Olga's Kitchen  has expanded its partnership with VOICEplug AI, a provider of voice-AI solutions, to enhance its customer experience through AI enabled ordering. The partnership has helped Olga’s Kitchen improve efficiency, allowing employees in the restaurant to focus on bringing an elevated level of guest service.

The 50-year-old Detroit restaurant has a loyal customer base that is used to ordering food from their nearest Olga’s Kitchen several times a month. It was important for the Olga’s Kitchen team to have calls answered promptly, orders taken accurately and pushed to the POS and kitchen for immediate processing. With VOICEplug’s AI, every call is picked up on the first ring, customers are uniquely identified using their voice signature and conversations are personalized to the customer’s profile to ensure a pleasant customer experience. Orders are captured accurately even when there is background noise like the radio in the car or kids screaming. The AI system is fully conversational, allowing customers to interact naturally without having to follow a defined script.

• RTN's AI Share Group: What You Missed

VOICEplug's AI technology has enabled Olga's Kitchen to achieve an order to call conversion rate of more than 95% on average. “We are thrilled to partner with VOICEplug AI to streamline our operations and provide our customers with an enhanced and personalized ordering experience," said Ryan Jones, Vice President of Operations for Olga's Kitchen. "The implementation of Voice-AI technology has helped us improve efficiency, while also enabling us to offer our customers more convenient and efficient ways to place orders."

In the  Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) AI Share Group, Jay Ruparel, Co-Founder & CEO, VOICEplug AI said that every customer case is a bit different; there’s no cookie-cutter approach to deploying AI for his brand. “Our approach in general has been to start at a much higher threshold of accuracy when we go live, and we do that by using real recordings between the brand and the customers to build the AI.” He also shared that the company doesn’t use synthetic or generic data to build the AI; each AI is customized to fit the unique needs of each brand.

VOICEplug’s approach is to build AI for restaurant brands using real audio conversations between the customers and the restaurant brand. This allows the AI to deliver highly accurate output and adopt to the customer’s style of conversing with the brand rather than the customers having to adopt to the AI.

IRIS, a global leader in digital F&B ordering and concierge services for the hospitality industry, today announces the launch of its new investment program IRIS TECH VENTURES.

Targeting travel and hospitality technology start-ups it will deliver significant growth opportunities for those companies with a keen ambition to enhance the guest experience working alongside IRIS’ existing portfolio of solutions and partners.

IRIS TECH VENTURES is a global program, open to start-ups worldwide and will be overseen by IRIS CEO Mark Horne.

The new program represents a significant investment by IRIS at a time when demand for technology, and in particular mobile ordering technology by both operators and guests, is at an all-time high. Many predict a continued and significant increase in the adoption of mobile-first, on demand technology that delivers a more personalized, autonomous experience for both the guest and operators. Coupled with the maturation of the internet-first Generation Z, there is an unprecedented wealth of opportunity for new technology companies to work in closer alliance with hospitality operators to support operations and drive efficiencies and revenue.

IRIS has invested significantly in growing its network of integration partners in recent years. The launch of IRIS TECH VENTURES signifies the next step in the company cementing its ongoing commitment to retaining its technical leadership in both its service and product offering, as well as its customer service.

Mark Horne, CEO, IRIS, comments: “Since IRIS first launched we have invested heavily to maintain our status as technology pioneers for the hospitality industry. We are committed to developing and enhancing our suite of solutions for clients to ensure we continue to lead the market.

“IRIS TECH VENTURES is the next important step and as part of this investment strategy we will work with partners and acquire technology where necessary to focus on the rapidly evolving needs of both the hotel guests, management companies and owners.

“We are operating in an incredibly dynamic and diversified market and our ambition as part of this new strategy and programme is to build a holistic hospitality technology ecosystem with a host of revenue-generating and resource saving software solutions.

“Investing in the next generation of hospitality technology and playing an active role in elevating the guest experience through these technologies is incredibly exciting, for us, our clients and our clients’ guests.” 

BEONx, a hospitality revenue management service provider, announced its Revenue Management System is available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace, and can be integrated with the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform (OHIP). Oracle Cloud Marketplace is as centralized repository of enterprise applications offered by Oracle and Oracle partners.

Among the BEONx solutions available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace is the BEONx Sustainable Profit Platform (SPP), providing hoteliers a fresh perspective on revenue management.

SPP offers automated, integrated, and digital solutions to optimize costs, revenue generation, and guest retention using cutting-edge AI and machine-learning technology. The platform includes a powerful revenue management system as well as a carefully curated selection of partner applications, allowing hotels to analyze and optimize all revenue streams, from parking and restaurant services to room revenue.

Rubén Sánchez, CEO at BEONx said: “The participation of BEONx in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace further extends our commitment to the Oracle community and enables customers to easily reap the benefits of our RMS. We look forward to leveraging the power of the Oracle Cloud to help us achieve our business goals and helping Oracle’s independent hoteliers, global and regional chains become more efficient – empowering their staff to perform at their best.

“The BEONx RMS optimizes pricing and distribution based on consumer preferences and buying patterns, leveraging the Hotel Quality Index (HQI™), the only index in the hotel market that measures overall hotel quality. With a double segmentation by channel and market, hotels are equipped with the information they need to make informed decisions to maximize their profits” added Rubén.

Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop shop for Oracle customers seeking trusted business applications that offer unique business solutions, including ones that extend Oracle Cloud Applications. Oracle Cloud is an enterprise cloud that delivers massive, non-variable performance and next generation security across a comprehensive portfolio of services, including SaaS, application development, application hosting, and business analytics. Customers get access to leading compute, storage, data management, security, integration, HPC, artificial intelligence (AI), and Blockchain services to augment and modernize their critical workloads. Oracle Cloud runs Oracle Autonomous Database, the industry's first and only self-driving database.

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.”