News Briefs

Otelier, the hospitality performance optimization platform that puts data and efficiency at the heart of hotel operations, has launched a new product, Otelier DigiPay, that automates accounts payable workflows to unlock efficiency for hotel operators.

DigiPay eliminates unnecessary time and money that hotel general managers and finance teams spend processing invoices and cutting and mailing checks to pay suppliers. The software automates hotel accounts payable workflows, allowing businesses to receive and store invoices digitally, route invoices for authorization, verify billing accuracy, and pay suppliers online.

“As labor costs continue to add pressure to the bottom line, finding ways to work more efficiently and effectively has become paramount for hoteliers,” said Otelier CEO Vic Chynoweth. “Accounts payable is a critical function within hotels and management groups, and reducing the number of hours it takes to manage, approve and pay invoices, while assuring accuracy, can result in significant savings.” 

DigiPay solves for three of the top challenges accounts payable teams face today:

• Authorize supplier invoices quickly. Hoteliers can easily verify invoice accuracy and streamline workflows to automatically direct invoices to the proper stakeholders.
• Pay suppliers online. Hoteliers can automate writing checks for supplier payments, send invoice payments with no fees, and track payment statuses with a secure bank connection.
• Manage supplier profiles and invoice records. Hoteliers can ensure invoices are accurate by managing billing and payment histories with detailed invoice records and supplier profiles in indexed cloud storage. 

"With DigiPay, I no longer worry about duplicate invoices, and we were able to implement an auditable approval process. Paying invoices became highly organized and easy from a manager and back-office perspective,” said Prince Singh, Chief Operating Officer at Five Rivers Hospitality, an owner-operator with more than 30 hotels. “We were probably spending 6 to 7 hours per week paying invoices, and now we can do the work in almost half the time.”

DigiPay can be implemented as a standalone accounts payable automation tool or bundled with Otelier’s other back-office automation and business intelligence solutions for more robust accounting functionality and deeper analytics. Otelier’s suite of products includes: 

• DigiAudit: A night audit compliance software that allows hoteliers to centralize and store nightly reports, automate signature workflows, and stay in audit compliance, while reducing operating expenses.
• TruePlan: A budgeting and forecasting software that allows hoteliers to simplify and streamline budgeting processes and forecast with confidence.
• IntelliSight: A business intelligence software that allows hoteliers to aggregate cross-functional data for powerful analysis and insights. 
• DigiPay: An accounts payable automation software that moves supplier payment workflows into a digital environment to manage, verify, authorize and pay invoices.
• Rec: An automated financial reconciliation software to automatically detect accounting discrepancies for bank and OTA reconciliations and income audit journaling.

See DigiPay in action at HITEC 2024! Book a meeting at Otelier booth #1036 for a live demonstration. To learn more about how Otelier automates back office tasks and eases decisions making to help hoteliers get back to hospitality, visit otelier.io.

Meyer Jabara Hotels (MJH) is invested in technology – so much so that the company is taking on the role of technology support, help desk, and implementation for its portfolio of 32 hotels plus any other properties needing IT assistance on a project basis. With the goal of enabling guests and staff to communicate at the speed of business or faster, the hotel owner and third-party manager will design, procure, install, certify, and monitor each property’s network infrastructure. In addition, MJH will work to ensure the highest levels of cybersecurity and provide data backup/recovery and helpdesk support.

“It’s been said that 93% of all communication is nonverbal; that means, when we communicate, only 7% of all shared information is actually getting through,” said Ted Jabara, Meyer Jabara Hotels regional vice president and technology team leader. “As a multi-property, multi-brand hotel owner/operator, our responsibility is to make sure that when we communicate through technology, the transmitted information is delivered consistently and with the highest quality. Only a well-designed network can ensure that efficient, secure, and reliable connectivity will make verbal communications actionable for everyone. With the internal capacity, certifications, and industry knowledge to build a proper network ourselves, we saw value in supporting managed IT as an additional service.”

MJH will oversee the various components and systems that enable connectivity, data management, and communication at its hotels, including:

• Physical Infrastructure – Cabling, Switches, Routers, and Access Points
• Network Segmentation – Guest Network, Staff Network, IoT (smart thermostats, security cameras, automated lighting systems, etc.) and Operational Network
• Internet Connectivity – ISP services, Bandwidth Management
• Supporting Security Measures – Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS and Access Control)
• Management and Monitoring – Network Management Software, Logging and Analytics, Remote Management (for network administrators)
• Key Services and Applications – PMS, VoIP, Entertainment Systems, POS, Reservation Systems,
• Redundancy and Reliability – Backup Systems, Failover mechanisms
• Compliance and Regulations – Data Protection Regulations, Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance

“Managing a hotel network is not an easy task,” Jabara said. “There is a lot happening behind the scenes that can take a hotel off the grid if not properly supported or maintained. Therefore, we have assembled a team of highly skilled IT professionals capable of designing, implementing, and interconnecting all IT systems in a hotel. We also have the certifications required by the brands to do the work. Whether a property is in a pre-opening, construction, or renovation phase, this group will keep each hotel connected to its customers and to corporate, and we will provide periodic system updates as required.”

