News Briefs
- 4/16/2024
Steak n Shake Deploys Biometric Check In
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.”
- 7/22/2024
Jon Gustin Appointed Vice President of Operations for Commonwealth Hotels
Commonwealth Hotels, a Covington, Kentucky-based hotel management company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jon Gustin as vice president of operations. In his new role, Jon will oversee the operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives of Commonwealth Hotels, bringing with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record in the hospitality industry.
Jon Gustin joins Commonwealth Hotels with a distinguished career spanning over 15 years in various senior leadership positions. Most recently, Jon served as the senior director of operations for Placemakr, where he was instrumental in driving operational efficiencies and growing the company from a start-up. Prior to that, he held key roles including director of hotel division for Blue Water Development, regional director for Dimension Development, and area general manager for TPG Hotels and Resorts. Jon has also held various leadership positions with White Lodging, contributing significantly to their operational success.
"We are thrilled to welcome Jon Gustin to the Commonwealth Hotels family," said Jennifer Porter, president of Commonwealth Hotels. "His extensive background in hotel operations, coupled with his strategic vision and leadership skills, make him an ideal fit for this pivotal role. We are confident that Jon will play a key role in driving our continued growth and delivering exceptional experiences for our guests."
Jon Gustin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hospitality Business from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctorate from Texas Southern University. His unique blend of hospitality expertise and legal acumen will further strengthen Commonwealth Hotels' commitment to operation excellence and guest satisfaction.
"I'm excited to join Commonwealth Hotels and work alongside such a talented team," said Jon Gustin. "I look forward to leveraging my experience to drive operations efficiencies, enhance guest experiences, and contribute to the overall success and growth of the organization."
- 7/21/2024
Bottle Rocket Adds Olo Integration to Digital Platform
Bottle Rocket has a new strategic partnership with Olo. This collaboration aims to redefine the digital guest experience by combining Bottle Rocket's application design and development solutions with Olo's robust digital ordering platform trusted by over 700 restaurant brands.
Bottle Rocket has created impressive business-changing outcomes and results for Chick-fil-A, Southwest Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts (since acquired by Marriott), Albertsons, MoneyGram, Dave & Busters, Inspire Brands, McKesson, Bloomin' Brands, and Verizon, among others.
The company has launched its latest innovation in the form of a digital accelerator for restaurant brands called Ignite. Ignite is a custom digital platform designed to enhance digital growth, loyalty, and retention for restaurants. Based on a comparison of thousands of customer engagements, Ignite allows restaurant brands to create a fully custom mobile and/or web solution in up to 40% less time and with less investment. Ignite was created with a pre-built Olo integration and is purposefully designed to support various restaurant brands. Bottle Rocket's Ignite and Olo provide a flexible foundation to build differentiated, custom experiences across iOS, Android, and web, unlocking valuable KPIs and scalable innovation.
"A culmination of over a decade of work in the industry, Ignite is an innovative solution that allows restaurant brands an attainable way to create a differentiated brand experience with the added flexibility and scalability that white-label solutions cannot provide," says Andrew Sevin, Bottle Rocket's President. "Through Ignite and our strategic partnership with Olo, we are able to help restaurant brands better serve their customers through a fully tailored brand experience that is unique to every brand."
Bottle Rocket's depth of experience in the restaurant space, coupled with the creation of the Ignite digital accelerator platform and the integration with Olo, is perfectly suited for restaurant brands wanting to create a new digital ordering experience designed for greater scalability, flexibility, and continued growth.
To learn more about this partnership or to contact Bottle Rocket for more info, please visit: https://partners.olo.com/partners/bottle-rocket
- 7/19/2024
Choice Hotels Partners with Entegra
Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors, announced today it has signed an agreement with Entegra, the world’s largest food group purchasing organization. Choice branded hotel owners will now have access to over 3,000 suppliers worldwide on Entegra’s digital group purchasing organization platform. This agreement will help hotel owners make food purchasing decisions with confidence, all while potentially saving money and improving their overall business performance.
“Entegra is proud to partner with Choice Hotels, one of the largest and most successful lodging companies in the world,” said Entegra Global CEO Damien Calderini. “Through this program, our powerful suite of data and digital tools, procurement solutions, and supply-chain expertise will help Choice Hotels deliver opportunities for their franchisees to create memorable hospitality experiences for hotel visitors.”
“Through this agreement with Entegra, we’re looking forward to bringing even more value to our brands and franchisees, who may see better pricing on products and greater day-to-day operational support,” said Choice Hotels VP of Procurement Anya Kroupnik. “This will enable us to continue delivering on Choice’s promise of providing opportunities to reduce the total cost of hotel ownership and enhance guest satisfaction.”
