Zaxby's is rewarding its most loyal fans by extending its welcome offer—a free Big Zax Snak meal—for downloading and joining its Zax Rewardz program. 

A Tasty Reward

"At a time when other loyalty programs are lowering the value of rewards, we're doubling down on rewarding our most loyal guests. We are extending an attractive sign-up offer that includes a free meal while making it easy to earn and redeem rewards," said Patrick Schwing, Zaxby's chief marketing and strategy officer. "The guest response has exceeded our expectations and it's clear they appreciate the value our program offers. Since launching the new app in September, we've more than doubled the number of active users and have earned a 4.7 rating in the app store."

Recent changes to loyalty programs across quick-service brands suggest customers will have to spend more to earn free perks. Zaxby's has simplified the process of redeeming points and continually rewards members through offers like Free Delivery Sundays, every Sunday through the end of May; and Free Delivery Week, April 24-30. 

Zaxby's point-based catalog of rewards allows users to turn earned points into flavor-packed freebies. Every $1 earns 10 points, which accumulate into a choice of free menu items and select dollars-off rewards. To start earning points immediately for Zax Rewardz, customers can sign up online at zaxbys.com/rewards, or download the new app on Google Play or the App Store. Guests can also order ahead for pickup or delivery using the Zaxby's app.

Zaxby's new rewards program launched in 2022 and was recently recognized as one of America's Best Loyalty Programs in the Fast-Food Restaurant Chains Category on Newsweek's and Statista's list of America's Best Loyalty Programs in 2023, outranking its direct competition.

Samsung Electronics announced that Atlantis The Royal, a new resort from Kerzner International on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, has been outfitted with its industry-leading displays, including The Wall, as well as Samsung Smart Signage displays both indoors and outdoors. Following the 2023 grand opening of what has been dubbed one of the world’s top resorts, guests can now experience a new era of luxury complemented by Samsung’s latest technology.

“At Atlantis The Royal, every detail has been considered to truly elevate the guest experience and fully equip our colleagues. Samsung has been an instrumental technology partner from construction to opening,” said Anthony Lynsdale, Vice President Information Technology, Atlantis Dubai. “We are confident in both the quality and reliability of Samsung’s technology and team of experts to help us create and maintain an unparalleled hotel experience.”

Cutting-Edge Technology Lights Up Every Space for All-Around Luxury

Atlantis The Royal is the first hotel in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region to install Samsung’s innovative modular Micro LED display, The Wall, on its property. Measuring 146 inches with 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution, The Wall enhances the hotel’s most luxurious guest suite, the Royal Mansion, with a one-of-a-kind, personal viewing experience unmatched by other displays. The slim, sleek finish of The Wall’s Infinity Design blends in naturally with the suite’s refined elegance.

Throughout the property, various types of Samsung Smart Signage have been installed to entertain guests and provide unique customer experiences in each space.

In the hotel’s awe-inspiring lobby, Samsung Smart LED Signages have been installed on three large water tanks that draw visitors’ attention at first glance with the largest screen measuring 6m x 8.5m. Samsung installed the hanging-type signage between the tanks and the walls to project incredible scenes, including fish swimming in the sea.

The hotel’s spa and gym feature impressive displays with Samsung Smart LED Signage from the company’s IER series, which leverage LED HDR technology for crystal clear picture presentation. Built to accommodate various installation space requirements, these flexible signage displays allowed the team at Atlantis The Royal to provide an immersive viewing experience in the spa and gym areas.

By the outdoor infinity pool, the ceviche bar features Samsung Outdoor LED signage that displays information clearly, even under direct sunlight, to entertain and communicate effectively with guests. The outdoor IP65 validated design protects it from dust and water and ensures continuous operation in any conditions.

Samsung Smart Signage has also been installed in restaurants and meeting rooms to enhance guests’ comfort and communication while boosting staff efficiency. Guests of Atlantis The Royal will be treated like royalty thanks to the 957 Samsung hospitality displays that have been installed in the hotel’s 795 rooms to provide the ultimate personalized viewing experience.

“We are privileged to work with Atlantis The Royal and provide guests with a new level of luxury unlike anything they’ve experienced before,” said Doohee Lee, Vice President and Head of Samsung Gulf Electronics. “The combination of Samsung’s innovative display technology and Atlantis’ creativity and luxury expertise is leading the hospitality industry in exciting new directions.”

From The Wall’s awe-inspiring picture quality in the Royal Mansion to the smart signage installed throughout the property, Samsung’s displays work within the resort’s unique environment to empower staff and transform the guest experience. Through its collaboration with Atlantis The Royal, Samsung Electronics is helping to define the future of hospitality technology.

