HID, a worldwide leader in trusted identity and physical security solutions, today announced its inaugural State of the Security Industry Report, which gathered responses from 2,700 partners, end users, and security and IT personnel across a range of titles and organization sizes representing over 11 industries.

By looking at what’s driving the next innovations and the technology that supports them, the security industry is empowered to create more value for its organizations and its people. Conducted in the Fall of 2022, the survey reveals five common threads, as follows:

1. Nearly 90% of respondents acknowledge sustainability as an important issue

End users are increasingly demanding that suppliers provide footprint transparency in terms of their operations, product sourcing and research and development practices, with 87% of respondents stating that sustainability ranks as “important to extremely important.” Mirroring this trend, 76% said they have seen the importance of sustainability increasing for their customers.

To support this growing demand, security teams are leveraging the cloud and the Internet of Things, even more, to optimize processes and reduce resources. Additionally, new products and solutions are being strategically developed to address sensible energy usage, waste reduction and resource optimization.

2. Most organizations still need to fully embrace identity “as-a-service” (IDaaS) to support hybrid work

The majority of survey respondents—81% of them—stated they are offering a hybrid work model. As an example, 67% of respondents state that multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication are most important to adapting to hybrid and remote work, while 48% point to the importance of mobile and digital IDs.

Interestingly, the survey also reveals almost half of the organizations aren't quite ready to implement a comprehensive IDaas strategy.

3. Digital IDs and mobile authentication to propel many more mobile access deployments

Identification and authentication are more commonly completed via mobile devices, including smartphones and wearables. The growing popularity of digital wallets from major players such as Google, Apple and Amazon is a key driver of this trend. And expanded capabilities allow smartphone users, for example, to add keys, IDs and digital documents directly in the wallet app. These include, but are not limited to, drivers’ licenses in eight states, verifiable COVID-19 vaccination information, employee badges, student IDs and hotel room keys.

Commercial real estate companies (40%) are outpacing other verticals as large commercial real estate firms are leveraging mobile access as part of their larger tenant experience apps, according to the HID survey.

4. Nealy 60% of respondents see the benefit of contactless biometrics

Biometric technologies represent a major break from more conventional means of access control. Using biometrics as an additional authenticating factor (e.g., biometric scans to verify an individual’s physical identity) can help organizations eliminate unauthorized access and fraud. The importance of this trend is exemplified in the survey data, which shows that 59% of respondents are currently using, planning to implement, or at least testing biometric technologies in the near future.

5. Supply chain issues continue to be a concerning factor, but optimism begin to emerge

According to the survey, 74% of respondents say they were impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, although 50% are optimistic that conditions will improve in 2023. Most affected are commercial real estate companies, with 78% citing supply chain problems as their main concern.

More than two-thirds of organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees indicate that they were highly impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, but they are also the most optimistic that these issues will resolve in 2023.

By better understanding the aforementioned topics, security professionals will be better prepared to adapt faster, deliver exceptional digital plus physical experiences, and capitalize on breakthrough innovations in solutions and services. Read the survey in its entirety here.

Le Bristol Paris announced its exclusive entry into the Web3 ecosystem. As the first hotel of its standing to expose itself to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, Oetker Collection’s Masterpiece Hotel in the heart of Paris seeks to embrace its legacy as a house of distinction as it disrupts traditional codes to meet demand for increased connectivity and experiential community.

By taking this pioneering step forward into the digital future of luxury hotels, Le Bristol Paris’ objective is to create experiences that expand the hotel’s influence and offer new ways to interact with its extraordinary art de vivre.

The multi-phase project to welcome Web3 audiences to Le Bristol Paris will begin with a very limited drop of 11 NFTs, ‘Le Bristol Unlocked’, created in collaboration with the start-up Metav.rs. Each NFT owner is granted membership to Le Bristol’s L’H3ritage Club.

Privileges such as anytime access to dedicated and secret menus at the hotel’s restaurants and weekly access to its fabled rooftop swimming pool (normally open to guests only) will be proposed among other perks. In addition, each NFT unlock doors to one of 11 rewards encompassing ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences never offered before by Le Bristol.

In this first foray into Web3, Le Bristol Paris is becoming the first Palace hotel to create a blockchain community, erecting the bridge between timeless excellence and disruptive new technology.

Le Bristol Paris’ 11 limited-edition ‘Le Bristol Unlocked’ NFTs will be available for purchase in cryptocurrency exclusively on April 14, 2023 via https://www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/le-bristol-paris/lh3ritage/

Crystalbrook Collection Hotels & Resorts, a group of eight luxury properties along the east coast of Australia, has turned to Hapi to connect several guest data sources and help develop 360-degree insights and personalized guest experiences in Salesforce.

