Applause, a testing and digital quality company, released its second annual State of Digital Quality report, a comprehensive examination of real-world testing data which identifies the most common flaws in digital experiences – digital banking, streaming media services, wearable devices, online shopping, voice-activated device usage, and more – and provides pathways for improvement. 

The extensive report examines key aspects of digital quality, including accessibility, localization, and payments – areas which can greatly affect customer satisfaction and product usability. The report notes that failing to address flaws and friction points along the customer journey often results in costly problems like shopping cart abandonment, missed conversions, customer service complaints, poor customer satisfaction and negative ratings, all which affect a company’s bottom line. 

“It’s interesting that in the second year of the report, we continue to observe companies challenged by the same types of defects and digital quality issues  – especially pertaining to accessibility and localization. This is why testing all code – new and existing – for all digital customer journeys is so crucial. It only takes one defect to have a negative customer experience that impacts revenue,” said Luke Damian, Chief Growth Officer for Applause.  “As new technologies and innovations continue to evolve, companies need to commit to getting it right the first time to remain competitive. That requires continued quality testing – from design through development, release and beyond,” he said.

This year’s report introduces digital quality frameworks that outline core capabilities and typical processes for organizations at different stages on the journey to excellence. The frameworks provide concrete guidance on how organizations can improve quality and efficiency across the organization. The report recommends several best practices for accelerating development, maturing testing organizations, and increasing digital quality.

• Invest in consistent and comprehensive testing to ensure digital quality

Digital quality is an intersectional discipline. Functionality, localization, accessibility, payments, customer experience and UX bleed into one another. Testing must assess different components of an app or digital experience holistically, not just in isolation, to truly understand how customers engage with your brand. Companies that produce the most popular and highest-ranking apps across all categories invest in comprehensive functional testing to eliminate defects before they reach customers. 

• Make customer journey and UX top priorities

Ensuring a customer journey is frictionless and accessible across all touchpoints and payment methods can be complicated and challenging. Industry leaders are increasingly looking at UX and customer journeys to understand how they create differentiated experiences and engage customers for the long-term. Testing the customer journey with real people in real situations is key to understanding how digital experiences will fare with actual customers. And, moving from accessibility testing to inclusive design actually creates a better user experience for all customers.

• Test using a wide variety of devices and network combinations

Because apps and websites often work differently across devices, networks, locations and operating systems, it is essential to test as many variations and real-world combinations of a digital property as possible. More traditional methods - like in-house or lab testing, often lack the resources to test these combinations effectively. Crowdtesting offers the flexibility, speed and resources to adequately test across thousands of variables, with the profiles and usage of actual customers. 

• Commit to a testing strategy, not just testing
  While testing is crucial for uncovering defects, a solid testing strategy is essential for growth. Organizations that dedicate time to documenting test cases and test run results, test case management, and quality management create repeatable processes that can scale. Achieving excellence doesn’t mean the work is done. Ideally, as QA practices improve, testing can shift left and become more automated, earlier in the development cycle, when issues are easier and less expensive to fix.

The State of Digital Quality report is created from a representative sample from the company’s testing data spanning 70 industries and 159 countries, collected between January 1 and December 31, 2022. Testing involved nearly 3,500 payment sources and methods, 2,300 mobile device models, 2,200 smart TVs, and thousands of device/OS/browser combinations. Digital assets tested included websites, apps, IoT devices, mobile web and mobile apps in real-world scenarios.

Over the coming weeks, Applause will release additional State of Digital Quality reports focused on key industry vertical segments, including retail, media and telecommunications, finance, travel and hospitality, health and wellness, and B2B software. 

Twenty Four Seven Hotels, one of the country's leading hotel management companies for premium-branded, select-service, and lifestyle hotel segments, has selected STS Cloud as the preferred sales and catering system for all 25 properties. Any new hotels added to the portfolio will also use STS Cloud as the company continues expanding its management footprint.

