News Briefs

Shift4 has acquired a majority stake in Vectron Systems AG, a European suppliers of point-of-sale (POS) systems to the restaurant and hospitality verticals. 

Based in Germany, Vectron has 65,000 POS locations across Europe, representing. Shift4 is expected to acquire additional ownership of Vectron through a public tender offer that is expected to conclude within the next month, with a de-listing and formal integration process to occur shortly thereafter.

The acquisition is expected to provide Shift4 with an expansive customer footprint across Europe as well as a distribution network of ~300 POS resellers. As a result of the acquisition, Shift4 believes it will be able to add its integrated payment services to current Vectron customers and products, while also empowering the sales force with a compelling all-in-one POS and payments solution unrivaled in Europe.

“Shift4 was at the forefront of the convergence between software and payments in the restaurant and hospitality verticals in the US. We see an incredible amount of demand for a similar all-in-one solution across Europe,” states Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman. “With our integrated payments and SkyTab offering, we believe we have the best solution at the right price point. Vectron will provide valuable local expertise, infrastructure, and the distribution necessary to meet the demand. This acquisition is right out of the Shift4 playbook – enabling us to unlock synergies, expand our distribution, and monetize payments for a large existing install base.”

Completes Revel Systems Acquistion

In addition to the acquisition of Vectron, Shift4 has also completed its previously announced acquisition of Revel Systems. Revel has over 18,000 merchant locations across the United States and internationally which Shift4 estimates represents a $17B+ payment opportunity. Revel also has a direct sales and dealer distribution network which Shift4 believes can be leveraged to accelerate SkyTab distribution both domestically and abroad. 

Shift4 has signed a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire Givex Corp., a global provider of gift cards, loyalty programs and point-of-sale solutions. 

The Arrangement Agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and the transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. 

With across more than 100 countries, Givex serves a wide range of businesses in various industries, including 7-Eleven, Wendy’s, Best Western, Texas Roadhouse. 

The company offers robust gift card and e-gift solutions as well as customizable loyalty programs, and a point-of-sale (POS) system for various business types, among other value-added services.

 “Givex has a considerable footprint around the world which will dramatically increase Shift4’s overall customer base,” states Shift4 President Taylor Lauber. “At the same time, their gift card and loyalty solutions are second to none and will add significant value for our current customers, creating stickier relationships andh 130,000+ active locations enhancing our overall value proposition. Similar to other deals we have recently completed, this acquisition aligns perfectly with how we like to deploy capital – adding blue-chip merchants at a low customer acquisition cost while delivering additional benefits to our customer base.” 

“The Givex team looks forward to joining the Shift4 family and bring our enterprise gift card capabilities and loyalty programs to hundreds of thousands of new customers,” says Don Gray, CEO of Givex. “By combining Shift4’s end-to-end payment solution with our value-added engagement services, we can deliver an unparalleled package to both of our customer bases.”  

Travelers can now explore hotel rooms like never before with the launch of Room Cougar, a groundbreaking platform offering organic and unfiltered user-submitted video room tours and reviews. Unlike traditional websites that rely on staged or outdated content, Room Cougar sources content from its community of everyday consumers and influencers so users can “look before they book.” With more than 3,000 reviews already available on the website, Room Cougar is poised to revolutionize how travelers choose accommodations. 

Room Cougar is completely free to use and is currently rewarding its users for contribution to the platform. Travelers can upload video reviews of hotel rooms across the globe, and once verified as an authentic review, contributors will be paid up to $50 USD per submission.

"Travelers deserve honest, up-to-date insights before booking their stays, and that's exactly what our platform delivers," said Ada Miller, Chief Marketing Officer of Room Cougar. "Unlike traditional review sites that rely on outdated pictures or polished promotional videos, we offer real, user-generated video reviews that show the truth about hotel rooms. We’re not just empowering travelers with transparency — we’re giving users the opportunity to earn money for their contributions. This is more than a platform; it’s a movement to redefine how people trust and book accommodations, much like how Amazon transformed retail reviews."

Currently available via its website, Room Cougar is poised to launch a mobile app in the coming months to expand accessibility and convenience for travelers searching for insights while booking on the go. In addition to its commission-based structure, the platform also offers users additional monetization opportunities through referral commissions. When travelers book stays through Room Cougar’s links, contributors can earn a share of the commissions, making it a versatile tool for casual reviewers and travel influencers alike.

