News Briefs

Mark Shambura has joined Panera Bread as Chief Marketing Officer. Shambura will lead all aspects of marketing at Panera, including Brand Building, Digital & Loyalty, Product Strategy & Consumer Insights. An accomplished marketing leader with broad expertise in the restaurant industry, Mr. Shambura has previously held marketing leadership roles during pivotal growth periods for top brands including Chipotle, MOD Pizza, and most recently Papa Johns.

"Mark brings an impressive background building brands and leading marketing teams for fast-casual restaurants, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to Panera Bread,” said José Alberto Dueñas, Chief Executive Officer. “As Panera continues to evolve our brand, guided by listening to our guests, Mark’s depth of experience and ability will help drive our growth as a brand that serves great food you feel good about eating.”

Shambura previously served as CMO at Papa Johns, where he led a revitalization of the brand by enhancing its iconic “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza” platform, and developing a more modern, innovative omnichannel approach to transform how Papa Johns appealed to both new and loyal consumers. As Executive Director at Chipotle, Mr. Shambura guided the marketing function through periods of both sustained growth and transition, providing leadership over brand strategy, advertising, digital, social, events/sponsorships, promotions, and field marketing, including playing a key role in spearheading its “Real Ingredients” brand strategy.

“I’m proud to join the Panera Bread team and excited to build on the momentum of the brand's transformation as it continues to evolve in service of our guests,” Mr. Shambura said. “Panera propelled and cemented its position at the top of the fast casual restaurant segment through its promise of high-quality ingredients and freshly prepared food, and I’m thrilled to join a highly talented team to help shape its next chapter.”

Prior to his tenure in the restaurant industry, Mr. Shambura gained extensive marketing agency experience, working with a broad array of top global consumer brands for over a decade. Shambura will report directly to José Alberto Dueñas, Chief Executive Officer, and officially assumed the role of Chief Marketing Officer on July 29, 2024.

Tripleseat, an event management software for hotels, restaurants, and unique venues, is excited to announce a new integration with Amaze Insights, a dynamic reporting platform designed to streamline data from multiple sales and catering (S&C) platforms. This integration aims to enhance the ability of hotel brands, management companies, and individual properties to drive occupancy and revenue by providing a comprehensive view of their sales data in a single, easy-to-use platform.

With this new integration, Tripleseat customers in the hospitality industry can now seamlessly leverage Amaze Insights to pull key performance data from Tripleseat and multiple other platforms into one consolidated report. This integration will enable hotel professionals to track crucial metrics like booking pace, need-to-fill dates, and more, all from a single, intuitive dashboard. The partnership addresses the growing need for comprehensive, streamlined reporting tools that help hotels optimize operations and increase profitability.

"Tripleseat continues to lead the hospitality industry by offering our clients innovative solutions that simplify operations and improve performance," said Sam Dewey, Tripleseat’s Senior Vice President of Growth. "The integration with Amaze Insights demonstrates our commitment to providing hotels with the most effective tools to manage their events and operations, driving both efficiency and profitability. By bringing together powerful event management and insightful reporting, we are enabling our clients to make smarter, data-driven decisions."

"We’re thrilled to integrate Amaze Insights with Tripleseat," said Jaime Job, CEO of Amaze Insights. "Our mission is to provide hoteliers with a single-source view of their performance data, helping them make faster, better-informed decisions. The synergy between Amaze Insights' comprehensive reporting capabilities and Tripleseat’s powerful event management platform creates a solution that is both comprehensive and user-friendly for hotel teams. We look forward to seeing how this integration will empower hoteliers to drive growth and success.”

For hotel customers, this integration represents a significant opportunity to gain deeper visibility into their performance across various data points, from booking trends to revenue pacing. This will give them the ability to take quick, informed actions to meet business objectives. By combining the strengths of Tripleseat’s event management tools with the robust reporting capabilities of Amaze Insights, hotels will have more control over their event operations and be better positioned to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.

Cloudbeds, the premier hospitality management software platform, has today announced a preferred partnership with PXier, a leader in sales, catering, and spa management software solutions.

