News Briefs

First Hospitality, a national hotel management and development company, is pleased to announce an agreement to acquire the majority of the hotel management agreements of Hostmark Hospitality Group, headquartered in Schaumburg, IL. This strategic move significantly expands First Hospitality's geographic presence, augments its collection of restaurants and bars, and promises to bring added benefits to its expanded portfolio, which will include more than 70 hotels nationwide.

David Duncan, President and CEO of First Hospitality, stated, "Our alignment with Hostmark Hospitality Group fits well with our strategy of being the first and obvious choice in every market we serve. With our experienced team and strong operational capabilities, we are well-positioned to provide increased value to all our owners and partners, including the Hostmark community. This acquisition positions us for further accelerated growth in key markets throughout the US and builds deeper relationships with hotel ownership groups that prioritize superior financial performance, enriched guest experiences, and increased associate satisfaction.”  

The transaction adds 17 hotels to First Hospitality's management portfolio, bringing the total to over 70 hotels with more than 10,000 keys and supported by over 3,200 world-class associates. The company's footprint now extends to markets in California, Texas, and Florida, while further strengthening its presence in key Midwestern markets.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with First Hospitality,” says Jerry Cataldo, President & CEO of Hostmark Hospitality Group. “This next chapter in our story aligns us with a team that shares our values, our passion, and our dedication to delivering outstanding hospitality management.”

This integration promises several advantages, including attracting top-tier talent, improved operational efficiencies and investments aimed at optimizing hotel performance and guest experiences.

Stephen Schwartz, Chairman of First Hospitality said, “I have known the Cataldo family for a long time and have great respect for the legacy, track record, and culture that Jerry Cataldo and his family have built at Hostmark. We look forward to building on this foundation.”

Duncan added, “I am especially excited that Jerry has agreed to join our team to focus on further expanding our portfolio and strengthening owner relationships. This acquisition sets us up for accelerated growth in new markets and allows us to provide further depth of resources to benefit our entire ownership community.”

Closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary third-party approvals, is scheduled for early fourth quarter.

Domino's Pizza Inc. introduces its new and improved loyalty program. 

Domino's Rewards offers loyalty members even more opportunities to earn and redeem points across its corporate and franchise store locations. Domino's enhanced rewards program allows customers to:

• Earn points for less
  • Loyalty members will now earn 10 points on every order of $5 or more
• Redeem points for even more menu items – and earn free Domino's after just two orders
  • Members can redeem a variety of points for more menu items:
    • 20 points: A free dipping cup, a 16-piece order of Parmesan Bread Bites or a 20 oz. drink
    • 40 points: An order of Bread Twists or Stuffed Cheesy Bread
    • 60 points: A medium, two-topping pizza; pasta; Oven-Baked Sandwich; or a 3-piece order of Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes
• Earn more rewards
  • Loyalty perks are now even better, as members will have exclusive access to member-only deals, special discounts and opportunities to earn bonus points!

"We are thrilled to give the brand's loyal customers additional ways to earn free Domino's items more often," said Mark Messing, Domino's vice president of digital experience and loyalty. "At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino's is doing the opposite. We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster."

Marketing a LTO 

From now until Oct. 22, 2023, rewards members can take advantage of a limited time offer to redeem 20 points for a free order of Domino's new Pepperoni Stuffed Cheesy Bread, which is normally a 40-point redemption, in celebration of the product's recent launch. 

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.

Quicktext announces a new partnership with Precise hotels, a German hospitality brand having nineteen selected hotels in four countries (Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland). 

Precise hotels selected Quicktext for its portfolio of three brands: Precise Resort, the exclusive Precise Tale and the upscale Precise House.

As the hospitality industry continues to evolve, providing personalized and efficient guest experiences has become a top priority for hotels and resorts. With Quicktext’s AI technology, Precise hotels will be able to enhance guest interactions and streamline communication processes, ensuring an unparalleled level of service.

Velma, Quicktext’s virtual assistant, is designed to respond to a wide range of customer queries and requests quickly and efficiently. Leveraging AI capabilities and structured data, Velma can understand natural language queries and provide personalized responses, make reservations and service requests.

What’s more, thanks to its portfolio of unique tools: Q-Data, Q-SEO, Q-Sales, Q-AD, Q-BI, Quicktext can process, enrich and add value to all data generated by all conversations.

eviivo, a travel tech company known for its award-winning booking and property management platform, eviivo Suite, and award-winning app, eviivo Mobile, announces the launch of eviivo Concierge, a groundbreaking Generative AI-powered guest messaging tool for property owners (such as vacation rentals), Airbnb and Vrbo hosts and boutique hoteliers in short-term rentals and independent accommodations. With eviivo Concierge, eviivo is the first global property management platform to fully integrate the power of AI as a new time-saving Guest Management feature, pioneering hospitality technology with powerful, personalized and predictive guest communication solutions. 

