Bear Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based innovator of hospitality robots, announces the launch of its new robot, Servi Plus, a service industry game-changer featuring increased capacity, enhanced user experience features, and the smoothest suspension engineering in the industry for transporting liquids and traversing ramps.

With an expanded 88 lb (40kg) payload and a 16+ dish capacity, Servi Plus is the heavy-duty answer to hospitality workflow automation. The latest addition to Bear Robotics’ renowned Servi lineup, Servi Plus is a bigger solution for alleviating repetitive work like running orders and bussing dishes so that team members may stay on the floor and focus on creating exceptional guest experiences.

In addition to its strong carrying capacity, Servi Plus features industry-leading suspension for liquid delivery, allowing it to traverse a variety of flooring, thresholds, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps. This new product has the ability to carry four oversized serving trays or bus tubs and is adjustable for custom tray configurations.

Servi Plus also includes an array of visual and user experience enhancements, such as a full perimeter of responsive LED lighting for visibility and communication and a dot display matrix for custom messaging.

“This addition to our product line is something our entire company is very proud to launch,” says Juan Higueros, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bear Robotics. “It is a testament to our team’s ability to collaborate with our partners and support them by bringing products to market that immediately fit their operational needs.”

With the release of Servi Plus, Bear Robotics is setting a new standard in the hospitality space. This new product allows for seamless service across many verticals. Whether it’s a restaurant, hotel, senior living community, sports arena, ghost kitchen, or family entertainment concept, Servi Plus is equipped to provide a superior collaborative robot service for operators, employees, and customers.

Paytronix, a provider of guest engagement for restaurants, transforms the management of mobile apps with Paytronix Mobile Experience Builder. This new self-service tool enables brands of all sizes to publish content in real time to their mobile apps, something that had only been available to those that could invest heavily in custom mobile app development.

“Restaurants and convenience stores must meet guests where they are, and more than ever they are on their mobile devices,” said Paytronix CEO Andrew Robbins. “Many of our clients need to communicate in real time with personalized information, but simply don’t have the budget or need to build a custom app.”

Today, more restaurant orders come in digitally than through any other channel, and the primary digital tool for many is now the mobile device. This means that every restaurant and convenience store, no matter the size, must have a mobile strategy that includes real-time messaging and functionality for a truly engaging experience. The new dynamic designer puts marketers in control of branding and the guest experience with the ability to publish real-time updates and limited-time offers (LTOs), without the need for a fully custom build.

“This is the tool we never knew we needed until we had it. It’s made it faster and easier to update messages, images, and offerings in real-time,” said Reed Daniels of Red’s Savoy Pizza. “We want to lead in technology. Getting a fully functioning app with online ordering, gift cards, and loyalty, all integrated, is well beyond the budget for a brand of our size. The only way we can do that is with a partner such as Paytronix.”

Making App Personalization Faster, Easier, and Cheaper

Paytronix Mobile Experience Builder enables marketers to create hyper-personalized messages and promotions by using advanced segmentation. It also provides access to geofencing tools, enabling the delivery of store-specific promotions and messages.

WATCH: A video of Mobile Experience Builder

In short, it eliminates the need for costly third-party designers and developers and modernizes the management of branded mobile apps with real-time updates that save time, money, and energy on app maintenance. It also ensures that guests have access to up-to-date information, including announcements and LTOs.

Paytronix Mobile Experience Builder is available today with a Paytronix mobile app. For more information, see us at MURTEC booth 401, visit https://www.paytronix.com/solutions/mobile-experiences/, or call 617-649-3300, ext. 5.

Uniguest, a global provider of digital engagement technology to multiple end markets, announces the release of its next generation Digital Hotel Guest Directory. An interactive tool for hotels to share key information efficiently with guests and leverage revenue generating opportunities. This release includes a new Enterprise Package that offers game changing features and branding control options specifically designed for hotels to enhance their brand programs.  

