News Briefs

 iSeatz, a leading provider of travel loyalty technology solutions for major airline, hotel, and financial services companies, released today its latest survey report, 2024 Loyalty Trends: The Role of Travel Loyalty Programs in the New Value Economy, examining the changing dynamics of loyalty programs, consumer priorities, and the alignment between member expectations and brand offerings.

Based on a survey conducted by iSeatz in the second half of 2023, the report features insights from 151 loyalty program managers and over 2,000 U.S. consumers, identifying key themes about loyalty program member needs and loyalty program manager priorities and challenges.

The findings underscore the pivotal role of value, establishing it as the predominant factor shaping consumer decision-making and a significant driver of member engagement with travel loyalty programs. Faced with consistent inflation and rising prices, consumers increasingly turn to their loyalty programs to save money, with nearly half (49%) saying saving money on travel was what they valued most from their loyalty programs.

Additionally, the report highlights critical areas where consumer expectations may diverge from existing offerings, revealing opportunities for airline, hotel, and financial services loyalty programs to focus on improving the member experience through personalization, expanded earning and redemption options, and dynamic content delivery.

"The findings in our 2024 Loyalty Trends Report underscore the need for brands to adapt to (and align with) shifting consumer priorities. It's not just about offering rewards; it's about creating a seamless, personalized, and value-driven loyalty experience," says Kenneth Purcell, CEO of iSeatz.

Creating a Better Loyalty Experience for Increased Engagement

The 2024 Loyalty Trends: The Role of Travel Loyalty Programs in the New Value Economy report reveals four key areas that can create a richer and more customized loyalty experience that aligns with members' priorities: sustainability, lifestyle rewards, personalization, and the integration of fintech tools.

Companies that invest in loyalty platforms that provide flexibility, configurability, personalization, and diverse lifestyle rewards can accelerate the maturity of their loyalty programs and capitalize more effectively on the opportunities presented by the value economy.

Other key insights from the 2024 Loyalty Trends report include:

• Providers still have work to do in delivering what consumers value most: Sixty-five percent of consumers said they would engage more with their loyalty programs if offered better discounts. Travelers want a better deal, and loyalty programs aren't convincing them they'll find it on their platforms. 
• Brands benefit by aligning with consumers' values on sustainability: More than half (53%) of consumers say that the importance of sustainability has increased significantly over the past three years.  As a result, 60% of brands saw reduced churn and increased retention after implementing sustainability initiatives.
• Younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are more willing to spend extra to preserve loyalty status or earn additional perks: 29% of Millennials are willing to spend more for extra loyalty benefits, compared to 8% among the Silent Generation and the 25% survey average.
• Brand priorities have shifted towards customer experience, retention, and revenue growth: Nearly half (48%) of companies surveyed plan to invest more in engagement capabilities over the next 6-12 months, aligning with their goals to boost revenue, retain customers, and foster growth.
• There is rising demand for technology partners with loyalty expertise: Survey data show a decline in brands developing loyalty programs in-house, dropping from 67% in 2022 to 37% in 2023, reflecting increased demand for a loyalty partner that can maximize program returns through advanced technology and strategic improvements.

"Our report serves as a valuable resource for brands seeking to optimize their loyalty programs and capitalize on unique opportunities in the loyalty marketplace," added Purcell. "Whether it's improving user experiences, incorporating sustainability initiatives, or embracing fintech tools, brands can leverage these findings to tailor their loyalty programs, fostering deeper engagement and lasting relationships with their customer base."

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

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.

• 85% say integrations with other systems is driving POS purchasing decisions, according to HT's 2024 POS Software Trends Survey

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.

Voicify, the market leader in conversational AI, today announced it has been selected as the Conversational Voice AI provider for 

Danté Restaurant and Bar has selected Voicify AI Answering to service customers who call its New York City locations.

High Volume Calls

Danté's use of voice AI frees up staff to serve in-person guests and fulfill orders while extending a high-touch, high-end experience to customers who call. 

Each Danté location fields 1,500 customer calls per month. 

"We were named #1 World's Best Bar in 2019 and Best Bar in America for both 2019 and 2020, so we have a reputation to guard," said Linden Pride, Owner of Danté. "As a result, we're highly selective when it comes to customer-facing technologies. Among conversational AI providers, Voicify was the obvious choice because of their deep expertise and superior technology. Voicify automates aspects of our front-line service to free up human employees to focus on the personal, face-to-face guest service that has won Danté a top spot in the hearts and minds of so many New Yorkers for more than a hundred years."

