News Briefs

Hospitality management company Charlestowne Hotels announces the promotion of Maxwell Spangler to Vice President of Technology. During his 10-year tenure at Charlestowne, Spangler has overseen the strategic growth of the company’s evolving tech stack and road map, developing and deploying new software and systems, and identifying continued opportunities for innovation.  

“Max’s vast knowledge of the technology sector and his thoughtful leadership have been indispensable to Charlestowne’s continued growth,” said Kyle Hughey, Chief Executive Officer of Charlestowne Hotels. “With a keen pulse on industry trends and the tech landscape, Max is always a few steps ahead, keeping Charlestowne ahead of the curve when it comes to imaginative solutions. His growth within our organization is a testament to an unyielding desire for excellence, and a dedication to shepherding our team through the ever-changing currents of innovation." 

As a respected industry expert, Spangler leads on implementing cutting-edge tech tools across Charlestowne’s portfolio of 40+ properties. He ensures Charlestowne’s in-house team and on-site property managers are nimble enough to embrace emerging tech trends and also fully understand best practices surrounding key industry topics, such as information security and data integrity. 

Most notably, Spangler helped Charlestowne adapt during the pandemic to ensure long-term resilience as the hospitality industry shifted to technologies that enhanced safety, improved operational efficiency, and reimagined how to attract and serve guests.  

Spangler has a strong background in hotel operations and systems programming, having spent the early part of his career working in front-of-house and corporate positions within the Charlestowne Hotels portfolio. Some of his key achievements include obtaining optimum performance in financial reporting and strategic capital planning for a range of independent properties and designing and deploying new software—like the Groupify hospitality application—which Charlestowne used to manage and increase profitability for group business. Spangler’s new role enables him to join other VPs in lending strategy and building out more tools to support Charlestowne’s continued growth.  

“It’s been a joy to be part of Charlestowne’s portfolio growth over the years, and I look forward to bringing my passion for technology to our team in an even more impactful way through this new role,” said Spangler. “The company’s commitment to marrying timeless service culture with ongoing innovation is evident in the evolution of our tech team. I’m proud to be part of a forward-thinking company that embraces best practices and welcomes new ideas in the tech sector.” 

Shiji, a global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.

The integrated iOS and payment device solution simplifies guest service for hotel restaurant servers, providing them with an effortless tool to cater to their guests' needs. As a certified Apple partner, Shiji and IPORT guarantee exceptional performance and reliability. Hoteliers can choose from multiple device options, including iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and iPhone, ensuring flexibility and compatibility with their operations.

“IPORT products are built around modularity and flexibility that empower our hospitality customers to do more with the iOS platform. We are thrilled to partner with a leading iPad and iPhone cloud PMS and POS platform provider like Shiji,” said Chris Lawson, Head of Partnerships, IPORT. “We look forward to innovating with Shiji in disrupting legacy, monolithic providers who have limited the industry from harnessing the power of iOS and mobility. The future is bright, and the possibilities are endless with IPORT, iOS, and Shiji.”

"The partnership with IPORT is a significant milestone for Shiji in our commitment to provide innovative technology solutions for the hospitality industry," said Ryan King, Senior Vice President of Shiji in the Americas. "By combining our expertise with IPORT’s hardware solutions, we empower hoteliers to streamline restaurant operations and deliver exceptional guest experiences. This collaboration represents another step forward in our dedication to driving success in the Americas, and globally."

The tablet and payment device solution seamlessly integrates with multiple payment gateways, allowing hoteliers to choose the system that best suits their needs. By simplifying the payment process, it reduces operational complexities, minimizes errors, and saves valuable time and resources for hoteliers.

Favor Delivery, a restaurant delivery app for Texans, is launching its largest ad campaign to date.

The integrated campaign, "How Texas Orders In," features Texas newcomers learning the unique, and at times, funny ways in which things are done in their new home state.

From 2000 to 2022, Texas gained close to 10 million new residents—a 43% increase in population, according to Census.gov. 

Founded in Austin in 2013, Favor currently operates in more than 200 cities across Texas with over 100,000 Runners (drivers), who have delivered more than 75 million Favors to date—which range from restaurant meals and alcohol to groceries and everyday essentials. In 2018, Favor became the first US on-demand delivery company to achieve profitability, which prompted its sale to grocery retailer H-E-B.  

Texan Quirks in the Spotlight

The centerpiece of the campaign, which is running exclusively in Texas across all major markets, is three 30-second spots featuring newly-arrived Texans sharing what they've learned about their neighbors since moving in. The first, that Texans love ordering food delivery through Favor. The second, always a signature Texan quirk–like that neighbors will want to help with whatever it is you're doing in the yard, or that your neighborhood will likely turn into a ghost town on Saturday during football season. The spots will run across local linear broadcast, connected TV and digital channels. 

Out-of-home ads echo the local angle with messages like, "Proudly Unavailable in 49 States," and "Welcome New Texans. No State Income Tax = Extra Guac." Social media posts will provide helpful hints for Texas newcomers ("Don't rush out to buy boots. We don't all wear them. But do download Favor. We all use it for delivery.") and playfully reference the four seasons in Texas. ("Winter, Spring, Summer, and Football"). 

View the spots here: Neighbors, Yard Signs, and Ghost Town.

