News Briefs

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), has announced the eight outstanding startups participating in Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) Charlotte held on June 26, 2024 at HITEC Charlotte. Technologies being showcased in the HITEC 2024 cohort run the gamut of streamlining both back- and front-of-house operations, building guest profiles for enhanced stay experiences and strengthening property-vendor relationships.

Participating in Entrepreneur 20X is not just about pitching a great idea—it's about showcasing your ability to disrupt and redefine the hospitality industry. The selection process is rigorous and designed to identify truly innovative solutions and entrepreneurs who have the potential to make a lasting impact. E20X offers a rare platform for emerging talents to be heard, seen and supported on their journey to success. Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP

As the premier hospitality technology pitch competition for nearly a decade, Entrepreneur 20X is a unique opportunity for startups to gain visibility and credibility in the industry and network with fellow solution providers and influential industry professionals. Participants will have four minutes each to present their innovative products or services to a panel of judges with backgrounds in entrepreneurship and a live audience of HITEC attendees. Each pitch will be followed by another four minutes for Q&A between the judges and presenters.

The winning startup will receive a grand prize of $5,000 as the Judges’ Choice Award selection while the People’s Choice Award winner will also be recognized as voted on by their peers in real time during the presentation and deliberation periods. All startups will receive exposure to potential investors, customers and partners in the hospitality technology industry through their participation in the competition.

Beyond the stage, E20X participants receive a complimentary space to exhibit alongside more than 320 of their peers in the HITEC Charlotte exhibit hall at the E20X Pavilion. Pitchers will also have access to a team of industry mentors before the competition to inspire and educate the startups by lending them the insights, expertise and guidance they need to succeed for both the competition and their fledgling companies.

The participating 2024 E20X Charlotte startups are:

1. Affixify
2. Away Together
3. BonApp
4. Crqlar
5. Directful
6. Folio
7. H2O Connected
8. Yipy

HITEC is the world’s largest and longest-running hospitality technology conference. It attracts thousands of attendees and hundreds of industry solution providers and brings together the brightest minds and hottest technologies from across the globe in one place. Attendees gain access to essential education, top hospitality industry experts and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines. New this year is the co-located HITEC Technology Investment Conference which will connect exhibiting company executives, investors and M&A consultants for the opportunity to discuss potential partnerships. The co-located event is invitation-only and will take place June 27-28. Those who are interested in attending can fill out an online form. HITEC Charlotte will be held June 24-27, 2024 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina USA. Learn more at www.hitec.org. 

PopID and Steak n Shake announced today that all Steak n Shake locations in the United States now accept PopID Check In (to review favorite orders and loyalty points) and PopPay for checkout. With more than 300 locations, Steak n Shake is the first national restaurant brand in the United States to adopt biometric check-in and checkout nationwide. PopID’s biometric check-in feature makes kiosk ordering faster, easier, and more personalized.

The implementation of PopID in every Steak n Shake location was accomplished rapidly and at low cost through a partnership between PopID and ACRELEC, a leading supplier of kiosk-ordering hardware and drive-through products. Cameras were shipped to every restaurant for attachment to the existing ACRELEC kiosks. “As explained in our recent publication, ACRELEC believes that our integrated biometric solution provides various benefits to restaurant operators related to throughput, ticket size, and loyalty engagement,” says Bruno Lo-Re, President of ACRELEC America.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with PopID and to be on the edge of biometric technology for the benefit of our customers. Our guests now have the option to use biometrics for a faster and more seamless experience,” says Sardar Biglari, Chairman of Biglari Holdings, the parent company of Steak n Shake.

Now that biometrics are enabled for all ordering and payment inside Steak n Shake restaurants, PopID and Steak n Shake will begin implementing biometric check-in and checkout at the restaurant’s drive-through units. “Similar to the kiosks, biometric check in can increase loyalty participation and revenue at the drive thru while also reducing payment processing costs,” says John Miller, CEO of PopID and Chairman of Cali Group. “Additionally, biometric payment at the order confirmation screen enables staff members to work on tasks other than taking payments by card and phone at the order pick-up window.”