SalesAndCatering’s STS Cloud is a cloud-based hospitality technology solution that provides industry-specific tools to help hotels streamline groups and events business and maximize profitability. The system offers real-time collaboration across teams, automation, improved guest experience, and increased sales. With the implementation of STS Cloud, Twenty Four Seven Hotels can automate and manage the group sales process, from initial inquiry to reporting and the final invoice. The platform provides an all-in-one solution for managing every aspect of hotel group sales management, including automated proposals, contracts, banquet orders, event management, and room block management -  all in one easy-to-use interface. 

According to Deanna Kautai, Regional Director of Sales at Twenty Four Seven Hotels, "We previously used STSR and had great experiences in terms of cost and customer service, so STS Cloud was a natural transition for us. We evaluated how to elevate our sales systems and processes to be cohesive with the systems and processes we already had in place, and STS Cloud was the best option.”

Some upgraded features in STS Cloud that were important to the top-rated management company include:

• Event Calendar – consolidation of forms and calendars into one environment to evaluate market demand.
• Templates feature – consolidation of a “business evaluation” system that was in disparate environments.
• Reporting – The corporate head office can now easily run reports for all hotels instead of going to each profile to gather information.
• Help section + training – Now included with STS Cloud are new and innovative videos and step-by-step guides centralized in the help section. Training sessions are available to new sales leaders as their guide when onboarded.

“We’ve saved time by consolidating what we’re already doing and using STS Cloud to enhance our systems and processes,” Deanna adds. “We’ve benefited from Rick, our account manager, who really helped us every step of the way, from testing to transitioning 25 properties from STSR to STS Cloud. Also, all his support in answering all questions from our leaders at each hotel in such a timely manner.”

She continues, “STS Clouds is great, but to be honest, there are other great programs out there too. Hands down, it’s the support that comes with having STS Cloud which makes it a great fit for our hotels. If there are any questions, we can find answers in the help section or email the STS team, and they will respond quickly.”

STS Cloud has had significant success in the hospitality industry for over three decades, serving over 10,000 hospitality sales and catering professionals. Their platform is known for its flexibility, scalability, and ease of use, making it an ideal solution for all types of hotels, from global chains to boutique properties. The software is top-ranked on Hotel Tech Report with a 98% satisfaction rating.

"We are thrilled to partner with Twenty Four Seven Hotels," said SalesAndCatering.com’s CEO Ryan Hamilton. "We look forward to working closely with their team to make the group sales process as streamlined as possible, ultimately driving revenue and growth for its expanding portfolio of properties."

Overall, Twenty Four Seven Hotels' selection of STS Cloud is a huge win for the company, as it will help them to continue to grow and manage their properties efficiently. It's proof that Twenty Four Seven Hotels is committed to providing world-classhotel management services and investing in the right solutions to support their success.

Think Simplicity, a cloud communication technology provider of all-inclusive voice and chat solutions for the hospitality industry, announced today Buffalo Lodging Associates, LLC, has selected Think Simplicity to provide cloud communication services at two properties in Florida and Connecticut.

After an old PBX/phone system failed suddenly, Think Simplicity was called in to replace the system. While this is a unique situation, scheduling, coordinating, and installation of the complete system was accomplished within a week and included Think Simplicity’s communication solution, including voice services and ethernet cabling for new IP staff telephones.

Daniel Hernandez, manager of property technology, Buffalo Lodging Associates, said: “Losing phone service at one of our properties was problematic, to say the least. We were thankful to learn that Think Simplicity could take care of a new installation in such a short period of time. Our property is back up and running, and we truly appreciate the professionalism, promptness, and price of the Think Simplicity solution. We look forward to working with them in the future.”

Joseph De Ciantis, co-founder of Think Simplicity, said: “A hotel cannot operate if their phones go down, and failing PBX equipment is becoming a bellwether event for many older properties. Our cloud-based, enterprise-class phone system is reliable, innovative, and cost-efficient. In addition, our installation teams are trained to be personal, professional, and efficient. We are thrilled to be able to help Buffalo Lodging’s hotels gain access to the latest communication system and prevent downtime in the future.”

