News Briefs

Schneider Electric, the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and sustainability, has been chosen by Choice Hotels International, one of the largest and most successful lodging franchisors in the world, to provide AI-assisted technology to help more than 6,000 franchisees in the United States autonomously track and manage energy consumption and sustainability data. 

Schneider Electric will equip the company with EcoStruxure Resource Advisor, Schneider Electric’s AI-assisted, cloud-based solution for managing enterprise-wide energy and sustainability data. The platform will deliver preconfigured dashboards that enable hotels to automatically track their energy and water consumption while calculating their emissions. The tool will allow hotel owners to better manage their utility usage, spot anomalies such as leaks, benchmark themselves against other properties, and help identify cost saving opportunities. The software will also assist hotel owners in preparing for numerous upcoming state and local regulations related to utility reporting and energy efficiency for commercial buildings. 

“To safeguard my investment in my hotel today and tomorrow, it’s imperative that I monitor and manage my utility usage,” said Alec Rogers, owner of Maine Evergreen Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection. “Resource Advisor takes the guesswork out of allocating resources and managing energy costs so owners like me can spend more time focusing on what matters most: connecting with travelers and the communities in which we work and live.”   

“It’s exciting that Choice Hotels has chosen Schneider Electric to support nearly 6,000 hotels in their data collection efforts and to drive the company’s strategy for sustainability reporting,” said Steve Wilhite, President, Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Business. “Energy volatility and increasing compliance on emissions management and disclosure are impacting every industry, including hospitality. We are honored to work with Choice Hotels as they build the critical infrastructure necessary to support their sustainability initiatives for owners and guests alike.” 

This collaboration represents the latest example of Choice’s longstanding commitment to helping its franchisees streamline operating costs and drive profitability through leading technology. For more information on Choice Hotels sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives, visit www.choicehotels.com/about/responsibility. For energy and sustainability industry news, and insights on trends and best practices from Schneider Electric, visit Perspectives and follow Schneider Electric Energy & Sustainability Services on LinkedIn.   

Up and coming QSR  Salad and Go  is expanding in Texas with three new locations opening in February in the Houston markets of Katy, Richmond and League City.

The Katy store located opened February 1, the Richmond location at  is set to open February 17, and the League City store plans to open its doors on February 22. These new locations will mark the start of rapid brand expansion across the Greater Houston area.

These suburbs were strategically selected as ideal markets for Salad and Go as some of the fastest growing communities in the region. Conveniently located in some of Houston's most popular suburbs, the new locations will provide fresh, high-quality meals with quick and easy convenience at an affordable price.

As Salad and Go continues growing its national presence with a strong focus on Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada, the brand's expansive growth has it on a positive trajectory to provide fresh and affordable food to communities in more than 125 locations by the end of 2023. Houston is the next step in the brand's expansion across Texas with plans to open additional stores in the market throughout the new year.

Salad and Go's chef-curated menu provides guests with food for any time of the day by offering a variety of delicious and healthy items including salads, wraps, breakfast burritos and soup as well as beverages including hand-crafted lemonades, teas and cold brew coffees.

Salad and Go ensures each meal contains fresh, quality ingredients while keeping prices low by vertically integrating operations and distribution, and sourcing ingredients directly from high-quality local farmers and suppliers whenever possible. The brand's mission to make fresh, nutritious food convenient and affordable for ALL extends beyond its stores and is demonstrated in the work the brand does to donate 4,000 meals every week to those in need, as well as in partnerships with nonprofits to support and fundraise for various worthy causes.

Focus Brands says dual branding is the future of QSR, and the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s, is leading the charge. Today, the Focus Brands portfolio boasts 175-plus open dual branded units with at least 65 more in various stages of development across the country. 

Drive-Thru Convenience

The Focus Brands portfolio brands have signed agreements to open more than 50 dual and tri-brand locations in the coming year, many of which include drive-thrus for added convenience as interest in dual branded franchise opportunities continues to surge.

Flexible Store Formats

Focus Brands is among the brands introducing new store formats, including Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box and Panera Bread, which opened its Panera To Go, solely offering Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery shelves where guests and delivery drivers can easily pick up orders.  

Focus Brands has long pioneered the concept of dual branding, predominately in malls and non-traditional locations with Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon. Now, the company’s portfolio brands have found new opportunities with streetside dual branded units, which is paving the way for immense franchise growth. 

“Dual branding is the future of our brands, especially on the specialty side of the business,” said Brian Krause, Chief Development Officer at Focus Brands. “There will always be a place in malls, but there is an immense amount of growth opportunity in streetside venues, and, by dual branding, there is more opportunity for enhanced revenue.”

The company invested heavily in consumer research to identify how to create combinations of its iconic brands to resonate with consumers and meet them where they want to be met.

Focus Brands has identified four dual-brand concepts:

• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon
• Auntie Anne’s/Cinnabon/Carvel
• Auntie Anne’s/Jamba
• Cinnabon/Carvel – Cinnabon Swirl. 

While key consumer benefits vary by dual-brand combination, one consistent benefit has been convenience. Having these brands together in one location makes them far more accessible than they are individually. This convenience also creates opportunity for franchisees, as co-branding leads to an expansive menu that drives enhanced unit-level volume. 

 

AU10TIX, a provider of identity verification and identity management technologies, announced it is working with Microsoft on Reusable ID - a breakthrough in verifiable credentials (VC) architecture for identity management.

VCs are reusable, unalterable digital credentials that prove the identity of a person or entity and allow the safe sharing of personal documents and biometric credentials. VC architecture also gives users the self-sovereignty to share just the right information on-demand for actions such as opening an account, applying to college, paying taxes, etc.

