News Briefs

Genesys®, a global cloud leader in AI-Powered Experience Orchestration, announced that the Genesys Cloud™ platform is helping IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, take its guest services to new heights and create more memorable stays. IHG has unified its global call center operations on Genesys Cloud, modernizing how it delivers consumer experiences. With Genesys, IHG can orchestrate personalized, world-class service to further differentiate itself with more thoughtful, empathetic hospitality.

A recent Genesys study revealed that 56% of respondents rated Hospitality and Travel as having the best customer service. With so many brands vying for attention, standing out means getting the experience right every time. Backed by Genesys Cloud, IHG is differentiating itself by setting a new bar for elevated, customized experiences that surpass guest expectations. From booking a stay in Rome, to requesting extra pillows in Paris, to upgrading a room in Kyoto, Genesys helps IHG enhance important touchpoints along the guest journey.

“IHG’s decision to implement Genesys Cloud was driven by our commitment to enhancing the guest experience through cutting-edge technology and future-proofing our contact center capabilities,” said Mary Henderson, head of reservations and customer care technology at IHG Hotels & Resorts. “This transition ensures we have a best-in-class solution that optimizes operations, engages guests and empowers our agents to deliver seamless service at scale.”

Recently, IHG executed one of its largest-ever customer experience center transformations, migrating thousands of guest services agents and thousands of toll-free numbers across eight global sites— without any downtime. Behind the scenes, an enormous network of people, platforms and phone lines came together to ensure guests get answers faster than they can say, “Late checkout, please.”

“With innovation at the heart of their guest experience, IHG is showing what modern hospitality looks like,” said Scott Cravotta, chief customer officer at Genesys. “By tapping into Genesys Cloud, IHG has built a future-ready foundation, enabling them to enhance operational efficiency, optimize agent performance, and set a new standard for intelligent guest engagement in the hospitality industry.”

To further enhance IHG contact center operations, Genesys is equipping the company with next-generation AI capabilities through its Genesys Cloud platform. Building on the successful deployment of advanced voice and digital channels, workforce engagement management, and intelligent routing, Genesys is enabling IHG to optimize operations, enhance self-service options and create more seamless guest interactions. This modernization journey is taking IHG to the next level of experience orchestration to elevate guest experiences and operational efficiencies.

Leanpath, the enterprise standard in food waste management for the foodservice and hospitality industry, will showcase its mobile reporting app in National Restaurant Association Booth 6262. This new solution simplifies how chefs and kitchen managers engage with Leanpath data, bringing streamlined KPIs and actionable insights directly to their smartphones. This marks a significant step in making food waste prevention more accessible and integrated into daily kitchen operations. 

The Leanpath app leverages AI to transform how culinary professionals interact with and respond to food waste data. By providing instant access to critical insights, the app empowers kitchen teams to make informed decisions that reduce waste, increase profitability, and enhance sustainability efforts. 

"The foodservice industry is incredibly dynamic and every second counts," said Brennan Hogan, VP of Product at Leanpath. "Our new mobile app is a game-changer for busy culinary professionals. It's like having a food waste prevention expert in your pocket, offering real-time insights and recommendations throughout the day. It's about making food waste prevention as intuitive as checking your social media feed." 

Key capabilities of the Leanpath food waste reporting app include: ● Mobile accessibility: Access valuable food waste insights and information on mobile devices throughout the day, wherever you are. ● Push notifications: Receive timely food waste alerts to stay informed of critical issues. ● Real-time waste data: Easily see top wasted foods and why foods are being wasted. ● AI-powered insights: Benefit from generative AI that offers insights into a kitchen's food waste data and recommends steps to improve efficiency. ● Visual waste streams: View photo streams of food waste to get more context on why and where waste is occurring. ● Integration with Leanpath platform: Works seamlessly with Leanpath's existing intelligent food waste management platform. 

The Leanpath app integrates seamlessly with the company's existing food waste management platform, which has been instrumental in helping thousands of commercial kitchens worldwide. 