Shift4 and OpenTable announced an integration that allows restaurant operators to combine OpenTable’s diner booking data with spending data captured at the point-of-sale by Shift4’s SkyTab POS system. This integration gives restaurants a more holistic view of their business performance to make smarter decisions about how to increase revenues and reduce costs.

This is the second integration announced by OpenTable in a week.  GoTab is also integrating with OpenTable to streamline FOH operations. 

The Shift4-OpenTable integration allows restaurant operators to quickly identify which guests are new, regulars, or top spenders and then use this information to celebrate their most valued guests and go the extra mile to turn new guests into repeat customers. In addition, real-time insights including when guests are seated and which course they’re on helps minimize wait times and improve table turnover rates.

63% of restaurants say their top strategic goal is improving digital customer engagement, according to HT's 25th annual Restaurant Technology Study.

OpenTable is now available in Shift4’s Marketplace, an end-to-end ecosystem that seamlessly connects restaurants and other businesses with numerous third-party applications, including solutions for online ordering, online reservations, employee scheduling, accounting, loyalty, marketing and more.

Infor^®, the industry cloud company, announced that Graduate Hotels^®, a collection of hand-crafted hotels located in dynamic university-anchored towns, has selected Infor Hospitality Management Solution (HMS) for its property management system (PMS) and will fully standardize on the Infor cloud-based platform. Graduate Hotels has been marking successful go-lives with Infor’s software at 31 properties since June 2022, with the most recent at its Eugene, Oregon, location. With Infor, Graduate Hotels has modern technology at its fingertips to unify and refine operations, deliver superior guest experiences, and implement and execute intelligent strategy.

After a thorough search of all applicable vendors, Infor was selected because of its customer support, industry-specific advanced functionality, and cloud-hosted nature of Infor HMS, which helps to make it an intuitive, innovative and user-friendly platform.

“Each hotel reflects the culture and charm of the nearby university, and we knew that it was necessary to update our software platform with more modern tools to aid our teams in providing that unforgettable guest experience. We evaluated our current property management system, and in the end decided to move ahead with Infor to better support our growth and expansion plans,” said Benjamin Heiland, vice president of hotel technology at Graduate Hotels. “We are excited to partner with Infor to help standardize operations across our entire brand so we can make daily tasks more streamlined, putting more focus and effort on delivering exceptional guest experiences.”

Infor HMS is a fully integrated property management system built for the cloud with flexibility, security, efficiency, and mobile capabilities that help streamline operations, maximize profitability, deliver great guest experiences, and compete globally. The solution utilizes mobile applications for guest check-in and housekeeping, features automated and customizable reporting capabilities, and includes optional offerings around revenue management, point-of-sale (POS) and business intelligence (BI) tools to support the full range of unique needs for hospitality organizations.

“Travel and leisure are two of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, but also the most competitive. Strategic organizations understand how critical it is to keep pace with innovative, scalable technology that can help support future growth, changes in consumer demand, and price flexibility to adapt to changes in the economy,” said Joe Vargas, Infor senior vice president for hospitality. “Infor’s partnership with Graduate Hotels will help the organization continue to advance and grow, maintain compliance, and support internal teams so they can focus on providing more memorable interactions with guests.”

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) is pleased to announce two champions of hospitality technology, Sherry Marek and Mark Heymann as the 2023 HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame inductees, both recognized for innovating a pioneering technology solution specific to hospitality. Marek is co-founder of Datavision Technologies, retired and continues to share her experience as owner of Aiken Street Consulting and a mentor for women in the technology profession. Mark Heymann is founder of Unifocus and currently the managing director at Mark Heymann & Associates. The 2023 inductees will be honored at the upcoming Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) in Toronto on June 26, 2023.

