TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
businesswire | May 09, 2023
SMARTLINEN, the South Florida tech hospitality company, is on a mission to empower hotels with cutting-edge technology that streamlines linen management, reduces waste, and enhances guest satisfaction. SMARTLINEN has proven that their real-time utilization data can replace traditional PAR level methodology. The company's data analysis is helping hotels maximize efficiency and providing more precise linen replacement trends.
The hospitality industry is known for its attention to detail, and linen management plays a crucial role in guest satisfaction. Balancing cost efficiency and guest comfort presents challenges, with optimizing linen inventory and reducing environmental impact becoming increasingly important. SMARTLINEN's solutions address these challenges effectively.
Over the last two years, SMARTLINEN has collected real-time RFID scan data on linen circulation, wash cycles, and lost inventory from their network of properties. This information has provided detailed metrics that have enabled the company to develop a proprietary calculation called the SMARTLINEN Management Index (SMI).
The SMARTLINEN Management Index offers a valuable factor that helps hotels determine if they have enough inventory to service their guests and confirms the efficiency of their operation. The system specifically advises properties of the exact amount to order if necessary. By implementing the SMI calculation, the average hotel can reduce its overall inventory based on items needed, as opposed to the traditional PAR philosophy. The data reflects $2.00 to $3.50 per occupied room savings.
William Serbin, President and CEO, expressed confidence in SMARTLINEN's data-driven technology, stating, "As we continue to scale, we firmly believe that our innovative solutions will become an industry standard, leading to improved guest satisfaction and more efficient linen management for hotels worldwide."
about SMARTLINEN
SMARTLINEN enables hotels to make their linen SMART, providing automated inventory management, greater efficiencies, and improved guest satisfaction. This comprehensive linen tracking solution saves hotels money by offering real-time tracking and more efficient purchasing. The system is powered by a cloud-based software platform that automatically reports linen inventory data using UHF radio frequency identification technology.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
prnewswire | May 08, 2023
Trip.com Group's corporate travel arm, Trip.Biz, recently released its Corporate Travel Management Market White Paper, taking a closer look at the Chinese mainland's business travel market and trends.
Companies in China are optimistic about the resumption of corporate travel as border policies relax, and flight capacity gradually resumes. According to Trip.Biz survey data, 84.5% of companies expect an increase in domestic business travel budget for 2023, while 74.5% expect an increase in international business travel budget.
This sentiment is carried across the global business travel market. In August 2022, the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) estimated that worldwide business travel would recover to 81% of its pre-pandemic level in 2023, while the Chinese market would reach about 75% of its pre-pandemic level in 2022 and 89% in 2023, with an 18.9% increase in business travel spending.
Business travellers are increasingly eager for a comfortable, safe, and efficient travel experience. Trip.Biz survey data suggests greater demand for fast-track security lanes, flexible change & cancellation policies, and quality hotel service.
Many employees are embracing bleisure travel, with over 90% of business travellers in Trip.Biz survey stating they may visit local tourist attractions or historical sites at their own expense during a business trip. 38.4% of business travellers expect to have more leisure time in the local area. Business travellers believe that developed cities or scenic destinations offer the most when undertaking business travel.
The white paper shows that in 2022, over 30% of companies allocated more than 10% of their budgets to business travel, an increase from 2021. The proportion of spending on business travel is also increasing, making it one of the main expenses for these organisations as business travel budgets increase. Therefore, businesses seek evidence-based cost control and higher profits through lower-cost e-management.
Companies are vigorously pursuing digital transformation. Trip.Biz survey data shows that nearly 60% of companies have begun digitalising their business travel processes. State-owned enterprises, Sino-foreign joint ventures, and wholly foreign-owned enterprises have a higher tendency to manage business travel digitally. Additionally, digital business travel management is more prevalent in large and medium-sized enterprises.
