News Briefs

In the third quarter of 2024, Square completed a significant infrastructure shift, creating a best-in-class commerce platform with leading payments and ordering capabilities for sellers. The new platform fundamentally changes how the company builds products and will provide expanded commerce capabilities like Pre-Auth and Bar Tabs to sellers of all sizes across verticals in the U.S.

Square’s new order-based infrastructure is designed to help sellers grow their business by enabling them to complete a sale anywhere and anyhow, which allows them to run an efficient operation that delights customers and gives sellers time back.

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

“We are thrilled that sellers in the U.S. are now on the new Orders Platform, which is currently in general availability. This is a key unlock for innovation and we expect this will accelerate product velocity going forward,” said Saumil Mehta, Head of Product for Square. “With the Orders platform, Square will be able to provide more checkout flexibility to sellers - whether their customers are seeking to order ahead, open a bar tab or set up a subscription, sellers using Square will be able to offer more options to capture sales across their businesses.”

To learn more about Square’s latest offerings, visit www.squareup.com.

Mews has released the Mews Terminal S2 to further transform hotel businesses across food and beverage (F&B) and front desk operations.

The Mews Terminal S2 combines the power and flexibility of an electronic point-of-sale (ePOS) system with the capabilities of a payment terminal. It continues the company's commitment to accelerate business growth for hoteliers, by providing increased speed, flexibility and ease of use for both staff and guests across all payment touchpoints throughout the stay.

The Mews Terminal S2 fully integrates with Mews POS, with Mews Payments embedded throughout to ensure seamless staff and guest experiences. This enables staff to take orders and process secure payments from the same device anywhere on the property, from front desk room upgrades to poolside drinks.

It also eliminates wasteful trips between tables and fixed terminals and reduces order errors with real-time order transmission, allowing staff to focus on delivering exceptional guest service. Its flexibility and scalability make the solution suitable for both independent and property groups with F&B facilities.

The portable, wireless, hand-held device has a long-life, rechargeable battery, and empowers hoteliers to better manage the flow of busy restaurants and front desks. It can be easily moved to high-traffic areas when necessary, such as the reception desk during check-out times or the restaurant during peak dining hours. This eliminates the need to double up on terminals at each location.

Arctic SnowHotel, a property part of Snowhotel Family, located in Lapland, Finland, was an early adopter of the Mews Terminal S2. The hotel experienced a significant positive impact on operations, with the average time to take orders and payments dropping from five minutes to just one minute.

Suvi Ristiluoma, Head of Restaurant Operations/Human Resources Manager at Snowhotel Family, said: “With the Mews Terminal S2, we’ve been able to provide a more seamless and pleasant experience for our guests, which is exactly what we strive for. It’s simple to use, and our staff love how it speeds up service without compromising on guest interaction.”

Versatile payment options are available, with the ability to split bills, take card or mobile payments, and charge directly to the room. An embedded tipping option makes it easy for guests to reward great service, helping to keep staff happy and engaged.

“Great hospitality is often about simplicity, and the Mews Terminal S2 means hotel and restaurant staff have just one, easy-to-use device to handle the administrative elements of their role,” said Matt Welle, CEO at Mews. “Guests are served faster, staff make fewer mistakes, and hotels can work more efficiently and securely.”

Tripadvisor and Paradisus by Meliá, a Destination Inclusive Luxury Resorts brand by Meliá Hotels International, announced the launch of an interactive experience to encourage future travelers to visit. Viewers are taken on an immersive tour of the five luxury resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico through FireTV and Alexa to inspire travel from home to US audiences. 

Using their voice or the FireTV remote, users can navigate through Paradisus Palma Real, Paradisus Cancún, Paradisus Playa del Carmen, Paradisus La Perla, and Paradisus Los Cabos, along with enjoying the benefits of the Destination Inclusive® Program. Launched in 2023, the program sees each property shaped by its destination and connects guests to the resorts’ local communities, transforming the way travelers experience all-inclusive resorts. Local immersive experiences are available to all guests, from design and amenities that encompass arts and craft workshops, to local dining options, on-property entertainment activities, and more.

The new custom content offering is in addition to the suite of innovative solutions Tripadvisor offers hotel brands to create engaging experiences. On average, consumers spent 4 min 11 seconds immersed in the experience. Additionally, Brand Awareness levels increased by 43%; Brand Uplift and Brand Sentiment both increased by 22%; Consideration levels increased by 22% while Intent to Purchase also rose by 11%.

Christine Maguire, Global Vice President of Sales & Partnerships at Tripadvisor said: “Paradisus by Meliá’s  Destination Inclusive proposition is so compelling that it inspired us to rethink how we reach travelers beyond our site. By bringing these incredible resorts directly into the homes of travel enthusiasts, we’ve transformed their experiences into vibrant, interactive showcases with rich audio and stunning imagery on a larger scale. We’ve leveraged our extensive data to highlight destinations that will captivate US travelers, supported by trusted ratings and reviews from our community.”

