News Briefs

Little Caesars, a global leader in the pizza industry, is proud to announce the promotion of three exceptional executives to key leadership positions within the company's technology division. These promotions come at a time of tremendous growth for Little Caesars, underscoring the company's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge innovation to drive future success and enhance the guest experience. These promotions will also continue to elevate technology at the entire Ilitch Companies family of businesses, including Ilitch Sports + Entertainment.

Keith Faigin Promoted to Chief Information Officer, Restaurant Systems

Keith Faigin, who recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Little Caesars, has been promoted to Chief Information Officer, Restaurant Systems. Throughout his tenure, Keith has overseen numerous software initiatives, with a significant focus on the company's e-commerce platform. 

Little Caesars received Hospitality Technology's 2021 Breakthrough Technology Award for its store software.

He has been instrumental in securing multiple patents for Little Caesars and holds a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a master's in computer science from the University of Illinois. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Keith is a resident cast member of Go Comedy! Improv Theater and a founder of the Detroit Improv Festival.

Afia Phillips Promoted to Chief Information Security Officer

Afia Phillips has been promoted to Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Afia has been serving as the Vice President of Information Security at Little Caesar Enterprises, overseeing information security across all Ilitch companies. Afia has established a strategic enterprise information security program that focuses on mitigating cyber risk across the organization. She is passionate about social responsibility and has led key initiatives pertaining to food insecurity, volunteerism, diversity, equity and inclusion. Afia is an active member of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology, T200, and Chief, a selective nationwide network of female executives. She is a governing body member of the Evanta CIO & CISO Network (Detroit Chapter) and was appointed to the State of Michigan's Board of Ethics by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Her achievements have been recognized with a Crain's Notable Women in STEM honor and a Top Global CISO Award from Cyber Defense Magazine. Afia holds a degree in computer science from Wayne State University and has certifications in cybersecurity and risk management.

Lance Shinabarger Promoted to Chief Information Officer, Shared Technologies and Applications

Lance Shinabarger has been promoted to Chief Information Officer, Shared Technologies and Applications. With over 25 years of IT management experience, Lance has been with Little Caesars since 2017 as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Systems, Data Services, and Global Infrastructure. He has successfully led the global infrastructure for Little Caesars, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, and other Ilitch companies. Lance holds a degree in Computer Science from Cleary University and has a proven track record of developing and executing technology strategies that drive business growth.

"These promotions highlight the incredible talent and dedication of our leadership team," said Anita Klopfenstein, Global Chief Information Officer. "Keith, Afia, and Lance have consistently demonstrated their commitment to innovation and excellence through their strong leadership. We are confident that they will continue to drive our technology initiatives forward."

As Little Caesars continues to grow and innovate, the company remains focused on its mission to provide exceptional value, convenience and quality to customers through pioneering technology and forward-thinking strategies. These leadership changes are a testament to the company's dedication to staying at the forefront of the industry and preparing for an even brighter future of continued aggressive growth.

Ilitch Companies represents leading brands in the food, sports and entertainment industries, including Little Caesars, Blue Line Distribution, the Detroit Red Wings, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, the Detroit Tigers, Olympia Development, Little Caesars Fundraising Program, Champion Foods, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Ocean Casino and Tenda. The organization also has a joint venture interest in 313 Presents.

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.”

Meyer Jabara Hotels (MJH) is invested in technology – so much so that the company is taking on the role of technology support, help desk, and implementation for its portfolio of 32 hotels plus any other properties needing IT assistance on a project basis. With the goal of enabling guests and staff to communicate at the speed of business or faster, the hotel owner and third-party manager will design, procure, install, certify, and monitor each property’s network infrastructure. In addition, MJH will work to ensure the highest levels of cybersecurity and provide data backup/recovery and helpdesk support.

“It’s been said that 93% of all communication is nonverbal; that means, when we communicate, only 7% of all shared information is actually getting through,” said Ted Jabara, Meyer Jabara Hotels regional vice president and technology team leader. “As a multi-property, multi-brand hotel owner/operator, our responsibility is to make sure that when we communicate through technology, the transmitted information is delivered consistently and with the highest quality. Only a well-designed network can ensure that efficient, secure, and reliable connectivity will make verbal communications actionable for everyone. With the internal capacity, certifications, and industry knowledge to build a proper network ourselves, we saw value in supporting managed IT as an additional service.”