 

 

Knightscope, Inc.,  a  developer of autonomous security robots and blue light emergency communication systems,  announced two new contracts with a northern California casino. The casino signed one agreement for a K1 Tower and separately signed a pre-order for two of the company’s K1 Hemisphere Autonomous Security Robots or “ASRs”. Knightscope recently deployed two K1 Hemispheres in Hawaii to mark the final stage of testing as it prepares to fulfill its pre-order contracts.

The K1 Tower is a stationary indoor/outdoor ASR optimized for use at smaller properties where mobility is not necessarily required, or at points of ingress and egress. It operates 24/7 and has the same features clients have come to expect from Knightscope’s mobile ASRs with the added option of facial recognition which, in the case of casinos, may be used to identify VIPs, advantage players and known trespassers.

The K1 Hemisphere is compact and a perfect complement to its bigger siblings for casinos, commercial property owners, residential communities, bank ATM vestibules, truck stops, lobbies, loading docks, ports, rail, schools, and any other places where one seeks to elevate the security and safety profiles of the places people work, live, study and visit. The Hemisphere is also easily mounted to a variety of objects like poles, fences, buildings, walls, etc., making it an incredibly versatile addition to any security program.

Knightscope’s ASR services and emergency communications products help better protect public spaces. To learn more about Knightscope’s robots, visit www.knightscope.com/discover.

Despite facing barriers to entry, Generation Z is embracing entrepreneurship in Canada with an optimistic outlook, according to Gen Z: A New Age in Canadian Entrepreneurship, a new report from technology company Square. The report is based on the findings of a survey conducted with 400 Canadians aged 18–27 who own a business or are in the process of starting one, conducted in collaboration with Leger.

While more than one in two (56%) respondents believe they have better economic opportunities than the previous generation, a far larger percentage of men (60%) than women (49%) shared this optimistic outlook.

When it comes to entrepreneurial role models there is a significant gender divide, with 34% of male respondents indicating they looked up to Elon Musk the most. Women had far less interest in Musk (14%), favouring entertainers-turned-moguls Selena Gomez (25%), Ryan Reynolds (18%) and Rihanna (18%).

The definition of success also varied largely between Gen Z men and women, with 51% of women indicating that growing a customer base was the number-one success factor, compared to only 38% of men. Women were also far more concerned with customer satisfaction (39%) than men (29%).

However, in many areas there was general consensus across genders. For example, more than three in four respondents (77%) believe Gen Z is more open to alternative paths to success instead of a corporate 9–5 job than previous generations. Jasmine Linton, who owns DIBS Scratch Bakery, a bakery in Richmond Hill, Ontario, agrees.

“We're not only more open to alternative paths, but in many cases, I think we actually prefer it,” said Linton. “Being able to do my own thing on my own time, rather than being confined to 9–5, is part of what led me to start my own business.”

Linton is, however, in the minority: 25% of Gen Z entrepreneurs consider their business a full-time endeavour while 53% see their businesses as side hustles.

Technology's Starring Role

Technology is a big factor in growing these businesses from part- to full-time, with 79% of respondents saying they consider technology tools, such as payment processing, essential to starting a business. More than a third (36%) attribute Gen Z's entrepreneurial nature to greater access to technology and related tools. But they still lack comfort with some of the financial tasks required to run a business: 86% of respondents have at least one finance-related task they feel ill-equipped to handle, with more than one-fifth (22%) struggling with knowing how to secure funding. Some (21%) also admit to difficulties with budgeting and cash flow management, and another 19% find it difficult to manage invoices.

To learn more about Square  visit Square.ca.

TouchBistro launched a comprehensive suite of back-of-house (BOH) solutions that help automate operations and profit management analysis. By connecting these BOH solutions to TouchBistro’s Point of Sale (POS), front-of-house (FOH) operations, and guest engagement solutions, TouchBistro now provides an end-to-end solution that offers all the key capabilities that restaurateurs require to be successful.

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

Features:

• TouchBistro Profit Management, Powered by MarginEdge, seamlessly integrates with the all-in-one TouchBistro Point of Sale (POS) and Restaurant Management System to help single or multi-unit restaurants maximize their profitability through greater control over inventory, supplier costs and invoices, menu and recipe planning, food wastage, and accounting.
• TouchBistro Kitchen Display System (KDS), Powered by Fresh, delivers accurate orders instantly to the kitchen for preparation. As soon as a ticket is sent from the POS, it appears on the KDS, providing an instant line of communication between FOH and BOH staff, eliminating time consuming manual double entry and costly errors.

Restaurateurs report spending 41% more on food on average than the prior year, with more than half their suppliers raising prices in the last year. Staying on top of supplier pricing changes and invoicing, evaluating plating profitability and predicting what customers will buy, and tracking food usage and mitigating wastage are all complex, time-consuming functions when done manually or with a stack of spreadsheets. However, they are all essential for managing profitability in single or multi-unit operations, especially when inventory costs are rising, new fees are being charged by technology providers, rent is more expensive, and workers are demanding higher wages. Streamlining internal workflows is also essential in reducing expenses and improving customer satisfaction.

As the restaurant industry evolves and new technologies become available, TouchBistro is committed to integrating advanced new capabilities into its all-in-one POS and restaurant management platform, ensuring its solutions are fast to install, intuitive to use, and make it easier for restaurants to focus on building a profitable business that at the same time delights their guests.

For more information on availability and pricing of TouchBistro Profit Management and KDS, visit: https://www.touchbistro.com/kitchen-display-system/ https://www.touchbistro.com/profit-management/