Mexico’s Park Royal Hotels & Resorts announced its partnership with Duetto, a software as a service provider of revenue strategy solutions.

The resort specialist will onboard 11 properties onto the Duetto platform, optimizing the rates for nearly 2,000 rooms throughout Mexico, the US, Puerto Rico, and Argentina.

With more than 30 years of operations, Park Royal Hotels & Resorts is regarded as a leader in vacation experiences across the Americas. The company operates four distinct brands:

•  Grand Park Royal Luxury Resorts 
•  Park Royal Beach Resorts 
•  Park Royal City 
•  Park Royal Homestay 

The revenue leadership team at Park Royal will now optimize room rates using Duetto’s Open Pricing methodology, through its GameChanger revenue optimization application. This will enable them to price unlimited segments, channels, and room types in real-time and in line with market demand.

The team will also benefit from streamlined reporting, and easier forecasting and budgeting, through Duetto’s business intelligence tool, ScoreBoard.

“To improve when offering prices for each market segment, personalizing our discounts, and being more assertive when making a forecast are some of the values we are looking for with Duetto. We believe that there are many opportunities and together we can achieve them,” said Rafael Sandoval, Commercial Director, Park Royal Hotels & Resorts.

“The breadth of the Park Royal property portfolio, with its multiple brands, means that the team needs an intelligent revenue solution to maximize opportunities and drive efficiencies. We are delighted they chose Duetto,” said David Woolenberg, CEO, Duetto.

Duetto already partners with many hotel brands operating across Latin America, including Grupo Posadas, Grupo Hotelero Santa Fe, and RCD Hotels.

Atira Hotels, one of the hotel industry's top hotel management, hotel investment and hotel development companies, has partnered with DailyPay–the leading provider of on-demand pay. Through the partnership, Atira Hotels adds the financial wellness benefit of DailyPay to its robust employee benefits package, providing employees the opportunity to access their earned pay as they earn it to pay bills, spend, save, or invest on their own schedule.

“Our employees are the backbone of our operations and it’s always our priority to provide them with as many resources as they can to be their best selves both in and outside of the workplace,” said Hanan Neau, Director of Human Resources at Atira Hotels. “Adding DailyPay to our employee benefits package was essential in providing a powerful financial wellness benefit.”

Based out of Chicago, Illinois, Atira Hotels operates over 20 franchise brands in 10 states across the United States, including Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, and TownePlace Suites. Atira Hotels prioritizes employee well-being to provide its guests with the best customer experience. Among its many employee benefits, Atira Hotels offers on-demand pay, financial education, 401(k) match, medical, dental, and life insurance plans, and an employee hotel discount.

According to a recent DailyPay user survey, 48% of users say they are more motivated to remain with their current employer because they offer DailyPay. More so, 67% of users say DailyPay has helped them reduce financial stress.

Mews, the leading cloud-native property management system (PMS), has been chosen by PoB Hotels to power their innovative vision of luxury hospitality driven by personalized guest service.  

PoB Hotels is a collection of the finest independent hotels across the British Isles.  

“We've carefully curated the most luxurious rooms, the finest restaurants and the most relaxing spas,” said Kalindi Juneja, CEO of PoB Hotels. “Our process of selecting a PMS was equally diligent. In Mews, we found an agile partner with an in-depth knowledge of independent hotels and the best technology to help them thrive.” 

The essence of PoB Hotels is built on British heritage, honoring provenance and sincere, authentic service. Their curated breaks showcase the absolute best of a region, incorporating local culture, food and sites with stays at PoB Hotels. This sense of individuality and genuine connection makes independent hotels such an enticing prospect for guests. 

“We're both convinced that the best technology blends into the background,” said the Founder of Mews, Richard Valtr. “Mews helps ensure that the guests of PoB Hotels remain immersed in the beautiful surroundings while empowering their staff to offer unique guest experiences and push the boundaries of traditional hotel expectations.” 

Pampering, Outstanding, British – the ethos of PoB Hotels is reflected in their exquisitely crafted gastronomic offer too. Several Michelin stars are shared across the PoB Hotels collection, as well as scores of AA Rosettes. With their dedication to sustainability and charity, PoB Hotels are on an inspiring journey to create a positive impact within the local communities. 

“We recognize the pivotal role that a Property Management System (PMS) plays in shaping the guest experience. It is an absolute necessity, seamlessly connecting all the moving parts of a hotel to create a symphony of efficiency,” continued Kalindi, CEO of PoB Hotels. “The makeover of our operational set-up opens the door to an even more sophisticated guest experience, along with significant revenue-increasing potential.” 