MJH will oversee the various components and systems that enable connectivity, data management, and communication at its hotels, including:

• Physical Infrastructure – Cabling, Switches, Routers, and Access Points
• Network Segmentation – Guest Network, Staff Network, IoT (smart thermostats, security cameras, automated lighting systems, etc.) and Operational Network
• Internet Connectivity – ISP services, Bandwidth Management
• Supporting Security Measures – Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS and Access Control)
• Management and Monitoring – Network Management Software, Logging and Analytics, Remote Management (for network administrators)
• Key Services and Applications – PMS, VoIP, Entertainment Systems, POS, Reservation Systems,
• Redundancy and Reliability – Backup Systems, Failover mechanisms
• Compliance and Regulations – Data Protection Regulations, Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance

“Managing a hotel network is not an easy task,” Jabara said. “There is a lot happening behind the scenes that can take a hotel off the grid if not properly supported or maintained. Therefore, we have assembled a team of highly skilled IT professionals capable of designing, implementing, and interconnecting all IT systems in a hotel. We also have the certifications required by the brands to do the work. Whether a property is in a pre-opening, construction, or renovation phase, this group will keep each hotel connected to its customers and to corporate, and we will provide periodic system updates as required.”

Tech Support as a Tiered Service

Meyer Jabara Hotels will also maintain the help desk for properties. While the services team resides at the company’s corporate office in Danbury, Conn., it will appear to each hotel as if it has an in-house specialist for any connected system on the network. In addition, the company can provide consulting and implementation with regard to pre-open/conversion design and PIP-related upgrades.

“We will ensure that our hotels are 100% operational, 100% of the time,” Jabara said. “Our help desk is comprised of well-seasoned hospitality professionals who understand how hotels and their interconnected systems work. These people are familiar with the brands and with the tech side of service. Most help desks don’t know the intricacies of hotel technology and how systems connect and why. Without this skillset, it can cost owners a bundle not just in fees, but in lost business.”

Knowland, the leading provider of data-as-a-service insights on meetings and events for hospitality, announced the introduction of Knowland Select, a new product specifically designed for hotels with limited meeting space. Knowland Select subscribers will receive a curated list of target accounts for upcoming need periods directly to the seller’s inbox. It provides a low-cost option to help optimize resources, save time and improve performance while ensuring a steady flow of qualified local prospects.

Identifying active accounts in a particular market can be stressful and time-consuming for sales teams, especially for smaller hotels with fewer staff. It can be difficult to decipher which accounts best fit a property, and sales staff often feel overwhelmed as they conduct both sales and operations duties. A streamlined set of Knowland features designed with a bias to action, Knowland Select simplifies prospecting for qualified accounts using automated emails and alerts.

Driven by customer requests for stronger group sales tools in select service hotels, Knowland developed and piloted a solution with leading hotel groups to ensure fast, effective delivery of actionable prospects. The general market release is scheduled for later this summer. Hospitality organizations can register for a sneak peek at the solution here.

• Enables prospecting at scale—Knowland Select enables sales personnel to prospect at scale with greater efficiency and higher performance. Alerts provide robust account intelligence to foster prospecting automation by allowing operators to capture more business in an increasingly competitive market. 
• Improves sales productivity—An account summary details booking behaviors, including how that account may have booked in a market or with a brand or how active it is in specific months, featuring an indicator for multi-day events. Each identified account includes a link to additional details within Knowland Select, including Account Summary, Market Summary, Top 3 Markets, Top Brands Booked, and Active Event Months.
• Sub-market activity reports identify the most active accounts—Operators receive an emailed report of up to 250 accounts that had smaller event bookings, reflecting data the quarter ahead from the year before. Robust account intelligence and prospecting automation give sellers everything they need to take advantage of booking window lead time. 
• Uncover new opportunities and grow market share—A weekly New Account Alert helps leaders keep their finger on the pulse of new and emerging business in their market and identifies accounts that have not visited their sub-market in five or more years. The emailed report is delivered weekly and highlights new activity in a designated submarket.

Jeff Bzdawka, CEO, Knowland, said: “Knowland Select empowers limited service hotels, hardest hit by the recent travel slowdown, with automated prospecting. It streamlines prospecting for the segment’s diverse hotel teams by directly delivering qualified accounts and contacts to the seller’s inbox, boosting productivity and group business growth. Importantly, Knowland Select expands our suite of Platform offerings to provide valuable sales intelligence solutions for all hotel sizes and chain scales in a portfolio. And with its accessible price point, it lowers the barrier to entry for automated prospecting at scale and helps hotels unlock a clear return on investment."

Satisfi Labs, an AI-powered Conversational Experience Platform for destinations and experiences, has acquired Factoreal, an omnichannel marketing automation platform focused on simplifying the martech experience across sports and entertainment. The strategic acquisition accelerates Satisfi Labs’ vision of building a comprehensive Conversational Experience Platform, bringing together inbound and outbound messaging capabilities. Combining the power of these two platforms sets the stage for the future of customer engagement, driven by conversational AI technology.