As hotels continue to refine their revenue strategies, 123Compare.me unveils the findings from the latest edition of its World Parity Monitor (WPM) exploring how a hotel’s price position relative to its local market average affects OTA pricing behaviour and rate parity.

The April report has identified that when hotel rates are priced above the market average, the Lose rate — the percentage of times a hotel’s direct price is undercut by an OTA — increases significantly, especially for independent properties. Non-major OTAs show the most aggressive pricing responses, underscoring the risks of overpricing in competitive environments.

Across the sample*, 75% of hotels were undercut by at least one OTA, and Expedia surpassed the 20% Lose rate threshold, reversing its recent trend of moderation.

From January to April 2025, direct prices rose steadily and ended 6.3% higher than in the same period of 2024 — continuing the upward trajectory already observed last year. This trend reflects a structural pattern, where direct rates start low early in the year and peak around spring, particularly influenced by seasonal events like Easter.

Notably, price positioning matters more than ever. While major OTAs like Booking and Expedia maintained stable Lose rates regardless of price segment, non-major OTAs became more aggressive as hotel prices rose. Meanwhile, the direct channel remained more competitive in lower-price segments and saw improved Meet rates at mid-range levels.

“Being just slightly above the average can trigger aggressive responses from OTAs,” says Jordi Serra, CEO at 123Compare.me. “Hotels — especially independents — need to keep a close eye on how their positioning aligns with market trends.”

“If I’m an independent hotel and my price is above the market average, I should be concerned about OTAs becoming more aggressive and undercutting my rates. This is a very clear pattern we are seeing month after month.”

The WPM also confirms that independent hotels are more vulnerable to parity loss. When priced more than 40% above the market average, the Lose rate reached 41.8% with non-major OTAs, compared to 34.0% with major OTAs.

The World Parity Monitor is a reference in the market and a tool to track and monitor hotel pricing strategies across distribution channels. The complete April 2025 WPM report is available at: https://123compareme.net/en/secondary-otas-raise-pressure-at-premium-rates/

About the World Parity Monitor

The World Parity Monitor is the first price parity center for the hospitality industry, created by 123Compare.me. It provides insights into price disparity trends across 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels in the world’s 60 most important tourist destinations.

Each month, it analyzes over 5 million comparisons in Google Hotels, using a consistent sample of more than 6,000 hotels. This enables a reliable evaluation of price differences between hotels’ direct rates and OTA prices.

The WPM includes data segmented by occupancy levels, length of stay, and booking lead time. On the first month of each quarter, the analysis is extended to include country of origin, mobile usage, and family bookings. Month-to-month comparisons use consistent metrics to ensure reliability.

Within the framework of the World Parity Monitor, the monthly World Parity Reports are focused digests of the latest pricing behaviors and trends.

Methodology: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Beat: The hotel’s direct price is lower than OTA prices.
• Meet: The direct and OTA prices are the same or within +/- 0.5%.
• Lose: The OTA price is lower than the direct rate.

Miller’s Ale House, a casual dining brand and part of the Roark Capital portfolio, is collaborating with Ziosk to deploy tabletop technology across all 115 locations in Q2, bringing dynamic engagement technology to every table, enhancing the guest experience and helping to optimize operations.

Central to the rollout is Ziosk’s zMini, a single, connected tabletop platform that empowers guests to order appetizers, desserts, and re-order a round of drinks as well as pay at the table and sign up for marketing programs, all with the tap of a finger. Integrating with their existing tech stack, it’s a powerful guest engagement tool that also helps operators run their restaurants more efficiently.

“At Miller’s, we are committed to leveraging technology to provide our employees and our guests a better overall experience. Ziosk transforms every table into a digital engagement point, allowing us to connect with guests in ways that weren’t possible before,” said Brett Patterson, CEO of Miller’s Ale House. “Over 95% of our guests are choosing to pay through Ziosk, and more than half are providing feedback before they leave, so we’re capturing meaningful data that helps us fine-tune our guest experience.”

