News Briefs

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. has added some new faces to its Executive Leadership Team. This includes the appointment of Kevin Mayer to Chief Marketing Officer and Mark Simpson as Interim Chief People Officer. In addition, Jason Rusk has been promoted to Chief Business Development Officer.

Industry Vets Tapped to Fill CMO, Interim CPO Roles

As CMO of Red Robin, Mayer will be responsible for brand development, marketing, digital, innovation and menu development. He brings a wealth of global marketing, sales and brand building experience and has successfully BJ’s Restaurants, Volkswagen, Subaru and Chevrolet. As EVP, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Growth Officer at BJ’s Restaurants he oversaw cross-functional innovation, marketing, product development, off-premise, digital and earned media, and local marketing.  Mayer and his team played a crucial role in transforming the BJ’s Restaurants brand, driving it from a regional casual dining player to a nationally recognized lifestyle brand. Their efforts resulted in numerous successful product launches, one of the best retention programs in the industry and record levels of familiarity and brand love contributing to nine straight quarters of same-store traffic growth over the category.

Mark Simpson, a 35-year human resources and hospitality industry veteran, joins Red Robin May 1 in the role of Interim Chief People Officer, with incumbent Wayne Davis’ recent departure to pursue other personal and career interests. Simpson recently retired from Texas Roadhouse, where he served as Vice President of Legendary People for many years and assisted in guiding the success of the company’s growth and award-winning culture, including administering its Operations-focused market & managing partner program, executive and senior-level staffing, benefits & compensation, field HR and employee relations, HR administration and more. Simpson will provide senior leadership on key People initiatives during this transition and assist in the search for Red Robin’s permanent CPO.

In addition, Jason Rusk has been promoted to Chief Business Development Officer. Most recently serving as SVP of Transformation & Business Development, Rusk has played a leadership role in a number of key initiatives impacting operations, franchise, marketing and branding during his 25 years with Red Robin. In his expanded role, he will continue to spearhead business transformation initiatives including franchise development, culinary upgrades, off-premise channel growth, supply chain, in-restaurant guest experience, real estate and new restaurant growth as well as deepening key brand partnerships with Donatos and others.

As part of a national effort to raise awareness and offer expert insights, Denny's is kicking off a series of summits focused on how companies and individuals can better manage and improve their mental health and wellness.

The first summit is taking place on April 22 at the HPAC Theater in Spartanburg, S.C. The summit will be free to the public and attendees can participate in-person or virtually.

"Denny's has always been committed to feeding people's bodies, minds, and souls, and this summit series perfectly aligns with our holistic approach to wellness," said Kelli Valade, CEO of Denny's. "The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the topics of mental health and personal well-being front and center. Now is the time to think about how we can bring our whole selves to all facets of our lives, including the workplace."

The summit keynote speaker is Dr. Daniel E. Dawes, Senior Vice President for Global Health and Executive Director of the Institute of Global Health Equity at Meharry Medical College. Dawes will discuss the importance of addressing mental health equity and the path forward to achieving a healthier society. Other nationally recognized panelists include:  

• Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, a surgeon, clinician, educator, and researcher at Morehouse School of Medicine and Senior Fellow in Global Health Equity at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute
• Dr. Monique May, a board-certified and licensed family physician best known as the "Physician in the Kitchen"
• Dr. Bennie L. Harris, Chancellor of the University of South Carolina Upstate
• Sharon Lykins, Denny's Vice President of Product Innovation

"Mental health and wellness significantly impact the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities across the Upstate region and beyond," said USC Upstate Chancellor, Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D. "We are thrilled to join forces with a global leader like Denny's to address one of the most critical public health issues of our time."

Journalist Roland S. Martin will moderate two panels, "Mindful Eating," which will address the connection between food and wellness, and "Wellness at the Workplace," which focuses on mental health at work.

A second mental health summit will be offered on October 10 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Guesty, an operations and property management platform for hospitality businesses, announced the acquisition of StaySense, a technology provider of innovative, localized solutions for vacation rental managers. The acquisition is a key addition for Guesty as it continues to expand its services and provide advanced capabilities to property and vacation rental managers.

Guesty and StaySense have had numerous successful collaborations over the past few years, making it clear to Guesty that StaySense’s impact on the local level with the US vacation rental industry is unparalleled. Integrating StaySense's technology into the Guesty platform will not only provide customers with access to more comprehensive direct booking and marketing tools as well as diversified distribution channels to optimize revenue and build leading hospitality brands, it will also help bolster and support local economies – and local businesses.  

