News Briefs
- 2/5/2024
Rain Secures $300 Million in Financing from Clear Haven Capital Management to Expand Innovative Financial Wellness Solutions
Rain, a financial wellness platform that helps companies give employees greater control over their finances, announced it has secured $300 million in financing from Clear Haven Capital Management for a new credit facility. With this new funding, Rain now has more capital to service its growing customer base, allowing it to provide employees an easy way to access their earned wages in real-time, driving increased retention, job applications, and employee engagement.Traditional pay cycles can often serve as a barrier to increasing savings and achieving financial well-being, and it is estimated that Americans spend over $170 billion waiting for their next paychecks. Rain’s financial wellness platform provides them convenient access to their hard-earned wages in real-time, whenever they work instead of waiting until payday. With the new round of funding, Rain will be able to scale this offering to even more employers seeking to adopt earned wage access as a benefit.“With this $300 million in funding from Clear Haven, we'll expand our reach and further fulfill our mission to empower all Americans to live the life that they can afford to live, protected from predatory fees and lending products,” said Fred Choquette, Chief Operating Officer at Rain. “By giving employees access to their hard-earned wages when they need them the most, we’re alleviating the reliance on financial products that further push them into debt. We’re committed to further empowering Americans on their journey to true financial freedom.”Rain’s pay-on-demand feature allows employees to get paid daily by paying a small fee with each transaction, similar to an ATM charge. This offers them greater control over their finances and helps them avoid overdraft fees and high-interest loans. Rain also adheres to the highest compliance standards and meets guidelines set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, making it one of the safest EWA providers available.Rain is the most seamless and data-minimalistic EWA provider in the market, integrating easily with timekeeping and payroll systems and requiring the least amount of data to use. It is free to use by employers who provide it to their employees as a voluntary benefit. Additionally, Rain offers financial wellness tools for employees and allows employers to limit withdrawals to no more than 50% of an employee’s gross earnings per pay period. Combined, these factors make Rain one of the easiest ways for companies to offer EWA as a benefit to their workforce.
A core tenet of EWA is helping employers increase employee retention, engagement, and productivity. In 2023, Rain’s employers saw an average of 50% improvement in retention for their employees who use the app, in addition to their employees working an average of more than 20 hours per month. Furthermore, Rain is estimated to have saved its customers’ employees over $51 million by avoiding overdraft fees and the interest associated with payday loans, thereby meeting its commitment to promoting employees’ financial wellness."Clear Haven is proud to commit $300 million in funding to Rain as part of its dedication to empowering both employers and employees to thrive in challenging economic circumstances and embark on a more resilient financial wellness journey,” said Mark Simmer, Managing Partner at Clear Haven Capital Management. “Rain's unwavering mission to transform the financial wellness landscape by granting employees access to their earned wages perfectly aligns with Clear Haven's vision for a more inclusive and equitable financial future. We are excited to collaborate with Rain, working together to empower employees and redefine traditional concepts of financial wellness." - 9/13/2023
Domino's Updates Rewards Program
Domino's Pizza Inc. introduces its new and improved loyalty program.
Domino's Rewards offers loyalty members even more opportunities to earn and redeem points across its corporate and franchise store locations. Domino's enhanced rewards program allows customers to:
- Earn points for less
- Loyalty members will now earn 10 points on every order of $5 or more
- Redeem points for even more menu items – and earn free Domino's after just two orders
- Members can redeem a variety of points for more menu items:
- 20 points: A free dipping cup, a 16-piece order of Parmesan Bread Bites or a 20 oz. drink
- 40 points: An order of Bread Twists or Stuffed Cheesy Bread
- 60 points: A medium, two-topping pizza; pasta; Oven-Baked Sandwich; or a 3-piece order of Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes
- Members can redeem a variety of points for more menu items:
- Earn more rewards
- Loyalty perks are now even better, as members will have exclusive access to member-only deals, special discounts and opportunities to earn bonus points!
"We are thrilled to give the brand's loyal customers additional ways to earn free Domino's items more often," said Mark Messing, Domino's vice president of digital experience and loyalty. "At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino's is doing the opposite. We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster."
Marketing a LTO
From now until Oct. 22, 2023, rewards members can take advantage of a limited time offer to redeem 20 points for a free order of Domino's new Pepperoni Stuffed Cheesy Bread, which is normally a 40-point redemption, in celebration of the product's recent launch.