“Clients choose Entegra for a wide range of products and services and stay with us because we offer more ways for them to be competitive and thrive,” said Jeff Porterfield, Entegra Senior Vice President of Client Services. “In addition to savings, we’re excited to provide Choice franchisees with dedicated service and support, as well as access to our innovative technology platform to enable greater business intelligence and operational efficiency.”
- 7/18/2024
Aescape Makes Its Hospitality Debut with Lotte New York Palace
Today, Aescape, the first commercially available, fully automated AI massage experience, announced its hotel debut at ila Only Spa, located at Lotte New York Palace. Aescape has partnered with ila Only Spa to deliver premium, customizable massage to guests and visitors.
Wellness travel is on the rise, with the global wellness tourism market expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2027. ila Only Spa at Lotte New York Palace is meeting travelers where they are, ushering in the future of on-demand, tech-enhanced wellness experiences.
“It’s clear that more people wish to maintain and increase their sense of wellbeing when traveling, and they’re looking for the resources available to support this when choosing hotels. Aescape’s innovative approach to massage is adding to our wellness-forward amenities, and we look forward to bringing our guests a completely new massage experience,” said Joe Rose, Owner of ila Only Spa.
Aescape emerged from stealth earlier this year after seven years in research and development by some of the brightest minds in connected hardware and fitness. Alumni hail from Amazon, Apple, FitBit, MakerBot, Uber, Peloton, Tonal, and more. The automated massage uses advanced AI technology to create a 3D computational model of each user before delivering a completely personalized massage experience, tailored uniquely to their body.
“The Lotte New York Palace is iconic, maintaining its storied elegance while evolving to keep guests happy,” said Aescape Founder and CEO, Eric Litman. “We share a mission to bring customers and guests a wellness-forward experience designed to meet their needs. As a New York startup, we’re honored to make our hospitality debut at this landmark New York hotel.”
The partnership news marks Aescape’s entrance into market, ahead of its launch with Equinox in select locations throughout New York City this month. Since launching its Early Access Program with PRESS Modern Massage Union Square, the company has generated a growing waitlist of New Yorkers eager to experience this first-of-its-kind massage. Aescape is set to announce partnerships with global industry leaders across hospitality, professional sports, corporate offices and luxury real estate over the next year.
- 7/17/2024
Norwegian Convention Center Uses RMS Cloud to Automate Bookings
Europe’s largest event village, Oslofjord Convention Center in Norway, has chosen property management software specialist RMS Cloud to automate over 30,000 bookings per year and simplify its upselling capabilities.Oslofjord Convention Centre, a large-scale venue that hosts conferences and events throughout the year, accommodates up to 12,000 guests across a range of inventory from cabins and cottages to hotel rooms and suites.As well as independent lodgings, the site comprises 10 separate hotel buildings, a state-of-the-art conference centre, five large arenas, several restaurants and various indoor and outdoor co-working spaces.Prior to using RMS Cloud’s PMS, the large data sets were being managed and imported manually, a lengthy process that took a lot of time, and was open to human error.The implementation of RMS Cloud’s PMS in February has now automated the bookings process and given the team an easy-to-use system that allows staff to offer guests extra services during their stay.Hans Øyvind Haga, Chief Digital Officer at Oslofjord Convention Center, said: “We needed a robust PMS that could streamline our booking process and ensure it was one hundred percent correct, every time. Having researched a total of 15 vendors and receiving proposals from five, RMS Cloud had the best functionality at the most competitive price point.“As an event destination, we have a unique set of challenges. We recruit and manage a lot of temporary staff according to how many guests are on site and it fluctuates dramatically – some days we have 300 and others 10,000. We don’t have the luxury of spending time training staff on our systems so it was essential that the software we chose was extremely user-friendly. Our team has already reported that RMS Cloud’s PMS is very easy and intuitive to work with.“Adopting this new system has given our staff the tools they need to easily sell extras from reception such as an extra night or more towels. Before the implementation of RMS Cloud’s PMS, this was something that was difficult to facilitate. Obviously, we want to make upselling as easy as possible for our team, so this is a huge benefit.”Oslofjord Convention Center is located in Vestfold, south of Oslo, and hosts large corporate events, conferences, sports events and organisations that want to gather and experience the togetherness by hosting an event with everything at one place. Accommodation for thousands of people, sports arena, two convention centres and large outdoor areas including a beach area. Oslofjord is also a sustainable venue with 95% of energy used on site harvested from renewable sources.Zen Valli, Managing Director of EMEA at RMS Cloud, said: “Oslofjord’s adoption of our software clearly demonstrates the scalability and reliability of the PMS. The size and complexity of the site’s booking demands is unmatched by any other property on the continent and our software is delivering.“It’s an accolade to have Europe’s biggest convention village as a customer and the results they are seeing in just four months is an indicator of how the PMS will continue to support their business.”