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. 

Curator Hotel & Resort Collection (“Curator”) is announcing Toast as a new preferred cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) platform partner. This collaboration will help  member hotels’ F&B outlets improve operations, increase sales, and create an overall better guest  experience. 

“At Curator, our objective is to support our distinct member properties with solutions that help them  optimize operations and drive revenue,” said Brent Hayhurst, Vice President of Program Development  for Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. “This new collaboration with Toast empowers member hotels and  resorts to incorporate more sought-after guest convenience features in their POS platform like digital  menus, flexible ordering options, and both mobile payment and room charge integrations. With Toast,  our collection of properties will be able to focus on providing elevated service and unique experiences,  while also streamlining business operations.”  

Toast for Hotel Restaurants is designed to meet the unique needs of hotel restaurant operators and  offers robust integrations with leading hotel property management systems (PMS), helping them  leverage technology to enhance the hospitality experience with more integrated food and beverage  operations and a streamlined experience for staff and guests.  

“With the Toast for Hotel Restaurants platform, leading hospitality groups like Curator Hotel & Resort  Collection can streamline their operations and focus on providing top-notch service and memorable  experiences,” said Dan Bell, Group Vice President, Hotels at Toast. “We are delighted to bring Toast's  comprehensive digital platform, offering software solutions including point of sale, payments,  operations, digital ordering, retail, and more, to Curator’s member hotels and resorts.” 

Posist, a pioneer in cloud-based restaurant technology solutions, announced a comprehensive rebranding as it changed its name to Restroworks. This new identity reflects the company's transformation since its inception in 2012 from a Point of Sale (POS) provider to a unified technology platform serving global restaurant chains like Taco Bell, Subway, Nando’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Caribou Coffee, Arby’s and Sbarro across multiple formats, including food courts, IT parks, universities, food zones in airports, among other.

Restroworks, a fusion of 'Restro' and 'works,' symbolizes the company's commitment to encompassing the entirety of the restaurant technology domain. The new brand name embodies the company’s unified suite of products addressing all aspects of restaurant operations and technological requirements.

With its renewed mission of ‘making restaurants prosperous,’ the company has undergone rebranding by introducing a new company name, logo, website, and fresh identity to represent its unified technology platform  — including cloud-native POS software, inventory management software, a kitchen automation suite, analytics, digital ordering solutions, and integrations with over 400+ third-party solutions like delivery aggregators, payment gateways, loyalty programs, financial and accounting tools, and ERP solutions.

"In 2012, we started Posist with the vision of making a mark in restaurant technology with our cloud-native POS solution. As we grew, we pushed the boundaries, driven by our vision to build products that can create a long-term impact on the bottom-line efficiency of global restaurants and make them prosperous. Our company's evolution and expanded vision called for a new brand identity that allows us to articulate our progression as a unified restaurant technology platform. In sync with our vision, we have unveiled Restroworks - a name that symbolizes our commitment to providing comprehensive technology that seamlessly works across the entire restaurant ecosystem. This rebrand is more than just a name change; it reflects our strategic approach to building the company over the next decade as a pioneering force in restaurant technology," said Sakshi & Ashish Tulsian, Founders of Restroworks.  

Early this year, Restroworks (formerly Posist) cemented its market leadership and was named one of the top 50 highest-satisfaction software companies in the prestigious G2 2023 Best Software Companies list. The company achieved over 80% year-over-year growth, reaching 20,000 customers across more than 50 countries.

Over the last five years, Restroworks has significantly invested in expanding its global presence in the US, Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. The company also invested in high-quality infrastructure and upgraded security compliance to provide a scalable, enterprise-grade cloud platform for multi-national restaurant chains. Restroworks is certified with ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27701, SOC1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, and GDPR compliant.

To boost the industry's technological prowess, the company has launched Restroworks Academy—a platform for customers and their frontline staff, equipping them with the knowledge to become more efficient and upskill their technology knowledge. The initiative is now being rolled out to impart skill development among hospitality students in various universities.