With Room Cougar, hotel research is no longer a gamble. Travelers can explore rooms across countries such as the U.S., U.K., Thailand, Canada, Spain, Japan, and more, giving them the confidence to book stays that meet expectations upon arrival.

FreshAir Sensor, an innovator in indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring, launched FreshAir Certified™, a low-cost, high-margin bookable room attribute that allows hotels to leverage air quality as an exclusive guest purchase option. While odors and lingering smells remain a common guest complaint, hoteliers are often challenged to pre-empt any complaints before they arise. FreshAir Certified addresses these challenges by enabling hotels to offer guests rooms with scientifically verified, high-quality indoor air, meeting the growing demand for personalized, wellness-focused accommodations while creating a new, effortless revenue stream. 

FreshAir Sensor’s molecular air quality monitoring solutions are installed directly in the hotel guestroom to track and certify rooms that are free of common irritants (including odors from unauthorized smoking of tobacco and marijuana, scented sprays, and conditions for mold). Operators can offer these rooms to guests as part of their booking journey as a low-cost enhancement. The program is rolling out at hotels across North America and is already helping hoteliers generate significant ancillary revenue annually.

Indoor Air Quality: A Profitable Differentiator

Indoor air quality is becoming an increasingly important factor in how today’s guests make purchase decisions. To leverage the trend, hotels that prioritize clean, fresh air can drive higher guest loyalty, positive reviews, and increased revenue. Studies show that:

• More than half of guests rank odor-free rooms as the top indicator of cleanliness, making air quality a major influencer on guest perception and satisfaction (AHLA)
• In hospitality, 58 percent of guests cite odors as a leading cause of negative reviews, affecting a hotel's reputation and repeat business (AHLA)
• Increased focus on personalization can improve hotelier insight into traveler preferences, improving conversion rates by up to 16 percent (Deloitte).

By introducing FreshAir Certified as a bookable enhancement, hotels can meet evolving guest expectations, increase TRevPAR (Total Revenue Per Available Room), and reinforce their commitment to exceptional indoor environments—all without additional labor or operational changes. 

“FreshAir Certified turns air quality into a valuable, revenue-generating amenity for hotels,” said Will Darrah, Chief Commercial Officer at FreshAir Sensor. “Through our Certification program, hotels can monetize their air quality, elevate the guest experience, and unlock new profits—without the need to spend CapEx money or take up valuable staff time or resources.”

How It Works

The FreshAir Certified™ program utilizes FreshAir Sensor’s patented molecular technology to provide hoteliers with a real-time inventory of rooms with verified indoor air quality standards. These rooms can then be offered to guests in the booking flow, in pre-stay communications, or at check-in at a small incremental cost. 

As part of the certification process, each room is:

• Continuously monitored to ensure the highest quality air – free of common air quality contaminants, such as lingering odors from unauthorized smoking of tobacco and marijuana, scented sprays and conditions for mold.
• Verified to be of the highest air quality for at least 60 days prior to check-in – enabling hotels to sell guaranteed air quality upgrades to guests with sensitivities, differentiating their properties in a competitive marketplace – and generating ancillary revenues with each booking.

Fresh Air Certified Rooms have already helped properties generate significant monthly revenue streams. Early results indicate that U.S. hotels have the potential to gain more than $1.5B in new ancillary revenue annually with FreshAir Certified.

“FreshAir Certified has provided Ocean Casino Resort with another attribute-based revenue stream that required minimal additional work on our side beyond the initial setup of the add-on in our direct booking channels,” says Ryan Burch, Vice President of Hotel Operations for Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. “We’ve been thrilled with the number of guests adding the FreshAir Certified add-on to our booking engine, and we’re excited to begin offering this in our pre-stay communications and during check-in. Ocean is all about going above and beyond, so we’re pleased to see our guests expressing appreciation for the extra measures we’re taking to provide odor-free stays.”

A Simple, Profitable Solution for Hotels

FreshAir Certified represents a low-cost, high-impact solution for properties seeking to stand out in a competitive marketplace. With the demand for wellness-focused travel on the rise, this program positions hotels to exceed guest expectations while driving incremental revenue.