Tech Support as a Tiered Service

Meyer Jabara Hotels will also maintain the help desk for properties. While the services team resides at the company’s corporate office in Danbury, Conn., it will appear to each hotel as if it has an in-house specialist for any connected system on the network. In addition, the company can provide consulting and implementation with regard to pre-open/conversion design and PIP-related upgrades.

“We will ensure that our hotels are 100% operational, 100% of the time,” Jabara said. “Our help desk is comprised of well-seasoned hospitality professionals who understand how hotels and their interconnected systems work. These people are familiar with the brands and with the tech side of service. Most help desks don’t know the intricacies of hotel technology and how systems connect and why. Without this skillset, it can cost owners a bundle not just in fees, but in lost business.”

IDeaS, a SAS company and a provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, announced that it has reached the milestone of nearly 2,000 properties live on the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform (OHIP). This integration seamlessly connects RMS solutions, including IDeaS G3 RMS, with Oracle's OPERA Cloud platform, accessible through both OHIP and the Oracle Cloud Marketplace – a centralized hub for enterprise applications.

Building upon their 25-year legacy of hospitality innovation, IDeaS and Oracle are nearing a milestone of 10,000 shared clients. IDeaS G3 RMS, a system that delivers scientific pricing decisions at the room type and rate code level to drive optimal revenue performance, seamlessly connects with OPERA Cloud via OHIP. This empowers faster implementations without requiring Oracle's intervention, ensuring efficient and scalable integration for their extensive network of hoteliers. 

Connected hotels have expressed excitement about the increased efficiency, ease of integration, and a faster interface. IDeaS is currently connecting 50 to 100 hotels per week, providing the advantage of enabling future capabilities and additional IDeaS solutions more quickly. 

Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a one-stop shop for Oracle customers seeking trusted business applications offering 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.

Klaus Kohlmayr, chief evangelist and development officer, IDeaS, said: “The hospitality industry has long craved faster data exchanges and more capabilities to handle ever-increasing data volumes, and OHIP delivers precisely that. By accelerating data exchange and efficiently transmitting the staggering 12 billion pricing decisions IDeaS processes daily, OHIP empowers us to innovate faster as partners with Oracle. This goes beyond pricing and forecasting – it unlocks the true potential of data-driven revenue management, allowing hoteliers to make smarter decisions and achieve optimal results.” 

Laura Calin, vice president of Hospitality Strategy and Solutions Management, Oracle, said: “Oracle Cloud Marketplace is a treasure trove of some of the best hospitality software and services available on the market today. Our partner IDeaS Revenue Solutions can now take advantage of our self-service integration platform, allowing them to scale deployments and significantly simplify the support model of their interface.” 

Fourth, a workforce and inventory management technology provider, announced the ‘Level Up’ product release for its AI driven platform, containing a package of new capabilities to help customers face economic challenges head-on.

Rising costs are front of mind for most UK hospitality operators in 2024, with April’s increase in the National Living Wage and business rates a key contributor to stretched margins and over-burdened teams. Other ongoing challenges operators are facing include labour shortages, food inflation, and price-sensitive consumers, all of which require innovative strategies to combat them.

Available to customers from today, Fourth's ‘Level Up’ product release introduces capabilities enabling hospitality operators to increase profitability, efficiency and employee engagement in the areas impacted by the current challenges they face.

Key among the new features is ‘AI for Inventory’, bringing two AI capabilities into Fourth’s Purchase to Pay & Inventory product. AI Forecasting leverages Fourth’s proprietary AI to predict item-level demand, increasing the precision and efficiency of purchasing, inventory management, and preparation. Additionally, AI Invoice Processing reduces the administrative burden of manually processing invoices, saving time and reducing errors.

Fourth’s Managing Director, EMEA, Sebastien Sepierre, commented: “Since its launch in 2022, our AI Forecasting solution has been delivering great results for our workforce scheduling customers. It's used by many of the UK’s largest restaurant groups including PizzaExpress, and growing chains like Thai Leisure Group, who reduced overscheduling by 22% while boosting sales by nearly 16%. Our ‘Level Up’ product release brings the huge potential of this technology into our inventory solutions.”

Other significant features in today’s release include:

• Onboarding App: delivers a flexible and initiative onboarding experience, helping new hires get off to a great start.
• Shift Pooling: enables operators to optimise their workforce by offering staff the flexibility to take on open shifts across multiple locations.
• Precision Payroll: includes updates to help operators comply with the new Allocation of Tips Act which takes effect in October.
• Employee Engagement: offers new ways for employees to update their personal information, eSign employment documents and ditch WhatsApp groups with a dedicated messaging feature.

Sebastien Sepierre said, “For 25 years, Fourth has built a strong reputation for continually delivering the technology innovations our customers need to succeed; We are acutely aware of the challenges facing operators at this time, and we’re proud to proactively offer our customers new ways to make a measurable impact on profits, efficiency and employee engagement.”