The agreement will provide Cloudbeds’ property management system (PMS) users with seamless access to PXier’s advanced suite of tools, allowing for tighter operational control and enhanced guest service capabilities.

PXier’s highly specialized sales, catering, and spa management modules will enable Cloudbeds customers to automate and streamline essential hospitality operations such as event management, catering logistics, and spa scheduling, ensuring a holistic and efficient workflow within a single ecosystem.

Richard Castle, COO of Cloudbeds, said: “Our collaboration with PXier aligns with our commitment to delivering highly scalable and flexible solutions to the hospitality sector. With this technical integration, we’ve made it possible for properties to manage complex operations, such as catering and spa services, all within the Cloudbeds ecosystem, empowering users to streamline workflows and deliver better guest experiences.”

Jay Manon, Chief Technology Officer at PXier, added: “By integrating our advanced Sales, Catering, and Spa Management systems with Cloudbeds’ PMS, we are unlocking new efficiencies for hospitality operators. Our API-first approach ensures that real-time data exchange between systems allows properties to stay agile and responsive to guest needs.”

Technical highlights of the partnership include:

• Seamless API integration: The partnership leverages Cloudbeds’ open API architecture, enabling real-time data synchronization between Cloudbeds’ PMS and PXier’s sales and catering software. This allows users to manage bookings, event setups, and catering requests directly through Cloudbeds, without the need for manual data entry or external software switching.
• Centralized event management: PXier’s event and catering systems are fully integrated into Cloudbeds’ centralized dashboard. This enables property managers to track and coordinate event bookings, resources, and room block allocations from a unified interface, ensuring accurate, up-to-date availability and pricing information across systems.
• Spa management automation: Through the integration, Cloudbeds users can leverage PXier’s spa scheduling and management tools, allowing seamless appointment booking, therapist scheduling, and spa package management. Real-time updates ensure that spa services are aligned with the guest booking experience, reducing double bookings and manual errors.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Cloudbeds users will have access to PXier’s in-depth analytics and reporting tools, giving properties the ability to generate real-time reports on event performance, sales forecasts, catering profitability, and guest satisfaction metrics. This data helps properties make data-driven decisions, optimize resource allocation, and improve operational performance.
• Scalability and flexibility: Designed with scalability in mind, the integration allows properties of all sizes, from boutique hotels to large resorts, to adapt their operations efficiently. Cloudbeds and PXier’s partnership delivers a flexible infrastructure that supports complex event setups, large group bookings, and multi-venue management.

This partnership highlights Cloudbeds and PXier’s shared commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to streamline hospitality operations, reduce complexity, and enhance guest experiences.

Kempinski Hotels has celebrated the latest milestone on its journey to a more sustainable future with the launch of Responsible Meetings & Events by Kempinski, empowering meeting planners and organisers to assess and reduce the environmental impact of events.

Created by EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for sustainable hotels, destinations and tourism organisations, the programme includes a suite of solutions created in response to heightened regulatory demands placed on event planners, as well as the growing environmental expectations of delegates.      

Core to the initiative is VenueCheck, a meetings management system that provides organisers with a checklist of actionable items to help reduce the environmental impact of events, and EventCalculator, which accurately estimates their carbon footprint.

“We are proud to be working with EarthCheck, our long-term sustainability partner, to launch Responsible Meetings & Events by Kempinski across our constellation of beautiful havens,” says Barbara Muckermann, Chief Executive Officer, Kempinski Group. “By providing event planners with a framework allowing them to calculate the potential environmental impact of their events, we are empowering them to make positive changes to the world.”

As EarthCheck’s global launch partner, Kempinski has early access to the tools and will provide further input into their design and development, cementing the brand’s role as a leader and pioneer in sustainable events. In line with the ambitious goals and objectives set out in the Kempinski Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report 2023, Responsible Meetings & Events by Kempinski extends the company’s environmental initiatives to other stakeholders and helps them to meet increasingly stringent regulations around meetings and events.