Through a new integration with SevenRooms, a global guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry,Hapi is combining and normalizing insightful Food and Beverage data from 16 restaurants and bars across Crystalbrook’s portfolio, alongside guest data from their accommodation PMS platform. This information is delivered to Salesforce through a single data stream, unlocking the ability for Crystalbrook to create personalized F&B offers, targeted messages and enhance their holistic guest experiences.

“We wanted to understand how our customers are dining in our restaurants and bars, and merge that information with their accommodation profiles, so we know our customer from a 360-degree point of view,” said Joe Dwyer, Group IT Director at Crystalbrook. “This data helps us fully understand a guest’s lifetime value, and opens the door for Crystalbrook to provide personalized offers and experiences designed to drive loyalty.”

Through the new Hapi-SevenRooms integration, hoteliers now have the ability to transform their guest experiences by building single guest profiles with data from across their properties, and implementing personalized customer journeys that connect with, and retain, customers. 

By tightly integrating the F&B program with the hotel, operators will see greater efficiencies, increased revenue, and a better guest experience. In the Marketing department, combining profiles and preferences from the dining outlets and the hotel systems provides much more guest data to create true personalized offers. 

Now, guest data from the restaurants can be shared with Salesforce Marketing Cloud to power automated marketing campaigns. For example, hotels can automatically target return guests with personalized offers based on their past dining history, stay history, or timely events, such as an anniversary or birthday. 

“By adding their restaurant data into Salesforce alongside their hotel data, hotels now know more about their guests than ever before and can provide personalized touches across the entire guest journey,” said Luis Segredo, Hapi CEO. 

"We're excited to partner with Hapi to provide hoteliers with the deep customer insights they need in order to continue enhancing the guest experience for consumers," said Brent-Stig Kraus, CRO at SevenRooms. "The ability to own and leverage guest data will not only help hoteliers increase profitability, but also support them in building direct guest relationships, driving repeat business, and delivering exceptional experiences."

 Sabre Corporation, a software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, announced an agreement with Capillary Technologies, a loyalty management and customer data platform provider that delivers AI-based, cloud-native SaaS programs and solutions. Through the agreement, Sabre has incorporated the Capillary Loyalty Management solution into the Sabre platforms for airlines and hoteliers, adding Capillary’s advanced loyalty management capabilities to their comprehensive offerings.

The Sabre and Capillary agreement will provide: 

●        Valuable insights into customer loyalty data through real-time analytics;

●        New opportunities for end-to-end loyalty management and incremental revenue opportunities for airlines and hoteliers; and 

●        Enhanced customer experiences across the entire traveler journey.

For Sabre Hospitality customers, the Capillary hospitality platform will be integrated with Sabre Hospitality SynXis applications, including Central Reservations, Property Hub, Voice Agent, and Booking Engine. For airlines, Capillary’s loyalty management solution can be integrated with SabreSonic, Customer Insights, Payment, and Dynamic Rewards products.  

The Capillary Technologies solution goes beyond traditional points-focused loyalty programs to enable brands across travel, and other sectors, to enhance consumer engagement through digital transformation. Using AI to interpret comprehensive data sets, Capillary Technologies provides meaningful, real-time insights into customer preferences, providing recommendations to empower airlines and hoteliers to step-up their relationships with travelers, while enhancing revenue-creation opportunities, through truly personalized interactions across all traveler touchpoints. Capillary Technologies has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave TM : Loyalty Technology Solutions, Q1 2023 report. Capillary’s Loyalty+ has earned 5/5 for 13 of the 28 criteria evaluated by Forrester.

“Traveler needs are evolving rapidly as we move through this post-pandemic world,” said Joe Doran, Senior Vice President, Capillary Technologies. “And it is essential that loyalty management solutions are at the forefront of this travel evolution to enable airlines and hotels to attract, retain, and delight their travelers through real-time advanced analytics and recommendations. We’re incredibly excited to combine our own expertise with Sabre’s so together we can bring Sabre customers, and the wider travel industry the customizable, integrated, cloud-based loyalty management solution they need for success in today’s dynamic travel landscape.”

With offices around the world, including presence across the United States, India, the Middle East and Asia, Capillary Technologies brings a global understanding and focus to loyalty management.

“I’m delighted that through this alliance we can provide our airline partners with a novel approach to loyalty management that can be seamlessly integrated with their existing technology so they can rapidly respond to market conditions,” said Corrie DeCamp, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Sabre. “Our joint loyalty management solution will enable airlines to stay connected with their flyers, understand their preferences, reward their loyalty and improve customer engagement through AI-driven recommendations that create incremental value for our customers and their frequent travelers.”