Manuel Riego, VP Marketing & Distribution at Meliá said: “We’re excited to partner with Tripadvisor as the first hotel brand to leverage this engaging solution. We are committed to innovation, and the campaign is a fantastic way to showcase our incredible Paradisus by Meliá properties ahead of guests experiencing the luxury services and benefits for themselves. The initial engagement results look very encouraging and we’re excited for future partnerships with Tripadvisor.”

The Immersive Resort Tour can be experienced on FireTV and Alexa devices in the US by simply saying, “Alexa, launch Tripadvisor Destination Tour”.

SalesAndCatering.com and Cloudbeds have announced a two-way integration that will empower hotels, resorts, and conference centers to optimize hotel group sales and event management.  By combining Cloudbeds' innovative property management system (PMS) with STS Cloud’s robust event management and sales capabilities, hoteliers can prevent overbookings, optimize room and event inventory, and deliver personalized service to win more deals.

The integration enables hotel staff to manage every aspect of group and event bookings, from room blocks to event contracts, while automatically syncing data with Cloudbeds in real time. Sales managers can easily create and manage contracts, banquet event orders (BEOs), and special requests from any device, enhancing both the guest experience and hotel efficiency. By automating many of the time-consuming aspects, like room block management and rate tracking, hotel teams can operate more efficiently,  maximize revenue from group stays, and focus on creating exceptional guest experiences.

“Efficiency is a key factor in maximizing hotel group sales and meeting revenue,” said Ryan Hamilton, Co-founder of STS Cloud. “We designed STS Cloud to streamline every part of the sales process—from pipeline management and group block creation to event orders and digital contracts. Our integration with Cloudbeds takes this a step further by allowing sales teams to check room availability and automatically sync room blocks directly into the PMS. This seamless connection not only saves time but also boosts productivity, enabling teams to focus on closing deals and enhancing overall hotel operations. We prioritize quality partnerships and are excited to build a strong relationship with Cloudbeds.”

The key features of the STS Cloud and Cloudbeds partnership include:

• Seamless integration:  Room block and rate information will flow effortlessly from STS Cloud into Cloudbeds' Property Management System (PMS), while STS Cloud will simultaneously pull real-time inventory, pickup, and room rates from Cloudbeds, ensuring hotels maintain accuracy and efficiency in managing their bookings.
• Efficient event management: Event planners and sales teams can easily create and manage contracts, banquet event orders (BEOs), and special requests directly from their mobile devices, enabling personalized service for every event.
• Revenue optimization: The platform offers robust tools to upsell additional services such as catering, banquet services, and amenities, helping hotels increase revenue from group bookings.
• Flexible deployment options: STS Cloud supports both SaaS and on-premise deployment, providing hotels of all sizes with a solution that fits their unique needs.

“Our collaboration with STS Cloud creates a powerful solution for hotels,” said Richard Castle, Co-Founder of Cloudbeds. “We share a common belief in user-friendly design, advanced functionality,  and expert customer support, which makes for happier, more efficient hotel staff. This two-way integration optimizes group sales and event management. We look forward to growing this partnership to drive even more value for our customers.”

Agilysys, Inc., a global provider of hospitality software solutions and services, announced that the gourmet market and food hall Famous Foods Street Eats at Resorts World Las Vegas has chosen the Agilysys InfoGenesis Point-of-Sale (POS) platform, guest-facing kiosks and related solutions to significantly improve operational efficiency and dining experiences across 16 diverse culinary stalls in its one-of-a-kind 24,000 square-foot dining emporium.

This unique dining concept immerses visitors in an interactive “street food” destination featuring critically acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs. Since the food hall opened in 2021, visitors have been able to view, order and pay for their dining selections at interactive kiosks presenting menus and visuals from all stalls, eliminating the need to queue up to order, pay and wait for meals at different stalls.  

Over time, the Resorts World Food & Beverage team needed greater POS system flexibility to accommodate certain specifications for improving efficiency and satisfaction for both restaurateurs and diners. For example, the team wanted each restaurant to be able to change menus and prices and offer specials on the digital kiosks in real-time without requiring downtime that would impact other restaurants. 

Because not all food stalls have the same operating hours, the team wanted to dynamically remove menus of venues when outside of operating hours and then redisplay them when the venues were again open. They also wanted diners to relax at their tables during meal preparation and receive an SMS text when orders were ready for pick-up. For kitchen staff, the team wanted to be able to segment each food stall’s items from the consolidated orders and transmit to each kitchen only its own food items for preparation. 

