News Briefs

Mews has been chosen by Weekender to power their portfolio of hotels across the northeast of the US.

Weekender, whose vision is to inspire travelers to adventure into the great outdoors, currently operates ten hotels with a strong pipeline to expand its portfolio over the coming years. The brand plans to complete up to 5 new acquisitions and renovations in 2024, and a similar number in 2025. Weekender will roll out Mews Hospitality Cloud in every property.

“Since our first meeting with Mews, it was obvious that they are a well-run, well-funded company,” said Keir Weimer, CEO and Founder at Weekender. “We’ve been so impressed by the team’s knowledge and passion for how the right technology can empower us to scale while keeping our guests at the heart of operations.”

Weekender is both the owner and operator of their hotels, allowing them to create a close relationship with guests and carefully manage their experience from start to finish. This requires an integrated and intentional approach to technology to support and enhance that journey, and this shared guest-first philosophy was a key driver in choosing Mews.

Open APIs allow Weekender to build and integrate technology that supports their unique vision of hospitality, while the stability and flexibility of the platform gave the team confidence that they can scale predictably and efficiently. With plans to acquire new properties, Weekender will leverage Mews Multi-Property to support the group’s growth trajectory.

It was also hugely important for Weekender to easily connect to their key technology partners. Mews Marketplace provides robust, complimentary integrations to over 1,000 leading hospitality software providers, and the team was able to easily integrate with the likes of Amadeus’ iHotelier CRS and Duetto’s RMS.

“Weekender embodies the perfect marriage of technology and experiential travel,” said Richard Valtr, Mews Founder. “Features like keyless check-in help immerse the guests in their stay, empowering them to explore and be curious rather than waste time with hotel administration. I’ve been so impressed by their growth, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”

As rising costs continue to cut into profit margins, restaurants and retailers are implementing automation technology to grow their business. Software Advice’s 2024 Automated Customer Experience Survey of over 2,000 global consumers, found that consumers rate automation most acceptable for self-checkout and help locating products in stores, but do have concerns when it comes to food preparation, cleaning, and security.

A majority (72%) of consumers are already loyal users of automated technologies such as self-checkout, curbside pickup, and contactless payment. Yet fewer than half have experienced the most cutting-edge retail technologies such as AI-enabled cashierless checkout and augmented reality try-on tools. Consumers believe automated tech has brought speed and convenience to in-store shopping and restaurant ordering, and many are ready for more to be introduced.

Software Advice’s survey identifies three consumer automation trends to help businesses with implementation strategies:

Trend #1: Consumers want more speed and efficiency

Today’s consumers are in a rush when they shop in-store. Nearly a quarter (73%) of global consumers want to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible, and 52% say the same of other retail stores.

To that end, most consumers use technology that speeds up transactions. For example, most consumers prefer self-checkout to staffed checkout when they have under 20 items, need to make a purchase quickly, or want to avoid a time-consuming conversation. However, this tech isn’t a cure-all for customers in a time crunch—the overall experience rating with self-checkout declines significantly with an increase in age, suggesting that stores can’t eliminate human assistance if they want to be inclusive. Close to a third (29%) of users experienced an issue or delay the last time they used the technology.

At restaurants, nearly half (49%) of diners say they’re likely to order food through an artificial intelligence tool, such as a chatbot or drive-thru, both of which have the potential to reduce time taken to order by serving customers personalized recommendations based on preferences and past orders.

Trend #2: Today’s customer values autonomy and privacy

Consumers now rely on technology to get information they would have had to seek out from human store associates in the recent past. Today, most consumers rarely seek out interaction with retail employees and often have already researched online what they want to purchase prior to leaving their houses. When shopping in physical stores, 62% of global consumers pull out their smartphones to compare online prices to what they see on shelves and browse product reviews.

Consumers believe technology makes their in-store shopping experiences more efficient and safer but are concerned about how that technology may use and protect their personal data.

With the recent expansion of AI-equipped security cameras at self-checkout kiosks, many customers are aware that their purchases, and their likenesses, are never truly private, even when they scan and bag their own items.

Trend #3: Humans are irreplaceable for personalization, empathy and safety

Only 33% of global consumers think it’s acceptable for businesses to exclusively use automated tech to deliver personalized recommendations. Fewer still think it's okay for businesses to fully automate store security. Only a slightly higher figure, 35% say it's okay for businesses to fully automate returns, exchanges, and refunds. Customers don’t find it acceptable for stores to rely on robots and software to handle complex problem-solving tasks, or tasks that keep people and spaces clean and safe.