The Uniguest Digital Hotel Guest Directory is a hub for hotel guests to engage with property communications, amenities, campaigns and services via their personal device, with no app downloads and accessed via a quick scan of a QR code.

This new release offers a completely new and flexible directory editor that delivers comprehensive customization tools, and the power to create the ultimate branded digital companion for guests.

Enterprise hospitality brands also benefit from unrivalled control via centrally managed corporate branded templates. This enables brands to retain overarching control over their guest facing digital content, plus they can set hotel permissions to view or edit content to ensure brand guidelines are always met.

A new dynamic workflow means that any amendments or design changes made to brand-level templates are immediately implemented, eliminating the need for properties to manually update content. This allows both hotels and brands to consistently deliver their communications within brand guidelines.

Finally, this latest update adds additional language support that allows guests to digest content in their preferred language, improving content deliverability, increasing engagement and boosting revenue opportunities.

Steve Keisling Uniguest VP, Key Accounts, said, “As we lead the way in redefining guest engagement, we’re delighted to introduce an upgraded version of our digital, app-less guest directory to our brands and hotels. We’re offering a unique solution for hoteliers which is simple and easy for them to manage and update, while delivering the perfect companion to enhance guest experience.”

Concordium announces a global partnership with SONIO to deliver a highly efficient and cost-saving application innovating the travel industry by streamlining the hotel guest registration process.

SONIO, a product of Advanced Living Technologies and a partner of Deutsche Telekom, is a unique platform working as an IDaaS (Identity as a Service) to improve the customer verification process and eliminate the need for lengthy and costly administrative operations. 

By partnering with Concordium, a first mover in Web3 specialized in encrypted identity attributes at the blockchain level, SONIO will be able to use the extensive Concordium Identity Verification [IDV] wallet infrastructure to design the ‘SONIO ID Wallet’ application.

Using the encrypted zero-knowledge proofs of users’ identity attributes that are uniquely embedded in the Concordium chain and wallet, the SONIO ID Wallet will enable guests to control their personal data in a self-sovereign manner and choose to share all or parts of their personal data. The conversion of an ID document, such as a passport, into digital code (zero-knowledge proofs), represents the future of industrial and commercial trust, where parties will instantly and efficiently trust each other while protecting their privacy by not needing to exchange any actual personal information. 

SONIO can ensure access and immediate demand for this application in the travel sector through its existing partnership with AT-VISIONS and its large network of global hotels. SONIO has also established a reseller agreement with Deutsche Telekom, through their TechBoost partnership program, whose salesforce is planning to support the expansion of SONIO’s reach across their own network.

Additionally, Deutsche Telekom and SONIO have already agreed on a full-scale beta test in partnership with Lindner hotels, which will run a proof of product across their travelling guests.

Daniel Schnitzler, Senior Partner Manager at TechBoost (Deutsche Telekom), says: “SONIO, our partner in Deutsche Telekom's TechBoost program has created an exciting product for the travel and hospitality industry with the SONIO Identity Wallet. With the SONIO wallet, Lindner Hotels & Resorts is the first customer in the area of ​​guest identification and reporting. Together with our sales units, we will support the expansion of the product with our customers," 

Dieter Kindl, Chief Business Officer at SONIO, says: “The digitization of processes and the reduction of complexity on the part of our customers will be further advanced by using the SONIO ID wallet. In addition to the hotel industry, promising talks are being held with Deutsche Telekom with interested parties in the area of ​​the car rental and other travel-related companies. The SONIO ID Wallet will thus make travel much easier for travellers throughout their journey.” 

“SONIO ID is advancing self-sovereign identity and the future of practical engagement with blockchain efficiencies and security for end users that Concordium is exactly designed for. We have had a great union so far and fully expect to evolve this partnership into something very special indeed.” says Conor Ringland, Chief of Operations at Concordium. 

Hotel management system RoomRaccoon has partnered with Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, to enhance its digital product’s payment capabilities, making payments for hoteliers easier, more affordable and more secure.

