News Briefs
- 2/14/2024
The Surf & Sand Hotel Is Now Pensacola Beach’s First Solar-Powered Commercial Property
Innisfree Hotels (innisfreehotels.com) proudly announces the completion of an ambitious solar power project at its Surf & Sand Hotel in Pensacola Beach. SunFarm Energy, Northwest Florida’s local solar experts, recently installed a 330-panel rooftop solar array atop the 100-room property, making it the first solar-powered commercial site in Pensacola Beach and resulting in a huge reduction in the hotel’s carbon footprint.
The solar power provided by the rooftop setup will offset nearly half of the Surf & Sand’s annual energy usage and provide substantial savings on utility bills.. By reducing the hotel’s carbon footprint by 50%, the solar project is reducing emissions equivalent to:
- 37 gas-powered vehicles driven for one year
- 18,740 gallons of gasoline
- 186,551 pounds of coal burned
- 21 homes’ energy use for one year
- 20,258,413 smartphones charged
The Surf & Sand solar project represents a significant milestone in creating a clean energy future on the Gulf Coast and a major step toward accomplishing Innisfree Hotels’ sustainability goals. The use of solar energy increases the Surf & Sand’s rating for the Green Key Global sustainable hospitality program in which all 27 of Innisfree’s properties participate.
In addition, the partnership between Innisfree and SunFarm Energy extends beyond the Surf & Sand project. The companies are collaborating on the launch of an Employee Solar Program to further Innisfree’s ESG initiatives, and SunFarm Energy has made a donation to The Hive, Innisfree’s philanthropic arm in Pensacola and other local communities.
“By transitioning away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, this project is reducing carbon emissions, contributing to improved air quality, and demonstrating that Innisfree is a leader in sustainability,” said Bethanne Edwards, Director of Sustainability at Innisfree Hotels. “What’s more, the solar project helps us deliver on our Triple Bottom Line commitment where success is determined by how well we protect the planet while serving people and communities.”
- 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
- 2/14/2024
Smokey Bones Updates Loyalty Program
Smokey Bones, owned by FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. unveiled its new and improved Bones Club loyalty program. The revamped program offers guests an instant reward upon joining, exclusive ongoing deals and offers, the opportunity to earn valuable points to be redeemed towards future purchases, and special surprise and delight features.
After enrolling guests receive an instant $5 reward and 50 Bones Club points to use on a future visit, and they earn five points for every dollar spent. Points are redeemable for favorite food items, as well as get access to exclusive features, including drink specials, limited time offers, birthday treats, and other promos reserved.
“In a time where guests are placing increasing value on exceptional experiences, we're thrilled to introduce our refreshed Bones Club. The enhanced program is customizable and better in tune with our guests’ desires, allowing it to work harder for them – and thereby inspire true loyalty,” said Cole Robillard, Chief Marketing Officer at Smokey Bones. “The Bones Club is our way of recognizing our most engaged and important guests, providing exclusive offers and privileges designed to resonate with meat lovers and eating out enthusiasts alike, thus amplifying the impact of every dollar they spend at our restaurants.”
Current Bones Club members will experience a seamless and automatic update to their program with no action for any additional steps.
- 2/14/2024
Lighthouse Expands Into Distribution With Acquisition of Stardekk
Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight), a commercial platform for the travel & hospitality industry, announced the acquisition of Belgian-based Stardekk, a market leading provider of channel management and distribution software for the hospitality industry. This move represents another advancement in Lighthouse's commitment to empowering hospitality commercial teams with a single platform to drive revenue growth.
The merger will create a unified technology platform, combining Lighthouse's data and artificial intelligence with Stardekk's distribution reach, offering hoteliers unprecedented dynamic channel optimization. The combined offering will streamline real-time decision-making in a rapidly evolving market, particularly benefiting independent hotels by providing advanced distribution tools and pricing insights to drive top line revenue growth.
"We are delighted to welcome Stardekk to our team," said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of Lighthouse. "Their innovative solutions and team complement our mission to reimagine commercial strategy for the hospitality industry. Together, we will deliver unmatched value to independent hoteliers through the combination of better data, better automation, and dynamic distribution.”
Focus on independent hotels
While the Lighthouse platform serves travel and hospitality businesses of all sizes, from independents to the largest global chains, this acquisition specifically targets the underserved sector of independent hotels. “Our ideal customer profile for this solution is independent hoteliers who are time starved and overwhelmed managing disparate systems and data," added Fitzpatrick.
Addressing market fragmentation
The hotel industry has long been hampered by a fragmented approach to pricing, promotion, and distribution, often leaving independent hoteliers at a disadvantage with disjointed data and systems. Lighthouse aims to bridge these gaps, offering an intelligent channel management solution for independent hotels that combines dynamic pricing optimization and distribution decisions in a single platform, driving top-line revenue growth and profitability.