Restroworks aspires to be a platform synonymous with restaurant technology globally and is on a mission to bring efficiency for a healthy bottom line for its restaurant partners. 

Fiserv, Inc., a global provider of payments and financial technology solutions, is enabling restaurants to streamline operations and enhance the customer experience with the new Clover Kiosk and an enhanced 24” Clover Kitchen Display System. Designed to integrate with each other and additional Clover software and hardware, these solutions enable end-to-end order management with up to a 40% lower total cost of ownership than competitive offerings, based on a comparison of published prices.

“The restaurant industry continues to undergo significant change, and the right technology can help owners and operators adapt to run more efficiently and scale more effectively,” said Krystle Mobayeni, Head of Restaurant Solutions at Fiserv. “Clover is enabling restaurants to blend digital and physical experiences to meet diners' expectations, while lifting a significant weight off the shoulders of restaurant staff.”

As customer expectations continue to shift, technologies like Clover Kiosk and Clover Kitchen Display System, which combine intuitive usability with robust, elegant design, are vital. Kiosks free up front-of-house staff and can improve the customer experience with reduced wait times and increased order accuracy, encouraging repeat business and higher average ticket sizes. In combination with recent Kitchen Display System software enhancements, restaurants have complete control of menus, modifiers, and the lifecycle of an order.

“Implementing a self-service kiosk has been a gamechanger for us,” said Hanh Nguyen, owner of specialty Asian bakery and coffee shop July Moon Bakery & Café. “Our customers have found it easy to use and like the option of being able to place their own order, and it helps our staff keep up when the line is out the door on weekend mornings. We can serve customers quickly and accurately, even with the many customizations we offer.”

In addition to the newly launched Clover Kiosk, Fiserv has also enhanced its Clover Kitchen Display System, which allows orders to be accessed by back-of-house staff on a large, digital display, allowing seamless order fulfillment at food prep stations. It enables notifications from third party-delivery apps for cancellations and order changes, coursed fulfillment, expo-mode, bump bar support, color-coded order status, and runner ticket printing – all with the goal of reducing order errors and increasing customer satisfaction.

“Providing a consistent, quality customer experience in restaurants has always been hard to do, but post pandemic, the challenges that the restaurant industry has to deal with have increased, including staffing shortages and rising costs,” said Thad Peterson, Strategic Advisor at Datos Insights. “Enabling a positive self-service experience and integrating technologies to better connect the front and back of the house allows restaurant owners and managers to efficiently and profitably deliver their offering to customers who are increasingly comfortable with self-service and interactive technology.”

Clover Kiosk

Clover Kiosk is crafted with intuitive usability to help restaurants increase order size, streamline workflow and operations, and improve the overall customer experience.

With a 24” touch screen and 8” payment terminal plus a built-in printer, diners can browse menus at their own pace, customize items, and order and pay without having to wait in line. Differentiated from other self-ordering kiosks in the market, the low-touch Clover Kiosk offers a two-screen experience with an enterprise grade, large format display made for all-day operation.

Clover Kitchen Display System

Clover Kitchen Display System is enhanced with a 24” screen, designed with larger kitchens in mind. The goal remains the same: connect front- and back-of-house staff allowing for seamless flow of all orders to food prep stations.

The Kitchen Display System streamlines all orders, sending both online and in-house orders to one screen, creating a more efficient process and enhancing a restaurant’s ability to track key metrics. Built to integrate with other Clover software and hardware, the Clover Kitchen Display System automatically connects with Clover POS, Clover Online Ordering, and BentoBox and other online aggregators, for streamlined communication between front and back of house.

Clover is a complete business management system enabling businesses to maximize their operating efficiencies, grow their customer base, and accept customer payments. Businesses using Clover can accept payments of any type, including Apple Pay^®, Google Pay^®, Samsung Pay^®, contactless credit or debit cards, and other digital wallets. As a point-of-sale platform for merchants, Clover processes more than $272 billion in annualized payment volume.