Travel Technology
prnewswire | July 28, 2023
Choice Hotels International, Inc. one of the world's leading hotel franchisors, announced today that all nine Radisson Hotels Americas brands – including Radisson Blu, Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites – are now available to be booked on ChoiceHotels.com. This adds nearly 600 hotels onto its world-class central reservation system ahead of schedule and less than a year since its acquisition of Radisson Americas closed. Choice also announced the successful integration of the Radisson Rewards Americas loyalty program into the award-winning Choice Privileges program. This enables the nearly 60 million Choice Privileges members to earn and redeem points at over 7,400 hotels across 22 brands in 45 countries and territories.
"We are excited to offer travelers hundreds of additional hotels to choose from on ChoiceHotels.com, including numerous upscale and full-service properties, as we welcome our Radisson franchisees to Choice's powerful reservation engine," said Pat Pacious, CEO, Choice Hotels International. "Integrating nearly 600 hotels and the Radisson Rewards Americas program in such a short period of time is a testament to Choice's advanced technology and integration expertise and shows our commitment to providing franchisees with opportunities for optimal success and offering travelers ways to easily find the right hotel to meet their travel needs on one website."
Integration Milestone Marks More Bookable Options on ChoiceHotels.com
More upscale and full-service hotel options located in the U.S., including in 90% of the top 25 markets. Examples include:
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)
Radisson Panama City Beach-Oceanfront (Panama City, Florida)
Cambria Hotel Boston Somerville (Somerville, Massachusetts)
Heights House Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection (Houston, Texas)
4,000 midscale, economy and extended stay locations located within one mile of an interstate exit, many with pools. Examples include:
Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Charlottesville-UVA (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Sleep Inn & Suites Lancaster-Platteville (Lancaster, Wisconsin)
Comfort Suites Natchitoches (Natchitoches, Louisiana)
Quality Inn Murfreesboro-University Area (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)
Fantastic selection of hotels outside of the U.S. Examples include:
Radisson Blu Hotel Toronto Downtown (Toronto, Canada)
Radisson Blu Aruba (Palm Beach, Aruba)
Clarion Hotel Post (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Comfort Hotel Jeddah King Road (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
hotel around TAKAYAMA, Ascend Hotel Collection (Takayama, Japan)
Radisson RED Hotel Miraflores (Lima, Peru)
Quality Hotel San Martino (Garbagnate Monastero, Italy)
More options for members of Choice Privileges, including the opportunity to earn and/or redeem points at casinos, luxury resorts and vacation rentals through Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Penn Casinos and BlueGreen Vacations. Examples include:
Margaritaville Resort Casino (Bossier City, Louisiana)
Bluegreen Vacations Fountains, Ascend Resort Collection (Orlando, Florida)
Circus Circus Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Integrated Loyalty Programs Bring New Choice Privileges Member Benefits, Co-Brand Credit Cards & More
Diamond Elite members of Choice Privileges, the highest Elite level, starting today, are entitled to free breakfast for two at Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, and Park Plaza hotels in North and South America and LATAM. Click here for a full list of benefits.
Members of Choice Privileges now have more accommodation options to choose from where they earn and redeem points, as well as two new co-branded credit card options which launched earlier this year, that accelerate the number of points earned to get to a redemption night faster. Cardholders can now earn points on everyday purchases, including at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement and phone plans, making this the fastest way to earn points during stays at participating Choice Hotels properties.
About Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International, Inc is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. A challenger in the upscale segment and a leader in midscale and extended stay, Choice® has more than 7,400 hotels, representing over 625,000 rooms, in 45 countries and territories. A diverse portfolio of 22 brands that run the gamut from full-service upper upscale properties to midscale, extended stay and economy enables Choice® to meet travelers' needs in more places and for more occasions while driving more value for franchise owners and shareholders. The award-winning Choice Privileges® loyalty program and co-brand credit card options provide members with a fast and easy way to earn reward nights and personalized perks.
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Hospitality Trends
prnewswire | July 12, 2023
Sojern, the leading travel marketing platform, today announced the acquisition of VenueLytics, the hospitality industry's most integrated guest experience platform serving independent hotels, resorts, chains and casinos. Sojern will incorporate VenueLytics' capabilities as an extension of the Sojern Travel Marketing Platform.
Sojern has long been a direct bookings driver for hotels—providing comprehensive digital advertising solutions that help travel marketers find, attract and convert new travelers, re-activate existing guests to build loyalty, and maximize net revenue per available room (RevPAR). This acquisition expands Sojern's Travel Marketing Platform to engage across the entire guest journey with VenueLytics' cutting-edge technology that includes an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered virtual concierge, real-time guest feedback and digital reputation management tools, and a guest marketing suite for email and text promotions. VenueLytics' solutions help marketing, operations, and front-desk teams better serve their guests with less resources required, drive incremental revenue, and maximize profit. With these additional features, Sojern can now help marketers find, attract, convert and engage travelers throughout their journey.
"This is an exciting step forward for our customers as we can empower hoteliers beyond advertising alone, expanding our offerings to be a true end-to-end marketing platform," said Mark Rabe, CEO of Sojern. "We are dedicated to providing the travel industry with innovative solutions that leverage data, AI and technology to drive results. VenueLytics' expertise in analyzing, unifying and activating data from various hotel management and marketing systems will allow Sojern to deepen our relationships in hospitality. This addition helps us to advance toward becoming the #1 travel marketing platform."