Harnessing the power of AI and automation
With a unique understanding of the challenges faced by independents in an increasingly complex distribution landscape, the combined forces of Lighthouse and Stardekk will deliver an industry-first solution. Independent hotels often lack the time, data, and budgets to compete with larger chains. This acquisition will combine the expertise of Lighthouse and Stardekk in their use of data, AI algorithms, and automation to offer hoteliers unprecedented capabilities to more effectively and efficiently optimize their commercial strategies.
A shared vision for hoteliers
Vincent Goemaere, founder and CEO of Stardekk, commented, "Joining forces with Lighthouse marks a significant milestone in our journey. We've always been dedicated to empowering hoteliers with easy to use, powerful tools. This merger not only aligns with our vision but expands our joint capabilities, offering immense value to independent hoteliers who need to stay competitive in rapidly changing markets, by driving revenue and profitability. The potential we can unlock together is incredibly exciting."
Together, Lighthouse and Stardekk are poised to redefine the distribution landscape for independent hoteliers worldwide, ushering in a new era of innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness. It's a move that promises to level the playing field in a rapidly changing market.
- 2/13/2024
Apaleo Sets ‘New Record’ for Tech Rollout
Apaleo has set a new benchmark for tech adoption after moving all 7,500 rooms at operator citizenM's US and European operations to its property management platform in under two months.The Dutch-based hotel brand has just completed the switch at sites located in 18 cities around the world. All this happened in the space of just eight weeks, with the Apaleo team managing to roll out multiple properties per day.PMS migrations have traditionally been highly difficult to execute, but the teams at Apaleo and citizenM believe this will have been the fastest onboarding for any mid-sized hotel group to date, owing to modern, self-service architecture, plug-and-play onboarding, and scalable project management.Together, citizenM and Apaleo, worked as partners on state-of-the-art program management that unlocked the ability to take multiple properties live simultaneously, following successful data migration from legacy systems and the complete change of the tech stack. The migration included every citizenM hotel in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Geneva, Glasgow, London, Paris, Rome, Zurich, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin, Seattle and Washington DC. Significantly, all of the installations were remotely managed without going on site for any aspect of the implementation.Mike Rawson, CIO of citizenM, commented: “The migration was a hugely ambitious project, requiring very detailed planning for many hotels across the globe. Compared to any other PMS of similar size and scope, it was the quickest implementation ever witnessed in our industry. Our congratulations go to our fantastic citizenM team and to everyone at Apaleo, who have proven to be such valuable partners.”“Our decision to adopt an API-first platform is futureproofing our business and guaranteeing our ability to move with the times and create exactly the kind of guest experience we want for our guests. Beyond a mere PMS migration, our initiative embraces numerous components and leverages the Apaleo Store to enhance our service capabilities.”Philip von Ditfurth, Co-founder and Managing Director of Apaleo, added: “For years, citizenM has been associated with pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve in hospitality, so it was only logical that we would eventually join forces. The team at citizenM are as passionate as we are about the transformational power of digitisation and personalisation. They want to stay ahead of the game with a digital guest journey that is unique and helps define them as a brand, and we’re going to help deliver that. This project was important because it also demonstrated to other operators labouring under the weight of legacy PMS systems that implementation time is no longer a reason to delay modernisation. It’s now a seamless process with no business interruption.” - 2/14/2024
eDreams ODIGEO and Travelport Significantly Expand Strategic Technology Partnership
eDreams ODIGEO, a travel subscription platform, and Travelport, a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, announced the expansion of their strategic technology partnership.
The agreement represents a significant milestone in the worldwide evolution and adoption of NDC (New Distribution Capability) technology. Both parties are committed to co-developing the most advanced NDC platform in the marketplace, incorporating unique retail functionalities, a comprehensive suite of ancillaries, and unmatched post-booking features. Leading airlines are already actively engaged in NDC distribution. NDC enables airlines to deliver modern retailing, offering more competitive and flexible offers that benefit all consumers.
As part of the expanded agreement, Travelport will continue to support eDreams ODIGEO’s leading travel retailing platform. This will enable access to a wide range of rich content, fares, and unique offerings that are set to improve the experience of the 20 million customers booking through the eDreams ODIGEO’s leading travel agency brands: eDreams, Opodo, GO Voyages, and Travellink.
Javier Bellido, Air Content Strategies Director at eDreams ODIGEO said: “We are thrilled to expand our strategic partnership with Travelport. Our collaboration has been instrumental in enhancing the travel retailing experience for the 20 million customers who choose our leading travel agency brands. As we embark on this new phase with expanded features, including New Distribution Capability (NDC) content, we are excited about the opportunities we have with Travelport ahead. We look forward to continuing to innovate alongside Travelport and deliver exceptional travel experiences to our global customer base.”
Jason Toothman, Chief Commercial Officer – Agency at Travelport said: “The expansion of our partnership with eDreams ODIGEO is a testimony to the strength of our NDC roadmap and our industry-leading technology. We’re honored to be selected as one of eDreams ODIGEO’s key partners after a robust comparison to other global technology providers. Having the confidence from one of the world’s leading online travel agencies (OTAs) is validation of our laser-focus on innovation and breadth of choice.”
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