Stewart Moore, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, EarthCheck, elaborates: “As regulatory frameworks in Europe and the US put the onus on event planners and venues to place more emphasis on delivering sustainable events, VenueCheck is a powerful tool enabling all stakeholders to be mindful of the impact they have and respond to those impacts accordingly. Moreover, delegates now expect their events to be environmentally responsible - they want to know their participation in an event is going to have a positive impact on the planet. Our new offerings equip our clients to meet these expectations head on, not just with compliance, but with leadership.”

VenueCheck provides hotels and other meeting venues with a verified sustainability management framework tailored to each individual meeting space within a property, allowing venue owners to assess and improve the sustainability of their event operations. Event planners will be able to determine an event’s impact based on the unique dimensions and other characteristics of the spaces used within the venue.

In order to participate in VenueCheck, hotels must already hold EarthCheck certification. At present, 43 Kempinski hotels have attained EarthCheck certification (seven are Gold certified, 21 are Silver and 15 are Bronze), while a further 17 properties have embarked on the certification process and are working towards Bronze.

EventCalculator provides an accurate estimate for an event’s total carbon footprint including energy consumption, water use and waste generation, based on third-party audited data from the property, as well as emissions from transportation, food and beverage consumption and accommodation. By breaking down the sources of these emissions, EventCalculator aids in compliance and reporting, while helping planners make informed decisions about how best to reduce their carbon footprint effectively. All emission calculations used in this process follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and IPCC Reporting Guidelines.

“Our new products are built on a foundation of over three decades of research and data collection across multiple sectors,” Moore says. This scientific approach allows our clients to not just meet but exceed their sustainability goals. It’s about providing actionable, evidence-based tools that turn the ideal of a sustainable event into a tangible, measurable reality.”

“Having worked extensively with Kempinski to advise on sustainability and award a growing number of Kempinski hotels with EarthCheck-certified status, we are thrilled to be collaborating on this next step in the journey towards a more sustainable future for the global meetings and events industry.”

VenueCheck and EventCalculator are aligned with the recently refreshed ISO 20121 standards for Event Sustainability Management Systems, which means customers will not only comply with best practices, but also stand out as leaders in the creation of more sustainable events. Verified hotels will be able to display an EarthCheck Responsible Venue and EarthCheck Responsible Event logos across their marketing materials and meeting and events venues, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability across all areas of hotel operations.

At present, 18 Kempinski hotels have achieved VenueCheck verification and an additional 12 are in progress. By the end of 2025, Kempinski hopes all EarthCheck-certified hotels will have enrolled in the programme.

Agilysys, Inc., a global provider of hospitality software solutions and services, announced new and enhanced solutions gaming properties can use to elevate guest service, alleviate staff workload stress and streamline operations. The new offerings will be showcased at the upcoming Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2024, October 7^th – 10^th 2024, The Venetian Expo, Las Vegas, #G2E2024. 

Key solution highlights: 

1. Enhanced Agent Dashboard in Agilysys LMS Property Management System Enables Rewarding Employees for Effective Upselling.  A new interactive dashboard tracks upsell revenue by agent to enable properties to gamify their upsell programs to increase participation and highlight and reward top performers. (Screen visuals attached.) 
2. New Interactive eCoupon Capability in Agilysys LMS and in Agilysys Loyalty & Promotions Enhances Real-Time Incentives for Guests.  eCoupon capabilities enable properties to create and email interactive, personalized coupons to guests automatically upon check-in. Coupons can be created based on any field in the reservation so they can be tailored to numerous parameters such as length of stay, guest address or player status. For example, a casino might offer its top players special pricing and reservations at its high-end restaurants and exclusive nightclubs; guests staying 3 nights or more free cocktail coupons to redeem at any property bar; or guests with local zip codes “locals only discounts” at retail shops on the property.  eCoupons can be distributed by email while also being visible in connected loyalty apps and to staff at participating outlets on the property. 
3. Agilysys Express Kiosk and Agilysys Express Mobile Enhancements Accelerate Guest Service and Reduce Staff Workload Stress, Especially During Peak Periods.  Three new Express Kiosk enhancements meaningfully shorten guest check-in times and eliminate long lines that can overwhelm staff during peak periods. In fact, when a 3,600-room casino hotel in Las Vegas deployed 25 Agilysys ExpressKiosks, 75% of guests elected to use the kiosks for check-in/check-out, dramatically reducing staff stress and increasing guest satisfaction while also slashing wait times during peak check-in periods by a factor of 6.  New enhancements include: 

