News Briefs

Encore, a global event technology and production services provider, confirmed today the launch of its pioneering ‘Overtime Savings Program’ in the United States, along with additional people-first programs to further support its ongoing workforce in a seasonal industry.

Powered by UKG’s payroll technology, this first-of-its-kind program aims to enhance financial wellness and stability for Encore’s frontline employees, many of whom work in markets that experience seasonal ebb and flow of business volumes.

With 12,000 team members providing event technology and production services at 2,200 hotels and conference venues in 20 countries, Encore faces the same challenges common in the hospitality industry. Seasonal fluctuations often result in workers’ hours varying from ample overtime during peak times to reduced schedules in off-season periods. This seasonality makes it difficult for workers to maintain consistent earnings and creates challenges for companies to retain talent in the off season.

“Encore has always believed its team members are the heart of our story. This people-first mindset motivates us to constantly evolve our team member experience and innovate around challenges, like the impact of seasonality, that the industry previously viewed as immutable,” said Ben Erwin, president and CEO of Encore.

In addition to the Overtime Savings Program, the company launched a Seasonal Leave of Absence Program, which offers team members the flexibility to take time off during slower seasons while retaining full benefits, accruing paid time off, and maintaining their tenure. This unique program enables employees to explore other work opportunities, pursue education, or focus on personal goals without sacrificing benefits or career progression. Both the Overtime Savings and Seasonal Leave of Absence Programs are active nationwide, with plans for global expansion.

“We established the program as another way to support our team members so that they can be at their best in delivering for our customers,” Erwin added. “With this innovation, they can better plan and save their premium overtime pay for periods of the year when they might not work as many hours. Providing this capability and funding a company-paid match for a portion of the savings should motivate financial wellness and enable them to continue to build their career with Encore. Team member reactions tell us we are onto something,” he said.

With a launch just after Labor Day, usage of the UKG Wallet™ increased tenfold compared to the prior year’s period. he company offered an initial savings match, similar to a 401k program incentive match, to reward healthy financial behavior.

“Financial stress is not a problem isolated to our industry, it’s a stressor for nearly everyone,” said Charlie Young, chief human resources officer at Encore. “Nearly 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck¹ and Americans spent $9B in bank overdraft fees in 2023. The more we can do to reduce stress for our team members, the more focused they can be on our customers. We are successful in the event production business because of the unique combination of our technical expertise, hospitality mindset and ability to work under pressure and through challenges. Seasonal fluctuations are part of our business, but with a partner like UKG that understands every industry has unique challenges, we were able to innovate to support those unique needs to make our team members’ lives better.”

Cody Browne, a technical lead with five years of service for Encore in Las Vegas, said he will try the Overtime Savings program, in addition to accruing and saving his Paid Time Off, for the slow season in December in Las Vegas. He hopes the vacation time, in addition to the saved overtime funds, will afford him an out-of-state vacation to visit family. “I love that Encore is creating new opportunities, that’s one of the reasons I am interested in growing my career here,” he said.

ezCater announced a new partnership with Crumbl, the nation’s fastest-growing dessert company. Workplaces across the country can now order Crumbl’s fan-favorite cookies on ezcater.com and the ezCater app for meetings, celebrations, and everyday moments at work

A recent ezCater survey found that 76% of US workers enjoy small treats during work at least once a week and 30% indulge daily, with cookies as one of their top three treats. With ezCater's nationwide reach, Crumbl franchisees can now reach more high-value customers and further capitalize on the demand for treats in the workplace.

“Joining forces with ezCater will not only satisfy the cravings of workplaces but also give our franchisees new sales opportunities within their local communities,” said Grace Chadwick, Chief Operating Officer, Crumbl. “This partnership presents a tremendous opportunity for Crumbl to diversify and expand our off-premise channel by bringing our iconic cookies to new business customers everywhere."

Crumbl franchisees will have access to ezCater’s Catering Growth Platform, which is designed to help restaurants get valuable, incremental catering orders and manage their catering operations. The platform combines online ordering and catering management software with reliable delivery solutions and award-winning customer service. 