"Our belief is that Reusable ID coupled with hotel loyalty programs will deepen guest engagement due to both the streamlined processes (remote check-in, digital room card, identity verification) and the ethically responsible approach to privacy that Reusable ID holds true," says Mark Brady, VP of Emerging Product at AU10TIX. "Separate but related is employee  or third-party supplier verification. Providing employees or third-party suppliers with a verified credential when they interact or conduct their work with the hotel (clocking in, delivering supplies, area managers traveling between hotels)."

AU10TIX's forensic-level document and biometric verification technology and the award-winning Instinct identity monitoring tool for synthetic fraud provide strong verification, encrypted as verifiable credentials assets. Reusable ID allows enterprises to simplify and accelerate ongoing ID verification, reduce customer onboarding costs, automate workflows, and enhance the security of sensitive data. It also enables end users to store their information locally in a tamper-proof digital wallet and decide what to disclose to third parties.

"Compliance costs, privacy concerns, data liability, and rising synthetic fraud show that traditional identity management has been a struggle for individuals and organizations," said Dan Yerushalmi, CEO at AU10TIX. "Now, verifiable credentials are providing businesses and individuals with peace of mind regarding who holds and controls the keys of their personal data."

Microsoft Entra Verified ID enables the solution, which uses AU10TIX's 25 years of experience in identity intelligence. Reusable ID enables businesses to simplify a wide variety of identity verification use cases across verticals such as finance, healthcare, education, hospitality, telecom, entertainment, and others. These applications include fraud detection, KYC reuse, money transfers, legal identities, user verification, insurance claims, and many more.

This announcement builds on the 2021 collaboration that rolled out Microsoft Azure Active Directory verifiable credentials and brought AU10TIX's identity verification automation to the Microsoft ecosystem. AU10TIX is a Microsoft Verified ID credentials issuer and verification partner, managing identities based on attributes such as documents, biometrics, and electronic data.

"Microsoft plans to include the Reusable ID technology in its third-party onboarding flow to streamline repeated validation of user identity verification at critical steps while preventing fraudulent activity and ensuring regulatory compliance," said Deepak Marda, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft. "Decentralized ID verification is a key imperative in the digital world, and the AU10TIX solution will increase security while reducing friction in the process of online ID verification."

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, Jersey Mike’s Subs is giving a full day’s sales — expected to be over $20 million — to charity. It’s the sub company’s 13^th Annual Day of Giving when nearly 2,500 Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurants nationwide will donate 100 percent of sales—not just the profit—to more than 200 local charities. (View/download b-roll)

Day of Giving is the culmination of Jersey Mike’s March Month of Giving fundraising campaign. All month, Jersey Mike’s has collected donations from customers for partner charities including hospitals, youth organizations, food banks and more. For a list of restaurant locations and charity partners, please visit www.jerseymikes.com/mog/charities.

“Please join us and make a difference this Wednesday, March 29, when 100 percent of sales from all Jersey Mike’s Subs locations will be donated to help raise up our local communities,” said Peter Cancro, Jersey Mike’s founder and CEO.

Actor, comedian and New Jersey native, Danny DeVito, joins Cancro in the sub chain’s recent commercial inviting everyone to buy lunch or dinner at Jersey Mike’s on Day of Giving when all proceeds go to important local causes.

(Watch commercial)

Day of Giving is Jersey Mike’s busiest day of the year. Each location prepares by staffing up and ordering extra food, ensuring there is plenty of meat, cheese, bread, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon to meet the high demand.

The more you order, the more Jersey Mike’s gives. Whether in-store, through Jersey Mike’s app or through third-party delivery partners, proceeds from every single sale this Wednesday — including subs, chips, drinks, and catering orders -- will go to local charities.

Since Month of Giving began in 2011, Jersey Mike’s has raised more than $67 million for local charities. 

​​Nomadix® Inc​., bringing connected experiences to life, announced the introduction of new firewall and security features to its suite of internet gateways. The firewall module replaces the need for purchasing, configuring and maintaining separate appliances and aligns with major brand standards. The new release also offers CAPPORT API support, a feature that enables improved Wi-Fi onboarding experiences.

Hotels, apartments, student housing and other managed Wi-Fi networks need to protect users from a wide range of cyber threats, while maintaining fast response times for a high level of traffic. By adding built-in firewall functionality to the Nomadix internet gateway, IT managers gain granular and flexible management controls to effectively protect their networks with a single device, without disruption to the bandwidth management or service. The latest release, which also includes CAPPORT API support, is available in release 9.4, launching in April.

According to the IDC FutureScape Worldwide Hospitality, Dining and Travel 2023 Predictions, by 2026, 45% of hospitality and travel organizations will hire or reskill employees for cloud IT security to reduce the negative impact of breaches. Eighty percent of hospitality and travel organizations will make security/trust programs a top priority.*

“It is critical that every property provides the essential security and privacy layer to protect every guest, resident and employee who accesses the property Wi-Fi,” said Chris Spencer, group chief information security officer at Nomadix. “Nomadix is dedicated to delivering secure, reliable, affordable, and frictionless connectivity experiences and believes the new firewall and security features embedded in our internet gateway family will provide greater value, simplicity and security for the hospitality and multi-tenant markets.”

Secure, reliable and fast Wi-Fi is the top amenity requirement when choosing where to stay, where to meet or even where to live. The full internet gateway portfolio enables resilient and responsive Wi-Fi access for properties of all sizes. The Nomadix Firewall is available as an add-on module to the Nomadix Gateway as part of the 9.4 release.

The Nomadix suite of internet gateways is a powerful standard for the hotel and multi-tenant networks, and the company will be announcing further expansions to the product family over the coming months and at several industry events. For more information, visit: https://nomadix.com/events/.