• Agilysys Express Mobile is now integrated with the CLEAR identity verification service to speed check-in by having guests pre-verify their identities using an embedded CLEAR interface. Properties can satisfy guest security requirements by accessing the verified data. 
• Guests who use advance check-in on their mobile devices now receive a QR code that they can scan at kiosks on property to pick-up room keys, voiding the need to obtain room keys from front desk agents.  
• Agilysys Express Kiosks now provide a two-way real-time video chat feature that enables guests who have questions while checking in at a kiosk to connect with representatives for assistance, ensuring 24/7 support even in peak periods. Representatives in a central location can monitor multiple kiosks in different locations and are able to view the identification data the guest scanned so they can provide swift, accurate assistance.  Representatives can change or complete reservations during the video chat and guide guests to pick up their keys at the kiosk to avoid waiting for a front desk agent. (See visual attached.) 

4. Agilysys Guest App Now Includes Player and Gaming Property Enhancements.  The Agilysys Guest App – an all-in-one mobile app that appears under the property’s brand for guests to use to book, reserve, order and explore everything the property offers – now can cater to the specialized needs of casino and gaming hotel guests. In addition to enabling booking (for rooms, spa, golf, dining and activities), check-in/check-out, digital key access, service requests and folio views, the app now provides:  

• Player number and PIN login for seamless access to gaming accounts and points to use when booking. 
• Current player rank display to enhance the loyalty experience. 
• The ability for properties to create and display casino offers that guests can view and book directly through the app. 

5. Agilysys guestsense.ai Now Powers Automated Invoicing in Agilysys SWS. Agilysys SWS, an inventory and procurement system that accommodates the unique needs of casino and gaming properties, now leverages guestsense.ai to enable properties to intelligently automate invoicing, enhance verification accuracy and streamline the invoice-to-payment process. Invoices sent as email attachments are automatically extracted, and the guestsense.ai OCR server recognizes related data such as the vendor, order items, line-item details and charges before automatically finding related purchase order and receipt data. The system performs a three-way match among data on the invoice and its related purchase order and receipts using variance thresholds to verify invoice accuracy before automatically routing to the appropriate approver. When approved, invoices automatically route to the payment system and are cleared from the Agilysys SWS queue. 
6. Agilysys guestsense.ai^TM Now Powers the Agilysys Upsell Engine.  guestsense.ai is embedded Artificial Intelligence that powers the Agilysys Upsell Engine’s automated analysis and decision-making capabilities so that properties can optimize how they offer the right patron the right room upgrade at the right time and at the right price. As a patron checks in, AI considers a variety of real-time variables such as real-time capacity and real-time demand to determine an optimal price for a room upgrade. Prices assigned to offers also align with predictive logic regarding a patron’s likelihood to accept the offer. Properties can define rules for minimum and maximum allowable rates and timeframes for offers to be valid before expiring if not accepted. 
7. Agilysys guestsense.ai^TM Now Utilizes Gaming Variables to Power Agilysys Spa. Guestsense.ai isbuilt-in AI technology that leverages contextual variables, including a patron’s player status and points, real-time data and user-controlled rules to optimize scheduling, power conversational reservations, increase revenue and improve profitability for spa operations in casino properties. New AI-powered capabilities include Minimum Gap Restrictions, Revenue Management and Conversational Reservations. 