The new partnership has already been paying dividends on multiple fronts. With Ziosk’s new marketing ecosystem, Miller’s Ale House has seen an increase in appetizer, drink and dessert purchases, in addition to an overall improvement in service quality and ease of ordering. This advanced tool allows them to deliver targeted, real-time promotions based on dayparts to drive upsells and unlock a new opportunity for digital engagement. Miller’s Ale House has also seen guests sign up for their marketing programs at a rate significantly higher than their other channels.

“We're excited to partner with the Miller’s Ale House brand and help elevate what’s already an exceptional guest experience,” said Raymond Howard, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue and Growth Officer at Ziosk. “By combining best-in-class hospitality with intelligent marketing and actionable insights, we’re helping grow revenue, create stronger engagement, and enhance performance across every location."

The zMinis are providing a level of convenience that’s been noticed by both guests and team members alike. Guests like that they can dine the way they want to dine, with the power to order and pay on their own time right at the table. The staff is using the operational insights to refine each shift’s performance to truly provide guests with an enjoyable experience.

“Miller’s Ale House is dedicated to enhancing every guest touchpoint, and Ziosk gives us the tools to do that in a smart, scalable way,” said Katie Knight, Miller’s Ale House CMO. "The depth and breadth of data we collect through Ziosk, combined with AI-powered insights, are game-changers. This platform helps us capture guest interactions, engage them meaningfully, measure satisfaction, and drive return visits. You simply don’t get this level of visibility without the robust data that Ziosk delivers."

SoundHound AI Inc.  announced its participation in the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show.

Attendees can visit Booth 6466 to experience SoundHound’s end-to-end, omnichannel voice AI platform, powering fast, seamless ordering and support across front of house, back of house, and off-premise channels, including drive-thru, phone, kiosk, in-vehicle systems, and any other connected devices.

SoundHound’s display will feature its Dynamic Drive-Thru, featuring a live demo from Burger King UK, as well as Smart Ordering, an AI-powered phone ordering solution. Attendees can also explore Smart Answering, a fully-automated phone assistant that handles inbound calls using business-specific data, and Employee Assist, an AI coach that provides instant answers to restaurant staff on the job. Also on display: Voice Insights, unlocking actionable data from customer conversations, and Smart Lane, our next-gen drive-thru solution designed to accelerate service and reduce wait times.

At the center of the showcase is SoundHound’s groundbreaking in-car voice commerce platform – the first of its kind to let drivers and passengers order takeout directly from their car’s infotainment system. Visitors can experience a live demo, placing real-time orders from SoundHound’s restaurant partners, paying hands-free, and navigating to the nearest pickup location, all using their voice.

“The National Restaurant Association Show is a key moment for us to demonstrate how voice AI is reshaping restaurant operations,” said Ben Bellettini, SVP of Restaurant Sales at SoundHound AI. “From the drive-thru to behind the counter, and even behind the wheel, our solutions increase speed, sales, and employee and consumer satisfaction.”

This year, SoundHound is joining forces with Acrelec, Elo, Samsung, Stream, and HME, who will be providing first rate displays, enclosures, audio, and headset technology to support SoundHound’s demonstrations.

“Exceptional customer experiences are built on simplicity, efficiency and consistency — and that’s exactly what voice AI and digital displays deliver,” said Sara Grofcsik, Head of Sales, Display Division, Samsung Electronics America. “At this year’s National Restaurant Association Show, attendees can see how Samsung and SoundHound are transforming everyday moments like self-service ordering into seamless, memorable experiences. Together, we’re not just meeting expectations; we’re helping define the future of restaurant service.”

Today, Square launched Square Handheld, its most powerful, portable point-of-sale device ever. Combining a sleek, durable design with comprehensive, versatile software, Square Handheld enables sellers to manage everything from payments to back-of-house operations right from their pocket. 