- Earn points for less
- 2/6/2024
Boostly and OwnerRez Announce Partnership
Boostly announced a strategic partnership with OwnerRez, giving thousands of vacation rental owners the opportunity to increase their direct bookings and maximize revenue.Hosts and property managers using OwnerRez’s vacation rental software can now effortlessly sync real-time property listings, pricing, and availability with Boostly’s custom-designed direct booking websites, giving property owners their own 'mini OTA' website. All Boostly websites have ChatGPT embedded, empowering hosts to create website copy, listings, and content in minutes.The partnership also grants OwnerRez customers access to Boostly Academy, a CPD-accredited marketing program with over 80 hours of training, equipping hosts with the knowledge and tools needed to scale their businesses.The announcement aligns perfectly with this week's Book Direct day and comes as there are notable industry shifts, including Airbnb's introduction of a new 2% fee for bookings in different currencies. This supports the importance of Boostly's mission to maximize profits through direct bookings and reduce reliance on OTAs. Last year alone, the company reported an astounding £50m in direct bookings for its clients in 2023 – something the direct powerhouse aims to double this year.With a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, OwnerRez offers an all-encompassing platform that supports channel management, customer relationship management (CRM), property management (PM), accounting, messaging, and website creation.Mark Simpson, Founder of Boostly, said: “As the industry navigates through changes like the recent fee adjustments by Airbnb, our mission remains: to equip property owners with the tools and knowledge they need to reclaim control from OTAs, boost their profits, and transform the guest booking experience. Partnering with OwnerRez was a no-brainer for us, and marks yet another milestone in our objective to reshape the future of direct bookings. By combining Boostly's website solutions and educational resources with OwnerRez's robust property management tools, we’re putting property managers back in the driving seat.”Paul Hall, Head of Partnerships and Marketing at OwnerRez, said: “We are ecstatic to partner with Boostly to offer custom website services that utilize our integrated site API. Unlike other website design companies, Boostly focuses on the short-term rental space and knows how to set you up for long-term success. Both OwnerRez and Boostly believe strongly in promoting the #DirectBooking movement, and we are so excited to see the positive impact this partnership will have for our users!”Launched in 2016, Boostly has built over 1,500 WordPress websites and helped over 2,500 operators scale their business to date. It now generates an average of £81k ROI per website annually for its customers, who are educated with personalised coaching and CPD-accredited training videos to achieve a minimum of 65% direct bookings. - 2/5/2024
MustHaveMenus Introduces Displays
MustHaveMenus, the all-in-one platform for restaurant marketing, launches MustHaveMenus Display, a digital display management system that seamlessly integrates with MustHaveMenus' menu maker and design tool.
This addition gives restaurants a natural link between the creative process and customer touchpoints. When a restaurant makes changes to its brand, menu items or promotions they can be instantly updated on display systems across many screens and locations. Plus, the power of MustHaveMenus' custom design app creates endless potential for engaging multimedia content.
Key features of MustHaveMenus Display include:
- Unlimited Creativity: Display works with over 25,000 customizable templates, allowing restaurants to bring any marketing vision to life.
- Seamless Integration: Display effortlessly integrates with the renowned MustHaveMenus menu maker and design tool.
- Playlists: Display allows users to create unlimited playlists with custom arrangements of content, timing and transitions.
- Instant Updates: Updates made to a design can be instantly published to display screens, eliminating unnecessary steps.
- Custom Schedules: The Display app has advanced scheduling features so that managers can set-and-forget content on their screens.
- Multi-Location Management: The Display app accommodates the needs of small- to medium-sized restaurant chains.
MustHaveMenus Display simplifies the way restaurants connect with their customers, making marketing campaigns more efficient and impactful. By seamlessly integrating design capabilities with a versatile distribution system, MustHaveMenus continues to empower the restaurant industry with cutting-edge tools to drive growth and success.
"Ever since installing the MustHaveMenus product in our Diner we've seen smiles from local clients!" reported Kevin McMillen, owner of the HandleBar Diner, of Mesa Ariz. "Our non-technical business manager at the Diner has taken charge of the entire system and navigates through it with ease. We publish a playlist that shows upcoming events, current menu items and we switch to our 'Limited Menu' during big events all with ease now. Having this product fully integrated into our Diner's already established systems was a game changer."
"The launch of Display marks a significant milestone for us, as we strive to provide restaurants with a one-stop-shop for all of their in-store marketing," said Jim Williams, CEO of MustHaveMenus. "We believe this addition empowers restaurants to do more with less. They can create menus and stunning visuals easily and without a graphic designer, then deliver the content to their displays without leaving the program. We want to help them save time while doing great work."