Thynk, a global provider of advanced technology solutions for data-driven hotel sales and operations management, announced details on its latest successful round of investment, resulting in $13 million received in Series A funding. The injection of capital combined with Thynk’s impressive revenue growth will further fuel the company’s accelerated R&D efforts as well as its ongoing global expansion, with teams and customers already present in European, American and Middle East hospitality markets.  

Led by Singular, the $13 million equity investment also featured contributions from a New-York based fund managed by Itai Tsiddon, and Belgian investment firm CNP (Groupe Frère). With Thynk continuing to experience rapid growth and success in meeting hotel industry operational needs, returning investors such as Fly Ventures also took part in the latest funding round.

The increased access to capital is further bolstered by Thynk’s revenue performance. Key to Thynk’s successful performance is the adoption of its process automation, data-driven, and customer centric verticalized platform by major hotel companies/groups, including Postillion (Netherlands), Rotana (UAE), Groupe Lucien Barrière (France), Design Hotels (Germany), and Mint House (USA).

“Our rapid success lies in our ability to empower the hospitality industry with a core solution that triggers business agility and performance, by streamlining sales, operations, and finance processes both on property and at an enterprise level,” said Pascal Petit, CEO of Thynk. “Everything we invest in serves our ultimate mission of enabling hoteliers to do more with less, to adapt faster to market changes, and to focus on what leads to higher profit margins. Using this newest source of funding, our global team is determined to accelerate our ambitious strategies which include further enriching our data-driven and customer-centric revenue operating solution, solidifying our international presence and empowering more hotel brands, operators, and asset managers around the world with tools proven to boost both efficiency and revenue.”

Nils Scheers, COO and co-founder, added, “The hospitality industry is now almost back to pre-pandemic performance levels across all segments. The fluctuating market has been accompanied by an increase in competition, resulting in more hospitality providers embracing technology to keep pace with the optimization of operations on property, in centralized sales teams and the corporate/enterprise level. Customers who have partnered with Thynk are discovering a more robust, adaptive and profitable business model focused on leveraging relationships and data across hotel locations. With centralized access to real-time revenue and guest analytics, hoteliers finally have an effective and fully automated means of tapping into high-value data that can enhance the performance of group, event, corporate and agency-based business and much more. Thynk can achieve all this while preserving a hotel’s unique tone of voice and the type of guest experience they seek to offer.”

Raffi Kamber, Founder and General Partner at Singular commented, “Since its launch, Thynk has proven to be a powerful asset for industry professionals as well as a disruptive force that focuses its R&D efforts on technologies that the hotel industry crucially needs but was previously lacking. As a verticalized CRM solution in tune with the desire of hoteliers to eliminate operational silos standing in the way of addressing higher guest expectations, Thynk is undoubtedly leading the way to hotel operations that are more agile and capable of making informed decisions that maximize guest satisfaction rates, despite changing market conditions.”

“Investor confidence in Thynk clearly demonstrates the tremendous potential that the company possesses while validating the impressive results that Thynk has already achieved for businesses across the global hospitality industry,” said Itai Tsiddon, a New York based founder who’s previously led financing rounds in five software businesses to have crossed $100m in yearly revenue. “With hoteliers yearning to modernize their operations and get back to driving increased demand for their various service offerings, Thynk with its comprehensive abilities and flexible vertical solution is sure to be a critical platform that will provide industry professionals with the competitive edge they seek.”

Mews, a provider of hospitality technology and cloud-based property management systems (PMS), announced the acquisition of Hotello, the Montreal-headquartered cloud PMS solution for hotel properties. The acquisition further strengthens the growth strategy for Mews in North America, and more specifically the Canadian market and the company’s commitment to delivering technology that simplifies and automates operations for modern hoteliers and their guests. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

“The PMS category continues to experience remarkable innovation and growth,” said Richard Valtr, founder of Mews. “Hotello has everything we’re looking for in an acquisition: great people, great customers and a passion for hotel technology. This partnership also represents a further investment in the North American markets where we continue seeing strong adoption of cloud and autonomous technologies, and hospitality brands looking for solutions that will serve them long into the future. I’m delighted to bring Hotello into the Mews family,” he said.

Founded in 2001, the PMS Hotello is focused on delivering exceptional user experience and unlimited integrations. Its technology stack is focused on seamless communication between systems, people and environments to make user and customer experiences simple, efficient and exceptional. Hotello has approximately 500+ customers in Canada and the United States and a team with deep experience in technology enablement for hotel operations. 

