SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, announced its agreement with Marriott International to become a preferred restaurant technology provider. SevenRooms is currently live across 25 countries at Marriott brands including W Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Sheraton, JW Marriott, Le Méridien, Westin, Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, EDITION Hotels, The Luxury Collection and Gaylord Hotels. This will unlock additional opportunities at the more than 8,500 Marriott International properties worldwide.

SevenRooms is a data-driven guest experience and retention platform focused 100% on building operator-focused tools. The platform offers solutions to global brands that not only increase revenue generation, but help them build long-term relationships with guests. 

For restaurants, bars, and other F&B outlets in Marriott-branded hotels, the SevenRooms platform offers a suite of tools to help drive incremental revenue, increase operational efficiencies, and offer exceptional guest experiences. Through SevenRooms’ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation capabilities, Marriott’s hotels are not only able to cultivate meaningful, direct relationships with guests, but access a 360-degree view into the guest journey to foster deeper guest loyalty.

"We’re thrilled to collaborate with Marriott International as a preferred restaurant technology provider, helping them deliver more personalized experiences for their guests around the world,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder of SevenRooms. "Today, consumers expect more out of their F&B experiences whether they’re staying local or traveling abroad. They want to engage with hotels, restaurants and bars on their own terms, and are increasingly discovering and booking where to eat and drink across an array of channels. With SevenRooms, operators have access to tools that help them reach these guests while driving operational efficiencies by connecting F&B into their overall hotel strategy to generate revenue and increase profitability. Our suite of products not only helps operators of Marriott-branded hotels provide guests with exceptional experiences that enhance positive sentiment and drive increased loyalty, but enables them to do so at scale, automatically. We look forward to working with Marriott as we enable them with technology to build longer-lasting, more profitable relationships with their guests.”

Marriott International properties can now incorporate much of SevenRooms’ suite of tools and solutions, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), on-premise table management, waitlist management, marketing automation, email marketing, order management and review aggregation. 

“Marriott's hospitality roots began in restaurants, and we want to provide exceptional, unforgettable restaurant experiences for our guests,” said Matthew Von Ertfelda, Senior Vice President, Food & Beverage at Marriott International. "With SevenRooms, we’re not only able to provide guests with the experiences they crave, but we can leverage a robust suite of tools to help turn one-time guests into lifelong guests.”

Tillman Digital Cities (TDC), a developer, owner, and operator of in-building connectivity infrastructure and solutions in the United States, announced a partnership with Penn Entertainment, Inc. to improve in-building LTE and 5G cellular coverage and capacity within Penn Entertainment casinos, hotels, and gaming properties. 

The partnership extends nationally with Penn Entertainment. TDC’s solution leverages the SOLiD ALLIANCE 5G Distributed Antenna System (DAS) platform to provide advanced cellular voice and data services for patrons. Additionally, the neutral host network infrastructure will support all mobile network operators as well as FirstNet, the national public safety network. The initial deployments are now live at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas and Argosy Riverside Casino in Riverside, Missouri. 

“We’re excited to partner with Penn Entertainment and bring our top-of-the-line connectivity to all of their locations across the U.S.,” said TDC Chief Operating Officer Joel McIntyre. “TDC’s solutions for connectivity enable Penn Entertainment to better serve their employees and guests, creating a more seamless digital experience.”

TDC’s solution enables Penn Entertainment to offer guests unrivaled connectivity with next-generation wireless infrastructure, and powers its modernized “3C” (Cordless, Cashless, and Contactless) global iGaming and sports betting strategy.

"We're committed to enhancing every guest experience,” said Carlos Figueroa, Vice President of Infrastructure for Penn Entertainment. "This was a key factor in our decision to work with Tillman Digital Cities. TDC cares deeply about the customer experience, which enables our venues to offer exceptional hospitality and consistent, best-in-class connectivity service to our guests."

“Seamless connectivity is the lifeblood of today’s hospitality experience, and we are gratified to support TDC in the delivery of this amenity for Penn Entertainment’s patrons,” said Scott Deweese, SVP and GM, SOLiD Americas.

Founded in 2020 and based in New York, TDC is a one-stop-shop provider for in-building connectivity and “network as a service” infrastructure. TDC works directly with all constituents, including mobile network operators, real estate owners, and enterprise customers, to design, install, optimize, and maintain in-building networks and infrastructure. 

Rapid delivery of grocery and convenience essentials in 30 minutes or less is now available to customers in Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada, through a Walmart Now pilot program with food delivery marketplace SkipTheDishes.

For the first time in Western Canada, Skip account holders will be able to access rapid delivery of over 2,000 grocery, convenience and household essentials through a dedicated Walmart Now offering within the Skip app and website. Customers will benefit from free delivery on all orders over $40 and can place orders seven days a week from 9 a.m to 12:30a.m.

• Online Ordering: How to Streamline Your Restaurant Operations with Technology

These orders will be delivered through Skip's courier network from "dark stores," local Skip fulfilment centers where fresh produce, meat, poultry, baked goods and local favorites are hand-picked on demand for every order. These fulfilment centres are optimized for streamlining orders, with several orders processed per minute during peak demand.

Walmart Now first launched in June 2022 with a pilot in the Greater Toronto Area offering delivery from select Walmart Canada stores in as little as 30 minutes. Since launch, more than 40,000 customers have experienced rapid grocery delivery from Walmart Now – and many became repeat customers. This marks the first time Walmart Canada has leveraged dark stores for delivery, with customers benefiting from all products being delivered directly from suppliers to each fulfillment centre, ensuring real-time product availability, product freshness, and customer satisfaction eliminating the potential for substitutions.

