News Briefs

SIHOT, a hotel management system, has unveiled its latest hardware-software solution, a self-ordering terminal designed for fast-moving food and beverage outlets.

SIHOT developed the self-ordering terminal to support busy catering establishments – reducing queues, waiting times and pressure on staff - improving operations with digitalized ordering systems. The self-ordering terminal features an intuitive touch screen display with customized menus, enabling customers to easily place orders and access information about nutritional values and allergens. Payments are fast and secure using credit card or mobile via the integrated payment system.

SIHOT’s self-ordering terminal is fully integrated with SIHOT.POS, benefiting from real time data transfer of customer orders to the kitchen printer, and providing customers with a digital receipt. As part of the self-ordering terminal, hospitality and catering businesses can improve the customer experience with a fully integrated card terminal and barcode scanner.

Carsten Wernet, Chief Executive of SIHOT said, “With increasing expectations from customers and greater pressures on businesses, there’s a need to improve processes to fulfil customer orders. Our self-ordering terminal gives F&B outlet customers more autonomy to process their own orders, while teams and processes are efficient to enhance customer experiences and reduce wastage across the business. The integration with our existing systems provides business leaders with full commercial transparency to improve business processes and maximise revenue potential.”

SIHOT’s self-ordering terminal will be unveiled at Südback, Stuttgart from the 26th - 29th October 2024 in Hall 5, Stand D68. For more informations contact SIHOT or visit www.sihot.com

The Hospitality team at PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips Professional Displays, is excited to announce it will be showcasing the latest innovations from its groundbreaking suite of Hotel TVs and hospitality-focused digital signage solutions at The Hospitality Show (Oct 28-30), delivering ultimate guest room entertainment, as well as proven energy efficiencies and substantial financial benefits for hoteliers.

Joining 400 exhibitors and approximately 5,000 visitors inside the 514,000 sq ft Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX,  the Hospitality Show – a joint venture between AHLA and Hotel Management – brings together industry leaders, senior executives of hotel brands, owners, operators, management companies, developers, investors, and technology experts from around the world.

Exhibiting for the first time on Philips Booth #916, US and global PPDS teams will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss a range of unique and multi-award-winning solutions designed to enhance revenues, improve guest satisfaction, and deliver instant sustainability benefits to hoteliers.  

Taking control 

Now a market leader in EMEA, China, and Australia – and growing exponentially in North America – the Philips Hotel TV range will take center stage on the booth. This includes the revolutionary Netflix ready Philips MediaSuite TV with Google Cast™(available in 19”-75” models), as well as the latest addition to the range – the Philips Hospitality TV 4000 Series, both designed exclusively for guest room experiences.

Delivering all inclusive, in-room, home-from-home TV entertainment, Philips MediaSuite is one of the world’s most unique and popular hotel TV solutions and remains the first – and currently, only – hotel TV to include both Google Cast™ and Netflix ready functionality built in, putting guests in total control of their viewing experiences.

Adding significant benefits to hoteliers – including security and financial – the Philips MediaSuite and the Philips Hospitality 4000 Series require no additional equipment, wiring, or recurring subscription fees (no external boxes). Running on an Android SoC, they can be regularly updated to include the latest features, helping to extend product longevity and reduce unnecessary hardware upgrades and electronic waste.

Voice control, access to thousands of apps via Google Play, extensive remote management, personalization, interactivity, and user insights make Philips MediaSuite a truly unique industry offering and one not to be missed. 

Sustainability made simple 

Outside of the guestroom, PPDS will be showcasing a range of advanced and highly sustainable interactive displays and digital signage solutions, each tailored to a variety of settings and hospitality applications, including for wayfinding, in-house marketing and promotions, digital menus, self-check-in and more.

Making its first ever appearance at a national hospitality event, this will include the full range of PPDS’ multi-award-winning Philips Tableaux Advance Color ePaper (ACeP) displays (13”, 25”, and 32”), providing the ideal replacement for paper-based communications, reducing waste and delivering instant time and energy savings.

Capable of running unplugged, Philips Tableaux is the world’s first full size, full-color ACeP display series, capable of displaying vivid images 24/7 without using a kW of power for days, weeks, or even years*. Highly portable, weighing in at just 3.5kg, installation uses are infinite, including the hotel lobby, corridors, café, bar, restaurant, and more. Augmented with an Android System on Chip and WiFi/LAN, local and global display fleets in one or multiple hotels can be managed entirely remotely.

These and much more at The Hospitality Show 2024 in San Antonio.

Scott Adams, Director of Hospitality at PPDS for North America, commented: “Now in its second year, The Hospitality Show provides a fantastic opportunity for PPDS to demonstrate the unrivaled strengths and capabilities available from our growing and ever-evolving suite of hospitality solutions. At PPDS, we cover all bases, whether it is providing outstanding entertainment choices in the guestroom, or delivering a range of crystal clear, energy efficient and remotely managed visual communications around the hotel. We cannot wait to be in Austin, helping visitors discover and experience the power of Philips Professional Displays on the Philips Booth #916.”

