market Eatery will celebrate the grand opening the brand's first drive-thru restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Dec. 1.
The new company-owned restaurant is the third Modern Market Eatery location in Colorado Springs. Offering dine-in, drive-thru, and delivery options, it will serve the full Modern Market menu.
A New Revenue Stream
The restaurant will also feature a “Mini Market” merchandise area that the brand launched earlier this year to provide diners with locally made products, such as Switchback Coffee Roasters, Bibamba Chocolates, and Skratch Labs, as well as Modern Market Eatery hats, mugs and more. The restaurant is also the brand’s third location to feature a double-sided assembly line in the kitchen that allows for quicker prep times, meaning guests wait less for their fresh, made-to-order meals.
“Opening our first drive-thru restaurant is just one of the many ways our team is working to reimagine fast food and show guests how healthy food can be a quick, convenient option for the entire family,” said Modern Market Eatery Co-founder and President Rob McColgan. “This will be the first of many drive-thru locations we anticipate developing over the coming years to provide an even more efficient service model to handle the increasing volume of take-out orders.”
Known for its mindfully sourced ingredients, Modern Market Eatery never uses artificial flavors or colorings, trans fats, hormones, antibiotics or funky additives and offers a broad menu of scratch-prepared grain bowls, salads, sandwiches, pizzas and more.
Loyalty members got an exclusive sneak peek at the new location and receive free lunch and swag on Nov. 16 - the day before the restaurant opened its doors to the public.
With nearly 30 locations, Modern Market Eatery is currently expanding to make healthy food more accessible throughout the country.
- 11/27/2023
Bob W Tells Hospitality Industry to Go ‘Naked’ with Their Numbers as it Bares All to Reveal its Carbon Footprint
The first international climate-neutral hospitality provider Bob W is spearheading a ‘Show Us Your Numbers’ campaign calling for the hospitality industry to strip off and reveal the ‘naked numbers’ behind their carbon footprint.Bob W is taking the unusual and bold approach of sharing its GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions per guest night, setting a precedent among its competitors for honesty and responsibility in environmental reporting. As part of its campaign, Bob W is now calling upon the rest of the industry to do the same.Bob W reveals in its newly released sustainability report that it currently emits on average 29 kg (CO2-eq/guest night)1 of carbon emissions per guest night, outperforming the standard hotel’s 40 kg (CO2-eq/guest night)2. Bob’s latest figure is lower than the 41 kg that the company reported the previous year, when it was inflated by a substantial expansion that saw the company’s apartment count grow eight fold in a single year.By laying bare its numbers, Bob W hopes to encourage collaboration and share best practice within the industry to collectively improve the environmental impact of hospitality. While companies are often cautious when revealing their numbers, transparency and clear reporting is crucial if operators are to learn how to reduce emissions, and travelers are to make informed choices.Bob W is a climate-neutral company meaning that it offsets emissions with South Pole action projects, a foundation that works to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but it knows that this isn’t enough.For years, the company has been working on reducing its emissions further and now reaches solid sustainability scores for its properties in Europe. This includes the highest LEED score for design in Europe for the Bob W Koti Katajanokka in Helsinki and a BREEAM (the widely recognized sustainability measurement) excellent rating of 72.4% for its property in London’s Tower Hill.However, partnering with commercial property owners whose environmental goals align, and investing in buildings with a significantly reduced footprint, is just the beginning. Bob W is going even further.Responsible partners who share the same sustainability ethos are favored to supply Bob W’s apartments. Where possible coffee is provided by local roasters; furniture is designed in partnership with local creatives or sourced from second hand suppliers; eco-friendly toiletries are provided; and guests are encouraged to manage resources in a way that lessens the impact of their stay. Local communities are also supported by Bob W as the company’s ‘local marketplace’ recommends cafes and gyms within 500 meters from each apartment.Bob W is advocating for a radically honest approach to the way that the industry reports its numbers and is promoting a ‘per guest night’ calculation. This simple metric, similar to nutrition scores on food products, is less open to manipulation and is easy for consumers to understand. The per guest night calculation has already been incorporated into Bob W’s website to enable guests to make a more sustainable choice.Niko Karstikko, Co-founder and CEO of Bob W, said: “A lot of hospitality providers rely on vague reports and sustainability certificates but we believe it is time for a more meaningful approach. There is an urgent need for us all to come together, innovate and share best practice so that we can all operate in a way that is kinder to the planet. Transparency and facts are a key part of that.