The International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame is HFTP's highest level of recognition in the area of technology. Since 1989, 53 individuals have received this award as a reflection of their contributions to the hospitality industry.

“This recognition is a true career honor, especially because it is the outcome of a professional endeavor I have a real passion for, which is a privilege itself,” said Marek. “I am pleased to be alongside a group of outstanding professionals, each with their own specialties all culminating in the excellence and progress of the hospitality technology industry. As I look forward, I am excited to be able to share my decades of expertise as a mentor to other women coming up in the field.”

Marek started her career in the mid-’80s at Hilton International and InterContinental Hotels, focusing primarily on front of house systems where she worked extensively with system users and vendors at properties across the globe. This experience led her to recognize a struggle with reporting – whether it was tapping into the data inside a single system or consolidating data across systems.

This insight led her to co-found Datavision Technologies and create the first true business intelligence (BI) system for hospitality. Even though the system was Initially designed to create automated daily flash reports for general managers and controllers, Marek soon realized that it would be more effective if the information was put in the hands of all users, not just management. Today, Datavision ingests detailed data from a variety of on-premise and cloud data sources (PMS, POS, Back Office, Comp Set, Labor, Guest Survey, Google Analytics, etc.) and is used across the enterprise to solve different business needs.

Over the last decade, Marek has been focused on promoting women in STEM fields as well as within the hospitality industry. She is working with the Business Analytics department at the University of Iowa, planning and speaking at the Women in Analytics and Leadership conference. For the past few years, she has been a contributor to Hospitality Upgrade’s “MentorSeries” — articles focused on hearing from women at different ages and at different stages of their career. Marek is also a member of various industry councils, including the HITEC Educational Advisory Council.

“I am truly honored by this recognition from HFTP,” said Heymann. “Since the start of the PC age, myself and other individuals that I’ve worked with have striven to present to the industry advanced decision-making tools that help managers and staff improve their overall work-life balance. While at the same time helping the industry progress to meet the challenges of yesterday’s and today’s diverse workforce.  I would be remiss in not pointing out that I share this honor with all the individuals that contributed over the years to the advancements of this type of technology and specifically to my career. I look forward to sharing this knowledge in the future with the industry as it continues to address the new labor demands that it is facing.”

Since the 1970s, Mark Heymann has served as the pioneering face of labor management technology innovation for hospitality-based organizations. A graduate of both Brown University and Columbia University, Heymann was the first to relate service quality levels to a business’s ability to effectively manage their labor resources. 

Leveraging his years of experience in serving as an industry consultant as well as his expertise in software and asset management, Heymann as founder and president of Heymann Group, Inc. spearheaded the development of modern labor management system technology. Initially introduced in the early-’80s, it wasn’t until around 1991 under the name Watson R.M™, Heymann’s resource and labor management solution served as a catalyst for providing hotels and restaurants with data-driven insight into how they could staff according to fluctuations in service demand.  

Following his successes, Heymann went on to found Unifocus following a merger between Heymann Group, Inc. and Strategic Quantitative Solutions in 1998. As founder and CEO of Unifocus, Heymann helmed the first company to ever focus its efforts on developing the full array of labor and performance management systems specifically intended for the needs of the hospitality industry. 

Under the Unifocus brand, industry firsts achieved by Heymann include automated scheduling technology equipped with intelligent algorithms that eliminate guesswork in the creating of optimized schedules. Other advancements credited to Heymann include the development of one of the industry’s first touch-screen time clocks and task-based labor platforms for meetings and conventions. 

HITEC North America will take place on June 26–29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ont. Canada. Produced by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, HITEC is the world's largest and longest-running hospitality technology exposition and conference. It offers a unique combination of top-notch hospitality technology education, led by industry peers and experts, and an unparalleled trade show showcasing the latest hospitality technology products and services. The 2023 event is expecting 6,000+ attendees and 320+ exhibiting companies. Registration for HITEC Toronto is open.