News Briefs

Knowland, the world’s leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, reports overall U.S. meeting and event volume for August 2023 was up 21 percent over August 2022. This data is sourced from Knowland’s sales intelligence platform designed to help hoteliers build and protect a hotel’s revenue base.

Las Vegas shined among the top 25 markets with 44 percent year-over-year growth for event volume in August. The leading industry segments driving its growth were National Association and Technology. With the excitement over The Sphere at The Venetian and the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, Transportation and Construction have emerged as the top 2019 comeback industry segments for 2023, with a 366 percent and 250 percent recapture of 2019 meetings and events volume year-to-date, respectively. The average number of attendees for Vegas was 439, and the meeting space used was over 12,000 sq ft.

• Year-over-year comparison – August 2023 event volume increased 21 percent over August 2022.
• Top five markets (by event volume growth) – Las Vegas led with National Association meetings, followed by Technology. The following four markets, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Chicago, rounded out the top five growth markets for year-over-year volume growth. Below is additional insight into the top drivers for these markets.
  • Las Vegas: National Association, Technology, Entertainment/Media, Training/Education, Wedding.
  • Nashville: National Association, Technology, HealthCare, Manufacturing, and Training/Education.
  • Los Angeles-Long Beach: Education, Training/Education, Technology, Charity/Non-Profit, and Wedding.
  • Seattle: National Association, Technology, Wedding, Education, HealthCare.
  • Chicago:  National Association, Wedding, Technology, Education, and Healthcare
• Top markets (by percentage growth) – The top overall U.S. markets by year-over-year growth in meetings and events were Greensboro-Winston Salem, NC; Michigan South; Mobile, AL; Madison, WI; and Norfolk-Virginia Beach, VA.

About the Data: This data is provided to help hoteliers still building momentum gain insight into the top locations selected by today’s meeting planners. This information about the leading industry drivers provides a clear picture of those groups that are returning to the meeting and event space. Insights presented are a result of the analysis of meetings and events data acquired through Knowland data collection and aggregation methods, including field reporting and automated methods of customer and non-customer data collection in primary, secondary, and tertiary markets, as well as its large historical database.

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.

GauVendi is advancing its disruptive approach to rethinking inventory, which has already been successfully implemented in the GauVendi Sales Engine, towards an open, feature-based inventory platform.

GauVendi started in 2020 with an innovative AI-driven booking experience that provides accommodation providers with a comprehensive solution for hyper-personalized sales and fulfillment automation. It was mainly deployed as a stand-alone solution. With this evolution, accommodation businesses and technology providers can now explore new avenues in sales, distribution, operational efficiency, and marketing of inventory. They benefit from highly automated processes without major system overhauls.

"We aim to offer every operator the opportunity to distribute their inventory in a scalable manner, much like it was previously only possible through personal sales - and all of it fully automated," says Markus Müller, CEO, and co-founder of GauVendi. "With the open API interface, all technology providers can now sell relevant and customizable inventory through their platforms. Our solution acts as an additional layer integrated into the existing tech stack, enabling differentiated sales and automation without significant changes to the current system landscape," adds Müller.

GauVendi's platform is the only one worldwide that provides a feature-based language and a dynamic product management system with its approach. The open API approach ensures seamless integration with other technology providers. Feature-based inventory can be transformed into relevant and tailored accommodation products using the AI recommendation model. The result is a transparent guest experience right from the booking process and significant time savings during reservations through intelligent and optimized room assignments.

The newly established inventory management platform and the associated new products and solutions were developed based on experiences gained from implementing the Sales Engine with existing hotel customers, their achieved results, and the acquired data. The new data structure enables the introduction of advanced automation possibilities, including dynamically optimized and intelligent room assignments using AI (Reinforcement Loops), going far beyond the largely manual and limited assignments used until now.

In today's era of personalization, the data structure in the form of categories for inventory management has proven to be inadequate. It lacks information about individual room features in data formats, making it challenging for operators to fulfill guest requests without significant manual and operational efforts. Any inquiry about specific room characteristics is handled offline and requires manual processing. Monetizing these features is also not possible, and the lack of personalization reduces the competitiveness of accommodation businesses compared to others.

Müller adds, "These problems are a thing of the past with the use of GauVendi. The results our customers achieve with our current solution validate this: significant increases in room revenue, considerable time savings through new automation features, a reduction in phone and email inquiries, and better guest reviews and check-in experiences."

Eagle Eye Networks, the global leader in cloud video surveillance, today launched V3 of the Eagle Eye Video API Platform, which is used by Eagle Eye developers, resellers, and technology partners worldwide. The new API is comprehensive, built for faster implementation of video applications by developers, and builds upon the API foundation of V1 and V2.

Since its founding in 2012, Eagle Eye has been committed to an open platform with a comprehensive RESTful API accessible by all, and extensive camera support. With the launch of API V3, Eagle Eye continues its platform investment for developers to easily create applications leveraging and integrating cloud video surveillance.

“Over the past 11 years, we have learned many lessons about what is needed in a cloud platform for broad video surveillance applications, AI, and operating at scale,” said Dean Drako, CEO of Eagle Eye Networks. “We have incorporated developer feedback, developer requests, integration needs, and large customer requirements to make V3 of our API that delivers even more.”

Eagle Eye will continue to support its V1 and V2 APIs for the foreseeable future, but recommends all new development be done on API V3.

Used by thousands of enterprise organizations across the globe, the Video API Platform and mobile and web software development kits (SDKs) bring cloud video surveillance and AI capabilities to developers for faster development and integration with video surveillance. The API allows resellers and business owners to build custom solutions. Some examples include:

• Hotel management applications integrating video surveillance for accessibility and business management.
• Entrepreneurs developing applications and launching their business on the Eagle Eye Video API Platform speeding their time to market.
• AI experts integrating their AI analysis for customers to obtain their AI expertise.
• Central station software directly taking video feeds and AI from the Eagle Eye Video API Platform.