These and other innovation desires – such as enabling kiosks to interact with gaming systems so diners can pay using Resorts World player points – prompted Bart Mahoney, Vice President of Food and Beverage for Resorts World Las Vegas, to replace the existing POS and kiosk system with the modern, flexible and scalable Agilysys InfoGenesis POS platform, IG Kiosks and related solutions.

Mr. Mahoney explained, “With our business growing and guest expectations evolving, it became clear that we needed a more robust and user-friendly system than the one we had. Agilysys InfoGenesis stood out as the ideal solution to streamline our processes, improve flexibility and provide a seamless experience for both our staff and guests.”

Mr. Mahoney continued, “We chose Agilysys because of its proven track record delivering reliable, cutting-edge technology solutions for the hospitality industry.  Agilysys offered the perfect blend of innovation, ease-of-use and flexibility, allowing us to configure the systems to cater to our unique operational needs. Their strong customer support and the deep industry expertise in their R&D and implementation teams made them the clear choice for us.”

Several guest benefits also factored into the decision. “Fast order-to-pick-up times, the convenience of being able to relax at a table with dining companions rather than wait in a queue while orders are being prepared, and flexible, personalized payment options that include room-charges and player points redemption all elevate our guest experience,” Mr. Mahoney added. “Agilysys was able to fulfill all of our requests for automating smooth, streamlined processes to reduce wait times, create memorable visits and make every interaction feel effortless.”

The IG Kiosks enable diners to select menu items, process payments and print receipts from an intuitive screen display that requires no training to use. Not only do the kiosks eliminate the need for each venue to invest in counter service staff, but they also ensure orders and payments are always accurate and eliminate queuing at each food stall for placing and picking up orders. Each venue can update menu items, prices and specials in real-time without impacting kiosk availability for the other venues, and diners can pay using player points, room charges, payroll deductions (if employed by Resorts World Las Vegas) and credit cards. For orders that consolidate items from multiple menus, automated multi-station routing splits out items by food stall before transmitting so that each Kitchen Display System (KDS) receives only items pertaining to that venue, speeding up order preparation.

In addition to the InfoGenesis POS platform and 34 IG Kiosks, the Resorts World F&B team also deployed Agilysys Pay for executing secure payments through the hospitality industry’s leading P2PE (point-to-point encrypted) and PCI-validated payment gateway; Agilysys Analyze for insights on demand patterns, diner volume and flow, fast- and slow-moving items that impact inventory and procurement decisions, food stall production metrics and table service metrics such as capacity utilization and turn times; and Agilysys Kitchen Display System (KDS) to optimize kitchen operations and food preparation through digital order management.

Ryan Carrier, Area Vice President, Gaming, for Agilysys observed, “It is exciting when a customer operates a venue with specific and complex business and guest experience requirements that challenge us to align our technology with their desires. Famous Foods Street Eats in Resorts World Las Vegas presented such an opportunity, and it has been gratifying to deliver capabilities and performance other providers could not. We are proud to be part of this exceptional celebration of food culture, where every guest can enjoy something extraordinary and unique.”

Tredence, a global data science and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions company, announced that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Travel and Hospitality Competency status. This designation recognizes that Tredence has demonstrated deep experience in helping travel and hospitality customers transform their business from behind-the-scenes operational efficiencies to guest-facing customer experiences.

AWS's global travel and hospitality practice helps companies of every size and segment – including airlines, airports, ground transportation, travel services and sellers, restaurants, lodging, entertainment venues and casinos, cruise lines, and technology providers – to stay agile and accelerate innovation. AWS helps customers succeed by connecting them to partners with deep AWS experience, and a proven track record for delivering results.

Achieving the AWS Travel and Hospitality Competency differentiates Tredence as an AWS Partner with deep domain expertise in Data 360, Digital Customer Engagement, Technology Migration and Modernization, Smart Assets, and Analytics Consulting Services providing strategic guidance and deployment services.

"Tredence is proud to achieve AWS Travel and Hospitality Competency status," said Hutokshi Sethna, Head of Travel and Hospitality, Tredence Inc. "As the travel and hospitality sector evolves, leveraging data analytics for personalized customer engagement is more crucial than ever. Tredence is focused on enhancing analytics capabilities across the entire value chain, from customer acquisition to revenue growth management, by embedding AI at the core of every decision. Our team is dedicated to helping companies achieve their business transformation goals by leveraging the agility, breadth of services, and pace of innovation AWS provides."

AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify Consulting and Technology AWS Partners with deep industry experience and expertise.

Tredence offers a suite of innovative AI solution accelerators tailored to meet the unique challenges of the Travel and Hospitality industry, leveraging AWS's robust platform. Our solution-oriented accelerators are designed to enhance operational efficiency, drive customer engagement, and unlock new revenue streams. As an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, Tredence has demonstrated a deep understanding of AWS services, ensuring the development of secure, scalable, and efficient solutions.