Satisfi Labs is advancing AI-powered chat experiences with intuitive interactions for businesses and consumers. Factoreal's API-first integration network with brands like Shopify, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster, enhances Satisfi Labs’ partner ecosystem. This amplifies conversational capabilities and supports Satisfi's strategy to build a robust partner network. 

The unifying of the platforms introduces a new way of managing customer-to-brand engagement through chat experiences, which Satisfi Labs calls Conversational Journey Management.
 

Initial capabilities to launch:

• Intent-based journeys to personalize omnichannel communication campaigns

• AI agents capable of multi-channel outbound actions triggered by user behavior

• New integration builder for partners to connect to an AI agent journey manager

“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Factoreal to bring a more interactive AI experience to our client base,” said Donny White, Co-founder & CEO of Satisfi Labs. “This move aligns with our mission to “make AI hireable” and deploy AI agents that go beyond answering questions or transacting in chat. Conversational journey management enables proactive and reactive marketing campaigns triggered by real-time intent data, boosting engagement opportunities.”

“Factoreal and Satisfi Labs coming together ushers in a new era of omnichannel journey orchestration powered by the exploding nature of conversational AI capabilities,” said Aditya Dhruva, Co-founder & CEO of Factoreal. “Imagine a world where conversational AI is with you on the right channel, at the right time with the right message - making it pervasive, efficient, seamless, and global is our vision.”

Over the next year, Factoreal will be integrated into the Satisfi Labs platform. Factoreal works with brands like the United Soccer League, Gwinnett Stripers, Chattanooga FC, Las Vegas Aviators, Mumbai City FC, Fanxp, Warrington Wolves, and many more.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, hoteliers are struggling to embrace it, despite rapid industry growth.  In a recent interview by Hospitality Expert and Influencer Paula Carreirao, CEO Adam Harris explored this disconnect, highlighting both the potential and the roadblocks to AI adoption in hospitality.

Key takeaways from the interview:

• AI can solve real hotel problems:
  Instead of chasing the latest tech buzzword, hoteliers should focus on what specific problem they want to address; AI can be the answer to hyper-personalized contact with guests, staff automation, data analysis, and faster content creation.
• The power of personalization:
  AI powered by natural language processing can personalize guest communication even with limited data.  However, the human touch remains irreplaceable.
• AI, the review responder’s friend:
  Responding promptly to online reviews is crucial to a hotel’s search algorithms.  AI can automate this process, helping craft appropriate responses and improve search rankings.

Beyond the hype: The need for collaboration

Harris acknowledged the confusion surrounding AI's complexity, hype, and potential risks – and that this stands in the way of adoption for hotels.  While some advancements are happening in travel planning (think AI-powered itineraries), the hospitality industry itself hasn't seen a breakout moment yet.

“Hoteliers wonder if it’s as good as people are saying,” Harris said. However, he believes collaboration between hoteliers and platforms like Cloudbeds can bridge the gap. Cloudbeds has been using ML for the past 10 years in areas such as distribution, application scalability and behind-the-scenes technology, and is now taking those learnings and applying them to solutions such as advertising, online positioning, and reputation management.

AI can empower the art of hospitality

Despite its size, the hospitality industry lags behind in technology adoption.  This is particularly concerning with the projected surge in hotel stays by 2030, says Harris.

“Every hotel is an art – the artist is the owner, and they have a style and a concept, so they have to provide a service to match that.  They have to build their systems around this, and AI can help.  The challenge lies in balancing a hotel's unique character with efficient service.  AI can help navigate this balance, but requires a willingness to pass some control to “robots”.  That can be scary.

“To do AI and data in the right way, everything that happens needs to go into one single source – and that’s where AI can help.  However, the industry must prioritize education around AI before diving into complex AI solutions. The fact that we have, on average, 20 systems powering the hotel landscape creates too much opportunity for data integrity loss. Data sits in too many places to make it actionable.”

“Consider the digital door lock – we have the capability to control these locks remotely via our phones.  But despite being around for a decade, only 13% of hotels utilize this technology today.  If basic tech adoption is low, widespread AI adoption seems like a distant future.  I think the industry is afraid of change, not AI.  If we are going to get technical with AI, we need to look at the less technical items first, as these will otherwise stand in the way of AI.”

By focusing on foundational tech adoption before diving into AI, the hospitality industry can position itself for a future powered by intelligent solutions.

The interview concluded with the importance of working with a technology partner who listens.  “If we’re not listening to our customers, we’re dead in the water,” Harris concluded.  “Every year, our product and research teams spend thousands of hours talking to and listening to our customers, and I believe that differentiates us from our competitors.  You’ll see some fun things come out of our camp in the near future… I won’t say anymore now, but watch this space.”