• Minimum Gap Restriction – This feature helps a spa optimize revenue and profit. Spa operators can set a minimum gap between reservations, so a spa does not lose revenue for services that leave unsold gaps in schedules. Player status and points can be used as factors in showing reservation options to patrons. This feature mimics booking strategies of trained spa staff and is essential to optimize online bookings.  
• Revenue Management – guestsense.ai now informs forecasting logic to enhance Dynamic Pricing and Dynamic Availability strategies to ensure spas book the right guests and services at the right times and prices to optimize revenue.  The system can consider patron status, loyalty points, patron preferences, overall spend and other factors to prioritize reservation availability for its most loyal guests and to ensure peak demand periods are reserved for the most profitable services, making services with lower profitability available at lower-demand times.  
• Spa “AI Concierge” Conversational Reservations – To help address labor challenges, Agilysys has partnered with PolyAI to provide full conversational reservations with a spa “AI concierge.” Conversational Reservations can provide a live booking experience 24 hours a day with an unlimited volume of calls so properties can avoid lost sales and maximize revenue. 
• Spa Therapist Portal – Therapists now can log-in to a portal to privately view individual appointments, commissions and total earnings to track and manage their performance. 

Kevin Hibbs, Agilysys Senior Director of Product Management, commented, "These innovations reflect our commitment to delivering high-value, cutting-edge software solutions tailored to how casino and gaming properties operate. We are committed to continuing to earn our place as the leading “go-to” partner for casino and gaming properties seeking solutions to maximize revenue, streamline operations and provide exceptional staff and guest experiences." 

The new solutions already have demonstrated significant impact in gaming environments. Early adopters report that adding several kiosks eliminates check-in wait times five days a week and, during peak traffic times, significantly reduces check-in times. Before deploying kiosks, at peak check-in times guests had experienced waits as long as three hours.  After deploying kiosks, the maximum wait time for guests checking in at peak times was less than 30 minutes.  Furthermore, while checking-in with a front desk agent took an average of six minutes, guests were able to check-in at kiosks in less than four minutes. The high volume of guests at large casino resorts with thousands of rooms makes these efficiencies vital to guest satisfaction, enabling guests to move more quickly to gaming floors and other amenities. 

G2E attendees (#G2E2024) are invited to experience these and other software technology innovations at Agilysys Booth #3800.  

Tredence, a global data science and AI solutions company, announced its latest AI-driven innovations in the Travel and Hospitality sector through its partnership with Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud. With a focus on transforming customer experience, revenue management, marketing, and operations, Tredence has developed a suite of AI accelerators tailored for airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and travel technology providers. Leveraging Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud for Travel and Hospitality, these solutions integrate industry-specific datasets with Snowflake's unified platform to drive operational efficiency and business growth.

“Tredence's expertise in deploying industry-specific data and AI solutions, paired with Snowflake's robust AI Data Cloud, will transform how travel and hospitality companies manage their operations and engage with customers. We are excited to continue our work with Snowflake to deliver cutting-edge, scalable data solutions that drive revenue growth management, optimize costs, and create personalized experiences,” said Sumit Mehra, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Tredence Inc.

Tredence is joining Snowflake in mobilizing the world’s data to help organizations unlock new business value and drive innovation. Through continued collaboration with Snowflake, Tredence's accelerator addresses critical industry trends such as hyper-personalized marketing, enhanced customer experience, and optimized revenue management. Tredence’s AI-powered solutions, such as recommendation engines for dynamic pricing and frameworks for real-time personalized customer engagement, empower travel and hospitality companies to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving market.

“The travel and hospitality industry is at a pivotal moment, with AI and data-driven insights becoming more critical for business success in areas ranging from customer experience, marketing, operations, and everything in between," said Whitnee Hawthorne, Global Head of Travel & Hospitality at Snowflake. “Tredence and Snowflake are jointly empowering clients to transform operations and deliver unparalleled customer experiences through the AI Data Cloud.”

This powerful collaboration is exemplified by Tredence’s multi-year partnership with one of the world’s largest hotel chains. Leveraging Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud, Tredence has driven significant data-led growth, improving the company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 7 points and increasing the average member value by over $500 through personalized promotions. Additionally, this partnership has optimized revenue management with predictive customer lifetime value (CLTV), dynamic pricing, and cross-channel marketing analytics, solidifying the client’s leadership in the hospitality industry.