“When I first met with Mews I could tell our vision for the future of hospitality were aligned,” said Anaïs Berzi, CEO. “This is an incredibly exciting moment for the team, our customers, and the future of hospitality. We had a number of offers but Mews has a proven track record of pushing the boundaries of innovation in this space and have successfully integrated other teams and products like Hotello. We’re really looking forward to what the future holds.” 

The Hotello acquisition comes on the heels of Mews having strong growth and momentum throughout 2022. Before Hotello joining Mews, Mews had surpassed 400,000 beds in operation across 3,500 customers with US$2.8 billion processed via Mews Payments, and the Mews Hospitality Cloud boasts more than 70,000 active monthly users. This is only set to grow with the addition of Hotello.  

The acquisition was helmed by Mews Ventures, the company’s venture and investment arm. Mews Ventures was launched to accelerate the technological transformation of the hospitality industry. The Hotello acquisition represents the 6th acquisition for Mews Ventures, with previous acquired companies including Planet Winner (2019), Base7Booking (2020), Hotel Perfect (2021), Cenium (2022) and Bizzon (2022). 

The NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality and Growth Advisors International Network (GAIN), a leading travel and hospitality innovation and growth advisory firm, are delighted to announce a multi-year strategic collaboration with the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality and its Innovation Hub (HI Hub) Incubator Program. This international collaboration will extend to NYU's campuses in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, with GAIN serving as an official advisory sponsor for both the NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality and the HI HUB Incubator.

Under the terms of this agreement, GAIN will deliver C-suite level, travel and hospitality-focused professional advisory services to the winner of the NYU SPS HI Hub Incubator Pitch Competition, in which NYU affiliated hospitality startups have the opportunity to develop their businesses and compete for cash prizes. Additionally, GAIN will establish a yearly internship program for eligible students from the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality.

This industry collaboration additionally presents an exciting opportunity for NYU SPS students, and their related startups, to connect with GAIN's global network of travel technology leaders through various events and ongoing mentorship programs. Furthermore, GAIN and NYU SPS will jointly develop a Master Class, combining the expertise of both organizations to deliver a specialized and impactful educational experience for NYU SPS travel and hospitality students.

Dr. Richie Karaburun, MBA, DPS, clinical assistant professor and director of the HI Hub program Incubator Program, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership: "This collaboration enables the NYU Tisch Center Incubator Program and its members to leverage the extensive industry experience and focused advisory services offered by GAIN's global network of travel and hospitality experts. It also gives NYU SPS Tisch Center Hospitality students access to valuable mentoring and networking opportunities, and real-world industry feedback delivering growth and impact."

Michael Cohen, managing partner, GAIN, shared: "We are thrilled to embark on this strategic collaboration with the NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality and their Hospitality Innovation Hub incubator. This alignment exemplifies the impact and value GAIN delivers and acknowledges NYU SPS's commitment to innovation and excellence. We look forward to working with such a prestigious global academic institution to be catalysts for the development of innovative solutions in the global travel and hospitality industries by providing direct access to industry expertise and resources.”

Quore, a provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, announced the latest enhancement to its Preventative Maintenance (PM) capabilities, adding new options and flexibility to scheduling features. Hotels can now leverage Quore’s solution to more easily maintain facilities, improve guest satisfaction, adhere to brand standards, and protect assets and revenue. In fact, customizing Quore’s PM app to meet the requirements of each brand or management company PM Program is a key step in the solution’s onboarding process, so all the heavy lifting is pre-built into the platform.

Preventative maintenance is consistently top of mind throughout the hospitality industry. Every hotel brand and management company places emphasis on PM activities so each property can extend the life of valuable on-site resources, from HVAC systems to televisions. In the new platform update, Quore added the flexibility to schedule general PMs tri-annually. This extends a list of existing frequency options, including weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. Quore also added two new guestroom PM frequencies, enabling hotels to schedule maintenance semi-annually or annually in those specific spaces.

This latest update to Quore’s platform comes as the company celebrates reaching 6,000 hotel customers and completing its Cleanings Plus Data Integration Powered by IHG Concerto, allowing room status details to be leveraged to improve the performance of housekeeping teams at IHG branded hotels. The company also recently commemorated its 10^th anniversary in November 2022.

“We value our customers’ feedback and tailor our solution to their needs whenever possible. So, when some of the largest hotel brands in the world requested these new PM scheduling options, we delivered,” said David Fox, COO at Quore. “We are thrilled to see our solution continue to evolve, deliver more flexibility, and meet the needs of the hospitality industry. This development builds on our recent successful Cleanings Plus integration through IHG Concerto, and we look forward to empowering our more than 6,000 customers with even more flexibility and customization options in the future.”