“We know that Crumbl’s iconic pink box of cookies will be a hit in workplaces. In fact, in our recent survey, workers told us that cookies are one of their top 3 treats at work,” said Kaushik Subramanian, Chief Revenue Officer, ezCater. “We're excited to help this fan-favorite brand scale their catering operations, and reach workplace customers across the US.”

ezCater is making it easy this holiday season for customers to find holiday specials and gift items from popular restaurants for their workplace gatherings. 

Traverse Automation is pleased to announce the launch of HotelEase, an advanced platform designed to simplify and streamline inventory management for hotels. This solution directly addresses the challenges of manual updates and communication with channel partners, giving hotels a faster, more reliable way to manage availability, including critical stop and open sales updates, and ensure seamless, accurate information flow to all partners.

Managing inventory updates has traditionally been a time consuming process, often involving countless manual adjustments and inconsistent formats, which can lead to misunderstandings and booking errors. HotelEase aims to eliminate these challenges by providing hotels with a central platform that automates updates, allowing clear and consistent communication with channel partners.

What is included with HotelEase?

Hotels can set up their company within HotelEase, set up custom email templates, and easily manage contacts and mailing lists, ensuring that channel partners receive updates in a consistent, professional format every time.

HotelEase’s easy to use calendar allows users to manage stop sale updates using natural language, simplifying scheduling and significantly speeding up the process, whether for a single update or multiple adjustments.

With full control over communication, users can customise each email’s look and feel to ensure clarity across all channel partner communications, while HotelEase’s email monitor and dashboard offer real time visibility on inventory updates and track progress across all properties under management.

With HotelEase, hotels can now feel confident that their channel partners are always up to date with the latest availability, allowing teams to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences rather than being weighed down by operational complexities.

HotelEase will be fully developed by 12th December, poised to transform how hotels manage their inventory and connect with channel partners. 

Check out the video demo here: https://vimeo.com/1026071463

Rosen Hotels & Resorts announced that Frank Santos will be the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. A leading philanthropist in his own right, Santos’s promotion comes one week after Founder and President Harris Rosen’s death at the age of 85.

Santos is no stranger to Rosen Hotels & Resorts. In 1985, Harris Rosen personally recruited and hired Santos to become his trusted Chief Financial Officer (CFO), a job Santos started in January of 1986 and held for almost 39 years. Santos would later add vice president to his title as he and Rosen worked side-by-side growing Rosen Hotels & Resorts into a worldwide hospitality leader and the southeast’s largest independently owned hotel chain. Currently, the company has more than 4,000 associates and operates seven Orlando-area award-winning hotels: Rosen Inn International, Rosen Inn closest to Universal, Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando, Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista, Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre, and the largest of all of the properties, Rosen Shingle Creek. Also under the Rosen umbrella are RosenSure, an insurance agency, Millennium Technology Group, multiple foundations and the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center.

“It is an honor. I will always be grateful for the privilege to lead this great company that Mr. Rosen poured his heart and soul into building for 50 years,” Santos said. “I do not take this responsibility lightly, and I promise to continue the amazing work in our industry and in our community which Mr. Rosen started,” Santos added.

Santos and Rosen also worked together to form the Tangelo Park and Parramore preschool programs, which annually provide children from those underserved communities free preschool to get a head start on their education. After graduating from high school, students are awarded college and vocational scholarships covering tuition, room & board and books. To date, hundreds of students have received Rosen scholarships and the preschool programs have been lauded nationally as game-changers.

Santos also worked tirelessly with Mr. Rosen creating the award-winning RosenCare, a comprehensive healthcare program providing every associate amazing wellness benefits at affordable prices, with no deductibles and 90% of all prescriptions, including insulin, available at zero cost to the associate. He also helped Rosen with the formation of the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management, the Adam Michael Rosen Foundation and saved what is now the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center twice from sure destruction.

Santos is well-known for his community service and his philanthropy, receiving the 2023 Kenneth F. Murrah, Esq. Award as Central Florida’s Outstanding Philanthropist. Santos currently serves on the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Board of Directors, as an Emeritus Board member for the Orlando Shakes and the Orlando Family Stage and as a Diman Bengal Foundation Board member. He has previously served on the boards of directors at the Orlando Philharmonic, Canine Companions, The American Cancer Society and Runway to Hope.

Santos has also earned Certified Hospitality Account Executive (CHAE+) and Certified Hotel Administration (CHA+) designations. He is also the past president of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals ((HFTP) and has received the group’s Paragon award.