The two-way connection between the solutions will seamlessly automate payment processing for hoteliers through the RoomRaccoon booking engine, channel manager and front desk, track payments in real time and reduce the risk of fraud, identity theft, and illicit activities.

With an impressive international reach, the partnership with Adyen will see RoomRaccoon expand its payment offering in 28 markets, including new destinations in Europe and North America.

The partnership will also build on payment methods in RoomRaccoon’s payment platform. With Adyen and RoomRaccoon, hotels can benefit from a well-established system of payment methods, including local payment method preferences, that their guests know and trust.

Frits Beyer, Payments Manager at RoomRaccoon, says: “The modern guest values convenience. They want to see options like alternative payment methods and touch-free experiences woven into their stay. With personalized, flexible payment technology, hotels can create the best payment experience for guests and secure repeat business for their properties. We’re excited to partner with Adyen to enhance our client’s payments offering and deliver five-star experiences for guests.”

Mark Rademaker, Head of Hospitality at Adyen adds, “Adyen’s technology gives hospitality staff an automated solution that unifies front-of-house and online booking systems with information in real-time, meeting the demands of customers. Our financial technology empowers guests with a choice of how to pay upon check out, with the assurance that payments are seamless and secure. We’re excited to support RoomRaccoon with its international growth strategy, accepting global and local payment methods while being compliant with country regulations, so the business can grow at scale.”

- Canary Technologies, a leading hotel guest management system, conducted a survey of 1,000 recent hotel guests and 300 hotel workers to uncover guest tipping behavior in hotels. While tipping in the service industry is a well-established American custom and an essential part of worker wages, tipping in the hotel industry lacks transparency. The survey results show that tipping in hotels is less prevalent than other service industries. partly due to friction in the current tipping process.

The survey found many inconsistencies in reported tipping behavior. While 79% of hotel guests think hotel workers should receive tips, only 59% reported leaving one at their most recent hotel stay. However, hotel workers say that only 30% of guests actually tip staff members. In contrast, 99% of recent hotel guests claim to tip at restaurants when they dine out.

Approximately 70 percent of housekeepers said tips from guests have stayed the same or decreased over the past 5 years. In an increasingly cashless economy, about 60 percent of hotel guests claim to carry less cash than they did just five years ago. Correspondingly, the survey also found that a digital tipping solution would be a welcome tool that guests would like to use to tip hotel workers. More than 70% of hotel guests who did not tip hotel staff at their recent stay would have left a tip if digital tipping was offered.

The hotel industry faces the challenge of Increasing hotel employee wages and attracting labor back to the hospitality industry. Wages have already increased 25% since 2019, outpacing overall wage growth in the US. However, AHLA's 2022 survey found that 87% of hotels are still experiencing a staffing shortage, suggesting further wage increases may be needed to attract enough workers to the industry.

Canary's survey discovered that nearly 80% of current hotel workers say they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if their tips were increased. Additionally, 70% of hotel workers felt that hotel management teams actually have a duty to encourage tips to staff members. Hotel workers reported low pay as the most common reason for leaving the industry.

Other Key Findings

• Generation Z makes for the best hotel guests. They report cleaning up after themselves more frequently and thoroughly before checkout as well as being more likely to tip, with 62.5% leaving a tip at their most recent hotel stay (<12 months).
• However, Boomers tip more when they do tip. Only 56% of Boomers tipped at their most recent stay, but those who did tip left larger amounts than average.
• Business travelers are better tippers than personal travelers, being 15% more likely to tip.

"With no end in sight to the hotel staffing shortage, and clear indication from our survey that both hotel guests and workers desire better tipping options, digital tipping is more relevant than ever," said Bryan Michalis, Vice President of Marketing at Canary Technologies. "Digital tipping is a powerful tool that hotel management teams can deploy quickly and easily to improve staff retention. It also provides guests with a cashless method to do what they overwhelmingly report that they want - express gratitude to the workers who provide them with outstanding service during their stay."

To review the white paper with the report findings, click here.