SkipTheDishes is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com, a  global online food delivery marketplace. SkipTheDishes connects millions of customers with over 50,000 restaurant partners in Canada.

Sharp NEC Display Solutions of America (SNDSA), a global leader in the projector and display markets and Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) added a new large format screen to its professional-grade M Series lineup. The NEC MultiSync M751 is a high-end professional display with an advanced feature-set for clear and bright corporate presentations or large-scale digital signage applications in restaurants, retail, command/control centers and other segments.

This new large format display has a 75” diagonal screen with a 500 cd/m² brightness, anti-glare panel which allows it sufficient backlight intensity for most commercial applications. It features an ultra-high-definition panel with a streamlined, slim bezel design mounted on a durable metal chassis. This MultiSync display is engineered to capture and keep attention with pristine imagery and messaging today while supporting changing needs with fit-for-purpose, high-performance. It can be presented in landscape or portrait orientation with 24/7 runtimes for years on end.

“The new large M Series display strikes a balance between high-end, feature-rich elegance and an industrial-strength chassis with components built to last,” said Ben Hardy, Sr. Product Manager, Large Format Displays for Sharp NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc. “This is not your average large format display. The advanced functionality such as video/control daisy chain, Multi-Stream Transport, SpectraView™ Engine, Multi Picture Mode and full Intel® Smart Display Module expandability capabilities will satisfy even the most discerning project-focused customers.”

Connectivity meets the latest standards with HDMI x2/Out, DP x2/Out, LAN (Control) Daisy Chain, Audio Amplifier and USB Upstream / Downstream. The large M Series provides expandability through integrated slots with Intel® SDM, which allows users to add other peripherals such as HDBaseT™, 12G-SDI or an ATSC/NTSC Tuner if the particular project calls for these types of options. Furthermore, Sharp NEC boasts a full line of SDM PC options that can also be integrated within the slot if necessary. On top of this, the display also has the option to fully integrate a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 that empowers users by giving them the flexibility they desire to complete their solution and satisfy their needs.

Additional features include:

• High Haze, anti-glare panel with localized dimming capabilities
• SpectraView Engine color control capabilities allow for professional-level adjustment to all color settings including intensity, gamma, white point and more
• Multi Picture Mode can support up to four simultaneous images on a single display through internal processing capabilities
• PQ/HLG/HDR10 Support
• Quick Input Switching and full input detect functionality allowing for minimal downtime and full failover capabilities
• Key Lock/IR Lock to protect from potential vandalism or unintentional changes to the display
• Integrated Cooling Fans and temperature sensors ensure that temperature is regulated throughout the chassis and overheating does not occur
• Quick Power Feature allows for much quicker on-time than previous generations of this sized product
• Low Latency Mode allows for quick reaction time from source to panel
• Integrated 10W x 2 Speakers
• Energy Star 8.0 compatible

Unlike the competition that offers plastic chassis, the Large M Series is housed in a metal mechanical structure that is up to 27% lighter than earlier models.

The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) today released the public version of the Retail & Hospitality Intelligence Trends Summary, which analyzes trends in the cyberthreat landscape for the retail, hospitality, and travel sectors. The report sheds light on the top threats and malware families reported by the RH-ISAC community from January – April 2023.  

Analysis of the intelligence sharing for this period showed that the top reported threats by volume continued to reflect the steady reliance by cybercriminals on tried and tested threat vectors like credential harvesting and phishing. Agent Tesla remained a key threat, Emotet has reemerged after falling off during previous reporting periods, and familiar threats like IcedID and QakBot remain steady threats to the community. Key tactics leveraged against the community included Spearphishing links and attachments, and imposter and malicious domains. As familiar threats continue to shape the threat landscape for the retail, hospitality, and travel sectors, emerging trends shift the nuances and demands on resources for cyber defenders. 

In addition to the intelligence sharing analysis, the report highlights the most discussed topics in the CISO and analyst communities. Nearly half of the CISO discussions were related to security architecture, including sub-topics such as identity and access management (IAM), and tools integrations. 

Download a copy of the report here. This report is a TLP: Clear redacted version of the original report, which includes privileged information available to RH-ISAC members.  

Fourth announced an exclusive partnership with Doncaster, UK-based Automated Analytics to offer rapid recruitment via AI-powered programmatic bidding to U.S. customers.

Integrating Fourth’s PeopleMatter applicant tracking system (ATS) with Automated Analytics' TalentTrack AI-powered programmatic bidding, customers can optimize their ad targeting during high-traffic timeframes, lowering the cost per application. Beginning with Indeed, Fourth and Automated Analytics will roll out this capability with leading job boards nationwide.

• Tighter integrations with other operating systems are driving 29% of restaurants’ POS upgrades, according to HT's 2023 POS Software Trends report 

Using conversion data generated by tracking the source to hire of every candidate, TalentTrack’s AI programmatic model generates a higher volume of better-quality candidates. By optimizing advertisements for the most cost-effective bid times, TalentTrack ensures budgets are focused on attracting and quickly hiring quality applicants.

• Read more tech-centric National Restaurant Association Show news on HT

Attending the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show May 20-23 in Chicago? Visit Fourth's booth to see a demonstration of AI-powered programmatic bidding and meet experts from Fourth and Automated Analytics.