To learn more about MustHaveMenus Display and how it can transform your restaurant's marketing efforts, please visit www.MustHaveMenus.com
- 2/5/2024
PAR, Grubhub Add MENU Link Integration
ParTech Inc. has integrated its marketplace order management system, MENU Link, with Grubhub.
Building off PAR and Grubhub’s existing partnership, MENU Link automatically syncs menu items, pricing and other order information between PAR Brink POS and Grubhub. The marketplace order management solution sends incoming orders directly to the restaurant’s kitchen without staff needing to manually enter them, reducing errors, saving time and providing restaurant managers with robust reporting on all Grubhub orders.
MENU Link seamlessly integrates Grubhub and PAR Brink POS, PAR's cloud-based point-of-sale system. This feature allows restaurants to easily manage Grubhub delivery and pickup orders directly within PAR Brink POS, streamlining operations for kitchen and front-of-house staff.
No More Tablets
"How people experience food has drastically changed — especially among millennials and Gen Z — with the surge in off-premise dining and delivery services. While delivery provides diners with seamless ordering, it also creates 'tablet hell' for restaurants juggling multiple apps," commented PAR CEO, Savneet Singh. "Together with GrubHub, our MENU Link solution tackles this head-on by integrating all major delivery services into one system. This innovation provides restaurants the capabilities they need to thrive on digital demand.”
Restaurants gain centralized control over their menus, dynamic pricing for different channels, store-level information and order data from third-party marketplaces with MENU Link. This unified approach eliminates confusion, costly errors and duplicative work that often comes with managing multiple tablets from various delivery services.
- 2/6/2024
Toast Restaurant Technology Selected by Choice Hotels as Brand Standard for Two Upscale Brands
Toast, a digital technology platform built for restaurants, announced an innovative collaboration with Choice Hotels International to make its Toast for Hotel Restaurants technology a brand standard for two of Choice’s upscale brands, Cambria Hotels and Radisson. Toast is also a Qualified Vendor for Choice’s other brands. Cambria and Radisson will implement Toast technology as a brand standard by summer 2025 for Cambria and by the beginning of 2026 for Radisson properties. This collaboration is designed to help owners accelerate growth in their food and beverage programs and digitalize the guest experience for on-site dining.
From tableside to in-room dining, the Toast for Hotel Restaurants platform will integrate with Cambria’s and Radisson’s property management systems (PMS) to power modern dining experiences for guests. The implementation will digitalize the guest’s food and beverage experience on property while streamlining food and beverage operations for hotel staff. Enabling staff to process room charges directly from the convenient handheld point of sale (POS) devices, this collaboration will help empower operators to drive food and beverage sales, increase kitchen efficiency, and improve guest satisfaction.
“Cambria and Radisson hotels are increasingly seen as dining destinations in and of themselves, and this innovative collaboration with Toast will allow our guests and hotel staff to benefit from the digitalization of operations,” said Indy Adenaw, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Upscale at Choice Hotels. “We’ve already started rolling out Toast at several Cambria locations nationwide and are pleased to see the early impact it is making, including early adoption from guests, helping owners manage their labor model, and increasing lobby marketplace sales.”
In addition to standard food service POS and hotel PMS integration, Cambria and Radisson hotels will implement Toast Go® 2 handhelds for server and bartender use, Mobile Order & Pay at restaurant tables, Toast Online Ordering for in-room dining, Kiosks for lobby marketplaces, Kitchen Display Systems for back of house efficiency — including texting guests when orders are ready for pickup — and Toast’s direct Third-Party Delivery integrations. Cambria and Radisson hotels will also use Toast Payments.
Cambria and Radisson hotels, along with most of Choice Hotels’ portfolio of brands, are connected by the award-winning loyalty program Choice Privileges. Through the program, members can earn and redeem points at over 7,000 hotels across a diverse portfolio of brands with locations in 46 countries and territories. With the Choice Privileges Mastercard, cardholders can earn more points faster, including on everyday purchases including gas and groceries.
“Premier hotel brand operators like Choice Hotels recognize that a flexible service model is a critical success factor. From in-room dining to mobile order and pay to full-service restaurants to quick-service restaurants, Toast for Hotel Restaurants enables hospitality brands to deliver a more seamless guest experience, operate more efficiently, and increase speed of service across day parts and formats,” said Kelly Esten, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise at Toast. “We are delighted to be implementing Toast technology as a brand standard for Cambria and Radisson properties and to offer Toast to other Choice Hotels brands as a Qualified Vendor.”
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