“I’m thrilled that we are further enhancing our hospitality offering through Capillary,” said Frank Trampert, Senior Vice President, Global Managing Director of Community Sales for Sabre Hospitality. It’s vital that hoteliers can understand ever-evolving guest preferences and expectations to create differentiated experiences and keep their guests delighted at every travel touchpoint.” 

IRIS, a global provider of digital ordering technology for the hospitality industry, announced the launch of a number of new features to supercharge hotel’s ordering and payment capabilities and deliver a more personalized user experience.

According to the findings of the 2022 report by Oracle and Skift, “Hospitality in 2025: Automated, Intelligent…and More Personal” the majority of hoteliers (81%) expect to see a strong shift in the service model. In reality this means an increase in guest demand for operators to adopt mobile-first technology that offers choice and convenience.

With this in mind, IRIS’s new features will enable hospitality operators to realize their operational and revenue potential at a time when inflation and recruitment continue to present challenges.

New search and filter function for allergens

For both guests and operators, navigating and managing menus to cater for allergens, intolerances, and preferences can be time consuming and in the case of allergies, life-threatening at times, if due diligence is not paid.

The new search and filter function has been built to mitigate this by enabling guests to personalize their menu choices and refine available items based on their specific dietary requirements. For international operators, the filter options will accommodate and display commonly recognized emoji graphics to help ensure nothing is lost in translation.

Any changes made to the F&B items’ attributes will be automatically picked up by the filter function without requiring any further steps, making it easy for staff to make updates and ensure allergen information is always accurate.

Clear pricing display so guests can order what they want

The new menu display enables operators to accommodate items with multiple prices. Ideal for wine lists, it allows hotels to display both glass and bottle prices on a single item to provide greater choice for guests. Previously they would either have a single price and need to be two separate items, or have the price quoted as “from”. Now operators have the option to build and manage their own digital wine lists which can also be used with the IRIS Flat Menu layout, removing the need for a physical menu.

Split bill feature to ease group bill settlements

The new Split Bill functionality makes light work of settling group bills. It has been developed to build on IRIS’s Open Tab feature that allows guests to run a tab with multiple rounds on, then pay with a single transaction at the end.

Now guests (who are all ordering on the same tab) will have the opportunity to split a bill across multiple devices and pay individually. Each guest inputs the amount they wish to pay, sets their own tip amount individually, pays by card, and receives an email receipt.

From an operational perspective, staff will be provided with a clear breakdown of how much each guest has paid. This allows staff to pull up the tab according to the table number or room and track the outstanding balance as each person pays.

Guests will also be able to see how much has been paid by each person in the Order History, making it easy to split amongst large groups.

Call wait staff to deliver a swifter service

The new Call Wait Staff function offers greater efficiency for staff and delivers superior service for guests.

Once settled at a table, guests have the option to call for a member of staff via the Call Wait Staff button on the app. A ticket receipt is then delivered to the kitchen or till to notify staff that a guest requires assistance and gives their location. The real benefit is delivering an efficient approach to service so that wait staff walking the floor are doing so to meet a direct guest need - and not on the floor or waiting in busy pool areas unnecessarily when they are not needed. As a result, wait times are reduced and guests benefit from a swifter service.

Grocery ordering to enrich the guest stay

This new feature has been built to enable guests to pre-order groceries and toiletries in advance of their stay. This enables operators to tap into the all-important second wallet ahead of a guest’s arrival. Perfect for self-catering guests to stock up their villa or to order flowers and champagne to the honeymoon suite.

From an operational perspective, management teams can set a minimum notice period required for advance orders so that they can be delivered efficiently. Likewise, lists similar to the search and filter function can be edited in line with dietary requirements and allergies.

This feature can also be implemented across departments to include catering or IT requests such as AV equipment or projectors for large conferences and the MICE market.

David Molofsky, Product Manager at IRIS, comments: “The capabilities and value that mobile ordering offers continues to grow apace as operators and guests recognize its benefits.

”These features focus specifically on improving staff efficiencies and personalizing the guest experience. Whether that's reducing the need for physical staff presence, providing guests with clear answers to common questions, or making it easier to manage bills and payments, our goal is to provide F&B ordering solutions that satisfy the guest’s needs and add value to their stay.

“The need to leverage efficiencies and maximize revenue opportunities is also significant, and each of these new features will fulfil these requirements and exceed operator expectations.”

Each feature is now available to operators. For more information on IRIS, click here.