Most consumers (67%) say human-centered customer service at restaurants is very important, while 31% say the same of retail and grocery stores. Over half (55%) of global consumers say automated food preparation is unacceptable for both quick service and table service restaurants. Some diners are more open to robot servers at quick service restaurants (30%) and table service (10%) but are still in the minority.

The full report offers additional findings, expert analysis, and recommendations to help automate functions without alienating customers.

Quicktext announces a strategic partnership with Mob Hotel Group, known for its unique social and environmental engagement in the hospitality industry. 

By selecting Velma, Quicktext’s cutting-edge AI technology, Mob Hotel Group (MOB HOTEL and MOB HOUSE) wants to empower their clients to communicate freely, and effectively and receive the most accurate answers while liberating their employees from the yoke of tedious, repetitive, and low-value tasks.

Quicktext, the hospitality AI SuperApp is revolutionizing the hotel industry with its outstanding solution called Velma. This innovative virtual assistant for hotels globally is based on Q-Brain+, the hybridisation of classic conversational AI and generative AI. 

Beyond the unrivaled solutions provided by Velma, by harnessing AI as well as the insights from big data, Quicktext also provides services to:

• Optimize sales, content, and marketing (Q-Sales, Q-SEO, Q-Dynamic)
• Structure & augment hotels’ data (Q-Data & Q-Channel)
• Supply data for business intelligence (Q-BI)

Virdee, a provider of guest experience technology and check-in automation and a member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), announced that Virdee Virtual Reception platform and software development kit (SDK) are available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace and can be deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and integrated with OPERA Cloud via the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform (OHIP). Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a centralized repository of enterprise applications offered by Oracle and Oracle partners.

Virdee Virtual Reception enables a contactless hotel experience and provides access and amenities at guests' fingertips. Virdee supports Oracle OPERA Cloud and Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform (OHIP). The Virdee platform delights guests and can help improve profitability for hotels by automating an end-to-end check-in experience including secure identity verification, room choice and upgrades, mobile key, an in-lobby kiosk, remote assistance, and more. All features are also available via SDK. Virdee’s integration with Oracle OHIP can mean even faster deployment for clients with automated onboarding at no additional costs.

Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop shop for Oracle customers seeking trusted business applications and services offering unique solutions, including ones that extend Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications. 

OCI is a deep and broad platform of cloud infrastructure services that enables customers to build and run a wide range of applications in a scalable, secure, highly available, and high-performance environment. From application development and business analytics to data management, integration, security, AI, and infrastructure services including Kubernetes and VMware, OCI delivers comprehensive security, performance, and cost savings. In addition, with multicloud, hybrid cloud, public cloud, and dedicated cloud options, OCI’s distributed cloud offers customers the benefits of cloud with greater control over data residency, locality, and authority, even across multiple clouds. As a result, customers can bring enterprise workloads to the cloud quickly and efficiently while meeting the strictest regulatory compliance requirements.

“Virdee Virtual Reception is a unique offering in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace. Virdee’s platform of products can help unlock new revenue streams, save hotel staff time, and increase guest satisfaction and retention,” said Nadav Cornberg, Co-Founder of Virdee. “Virdee’s participation in Oracle Cloud Marketplace further extends our commitment to the Oracle community and enables customers to easily reap the benefits of Virdee Virtual Reception. We look forward to leveraging the power of OCI to help us achieve our business goals.”

Virdee has seen a marked rise in market adoption since 2020 when the company was founded by Nadav Cornberg and Branigan Mulcahy. The company completed an oversubscribed Series A funding round of $12.4 million in November 2023. Virdee counts some of the world’s largest hotel brands as its clients, and its installation base includes four of the largest casino hotels in Las Vegas and several other major hotel brands. To find out more about Virdee and its solutions, visit www.virdee.io.

Biscuitville,  the 80+ location family-owned regional fast-food restaurant chain, signs on with Lunchbox to launch the brand's first native online ordering platform. The announcement comes at a time when the enterprise brand is eyeing an expected 7-8 corporate stores opening annually and doubling down on investments in guest-engagement solutions.

"We are excited to partner with Lunchbox to launch Biscuitville's first online ordering website. Lunchbox has a great track record and functionality that we anticipate will transform our customer experience. This venture with Lunchbox and our POS system (CBS NorthStar) highlights our commitment to meeting the demands of today's digital-savvy consumers," said Biscuitville's Chief Information Officer, Jeff Archer. "It also positions Biscuitville for long-term success in the rapidly evolving digital ordering marketplace."

Biscuitville will leverage the Lunchbox Web Ordering platform with a fully branded custom user interface (UI) and POS-integrated system that enables a seamless operational flow for its front and back-of-house staff.

