News Briefs

Ashland, Virginia-based Pepicelli’s Pizza LLC has increased sales by 27% using HungerRush’s full portfolio of solutions to help streamline its restaurant management and market to its growing customer base.

In addition to using HungerRush’s POS, the restaurant also taps into HungerRush’s automated marketing, loyalty, rewards, delivery and online ordering.

• 84% of survey participants plan to add new functionality, features, or modules to their current POS software in 2024, according to HT’s 2024 POS Software Trends Survey

“One of the biggest challenges we ran into with our restaurant was navigating through the many POS systems on the market,” said Tom Checkosky, Owner and Operator of Pepicelli's. “The promises made by so many did not at all align with the reality of what these other technology providers could offer our business. We needed a strong POS fit for pizza specifically, one that could handle highly complex menus and the nuances of food that travels—and only HungerRush was able to meet and exceed our restaurant needs.”

Since using HungerRush’s POS since October 2020, Pepicelli’s has recognized the following benefits:

· Increased total sales by 27%
· Increased online orders from 20% to 70%
· Lift in weekly orders by 24%
· 54% of sales can be attributed to marketing programs from HungerRush 

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. 

Cloudbeds, one of the hospitality industry’s fastest-growing PMS platform partners, and HotelREZ, one of the world’s leading hotel representation companies, have recently joined forces completing the development of a direct two-way interface.

The certified HotelREZ ‘REZswitch’ two-way API connection between Cloudbeds cloud-based hotel Property Management System (PMS) and CentralREZ, HotelREZ’s Central Reservation System (CRS) provides real time updates to manage inventory, rates, availability and bookings for distribution to the Global Distribution Systems (GDS), primarily used by travel agents, as well as to millions of other bookers using websites powered by the GDS worldwide. Hotel customers benefit from seamless connectivity between both providers. 

This interface will ensure hoteliers receive real-time reservation delivery and availability updates from these channels, via the PMS, which is available to all existing and new Cloudbeds customers.    

As market specialists, HotelREZ customers typically benefit from a significant growth of channel business via the GDS agency market as a result of strong account management, worldwide demand partners and optimising marketing and sales opportunities. HotelREZ works closely with each client to ensure a growth in this channel that in some cases can be up to 70%.   

Mark Lewis, CEO & Founder at HotelREZ, said “We are constantly striving to find ways to help hotels improve their efficiencies, save time and automate processes to reduce pressure on staff but also maximise revenue potential. This new interface into CentralREZ not only enables hotels using Cloudbeds PMS to manage their GDS inventory with greater efficiencies but will also reduce the potential for errors and overbooking.” 

Sebastien Leitner, Vice President, Partnerships, added: “We are pleased to be able to offer our Cloudbeds users a simpler way of distributing their inventory directly from the GDS and other key third party channels. The GDS is of great importance to hotels’ bottom line, being a great source for additional bookings, and HotelREZ is recognised as a global leader in the hotel representation sector. Our certified two-way interface will be highly beneficial to hotels, providing them with optimal revenue and yield capabilities." 

Cloudbeds customers can also benefit from access to HotelREZ’s own network of preferred travel agencies and consortia partnerships, as well as its global demand programme, which includes corporate and MICE RFP generation.

Uplift, a Buy Now Pay Later solution for travel brands, announced a partnership with Unique Travel Corp. (UTC), the worldwide representative of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts, to provide their all-inclusive guests with the ability to spread out the cost of their booking over time. This new payment option allows guests to reserve an amazing all-inclusive vacation and then pay for their trip with simple,  affordable installments. Guests may access Uplift payment options via the Sandals and Beaches websites or via their call center if they prefer to book by phone.

"When it comes to planning a dream vacation, financial flexibility and convenience are key," said Jeff Clarke, CEO of Unique Vacations, Inc., an affiliate of UTC. "Giving guests of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts the option to pay for their vacation over time is a game changer, especially for those with longer term planning needs like a destination wedding and honeymoon. The Uplift Buy Now Pay Later program offers endless opportunities for those wishing to upgrade their vacation perks and splurge on amenities like lavish suites, spa treatments and special experiences."

Uplift partners with over 300 of the world's leading airlines, cruise lines, resorts, and other major travel providers to help more consumers make meaningful purchases and experience the travel that they deserve.

"We are excited to welcome Unique Travel Corp. to the Uplift hospitality family," said Tom Botts,  Chief Commercial Officer, Uplift. "This partnership will provide Sandals and Beaches guests the flexibility to book their all-inclusive dream vacation in monthly installments allowing them to explore all the experiences these resorts have to offer."