Some key benefits of the Eagle Eye Video API Platform include:

• Secure OAuth-based cloud authentication to 8,000+ IP camera models with just a few lines of code, including Axis, Bosch, Hanwha, Mobotix, IPro, Vivotek cameras
• Cloud-based AI and video analytics with a simple API call
• RTSP support for recorded and live video
• Easy media integration (HLS, RTSP, MP4)
• 2-Way Audio for bi-directional voice communications
• SDKs for faster integrations on Web, Android, iOS
• Accelerated time-to-market for integrated solutions

Modern RESTful API

Technology partners say the V3 Video API Platform offers benefits beyond technical ease of use.

“Eagle Eye’s newest Video API Platform is feature-rich and developer friendly, which streamlines even complex integrations, allowing us to bring groundbreaking new capabilities to market in record time,” said Chris Brown, CEO of Immix, a provider of central station and security platform software. “The platform also improves our ability to serve our customers and expedite the onboarding process for their customers, most notably end users with very large camera counts.”

Eagle Eye is exhibiting products and discussing initiatives that demonstrate the power of AI + Cloud for 2023 and beyond for security practitioners, resellers, and tech partners in Booth 3925 at the GSX show Sept. 11-13 in Dallas. Demos and meetings with Eagle Eye experts may be scheduled in advance using this link.

Cloudbeds, a hospitality management platform powering more reservations and happier guests for lodging businesses around the globe, announced the worldwide availability of Whistle for Cloudbeds, the company’s award-winning guest communication platform.

Integrated directly with the Cloudbeds Platform, Whistle for Cloudbeds gives properties the tools to drive incremental revenue, increase guest satisfaction, streamline internal operations, and deliver more meaningful contact and customized interactions throughout the entire guest journey from discovery to post-stay.

In addition to guest messaging and communication capabilities, Whistle for Cloudbeds provides hoteliers with high-impact features that help to simplify internal workflows and increase staff efficiency, including:

Unified inbox supporting multi-channel messaging
Whistle for Cloudbeds customers can now receive and send guest messages from Booking.com and Airbnb and no longer have to log into the OTA extranet to keep track of guest communication.

Multi-language and multi-currency support
Whistle for Cloudbeds now supports multiple languages and currencies. Guests will be able to see the guestbook, digital registration card, and upsell marketplace in 29 languages and 160 different currencies. Property staff will also have the option to view and operate the platform in 11 different languages.

Multi-property support
Hotel group owners and operators can now access a centralized overview of all guest communications across their properties. Whistle for Cloudbeds customers will be able to see multiple properties’ inboxes within a single dashboard.

Whistle for Cloudbeds unlocks the opportunity for all lodging businesses to offer best-in-class guest engagement that can increase staff efficiency more than 50% and nearly double their upsell revenue.

Anthony Gutierrez, General Manager at The Pearl, a Cassetta Group hotel, says Whistle for Cloudbeds has impacted the property’s guest experience substantially. “The ease of access to support from our front desk team, the ability to request any number of things from your phone really takes a lot off of the guests’ plate. They don't have to call or come down to the front desk. It makes it a really seamless experience for them," says Gutierrez.

WOWorks, the parent company behind a collection of better-for-you restaurant brands, including Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina, and Zoup! Eatery, announced its partnership with BigZpoon, a renowned provider of innovative food-ingredient based analysis technology solutions for the restaurant and hospitality industries. This strategic alliance aims to assist guests in navigating any WOWorks restaurant menu, enabling them to make informed meal choices that align with their dietary preferences and restrictions.

With approximately one-fourth of American consumers implementing dietary and nutrition guidelines for their meals, as per Statista's Global Consumer Survey, WOWorks recognizes the growing demand for personalized dining options. Through its collaboration with BigZpoon, WOWorks is introducing a personalized and interactive allergen and nutrition menu technology tool empowering guests to select menu items that meet their nutritional needs and preferences. Furthermore, the integration includes a real-time nutrition calculator that accurately tracks the dietary details of chosen meals and alerts guests when their nutrition goals are exceeded.

"As awareness about the impact of food on our lives continues to grow, a larger percentage of our guests are mindful of what they choose to consume," said Kelly Roddy, CEO of WOWorks. "Whether it's reducing meat intake for environmental reasons or minimizing carbs for personal health, diners are increasingly seeking nutritional information from restaurants. We always encourage our guests to customize our signature menu items or create their personalized meals to suit their lifestyle preferences. It brings us great pleasure to provide a digital tool that significantly enhances the accessibility of allergen and nutrition information in a convenient digital format."

Unlike many restaurants offering static PDF formats for nutrition information, BigZpoon's innovative technology leverages guests' individual preferences and filters the entire menu of each WOWorks restaurant. This ensures guests are presented with food options aligning with their specific criteria. The AI-driven software not only guides guests through a personalized menu experience, but it also removes items containing allergens or do not meet their desired preferences, creating a stress-free dining experience. BigZpoon's menu system seamlessly integrates with the existing ordering systems at all WOWorks restaurants, allowing guests to efficiently place online orders and take advantage of third-party delivery services.

WOWorks franchise owners come from different backgrounds, including multi-brand franchisees; varied business ownership backgrounds, such as construction, hotels, and fitness; former professional athletes; and military veterans. The company has franchising opportunities available in 49 states (all states excluding Hawaii) and offers 25 percent off franchise fees for veterans and first responders.