“Automation has always been the key to success for property owners, and we’ve proudly gone above and beyond for our customers with eviivo Concierge — a future-forward, AI-powered chatbot integrated in our award-winning software — that expertly and concisely responds to guests on their website,” says Steve Kerridge, eviivo Head of Product and Design. “eviivo Concierge not only revolutionizes guest communication and messaging, it will unarguably be a welcomed standard for property owners. As the first global property management platform in our industry to introduce front-end Generative AI technology, we’re thrilled to continue being pioneers our customers can rely on.”

A seamlessly designed virtual assistant available on customers’ websites, eviivo Concierge leverages the property’s accommodations service data to predictively answer guest questions based on any commands or directives (ie: “How many suites do you have? Answer with humor”), provide personalized assistance and recommendations, and also transform and enhance guest communication while saving property owners valuable time and money, increasing efficiency and driving more bookings. 

“Generative AI has been in high demand in the short-term rental industry, and with our release of eviivo Concierge, eviivo customers have been truly excited, especially since we’re meeting expectations for what we deliver best: giving back their time,” says Usama Ahmed, eviivo Product Director. “Our award-winning mobile app allows hosts to run their business anywhere, anytime, right in the palm of their hand — and now with eviivo’s 24/7 digital Concierge, property owners can have dozens of guest questions answered while they tend to their garden, vacation with family or even while they sleep.” 

eviivo Concierge is an integral part of eviivo Suite’s guest messaging solution, including:

-Website-based, custom-tailored generative AI responses to guest questions, which consistently improves personalization over time.

-Allows property owners, hosts and hoteliers to build key relationships and reduce mundane tasks while eviivo Concierge answers guest questions 24/7.

-Designed to provide guests answers in any format or theme they command (ie: “be funny;” “show me the best bedroom photos;” etc).

-Automates multi-channel guest interactions through world-class APIs to Online travel Agencies/OTAs (such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, etc).

-Access to saved AI conversation transcripts through eviivo Conversation’s unified messaging inbox to optimize self-learning.

-Can help create engaging email templates to increase direct and repeat bookings.

-Ability to automate and curate guest experiences through eviivo Suite, including personalized emails, payment reminders, booking confirmations and contactless check-in details.

-Invite guests to leave reviews through eviivo Conversation. 

eviivo Concierge addresses the growing demand for ChatGPT/AI integration in the hospitality industry, which is set to revolutionize the guest experience “in the next 10 years by providing more personalized and recommendation engines, automation of repetitive tasks, virtual assistants, smart room technology and concierge services,” according to Hotel Tech Report. 

According to Forbes, 64% of businesses expect AI to increase productivity, and AI will see an annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030. 

For more information, and to experience eviivo Concierge, visit: www.eviivo.com/eviivo-concierge

With 14 million electric vehicles (EVs) expected to be on the road by the end of 2023, providing charging infrastructure has become a priority for the hospitality industry. To serve this demand, EV Connect today announced an agreement with hospitality leader Marriott International to simplify EV charging for its properties and guests. With EV Connect, Marriott properties will have a turnkey solution to easily add and manage EV charging stations through the EV Connect platform. This is the first agreement of this type for Marriott and ensures that participating locations can provide reliable charging infrastructure at locations within the U.S. and Canada.

“As the world shifts towards sustainable energy and clean transportation, hotels and resorts that provide charging facilities for EVs can attract guests who prioritize sustainability and carbon-neutral travel. This collaboration between EV Connect and Marriott marks a major advancement of the EV market's expansion, and it has significant implications for the hospitality sector as a whole," said Ram Ambatipudi, Senior Vice President of Business Development at EV Connect.

The EV Connect charging platform simplifies charging station set-up, management, and optimization, backed by premium customer service, from installation to driver support. Marriott properties will have the ability to choose the charging hardware deployed on the open platform, allowing them to scale EV charging needs for the unique needs of individual locations. With EV Connect Shield, a comprehensive parts and labor warranty plan, Marriott property owners will have peace of mind knowing that critical operational and maintenance tasks are performed by qualified personnel, including charging station repair, software support, and fieldwork labor, from resolving minor technical issues to parts sourcing and replacement service.

“Our guests increasingly expect EV charging stations at our properties, and this collaboration will help us meet rapidly evolving consumer demand and further the company’s sustainability goals," said Andrew Bodziak, Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Marriott International. "With EV Connect, we can offer properties an end-to-end turnkey service, simplifying the planning, installation, and maintenance processes while simultaneously delivering high-quality service our guests expect."

Marriott International is shaping the modern hospitality industry with its portfolio of nearly 8,600 properties, operating under 31 brands spanning 139 countries and territories. As Marriott is focused on enhancing the guest experience and making it easier for travelers to choose sustainable transportation options, charging stations at Marriott properties will be visible on the EV Connect app, allowing guests to locate and pay for EV charging.

To learn more about how EV Connect provides an end-to-end, flexible solution for Marriott properties while enhancing the EV travel experience, please visit www.evconnect.com/marriott.