Sabre Hospitality, a division of Sabre Corporation, a software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, announced the launch of SynXis Concierge.AI, an innovative solution harnessing the power of Generative AI to transform customer service for hoteliers. Sabre Hospitality will be showcasing the product and its capabilities at HITEC Charlotte in USA between June 24-27, 2024.  

SynXis Concierge.AI represents Sabre Hospitality’s first deployment of Generative AI, a technology that generates new content from inputs such as text, images, and code. Drawing on Sabre’s extensive data resources, Concierge.AI provides immediate, detailed, and accurate responses to specific queries, ensuring that effectiveness is no longer solely dependent on support agent knowledge and experience. 

Initially, SynXis Concierge.AI is being utilized by Sabre’s Customer Care and Delivery (CCD) team to enhance customer service. The entire CCD team is equipped with Concierge.AI, poised to handle a variety of customer interactions including questions, requests, and problem resolution. 

“SynXis Concierge.AI will significantly elevate the customer service experience by providing swift and accurate resolutions,” said Scott Wilson, President, Sabre Hospitality. “This innovation underscores our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.” 

Sabre Hospitality’s plans for SynXis Concierge.AI, include integration into the Community Portal to enhance self-service capabilities. Sabre is also exploring its application in existing products to drive operational efficiency and optimize conversions.  

“Generative AI represents a monumental leap in technology for the hospitality industry," said Amy Read, VP of Innovation at Sabre Hospitality. "With SynXis Concierge.AI, we are not only revolutionizing customer service but also unlocking new opportunities for driving operational efficiency and personalizing the guest experience. We have the data and connectivity to maximize Generative AI’s potential, and we are fully committed to continuous innovation, helping our customers achieve their fullest potential with this transforming technology.” 

SalesAndCatering.com and LodgIQ™ announced a new strategic partnership to integrate LodgIQ's artificial intelligence (AI) revenue management technology into SalesAndCatering’s award-winning group and event management platform, STS Cloud. Effective group revenue management is critical for hotels seeking to maximize revenue and profitability in today’s competitive marketplace. Both companies will work together to support hotel operators in anticipating demand better, optimizing pricing and availability, and winning more business from group customers.

At its core, the integration is centered on powering intelligent pricing strategies for groups, leveraging LodgIQ's advanced machine-learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data in seconds. By utilizing demand forecasts, competitor rates, and additional variables like seasonality and special events, the tool streamlines workflows and empowers sales teams to make data-driven decisions that drive profitable growth and prevent revenue erosion from excessive discounting. 

Users will have easy direct access to LodgIQ™ within the STS Cloud platform and will be able to take advantage of advanced capabilities:

• Provides real-time insights and predictive analytics to anticipate demand fluctuations for the property market and adjust strategies for maximizing revenue.
• Ensures data accuracy and consistency across revenue management and STS Cloud reducing errors and miscommunications - and preventing lost revenue opportunities.
• Identifies patterns and trends that may not be apparent to human analysts, uncovers new revenue opportunities, and keeps hotels ahead of market trends.
• Offers personalized and competitive group pricing, improving hotel appeal to event planners and group organizers, leading to increased bookings and stronger client relationships.
• Automates dynamic pricing adjustments based on real-time market conditions, ensuring hotels offer the most competitive rates, attracting more group business, and enhancing profitability.
• Delivers a comprehensive view of group booking data and revenue performance, enabling hotel managers to confidently make strategic decisions, supporting long-term growth and sustainability in the competitive groups and events segment.
• Providing overall group value with real-time displacement analysis, alternate date recommendations, and ancillary revenue profit-margin considerations

"This partnership addresses the critical challenge of optimizing group revenue management in the hospitality industry. By integrating SalesandCatering.com’s robust platform with LodgIQ’s AI-driven revenue management technology, we empower hotel commercial teams to make data-driven decisions that drive revenue growth and sales performance. This solution is essential for hotels to remain competitive, maximize profitability, and adapt to market dynamics," said David Millili, CEO of LodgIQ™.

LodgIQ™,  renowned for its sophisticated commercial strategy capabilities, leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver dynamic pricing strategies. Real-time data analytics empowers hoteliers to make astute decisions grounded in current market trends and historical data. One of its many standout features is an intuitive user interface that translates complex data into actionable insights for hotel teams to use with minimal training.

The partnership between LodgIQ™ and SalesAndCatering.com stems from the convergence of client needs and the complementary strengths of both companies. “We started hearing about LodgIQ from our clients who were impressed with the platform’s adaptability and rapid innovation features,” said Ryan Hamilton, co-founder of SalesAndCatering.com “This feedback spurred us to explore a collaboration, and we discovered that both our technological capabilities and mission to deliver exceptional outcomes for our customers through innovative, value-driven solutions aligned perfectly. We are thrilled to introduce the deepest integration between an AI revenue management system and sales and catering solution to the market, and we look forward to our future work together.”

SalesAndCatering.com is redefining the revenue management landscape for hotel group sales and setting new industry standards for driving success through seamless integrations of world-class systems and AI-enabled technologies. Driving innovation through technology partnerships is an essential component of its strategy, and joining forces with LodgIQ™ is another exciting milestone in executing that strategy.