"We are thrilled to welcome the StaySense team and David Angotti to the Guesty family. In doing so, Guesty is building out its local distribution arm for US vacation rental managers, deepening its connection with the US leisure market, and diversifying distribution strategies for Guesty customers,” said Amiad Soto, CEO and co-founder of Guesty. "David fits beautifully into Guesty’s DNA of industry experts and the acquisition of StaySense further strengthens our position as the leading platform for vacation rental managers."

"Joining forces with Guesty is an exciting opportunity for StaySense," said David Angotti, StaySense’s Founder. "We share a common vision for the future of hospitality, and together we can provide more value to our clients so they can continue to provide great guest experiences and grow locally and globally."

David Angotti, StaySense’s founder, will join the Guesty team from his Nashville office. He brings with him vast professional experience across the entire lifecycle of the short-term rental market and deep familiarity with the vacation rental industry. 

 

Guesty has acquired six hospitality companies over the past two years, with the vision that consolidation is the path forward in the dynamic, fragmented hospitality industry. These acquisitions include hotel-focused revenue and channel manager YieldPlanet; hotel-focused Queensland-based HiRUM; and property management software companies Kigo, based in Spain), MyVR and Your Porter.  With the addition of StaySense, Guesty continues to bring the industry’s best teams and regional leaders under one entity, and to invest substantial resources and R&D efforts in solving for challenges facing the hospitality businesses

BEONx, a provider of revenue management solutions, announced a partnership with OTA Insight, a provider of cloud-based hospitality business intelligence. This collaboration will bring predictive market intelligence to BEONx's Sustainable Profit Platform, marking the first time hotels can seamlessly integrate this crucial data from different providers into their strategic platform.

With the latest integration of OTA Insight data, this will be the first instance of a RMS integrating this form of data from multiple providers into its algorithm, furthering the BEONx position as market leader.

The initial release of the predictive market intelligence project will incorporate data from two of OTA Insight’s products: Market Insight and Rate Insight+. These new data points will be displayed across the BEONx platform offering hoteliers valuable insights into their hotel’s performance, competitive landscape, and destination. Additionally, this data will impact the strategy recommendations generated by BEONx.

By incorporating Market Insight into BEONx platform, users will be able to anticipate future market behaviour, predicting demand before it materialises. Real-time market heat maps and segmented data by sub-location, stay pattern, and accommodation type will be available at their fingertips. Market Insight also empowers hotels to monitor their competition effectively with OTA Insight's Smart compset feature, providing instant alerts for market opportunities and cross-departmental data insights through the market demand outlook.

Meanwhile Rate Insight+ offers hotels total visibility into short-term rental and hotel data to capture their full competitive landscape and maximise revenue opportunities. With this product, hotels can get a holistic overview of the short-term rental market in the geo-location surrounding their property and capture KPIs to better understand scale, occupancy, and rates relative to their hotel.

Rate Insight+ streamlines decision-making by consolidating all necessary hotel and short-term rental data into one user-friendly tool. This integration allows hotels to identify demand changes before their competitors and take action based on data across their competitive landscape.

"We're excited to offer our customers the ability to incorporate OTA Insight’s predictive market intelligence into their revenue management strategies. Hotels can now select, based on their product and destination, the demand data that best suits their needs. This will increase the accuracy of recommendations, forecasts, and optimisation strategies", said Rubén Sánchez, CEO and Cofounder at BEONx. “Our efforts to provide our users with the most comprehensive and actionable insights are just beginning.”

"By integrating our cutting-edge products, Market Insight and Rate Insight+ with BEONx's Sustainable Profit Platform, we are changing the way hotels approach revenue management, said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO at OTA Insight. "Together, we are committed to enhancing the strategic decision-making capabilities for hoteliers, ensuring they remain competitive and agile in an ever-changing market.”

Hotel Internet Services (HIS), a full-service provider of internet services and solutions for the hospitality industry, has been credited with elevating the in-room entertainment experiences of guests staying at Hôtel 71 with the implementation of its innovative GuestCast content streaming platform. A high-end hotel attracting guests from around the world who wish to experience Quebec’s unique vibe and culture, Hôtel 71 with QuestCast can now ensure complete guest satisfaction and enjoyment while they remain onsite thanks to the ability to access virtually any streamed content of choice on guestroom TVs.