“We know we're not the greenest accommodation provider but we are determined to be the most honest, and we're working really hard to help our guests make informed decisions. That’s why, when they book, guests can see the emissions associated with each night of their stay. For example, one night in an ‘Epic Studio’ in Tartu, Estonia, equates to 28.7kg CO2 ,all totally offset by us.“This is not a stunt. This is a race we all have to win, and we are totally open to hearing what other providers think the industry’s standardised sustainability metric should be. In fact, that would be the perfect start.”Notes to Editors129 kg (CO2-eq/guest night) was the reported emissions per guest night by Bob W in 2022241 kg (CO2-eq/guest night) was the reported emissions per guest night by Bob W in 2021 - 11/27/2023
Sustainable Hotel Group KONCEPT HOTELS Appoints Apaleo to Supercharge Automation
Apaleo, an open property management platform for hospitality, has been appointed by Koncept Hotels to hardwire automation into its guest journey and operations.Established in 2017, the holistically sustainable hotel group is at the forefront of the hotel industry's transformation, offering a digitized, self-service hotel concept with a focus on sustainable business practices. It operates six properties in Germany and Switzerland, welcoming over 100,000 guests annually.Koncept Hotels’ staffless operating model was rooted in a desire to overcome the industry’s labour shortage and combat the sector's contribution to climate change. To help achieve its mission, the company needed a modern platform to replace its existing property management software, automate operational processes and support its movement into multi-property management.Since appointing Apaleo, Koncept Hotels has benefitted from limitless flexibility to create its preferred property management tech stack. Apaleo’s API-first MACH architecture empowers property managers to seamlessly integrate a diverse range of best-in-breed third-party applications, ensuring continuous customisation and modernisation.Sabine Schrempp, Revenue & Capacity Manager at Koncept Hotels, said: “Transitioning to Apaleo has been a game-changer, giving us the freedom and flexibility to really determine what works for us. It's been a learning curve, identifying pain points and refining automations, and the impact it’s had on our workflows is undeniable.“Apaleo has enabled us to make significant strides in automating our processes. With our previous PMS, staff and night auditors had to manage each booking manually. Now, reservations are automated, smooth and easy to manage. A huge success for us has been in payment processing, which is a crucial element for our digital operations. Payments and invoicing are now 100% automated, meaning we no longer have to think about them. That’s been a huge win for us.”Transitioning from its previous all-in-one PMS to Apaleo was easy thanks to Apaleo’s dedicated Customer Success team. A dedicated Customer Success Manager handled the onboarding process and the hotel group benefits from 24/7 support whenever needed.Apaleo’s API-first approach has also empowered the hotel group to foster an environment of experimentation and collaboration among staff to continually refine its operations.“There are no limitations — only endless possibilities,” continued Sabine. “We now operate a ‘test and iterate’ approach to innovation. The team shares ideas and trends in a WhatsApp group, and the very next day we’re able to test it with no-code and low-code automation, thanks to Apaleo’s integration with Make.com. It means we’re never doing the same thing we did yesterday or repeating mistakes. It's like a vast playground for big kids, where we can experiment, try, and play freely.”This has a huge impact on the guest experience, which has become frictionless, immediate and personalised, so that guests don’t miss on-site staff. With more free time, employees have additional time to dedicate to creating a unique guest experience.“Automating our workflows means our employees have more time to focus on guests, becoming hosts rather than administrators” added Sabine. “We now operate a more efficient, dynamic and digitally advanced operation.”Florian Montag, VP of Business Development at Apaleo, said: “Digital guest journeys that unlock seamless and superior service at staffless hotels represent the biggest shift in the hospitality industry right now. Koncept Hotels are at the forefront of this trend but it wouldn’t be possible without the composable hospitality facilitated by an API-first platform. With this approach, the Koncept team will be able to continually improve the way they deliver for guests, knowing their tech stack need never become out of date.