Before Voicify, these calls were answered by onsite staff or went to voicemail. Voicify is answering calls even when the venues are closed.

Guests can ask basic questions that are answered by Voicify AI Voice Assistants. Questions include 'What hours are you open?'; 'Do you deliver?'; 'Tell me about your menu'; and 'May I place an order?'. With AI acting as a front-line automated assistant, restaurant staff spend less time on the phone and more time serving in-person guests and fulfilling orders. 

An Intelligent Option

Danté  is among a growing number of restaurant operators adding Voice AI to help with operations. Recently, Jersey Mike’s added Voice AI Phone Ordering.  Checkers & Rally's, Panera, CKE Restaurants and Good Times are using – or piloting the use of AI – in the drive-thru to help automate the ordering process so that staff can focus on other tasks such as customer service and food production.  

• RTN's AI Share Group Spotlights Real-World AI Use Cases

Voicify is optimized to handle natural human speech. This means that Danté customers can speak their questions or requests without modifying their speech at all. As part of the conversational flow, Voicify AI assists phone customers using the most appropriate messaging method. For example, the AI assistant can automatically send an SMS text with a link to restaurant location directions or the restaurant's online ordering platform. Voicify assistants continually learn and improve based on customer interactions. As needed or at customer request, the AI assistant can connect the guest with human staff.

Designed to deploy quickly and integrate directly with existing phone, POS, kiosk and other restaurant technologies, Voicify AI sets the standard for conversational AI by learning quickly and delivering intelligent and reliable performance for any situation.  

 RoomRaccoon, a leading Hotel Management System for independent hotels, has announced its strategic partnership with Reconline, a renowned hotel distribution and connectivity solution. The partnership offers RoomRaccoon users a seamless connection to some of the industry's most influential Global Distribution Systems (GDS), including Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, and Worldspan.

The integration empowers RoomRaccoon users with a powerful yet affordable way to manage their online distribution. By establishing a real-time connection with major Global Distribution Systems (GDSs), RoomRaccoon users can reach over 450,000 travel agents all over the world and showcase their properties to a wider audience of potential guests. This, in turn, can help them to increase their revenue. 

"As a partner, we are delighted that RoomRaccoon is leveraging our best-in-class GDS hotel distribution technology to provide its hotel customers with the opportunity to tap into new streams of revenue in this growing market segment," said Markus Maissen, Managing Director, reconline AG.

“As we continue to expand our hotel distribution connectivity marketplace, we are excited to partner with Reconline and grant our users access to their extensive distribution network,” says Steven Reffin, Head of Partnerships at RoomRaccoon. “Thanks to enhanced distribution, our hotels can showcase their properties to a global audience, driving increased bookings and revenue.” 

Hotels can now automate their room reservation process with the help of RoomRaccoon and Reconline. With RoomRaccoon's Channel Manager, the hotel's property management system can efficiently send real-time information to the distribution system. This ensures that travel agents have access to the most accurate data regarding room availability and rates.

The RoomRaccoon and Reconline integration is available to hoteliers worldwide. 

​​Nomadix® Inc​. was issued U.S. Patent No. 11,855,986 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 26, 2023. The patent, titled “Management of network intercept portals for network devices with durable and non-durable identifiers,” represents Nomadix’s ongoing innovations in networking technology and adds to its growing patent portfolio.

The patent relates to using captive portals to securely manage network access requests under Passpoint, formerly known as Hotspot 2.0. Nomadix’s technology gives hotels and other organizations greater control and visibility over their visitor-based networks, helping drive digital engagement and deliver customized, location-based services and tiered upgrade options. For example, venues leveraging visitor-based networks can offer Passpoint through loyalty apps to offer secure connections to the network, while also enabling better engagement, upselling, tiered service offerings (i.e., events, Wi-Fi upgrades), and payment acceptance throughout the guest’s stay at the property.

“Nomadix has a long history of innovation including the invention of the visitor-based network and creation of the first captive portal,” said Ted Helvey, chairman and CEO at Nomadix. “This latest patent is of similar importance in the next generation of secure authentication and shows our team’s continued commitment to creating technology that provides personalized connectivity and digital engagement opportunities for our customers in hospitality, multi-tenant, retail and beyond.”

The patent, part of Nomadix's growing network management portfolio, is based on an application filed in February 2020 by inventor Vadim Olshansky. For more information, visit the USPTO website.