"This year's strong demand for business travel and the pursuit of efficient management will be a major focus for companies, making the digital transformation of business travel management more urgent than before," said Steven Zhang, Chief Executive Officer at Trip.Biz.
Additionally, the white paper discusses trends such as combining business travel with low-carbon initiatives. Companies have gradually begun exploring low-carbon business travel options. According to Trip.Biz survey, approximately 85% of business travellers prefer flights and hotels with low-carbon certifications. Additionally, those responsible for business travel believe that implementing an online management system benefits sustainable and low-carbon development.
About Trip.Biz
Trip.Biz is a rapidly growing business travel management company with a vast network of corporate clients extending out of mainland China. It is the corporate travel arm of the leading global travel service provider Trip.com Group. For over 17 years, Trip.Biz has provided services to over 14,000 large-scale corporations, including over 300 Fortune Global 500 companies. Trip.Biz counts over 820,000 small to medium sized enterprises among its clients that have a combined total of over 38 million employees. Trip.Biz strives to help corporations lower their travel costs and increase efficiency.
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HOSPITALITY TRENDS
prnewswire | May 24, 2023
Jurny, Inc., a pioneering hospitality tech company powering operations for short-term rental (STR) properties across the globe, is rolling out its latest and most robust operating system to date. Available now, JurnyOS 2.0 is powered by GPT-4 and features dynamic AI tools designed to connect, optimize and automate operational tasks and guest management.
JurnyOS 2.0 Highlights:
Never Miss a Message with Nia - Nia is Jurny's advanced AI assistant built on GPT-4, which can automate tasks and enhance customer service while improving operational efficiency. It is already more accurate at many tasks than the average human agent and, thanks to generative ai, is rapidly improving each day; Nia can already handle full conversations with guests, making it infinitely scalable.
Premier Management in a Free PMS - Jurny now offers the industry's only completely free PMS leveraging generative AI to assist hosts with managing their properties. With no onboarding fees, an intuitive user interface (UI), and the help of Nia, properties are live in minutes, not months.
One (Click) and Done - Jurny's new OS and PMS feature the industry's most robust integration for Airbnb. Property managers can sign in once to seamlessly connect to the Airbnb platform, sync content and historical data, update rates and availability, and receive bookings in real time from the easy-to-use Jurny platform.
All-in-One Vertically Integrated System - Remove the hassle of finding the best tools and say goodbye to tracking multiple licenses and renewal dates. Jurny offers a natively integrated best-in-class technology stack, including popular tools like Wheelhouse, Autohost, Minut and others for advanced analytics & reporting, channel management, reputation management, electronic payments, IoT access control, website development and more.
Luca Zambello co-founded Jurny after more than a decade of working in different areas of the hospitality industry. After building and managing a luxury rental business in Los Angeles, which grew to more than 300 units across five markets and grossed over $1 million in its first year, Zambello quickly realized how archaic existing operational management solutions were and began developing tech in house. In 2019, he and his team launched Jurny to fix the fragmented and costly property management model through modern, transformative technologies.
Today, Jurny is leading the industry's transition to the digital age, utilizing AI and automation in smart ways that enhance the guest experience. According to a recent report from Skift on generative AI's impact on travel, customer service and guest support is one of the most expensive cost centers for short-term rental management companies and the hospitality industry as a whole.
"The release of Jurny's AI-enhanced technology and access to its premium PMS for free is poised to transform the industry," said Andrew Kitchell, Founder & CEO of Wheelhouse. "By democratizing access to advanced tools that were once only available to the biggest players, Jurny is not just changing the game, it's leveling the playing field for everyone in the industry."
About Jurny, Inc
Jurny helps vacation rental and short-term rental (STR) hosts to reimagine property management through its free property management software (PMS) and cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI)-driven JurnyOS, powered by GPT-4. As the most advanced ecosystem in the industry, Jurny enables single-click native integration with Airbnb and other leading solutions for channel sales, dynamic pricing, guest verification, IoT device management, customer service and more.
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