“A dedicated Customer Success Manager personally guided the Koncept team through the onboarding process, ensuring a smooth and seamless transition from their legacy software without disruption. Switching systems while running a business can be both overwhelming and complex for hoteliers, which is why the personal support never stops. Our Customer Success Manager is still in touch with the team about the daily needs of Koncept today.“Operators of all kinds, across both the hotel and serviced apartment sector, are stepping away from traditional property management software because it’s only a matter of time before it is rendered out of date. We’re excited to support Koncept Hotels as it continues to scale and overcome the twin challenges of labour shortages and sustainability goals, while providing a transformational digital experience for guests.” - 11/27/2023
Boostly Partners with PriceLabs, Jurny, Direct Booking Tools & Dtravel to Drive Book Direct Movement
Boostly announced four strategic integrations with key short-term rental players PriceLabs, Jurny, Direct Booking Tools and Dtravel.Hosts and property managers can now effortlessly sync all four platforms with a Boostly direct booking website, helping managers to maximise profitability by minimising reliance on third-party online travel agents (OTAs).PriceLabs, a dynamic pricing and revenue management tool, offers hosts a data-driven approach to pricing their properties. By linking PriceLabs with their Boostly websites, hosts gain access to cutting-edge algorithms that analyse market supply and demand in real-time.Boostly’s partnership with the AI-powered property management platform Jurny unlocks a new level of service for hosts by providing tools to improve and streamline the guest experience. This integration facilitates the automation of key operations from booking and contactless check-in to cleaning and post-stay reviews, offering a seamless end-to-end solution for hospitality management.Direct Booking Tools, the first price comparison tool for the vacation rental industry, allows property managers to display real-time total prices quoted on their Boostly website compared with prices of OTAs, encouraging guests to save by booking direct. Through this integration, Boostly users can also access Direct Booking Tools’ forward booking demand analytics dashboard to see the actual demand on their website. This is quickly becoming the industries’ leading Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) tool.Boostly’s integration with Dtravel gives Boostly users access to Dtravel’s web3 ecosystem, direct booking infrastructure and direct booking distribution network. By creating an account with Dtravel, operators will be eligible to accept bookings without intermediaries through a variety of free and exclusive direct booking channels like Google Vacation Rentals, Dtravel Sensei, Travala.com and more.Launched in 2016, Boostly has built over 1,500 Wordpress websites and helped over 2,500 operators scale their businesses to date. Earlier this year, Boostly became the first website design agency to directly embed ChatGPT into its websites.The company, which is now made up of a team of 52, has recently also launched a number of updates, including the capability to integrate multiple property management systems into one single website and a brand new integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system, empowering hosts to schedule emails and social media posts.Mark Simpson, Founder of Boostly, said: “As the Book Direct movement continues to go from strength to strength, we’re excited to be partnering with four of the best in the short-term rental game. Our mission is to make it as easy as possible for property managers to generate direct bookings and, by getting top players in the industry on board, we’re closer to achieving our mission.“It’s an exciting time as we continue to roll-out new updates and features, all of which will help hosts and managers really step up their direct booking strategies.” - 11/26/2023
IDeaS Releases 2024 Hotel Technology Predictions
IDeaS, a SAS, company and provider of hotel revenue management software and services, released Future Forecast: Six Hotel Technology Predictions for 2024. Gathering information from some of the top minds in the industry, IDeaS releases six bold hotel technology predictions that it believes will shape the year to come.
Key predictions include:
- The continued breakdown of hospitality data silos: The hospitality industry collects an incredible amount of valuable guest data, but it’s often coming from disparate sources with no clear view of the entire guest experience. IDeaS foresees this changing fast as hoteliers look to maximize the value and power of their data in 2024.
- Revenue management will leave the confines of hotel walls: The discipline of revenue management is poised to expand beyond its traditional home within hotels. IDeaS predicts campsites, “glamp-sites,” cruise ships, and other similar but different accommodations providers will begin to embrace the benefits of revenue management practices.