Continuing to provide hoteliers with new features to help enhance the guest experience,  LG Business Solutions USA is introducing LG Channels, LG’s exclusive free streaming service, on its smart hotel TVs and set-top boxes. Being demonstrated at the 2024 Hospitality Show (Booth 1713), LG Channels will feature FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels across a range of programming categories including live news, sports, movies, reality, drama and more.

"Hoteliers are always looking for additional content and channels for their guests,” explained Jacob Benner, Senior Director of Hospitality, LG Electronics USA. “Over 95 FAST LG Channels are currently available on all of our smart hotel TVs and set-top boxes, and hotel management – via their integrator partner – can decide which of these channels they wish to add from an ‘a la carte’ menu. As there is no need for additional apps or hardware to support the programming, the LG Channels will appear on-screen as regular TV channels within the guest channel guide.”

Developed by LG to provide hotels with more free content for their guests, and enabled by the hoteliers’ integrator, some of the available LG Channels will include ION, The Hill TV, Movie-Sphere by Lionsgate, Deal or No Deal by Banijay Rights and World Poker Tour®, and 20-plus Stingray Music channels with high-definition audio – ideal for background music while guests are working or relaxing in their hotel room.

No additional hardware or software is required – creating a simple, yet valuable addition for system integrators and hotels. With the opportunity to personalize exactly which channels they’d like, LG Channels will provide hoteliers a great option to offer a wide variety of free content to guests without overloading their channel maps.

First Hospitality, a national hotel operating, management, and development company, introduces First Analytics, a suite of forward-looking analytics and reporting. The new, proprietary business analytics platform empowers company leaders to make data-driven decisions that drive revenue growth, optimize financial performance, enhance guest satisfaction, and boost employee engagement.

Customized to the individual hotel and tailored to First Hospitality’s owners’ specific needs, First Analytics is updated daily, providing partners with real-time access to critical insights and benchmarks. Delivered seamlessly through Microsoft Power BI, this personalized tool provides full transparency with property ownership, among several other critical features including:

-         Daily tracking of leading indicators of performance that drive results

-         Market share, channel contribution analytics

-         Extensive tracking of guest experience across hotels and restaurants

-         Fluid General Manager scorecard aligned with quarterly incentive compensation

-         Individual sales leader performance to booking goal and ROI

“First Analytics has been at the core of our company’s foundation, and in this next phase, we are providing owners with real-time analytics through a customized dashboard, offering on-demand access to collaboratively achieve their objectives,” said David Duncan, president & CEO. “We have created a tailored solution that enables us to strengthen alignment, make data-driven decisions, and consistently outperform our competitors.”

Supporting the introduction of First Analytics, First Hospitality also announces the internal promotion of Mike Kuzmar to vice president of First Analytics. In his new role, Kuzmar will lead First Hospitality’s new business analytics and intelligence division, driving data-driven strategies that align with the company’s vision. Previously holding the title of vice president of revenue analytics, Kuzmar led the revenue management teams and strategies for First Hospitality’s full-service hotels. Kuzmar has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, with the past decade focused primarily on revenue strategy.

Duncan added, “During his leadership at First Hospitality, Mike has demonstrated a deep understanding and expertise in the power of data and analytics. We are confident that in this new role, Mike will continue to excel and to push the boundaries of what we can achieve with leveraging real-time data, fostering innovation and ensuring that our decisions are grounded in reliable data points.” 

Tillster, a global provider of unified commerce solutions for restaurant brands, announced the global expansion of its partnership with financial infrastructure platform Stripe. The wide-scale implementation provides Tillster’s global restaurant clients access to Stripe's digital and in-person payment solutions.

While the two companies have existing partnerships in select global markets, Tillster’s QSR and fast casual customers in the United States will now be able to seamlessly accept Card-present and Card-not-present payments from more than 45 global markets – expanding the reach of Tillster customers’ diner base.

“Tillster is committed to being the best provider of digital ordering technology to our customers around the world,” said Perse Faily, CEO of Tillster. “Diners expect a fast, seamless payment experience whether they order from a kiosk, on their mobile devices or in-person. This partnership with Stripe allows us to provide a more robust and seamless payment experience for our customers and their diners – which is critical as top restaurant brands look to keep up with evolving consumer demands, and accelerate their global footprints. We are excited to offer this leading technology to our customers.”

The first customer to launch with Tillster payments technology powered by Stripe is the family-owned Southern-Californian iconic destination, Porto’s Bakery, founded by Rosa Porto in 1976. The bakery serves over 2 million guests per month in its six Southern California locations in addition to their nationwide shipping service, Porto’s Bake at Home^®. Porto’s Bakery became a Tillster Customer in 2023.

“Since we started working with Tillster, we’ve been committed to providing our guests with a seamless and convenient ordering experience to better serve our ever-expanding customer base,” said Raul Porto, CEO of Porto’s Bakery. “With this new Stripe integration, we are able to more seamlessly process and receive payments from customers from all over the world in our locations in California – allowing us to continue our focus on excellence and quality.”