For more information about FreshAir Certified, visit www.freshairsensor.com. 

Akia, a guest journey platform, announces new email and SMS marketing capabilities designed to maximize direct bookings. This Marketing Suite seamlessly integrates with leading property management systems (PMS) and Akia’s AI-powered journey platform – allowing hotels and vacation rentals to reach new customers and re-market to existing ones.

Top Features:

• Email and SMS marketing with templates and drag & drop editor
• Insights fueled by PMS integration data
• Dynamic audiences based on preferences and patterns
• A centralized guest profile including phone number and unmasked personal email address
• A real-time reporting dashboard for key metrics

Building On A Successful SMS Tool

Akia customers are already seeing success with the platform’s SMS tool. Through Akia, properties are able to capture guest contact information, store it in a centralized profile, and reach them with offers to book directly. Information like birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions can also be stored within Akia to strategically personalize these campaigns.

"Akia’s new Marketing Suite empowers hotels and vacation rentals to drive more direct bookings with ease. By combining email and SMS with real-time guest data, properties can engage guests effortlessly and maximize revenue. ​​Our goal is to make powerful, data-driven marketing effortless for hospitality teams." - Frederik Hermann, VP Marketing, Akia

Email Marketing Capabilities

Getting started with the Akia Marketing Suite is designed with busy hospitality professionals in mind. Dynamic audience lists are updated in real time – allowing properties to target specific attributes or groups based on campaign goals or special offers. Pre-designed components make building an email or SMS campaign straightforward.

Within the new Marketing Suite, properties can reach guests with a single email or set up an ongoing sequence to target them in key touchpoints. For example, create an ongoing email series which sends all guests an offer to rebook 90 days after they’ve left the property. These automated emails are proven to increase direct bookings.

GK Software, a provider of commerce solutions for global retailers, has successfully acquired Nomitri GmbH, a Berlin-based deep tech startup for computer vision. This transaction will expand GK’s commerce capabilities with complete out-of-the-box SCO (self-checkout) and store operations solutions to expand the company’s global portfolio of leading retail customers.

Nomitri will continue to exist as a wholly owned subsidiary of the GK Software Group. Founders Trinh Le-Fiedler and Max Fiedler will remain in managing positions. The company had already been part of the GK partner ecosystem for several years. The Nomitri solutions will be presented as a new product suite within GK’s product portfolio under the name ‘GK Vision’.

With a total market value of more than 600 million Euros annually within the top 250 grocers alone, the SCO market is currently among the fastest growing in retail. With self-checkout solutions, retailers are already decreasing waiting times for customers and adapting to increasing labor costs. However, the implementation of such technologies is generally hardware-intensive and costly. Furthermore, while self-checkouts increase the flexibility of unmanned checkouts, an increase in thefts and fraud reduces their profitability. Addressing the profitability during the implementation of fraud detection is the primary focus of GK Vision.

GK Vision software allows retailers to take a cost-effective, retrofit approach, leveraging existing hardware and linking it directly to the cloud services of GK. This approach leads to up to ten times lower hardware investment for retailers and only takes around two business days to go live. The embedded computer vision and AI capabilities of GK Vision additionally enable age verification as well as fruit and vegetable recognition. In addition, the solution can be used regardless of which POS software is in use. This makes GK Vision an ideal complement to GK, which last year launched GK Engage, a loyalty platform that can also be used independently of the POS software provider.

“Nomitri has been an integral part of the GK partner ecosystem for some time, and its innovative capabilities have consistently impressed both our team and leading retailers. Retailers are demanding fast, scalable, and cost-effective self-checkout solutions, and Nomitri has delivered time and time again. Today, we’re proud to take this partnership to the next level by welcoming Nomitri’s groundbreaking technology into the GK portfolio as GK Vision. With a strong foundation of collaboration and trust, we are ready to scale GK Vision and redefine the self-checkout experience for retailers worldwide. Integrated into our GK CLOUD4RETAIL commerce platform, this addition further cements our commitment to providing cutting-edge, end-to-end solutions for our global customers,” says Michael Scheibner, CEO of GK Software.