- AI is set to redefine the guest experience: 2023 was the world’s introduction to generative AI, with tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E capturing the public’s imagination. IDeaS believes 2024 is when the hospitality industry will start putting the transformative power of AI to work, with far-ranging implications for what the future of the “typical” guest experience can be.
Mike Chuma, vice president of global marketing, IDeaS, said: “Our team engaged with some of the greatest minds in our industry in 2023 through informative webinars, a successful client summit, and our ongoing commitment to supporting innovation and industry events. It’s clear to all of us that 2024 is shaping up to be a year of substantial and exciting change—and the best way for hoteliers to take advantage of that change is to start thinking now about what’s likely to come in the year ahead.”
- 11/26/2023
Scandic Meets Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s New Stricter Environmental Requirements
Today, Scandic reached a sustainability milestone by recertifying all of its previously ecolabeled hotels according to the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s new, tougher environmental requirements. More than 88 percent of Scandic’s hotels are ecolabeled and the company is continuing its efforts to ensure that all hotels are certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.
The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is the official environmental certification in the Nordic countries. It updates its requirements approximately every four years, and the most recent update in 2023 included higher environmental goals. To continue to be certified, Scandic’s ecolabeled hotels have now undergone a rigorous recertification process where each hotel must meet all of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s new strict limit values for energy, water, waste and chemicals as well as organic food and beverages. To retain certification, ecolabeled hotels must also undergo annual follow-ups and team member training.
"At Scandic, we’ve integrated sustainability as part of our strategy, so it’s natural for us to monitor our initiatives and demonstrate how they make a difference for our guests, our team members and society at large. By cooperating with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, over the years we’ve reduced our water consumption, eliminated harmful chemicals and single-use items, reduced food waste and increased the percentage of organic food we buy. And we’re extremely proud of this progress. Recertifying our ecolabeled hotels is critical to guarantee that we can offer our guests services certified by the toughest environmental labeling," says Jens Mathiesen, CEO of Scandic Hotels Group.
Scandic initiated a long-term collaboration with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in the 1990s to get help and guidance in reducing its environmental impact. This effort has paid off. Between 1996, when Scandic started its sustainability reporting, and 2022, the company reduced water use per guest night by 32 percent, energy use per guest night by 31 percent and CO2e emissions per guest night by an impressive 65 percent.* This is thanks to measures including installing water-efficient fixtures, switching to 100 percent renewable energy for electricity, using energy efficient lighting and implementing various technical solutions for energy and heat optimization.
Several initiatives to create behavioral changes have also contributed to Scandic’s reduced impact. These include team member training, encouraging guests to make conscious choices like turning off the tap while brushing their teeth and introducing on-demand cleaning. Scandic also prioritizes sustainability in its supplier procurement. Today, items such as TVs, beds and cleaning and laundry products are environmentally certified."We’re very pleased that a powerful player like Scandic is committed to meeting the new tougher requirements of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and certifying all of its hotels in the Nordic countries. This is helping drive the green transition and making a difference, inspiring guests to adopt new habits and influencing other businesses since Scandic demands ecolabeled products. It’s creating what you could say is a 'Swan effect' in other industries that must comply with Scandic’s sustainability requirements," says Anna Linusson, CEO of Miljömärkning Sverige AB.
To be certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, a hotel must serve a certain percentage of organic food and beverages, purchase ecolabeled furniture and textiles, use only environmentally friendly chemicals for cleaning, dishwashing and laundry, reduce water consumption, energy use and waste, and have clear, transparent environmental goals. Currently, 87 of Scandic’s hotels in Sweden, 30 in Denmark, 45 in Finland and 76 in Norway are ecolabeled and all of these have now been recertified according to the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s new requirements. In 2023, Scandic will also launch Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification at its hotels in Germany and Poland, which means that these hotels can start their journey toward environmental certification.
Scandic’s ambition is for all hotels operating under the Scandic brand to be certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. At minimum, all hotels must comply with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel limit values for energy consumption per square meter, unsorted waste, water consumption and ecolabeled chemicals for cleaning, laundry and washing dishes.
* Figures are based on development per guest night from when Scandic began sustainability reporting in 1996 up to 2022. This reporting includes all of the company’s hotels and refers to water and energy consumption, waste and CO2e emissions.
Show More