As a trendsetting property recognized for its chic and neoclassical design, Hôtel 71 strives to provide its guests with the latest modern comforts. While featuring enticing amenities such as an onsite expresso lounge, wine & spirits bar, a fitness center and fine Italian dining, the property recognized a need to update its in-room entertainment services to guarantee alignment with today’s preferences and expectations. After researching several competing solutions, Hôtel 71 ultimately selected GuestCast due to the platform’s hotel purpose-built features and its cost-effective price.

While many guests are now familiar with consumer-based streaming solutions, GuestCast’s user-friendly design and interface ensures instant ease-of-use regardless of a guest’s level of experience with the technology. With options to pair their personal devices with guestroom TVs that can be as effortless as scanning a QR code, GuestCast notably sidesteps complications that often leave guests feeling frustrated if unable to connect their device without requiring staff assistance. To ensure an enjoyable and fully personalized experience for each guest, Hôtel 71’s decision to adopt GuestCast also comes from the solution’s ability to provide instant compatibility with thousands of mobile streaming apps. This significantly means that each guest can always look forward to seamlessly accessing their favorite content no matter what streaming service they wish to use.

“Regardless of their age or personal background, guests now widely expect hotels to provide a modern streaming-based entertainment experience, which is especially the case for high-end properties such as Hôtel 71,” said Mathieu Savard, Assistant General Manager at Hôtel 71. “We therefore set ourselves the goal of identifying a streaming system with the best features at an affordable price, which is what ultimately led us to GuestCast. Since adopting the solution, we have been impressed by the ease and flexibility that it provides our guests in taking control of their TV-viewing experiences, and look forward to leveraging all of GuestCast’s capabilities in order to provide an in-room entertainment service that always exceeds expectations.”

GuestCast’s hotel purpose-built functionalities are importantly also designed to address potential guest concerns over data security and privacy. Unlike smart TVs, the platform never requires guests to enter-in sensitive streaming account login information which can lead to an increased risk of theft. Guest privacy at Hôtel 71 is further protected by GuestCast’s advanced device isolation capabilities. This feature notably prevents guests from accidently casting content to televisions located in other rooms, while also preventing those who may seek to maliciously take over another guest’s TV.

Hôtel 71 by adopting GuestCast also gains access to the solution’s data-rich Analytics Dashboard. Via a single interface, property staff can utilize the Dashboard to monitor individual GuestCast device health in real-time. The feature further allows the property to analyze GuestCast usage rates in order to measure the level of success of their in-room entertainment strategy. As a solution designed by an industry-leading provider of connectivity-based technologies, GuestCast’s Analytics Dashboard can even be used to analyze WiFi signal strength for each guestroom where the device is located. This importantly allows Hôtel 71 and other properties supported by GuestCast to instantly intensify any WiFi service issues and correct them before affecting guest satisfaction rates.

Cloud5 Communications, a provider of communications solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, today announced it has been named Mitel’s Hospitality Partner of the Year, Americas, for the second year in a row at Mitel’s 2023 Global Partner Awards Ceremony held earlier this month.

Presented during the Mitel Next partner conference, Cloud5 was honored for its exceptional performance as a Mitel partner over the past year, including delivering substantial revenue and seat growth. Cloud5 was also recognized for its strong commitment to customer experience by consistently going above and beyond to provide organizations with world-class business communications solutions that drive modernization in a fast-changing world.

“Telecommunications technology is a crucial component to hotel operations, and once again, we are deeply honored to be recognized by Mitel for our expertise in this area,” said Mark Holzberg, CEO of Cloud5 Communications. “As Mitel’s leading hospitality partner, we look forward to further building upon our collaboration and helping more hotel businesses experience the seamless communications and reliability that are hallmarks of the Mitel and Cloud5 brands.”

Cloud5 is the top revenue-producing hospitality reseller of Mitel solutions. Additionally, Cloud5 has passed every certification available under Mitel’s hospitality designation, earning the company the distinctive “Gold Partner” and “Mitel Hospitality Expert” status. These designations underscore Cloud5’s commitment to developing the most knowledgeable, experienced voice personnel in the industry, and help to distinguish it from other hospitality partners in the industry.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Cloud5’s outstanding performance over the past year,” said Frank Skiffington, senior vice-president, Americas sales at Mitel. “At Mitel, we are committed to delivering flexible and future-proof UC solutions that support organizations across key verticals, as well as providing a world-leading customer lifecycle management approach. Our partners play a critical role in achieving this with their deep understanding of end customers’ evolving needs. Working together, we are well positioned for further growth and success by ensuring the organizations we serve have the right communications solutions to thrive, regardless of which path—on-prem, hybrid, or cloud—they take.”