Sustainability management and ESG reporting platform FuturePlus has been appointed by multi award-winning UK hotel and spa company, Barons Eden Group, to help it track, measure and improve its sustainability performance.

Barons Eden operates two award-winning spas that are amongst the biggest in Europe: Hoar Cross Hall, a Hotel and Spa in Staffordshire, and Eden Hall, a Day Spa in Nottinghamshire. While the group has a proud history of caring for the environment and the welfare of its customers, it took the opportunity following the Covid pandemic to renew its focus on company values.

The business has two large, beautiful and historic estates (Both Grade 2 listed) and as a consequence improving sustainability can bring various challenges. Barons Eden Group knew it needed support from experts to take its efforts to the next level.

Having considered signing up with other sustainability programs, including B Corp, it selected FuturePlus thanks not only to the fact that the platform benchmarks sustainability efforts against industry best practices, as well as the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but also that it provides a measure of where a business is now as well as a roadmap with quantifiable measures of where it wants to be. 

Ongoing improvement is important to Barons Eden Group, and FuturePlus facilitates it in a way that is easy to follow, track and measure. Indeed, the business had already started to implement sustainable approaches in various areas, focusing especially on energy reduction, which stood the business in good stead when the energy crisis hit during the pandemic. Since 2019, the company’s head office has been based in a commercial unit in Moreton-in-Marsh which is largely powered by on-roof photovoltaic panels.

As a result of new measures the business has put in place with the help of FuturePlus, Barons Eden Groups expects to drive various sustainability-focused outcomes, including:

• 60% reduction in carbon emissions with installation of new £1.5M biomass plant (Hoar Cross Hall)

• 15-20% reduction in electricity usage with installation of voltage optimisation and advanced metering; data capture of real time usage to identify savings (both locations)

• 10% reduction in water usage with installation of real time metering (both locations)

• Zero waste to landfill and waste reduction targets (both locations)

Following the appointment of FuturePlus, Barons Eden Group launched its new Sustainable Commitment, appointing internal Sustainable Champions to help drive change across the organization. Barons Eden Group was shortlisted in the Pioneer category at the British Renewable Energy Awards 2023.

Mike Penrose, Co-Founder and Partner, FuturePlus, comments: “Working with FuturePlus, Barons Eden has shown an incredible commitment to improvement. The hospitality industry faces various challenges when it comes to becoming more sustainable, especially when properties are on the larger and older side – but we’ve been extremely impressed by the enthusiasm with which the Barons Eden team has grabbed the mantle. Both properties score in the top 5% of all companies using FuturePlus, and Hoar Cross Hall currently has the highest ambition score of any company or property using FuturePlus.”

Steve Clements, Director and ESG Lead, Barons Eden Group, adds: “As an organization, we are extremely proud of the sustainability initiatives and programs we have implemented over the years – but as a board, we recognized that becoming more sustainable was the right thing to do, both for our business and for our customers. Before we started working with FuturePlus, we considered other routes, but FuturePlus stood out for its commitment to regular, incremental improvement. The whole team has been excellent to work with - extremely knowledgeable, responsive and supportive. We are excited for our future projects, which reaffirm our commitment to sustainability in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

PPDS, the exclusive global provider of Philips professional displays and dedicated AV software, is delighted to announce the latest evolution in its strategy to bring ever more sustainable digital display solutions to market, with the launch of the new and enhanced Philips Signage 4650 D-Line Series of 4K displays for hospitality environments.

Fueled by a desire to bring scalable, transformative and future-proof solutions to meet the ever-changing needs and demands of the market, the new Philips 4650 Signage Series brings together the best of Philips D-Line, with a wave of exciting new, updated, and highly innovative features. All delivering a new generation of more sustainable digital signage solutions for the industry.

Designed for 24/7 use, and available in 32", 43", 50", 55", 65", 75", 86", and 98"  variants, the all-new Philips Signage 4650 D-Line Series is equipped with a stunning 4K (3840 x 2160), 500 cd/m2 display*, together with a slick and stylish bezel (11.9mm – 14.9mm*) in a portrait or landscape mountable design.

For maximum versatility, the new Philips 4650 Series also comes equipped with Advanced Super Dimension Switch (ADS) wide-view technology, to deliver faster on-display picture processing for smoother content transitions, remarkable image accuracy, and superior color reproduction with 178-degree viewing. QuadViewer also allows displays to transform into a bezel-free 2 x 2 videowall, playing multiple content/channels on the same screen, simultaneously – perfect for bar areas.

Built to last

Behind the state-of-the-art screen, the new Philips 4650 Signage Series also breaks new ground for PPDS, in becoming the first digital signage series in its extensive and evolving portfolio to feature the company’s ‘dual architecture’ modular design.