Power Meets Portability

Square Handheld is built for fast-moving and operationally complex businesses, offering an ergonomic, pocketable form factor — just 11 ounces and less than an inch thick. It’s IP54-rated and designed for durability, standing up to water splashes and dust. Equipped with a large 6.2" Corning® Gorilla® Glass touchscreen and a battery built to power through a whole day, Square Handheld is packed with advanced features, including: 

• Barcode scanning for speedy checkouts, gift card scanning, and inventory management
• A 16 MP camera for capturing photos of newly stocked merchandise and updating item libraries
• Full payments functionality to capture tap and dip transactions and seamless integration with Square’s ecosystem of software, making managing a business easier than ever  

It’s portable, reliable, and powerful. With Square Handheld, sellers and their staff gain the mobility, speed, and efficiency essential to keep operations steady and deliver high-quality customer experiences — whether they’re restaurateurs that need to take tableside orders and manage their floorplan from the palm of their hand, or retailers managing large inventories and letting shoppers check out anywhere on the store floor.

Adaptable Software for Every Type of Business

Square Handheld is powered by the new unified Square Point of Sale app, bringing years of commerce innovation and technology leadership into a single, powerful hub for running any size or type of business. The redesigned software provides sellers with seven different modes that lets them customize their experience with industry-specific features — such as Quick Service mode, Bar mode, and Retail mode — and the ability to easily add modes when their operations require different or expanded capabilities. Device-specific features like quick settings for easy adjustments and push alerts for timely notifications mean Square Handheld can fit into and improve any in-store workflow, especially for restaurants and retailers, which drove 50% of Square’s gross payment volume (GPV) in 2024. From intimate neighborhood wine bars and bustling multi-location restaurants, to local pet shops and sprawling garden centers, Square Handheld gives sellers of all sizes a powerful solution to keep commerce moving.

“Square Handheld is just what we needed. It’s tremendously helpful to place orders instantly at each table instead of waiting at a counter and entering multiple tables’ orders at once, which introduces wait time to parties that placed their order earlier,” said Trevor Ledergerber, owner of Berkeley, CA’s La Mediterranee. “The device is reliable, comfortable to hold, and fits perfectly into our aprons. The battery is dependable, lasting through two service staff shifts, so we no longer need to worry about plugging it in between lunch and dinner. And we’re saving on paper receipt costs, going from 100% print to 75% digital.”

Designed to Drive Commerce

Square Handheld builds on the company’s legacy of hardware design excellence that began over a decade ago with the iconic ‘little white reader’ and permeates throughout Square’s entire portfolio of devices – from two generations of Square Stand, to Square Register and Square Terminal. Representing the company’s unique ability to elegantly marry form and function, Square Handheld is one of the thinnest and lightest handheld point-of-sale devices on the market, offering a purposefully engineered solution that’s not only built for today’s business needs, but designed to evolve and grow with sellers as commerce transforms in years to come.

"Running a business, especially a restaurant or retail store, has never been more demanding: every second counts, every team member must find ways to be more productive, and every customer has increasingly higher expectations for when and how they’re serviced," said Thomas Templeton, Block’s Head of Hardware. "Square Handheld fuses Square’s industry-leading design with powerful commerce software to deliver a dynamic device that empowers sellers to keep pace with the breakneck speed of modern business — whether they’re a full-service restaurant looking to provide seamless tableside service across multiple dining areas, or a boutique looking to give its clients a refined checkout experience anywhere in-store.”

Beginning today, Square Handheld is available for purchase online at Square Shop, starting at $399. And to help sellers get the most out of their Square Handheld, Square has partnered with industry-leading accessories manufacturer Belkin to offer premium protective cases at launch. The Belkin SheerForce cases, which will come in seven different colors, complement Square Handheld’s sleek design, add further defense against accidental drops and scratches, and lets businesses match their brand identity to their device. Thoughtfully designed to improve device grip while maintaining Square Handheld’s pocketable profile, the Belkin SheerForce case starts at $39 and can be purchased online at Square Shop.

Square Handheld was launched today in conjunction with Square Releases — a new biannual product launch that delivers the most important, new Square features and tools — all at once. Born out of feedback from the seller community, Square Releases gives businesses a simple, consistent way to discover what’s new, understand what’s next, and take action to grow, all found at squareup.com/releases.