Guests vacationing at Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts will be able to utilize the Uplift pay-over time with monthly installments rather than paying in full at the time of their booking. Customers will see the total cost of their trip upfront along with the monthly payment amount and can choose from three months to 24 monthly installments.* With Uplift, there are no fees, including no late fees or prepayment penalties, and travel can happen before customers complete their payments.

TreviPay, a global B2B payments and invoicing network, released a series of technology features designed to help merchants build experiential loyalty with enterprise buyers, including TreviPay’s new all-in-one payments solution. By providing payment choice, convenience and customization, merchants across different industries, including retail, hospitality and manufacturing, can leverage TreviPay’s technology to reduce friction and build loyalty at all stages of the purchasing process.

Recent TreviPay research unveiled the importance of payment choice for optimizing first-time and returning buyer experiences with 86% of global business buyers reporting the ability to pay using their preferred payment method is important. With TreviPay’s all-in-one payments, B2B merchants and marketplaces can now serve the entire spectrum of business buyers with TreviPay as their single payments vendor. Through integration, merchants can customize acceptance of card types, allowing business buyers to either pay upfront with card, ACH or mobile wallet, or pay later through net terms (the ability to pay in 30-, 60-, or 90-days) and invoicing to improve cash flow and reduce bad debt.

“As enterprises continue to evaluate their digital transformation efforts, there is still an opportunity to innovate the online B2B payments experience to eliminate checkout friction and increase conversions,” said Dan Zimmerman, Chief Technology Officer of TreviPay. “Through one comprehensive checkout solution, merchants can rely on a single payments vendor to accept multiple payments modalities and consolidate reporting across payment types.”

A notable use case is found in the B2B retail industry where credit cards are often the only payment option offered online. As trade credit or net terms are preferred by 85% of global business buyers, typically for higher spend or more frequent purchases, retailers can now accommodate both options more seamlessly through TreviPay’s all-in-one payments solution. Credit and debit card payments are supported for customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Europe and Australia, in 16 payout currencies and 25+ locales. TreviPay APIs also provide integrated reporting to systematically deliver detailed reimbursement documentation daily, as well as consolidated reporting for card and net terms payments and deposits — at the marketplace and individual seller levels.

Additional technology capabilities now offered by TreviPay to bolster buyer loyalty include:

• Decentralized Billing: For sellers to create billing groups and sub-tiered accounts (parent/child hierarchy) with separate legal entities, to configure custom payment and billing options, as well as apply individual credit limits.
• Contract Price Verification: For sellers to define customer pricing tiers with specific SKU-level pricing details, for TreviPay to conveniently cross-reference against contracted pricing with limited disruption.
• Customized Customer Support: For sellers to define and rank buyers to customize support with white-glove services, such as offering extended net terms or assigning a dedicated support agent.
• Customer Portal Redesign: To improve navigation, usability and customer experience for buyers, with easy-to-export data capabilities.

FLYR, an AI-powered platform for travel technology, announced that BWH Hotels Scandinavia, a global hospitality network that includes Best Western Hotels & Resorts (BWHR), Worldhotels, and Sure Hotels, has selected FLYR for Hospitality as its preferred Revenue Management System (RMS). This strategic decision will strengthen BWH Hotels’ centralized revenue management capabilities for its 56 properties across Scandinavia and enable it to grow at a more rapid pace.

“Our mission is to become the best performing chain in Scandinavia in the area of Revenue Management,” said Sivapol Pipatanangura, Director of Revenue Services at BWH Hotels Scandinavia. “With FLYR, we’ll be able to achieve just that. With an emphasis on data-driven decisions and an intuitive UI, FLYR is perfectly aligned with the way my team works, making it possible for us to scale our business much faster than before.”

BWH Hotels Scandinavia’s Revenue Center needed an RMS solution that could support the pace and scale of its 56 properties. Armed with FLYR’s in-depth decision intelligence, performance analysis, dynamic pricing recommendations, automation, and forecasting capabilities, the Revenue Center will be able to quickly and accurately make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the competition in this rapidly evolving industry.

“Helping our customers future-proof their businesses with a modern revenue management system is core to our vision,” said Jens Munch, CEO and co-founder of FLYR for Hospitality. “We are thrilled to be a part of BWH’s journey towards increased profitability and success in the ever-evolving hospitality landscape. We look forward to shaping the future of hotel revenue management together.”

BWH Hotels, born from the legacy of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, extends over 70 years of expertise. Established as the umbrella parent organization after BWHR’s acquisition of Worldhotels, a prestigious hotel brand. BWH Hotels offers a diverse range of options to travelers and developers, preserving the distinct identity of each brand.

The implementation of FLYR’s RMS across 56 properties located in Scandinavia will be executed in stages, ensuring a seamless transition for the properties and their guests. Integrating this state-of-the-art technology will bring numerous benefits, including improved revenue performance, streamlined operations, and increased operational efficiency.