The announcement follows the emergence of a preferred partnership between Lunchbox and CBS NorthStar — an enterprise restaurant POS software provider in hospitality management solutions. Integrating seamlessly into the CBS NorthStar point-of-sale system, the partnership opens the door for all CBS customers to enroll in the full Lunchbox suite of order management solutions, including App and Web Ordering, Catering, Loyalty, Marketing CRM, and more.

• 85% say integrations with other systems is driving POS purchasing decisions, according to HT's 2024 POS Software Trends Survey

"We are thrilled to partner with Lunchbox, leveraging their solutions to enhance our comprehensive POS solution. This collaboration is more than a technological upgrade; it's a transformative endeavor that promises to streamline operations, amplify customer engagement, and drive growth across all our partnered brands. By integrating Lunchbox's capabilities into CBS NorthStar, we are setting a new standard for innovation and service in the hospitality industry.", commented CTO Anthony Presley of CBS NorthStar.

"Partnering with Biscuitville marks a significant milestone for both, Lunchbox and CBS," said Nabeel Alamgir, CEO and Co-Founder of Lunchbox. "It's an important piece to their future expansion, tapping into best-in-class customer engagement to scale their market reach. We look forward to helping Biscuitville propel towards achieving its ambitious growth targets and transforming how its customers interact with their brand."

A whalloping 89% of diners are bothered by inconsistent experiences making more than half (57%) of them less likely to go back, according to Tillster's 2024 Phygital Index Report.

Consistency is key for delivering on the demands for a phygital restaurant experience, according to the second annual report from the global provider of unified commerce solutions for restaurant brands. Tillster’s sixth annual consumer index uncovers what consumers are seeking from their dining experiences when it comes to digital ordering, self-service kiosks, delivery, pickup, coupons, loyalty programs, and more.

Great Expectations

The survey of more than 1,000 U.S.-based quick-service and fast-casual diners uncovers consumers' expectations for digital ordering in the restaurant and off-premise. Demand for customizable and personalized experiences continues to grow, and this year diners continue to set a high bar for expectations when it comes to consistency across the digital and physical experience. 89% of diners say inconsistent experiences across locations of the same QSR chain bothers them, and these inconsistent experiences make 57% of diners less likely to go back. Nearly half of QSR customers have experienced digital tools not working together the way they should be which leaves the vast majority of them (93%) frustrated. However, this creates an opportunity for restaurant brands to close the gap and benefit from improved consistency in the experience provided across physical and digital engagements with customers which can ultimately drive higher frequency, deeper loyalty and larger check size.

To help brands create more seamless, personalized and customizable phygital experiences, the Phygital Index Report uncovers a range of pain points and solutions, including:

• Self-service kiosk adoption is growing, helping operators navigate labor and cost challenges. 57% of those who use kiosks wish restaurants had more self-service kiosks available, compared to 36% of diners who said the same last year. Kiosks are gaining traction for the convenience they offer customers and for the way they can help offset labor costs for operators.
• The third-party bubble burst. Diners have favored third-party platforms for the variety of choices, but the advantage is waning. Today, 17% of diners expect to reduce their use of third-party websites/apps in favor of restaurant-specific websites/apps in the coming year. There’s an opportunity to shift focus to mobile apps and websites, where 47% of diners are eager to see more exclusive offers and discounts. With the shift, operators gain the opportunity to engage and retain customers in new ways with first-party data and direct connections.
• Pickup picks up, but parking is a problem. 89% of diners who have used curbside pickup say they would be more likely to visit a QSR that offers curbside pickup in the coming year (up from 69% last year). While diners demand more curbside, logistical challenges are a pain point. Over half of customers (55%) who ordered pickup in the last three months have had issues with parking when collecting their order, presenting a clear focus area for operators.
• Personalization has become the expectation. More than half (58%) of diners are likely to recommend a QSR based on a positive personalized ordering experience. In fact, 33% of diners have even decided not to order from a QSR because the ordering experience was not personalized to their preferences — up from 21% who said so in 2023. There's an opportunity for restaurant operators to uplevel personalization in the ordering process.

“As restaurants continue to adjust their digital transformation strategies, it’s never been more important to build synergy between the digital and physical tools and components of the QSR dining experience,” said Perse Faily, CEO of Tillster. “It’s clear from our Phygital Index Report for 2024 that today’s diners want interconnected, yet tailored and personalized experiences. We initiated this report to uncover consumer preferences to help brands and operators deepen their understanding of the tools and how they can create more seamless, meaningful and valuable experiences for customers and boost profitability.”

View the complete Tillster’s Phygital Index report here..