One of VenueLytics key customers is Grupo Posadas, the largest hotel company in Mexico with over 180 resorts and hotels. Posadas Director of Quality, Standards and Innovation, Leslie Gomez, commented, "By using VenueLytics AI Concierge throughout the guest journey, Posadas has increased Ancillary Revenue with more than 53K requests over the last 9 months. Our guests satisfaction improved more than 19 percentage points (pp) in NPS (Net Promoter Score) from the guests who had contact with our digital concierge experience."
By extending its platform with VenueLytics, Sojern can now support hotel marketers with an all-in-one platform that drives guests directly to a property, enables upsell mid-stay, remarketing post-stay, and builds long term loyalty. In addition to the multichannel offerings of Sojern, VenueLytics provides the ability to engage customers in an expanded multichannel network that includes SMS, Email, WiFi, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, ChatBot, Alexa, Google Home and other social media and third party apps. This allows Sojern to expand into generative AI with cutting edge tools to drive and optimize booking value for hotels.
VenueLytics Co-Founder and CEO Baskar Manivannan commented, "We have partnered with Sojern for more than a year, and joining forces will strengthen our customer base and reputation while enabling us to offer the hospitality and travel industry a wider and timely range of solutions. With AI, data analytics and personalized multichannel guest engagement at the backbone of what we do, we have a shared vision to empower hotels around the world to drive profitability, and truly elevate guest experience and satisfaction."
Last month, Sojern announced the latest version of its Sojern Travel Marketing Platform with enhanced AI powered audiences. With this acquisition, it further demonstrates the company's rigor and success at integrating new technology and scaling it globally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sojern has reported previously that it is profitable, has driven more than $10 billion in global travel bookings, and serves over 10,000 customers annually around the world leveraging its long-standing AI capabilities.
The acquisition will deepen Sojern's hotel expertise in North America where VenueLytics has been focused. VenueLytics will now be able to support the global hospitality industry as an extension of the Sojern Travel Marketing Platform. To learn more about how this acquisition can benefit your travel marketing campaigns, please visit Sojern's website.
About Sojern
Sojern is a top digital marketing tool for travel marketers. Multichannel marketing from the company boosts direct demand. AI and traveler intent data enable these solutions. It is the leading travel marketing tool designed to help marketers overcome travel buying cycle challenges. It provides unparalleled traveler information and automatic optimization to match its clients with the right travelers. In addition, the company optimizes across the platform to help clients grow and profit.
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Hospitality Trends
Globenewswire | July 10, 2023
Phunware, Inc.the pioneer of Location Based SaaS that offers the only fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile that enables brands to engage, manage and monetize anyone anywhere, announced today its Smart Hospitality Solution is being launched at Thumper Pond Resort.
Set in the heart of Minnesota, Thumper Pond Resort is an oasis of relaxation and recreation. With its championship golf course, luxurious spa, world-class dining and an invigorating indoor water park, Thumper Pond Resort offers an unrivaled blend of tranquility and exhilaration. Surrounded by over 200 acres of verdant woodland, the resort promises a captivating escape from the everyday, immersing guests in a world where the ambiance of natural beauty is complemented by top-tier amenities and a commitment to outstanding service.
"We are thrilled to bring our Smart Hospitality Solution to the prestigious Thumper Pond Resort in partnership with its innovative new owner who is committed to digital transformation," said Russ Buyse, CEO of Phunware. "Our technology will help redefine the guest experience by offering a unique blend of personalized services and digital amenities that seamlessly integrate with and enhance the existing infrastructure across such a beautiful property."
Key features of Phunware’s Smart Hospitality Solution include:
Mobile Application: Native iOS and Android applications optimized for hospitality that can take advantage of core device capabilities that make experiences more secure, intuitive and engaging.
Contextual Engagement: Guests can receive notifications based on their location and preferences, improving communication and enhancing the guest experience.
Location-Based Services: With these features, guests can easily find their way around the resort with indoor navigation, wayfinding and mapping.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Analytics: Using AI and machine learning, the platform collects, analyzes and makes recommendations based on data to provide insights that can improve services, personalize engagement and increase operational efficiency.
"Phunware's Smart Hospitality Solution aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing guests with a superior and personalized experience," said Jatin Patel, Owner of Thumper Pond Resort. "By embracing this advanced technology, we hope to create an unforgettable stay for our guests, offering them innovative and engaging services."
About Thumper Pond Resort
Featuring 78 spacious suites and 26 RV sites across more than 210 acres, Thumper Pond Resort is a premier choice in central Minnesota lakes country for family reunions, corporate retreats, golf outings and destination weddings. With a stunning golf course and enough activities onsite to keep everyone busy, the resort is a premier choice of Otter Tail County hotels for group and corporate travel. Thumper Pond Resort is located three hours northwest of the Twin Cities or ninety minutes southeast of Fargo.
About Phunware, Inc.
Everything You Need to Succeed on Mobile — Transforming Digital Human Experience
Phunware, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHUN), the pioneer of Location Based SaaS that offers the only fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile that enables brands to engage, manage and monetize anyone anywhere. Phunware’s Software Development Kits (SDKs) include location-based services, mobile engagement, content management, messaging, advertising, loyalty (PhunCoin & PhunToken) and analytics, as well as a mobile application framework of pre-integrated iOS and Android software modules for building in-house or channel-based mobile application and vertical solutions. Phunware helps the world’s most respected brands create category-defining mobile experiences, with approximately one billion active devices touching its platform each month when operating at scale. For more information about how Phunware is transforming the way consumers and brands interact with mobile in the virtual and physical worlds, visit https://phunware.com.
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