Continuing the evolution of modular technology debuted on PPDS’ Philips direct view LED range, the 4650’s new modular design brings incredible additional value to customers, allowing for components to easily be detached and replaced in the event of unlikely faults or age-related degradation. This helps to avoid unnecessary unit replacements, significantly extending the product's lifetime, while crucially cutting WEEE disposal.

Putting users in full control and enhancing their sustainability opportunities – including cost and energy savings – the new Philips 4650 D-Line Series is also compatible with PPDS Wave, the company’s evolutionary cloud-based remote display management ecosystem, designed to release the full power and intelligence inside Philips professional displays.

The display is just the beginning

Strengthening PPDS’s evolving ‘total solutions’ strategy beyond hardware, Wave provides extensive remote management opportunities, bringing previously unimaginable levels of control to a fleet of displays of any size, whether in single or multiple locations around the world. This includes the monitoring and control of displays, upgrading firmware, managing playlists and setting power schedules, all from a single, intuitive, tailorable interface.

Robert Hsu, VP Global Product Strategy at PPDS, commented: “At PPDS, we are committed to delivering solutions that support the current and future needs of our customers’ visual communications needs. Equally, we are committed to supporting and guiding them – and the industry as a whole – into a more sustainable and eco-friendly future. The new modular design featured on the Philips 4650 range marks a fundamental change for our displays, providing incredible opportunities for businesses to maximize their investments while helping to reduce their footprint on the planet.”

Upgraded for today and tomorrow

Fueled by feedback from the market, together with PPDS' extensive market intelligence and unrivalled global R&D team resources, the new Philips Signage 4650 D-Line Series has also received an extensive list of additional features and updates, designed to meet the ever-changing needs and requirements of its partners and customers alike.

Equipped to support the needs of today and into the future, the Philips 4650 Series has been updated from Android 8 to Android 11, bringing enhanced performance (including software and apps), additional capabilities, and the latest security updates, among others. Optimized for native Android apps, customers can install web apps and software directly onto the display, eliminating the need for, and additional costs of, an external media player.

Save and play

Adding more convenience and peace of mind to customers, the new Philips Signage 4650 Series has also seen internal storage double, from 16GB to 32GB, allowing more content to be stored directly on the display, with RAM also increasing from 3GB to 4GB, for improved, more consistent speeds and performance.

Working in conjunction with the internal browser, it also serves as a memory cache when streaming online content. If the network ever fails, the internal memory keeps content running by playing a cached version of the content, ensuring that the media stays up even if the network goes down.

Further ensuring screens never go blank, Philips Signage 4650 displays also feature PPDS’ highly acclaimed ‘FailOver’ technology as standard, automatically playing backup content on screen in the instance of an outage.

Connectivity

Keeping pace with the advancements in connectivity, and overcoming any potential and frustrating hurdles, all Philips Signage 4650 models from 43” to 98” are Bluetooth 5.2 compatible, and now offer the latest generation of wireless technology, updated from WiFi 2.4 to WiFi 6, allowing for speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps. 4G connectivity – via the CRD22 module included as standard for models from 43” upwards – virtually eliminates connectivity boundaries or limitations for installations.

The new Philips Signage 4650 D-Line Series will be available for purchase from September, with product demonstrations available from local sales teams and in PPDS’ network of PPDS Studios located across Europe, the UK, North America, and now India.

Bart Wouters, International Product Manager, Professional Displays at PPDS, added: “The highly flexible and versatile Philips D-Line series has been an incredible success for PPDS, used for installations all around the world and in almost every environment imaginable. With the new Philips Signage 4650 Series, we have made the best even better. And this is more than just a significant product update. It is a symbol of our sustainability strategy and a commitment to our customers. This is an evolving journey and we have got much more to come, so stay tuned.”

Toast. an all-in-one digital technology platform built for restaurants,  announced the appointment of Aman Narang as CEO, effective January 1, 2024. Narang has served as Toast’s Co-President since December 2012 and Chief Operating Officer since June 2021. He will take over as CEO from Chris Comparato, who has served as the company’s CEO since February 2015, leading Toast through a remarkable period of growth with a focus on profitability and operational excellence. Both Comparato and Narang will remain on the Board.

• Check out more people on the move in  hospitality

Since co-founding the company in his basement in 2011 alongside Steve Fredette and Jonathan Grimm, Narang has been in instrumental leadership roles across the company as it scaled. Responsible for Sales, Marketing, and Business Development in Toast’s early years, his role expanded over time to include the Customer Success organization, the Fintech line of business, Operations, and other critical functions and key initiatives. Prior to Toast, Narang worked in product management at Endeca, now part of Oracle.