TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY
Leisure Hotels & Resorts | February 03, 2022
Stayntouch, a global leader in guest-centric cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and contactless technology, announced a partnership with Leisure Hotels & Resorts, a leading comprehensive hospitality management company that specializes in upscale destination markets and unique independent brands. Stayntouch will now deliver their flexible PMS solution to four of Leisure Hotels' Midwest and Mountain properties, totaling 469 rooms.Representing a combined 175 years of hospitality experience, Leisure Hotels & Resorts is a proven leader in hospitality management, with 24 hotels, resorts and restaurants currently under management. Prior to Stayntouch, Leisure deployed a traditional desktop-based PMS, which was difficult to use and tied staff to the front desk. Leisure chose Stayntouch because they needed a flexible platform that delivered a digital welcome experience for guests, as well as an intuitive and mobile user interface to streamline operations and allow staff to engage guests anywhere on property.
Our previous platform was constrained by a lack of flexibility and we are pleased to add Stayntouch, which provides us flexibility, ease-of-use, and mobile accessibility," said Chrissy Marz, General Manager at Leisure Hotels & Resorts. "The PMS integrated seamlessly with our CRS, and the mobile design allows our guests to check-in using their smartphone, while delivering remote access to our staff both on and off property. Stayntouch's intuitive interface is also a major asset: We have a diverse team that includes people who are new to the business, as well as veteran hoteliers who spent their entire career with older systems. The fact that we can train everyone on a new module within a few hours allows our staff to execute across the board and maintain an elevated standard of service.
"Leisure Hotels & Resorts embodies a culture of impeccable service and guest focus that compliments the core values of Stayntouch and drives our offerings. We are delighted to partner with Leisure Hotels to deliver technology solutions that unburden hotel staff and reimagine the guest experience. We're happy that our PMS is able to amplify the service experience across Leisure Hotels by streamlining employee training, facilitating seamless on and off-property management and enhancing the guest welcome and departure experience."
-Michael Heflin, Chief Revenue Officer at Stayntouch
About Leisure Hotels & Resorts
Leisure Hotels & Resorts is an all encompassing hospitality management company; from hotel and resort management to distressed assets, homeowners associations, development, and restaurant management. We offer comprehensive management services for independent resort operations, proven management success across the country for major franchised hotel operations, professional receivership and OREO management services, specialized food & beverage management strategies, and guidance surrounding sophisticated EB-5 programs. We also leverage our extensive history in working with ownership groups that fund lodging operations along with our experience with a variety of outdoor recreation options, and the latest experiences with specialized RV resorts and glamping opportunities, to bring more value and success to our managed properties.
About Stayntouch
Stayntouch provides a cloud-native, guest-centric, and fully mobile hotel property management system (PMS) and over 1100+ integrations, enabling hotels to raise service levels, drive revenues, reduce costs, and ultimately captivate their guests. Backed by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry, Stayntouch is a trusted partner to many forward-thinking hotels and resorts, including the TWA Hotel, First Hotels, Conscious Hotels, Margaritaville, Valencia Hotel Group, and Modus Hotels. Stayntouch is also a preferred PMS partner to some of the leading independent hotel collections around the world including; Design Hotels, an Independent Marriott Brand, and Curator Hotel & Resort Collection.
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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
The World Travel & Tourism Council | April 23, 2022
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) launched a major new report at its Global Summit in Manila today, to help the sector's stakeholders understand how cyber resilience is shaping the Travel & Tourism sector and plan for a safer and more robust future.
The report, 'Codes to resilience,' in joint efforts with Microsoft, draws on comprehensive research and in-depth interviews with cyber security experts in leading Travel & Tourism organizations such as Mastercard, JTB, and Carnival Corporation, among others.
The report shows that whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled the world and the sector into a more digital future, with the opportunities provided by digitalization, new challenges have emerged, especially in cybercrime.
The inaugural report focuses on three key areas considered critical for the sector: cyber resilience, key issues and six best practices based on the lessons learnt prior to and during the pandemic.
The report goes on to show how digitalization has become a strong enabler of business within Travel & Tourism, and given the international nature of the sector, it looks at the role of legislation around individual data protection.
According to the report, more than seven out of 10 (72%) SMEs in the UK, the U.S., and Europe, have fallen victim to at least one cyberattack, and with SMEs representing 80% of all Travel & Tourism businesses, mitigating cyber risk must remain a priority for the sector.
"Technology and digitalization play a key role in making the whole travel experience more seamless, from booking a holiday, to checking in for a flight or embarking on a cruise.
-Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO
But the impact of cyberattacks carries enormous financial, reputational and regulatory risk.
This critical report reveals four key issues to address in order to improve cyber protection and enhance resilience: securing identity data, securing business operations, understanding the impact of COVID-19 and managing global legislation.
According to the report, certain actions can help businesses better prepare to repel an attack, while laying the foundation to support long-term cyber resilience. Educating and training all staff, expanding risk security beyond the physical workplace, employing a zero-trust approach to cyber security, and transparency, among others, have been recommended by industry experts as good practices.
Cyber resilience is a crucial element to the future of Travel & Tourism, as cyber systems continue to facilitate and enhance activities between the sector's stakeholders.
During a panel session at the tourism body's Global Summit event being held in Manila today, industry leaders heard that cybercrime has cost the global economy $1 trillion and could reach a staggering $90 trillion by 2030.
According to the WTTC Economic Impact Report, in 2019, before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, the Travel & Tourism sector generated more than $9.6 trillion to the global economy.
However, in 2020, the pandemic brought the sector to an almost complete standstill, causing a massive 50% drop, representing a severe loss of nearly $4.5 trillion.
Digitization has played and will continue to play a pivotal role in Travel & Tourism's growth and recovery from COVID-19. It is therefore essential for the sector to integrate cyber security and cyber resilience to continue its recovery from the pandemic while supporting its growth in the future.
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AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
Oman Air & IBS Software | May 16, 2022
Oman Air has partnered with IBS Software to fully digitalize its staff travel program, delivering a highly configurable, self-service platform for employees to book and manage complex leisure travel, annual leave travel and duty travel policies.Award-winning Oman Air overhauled its on-premise legacy system with IBS Software's SaaS-based iFly Staff platform to enable self-service for its employees to easily manage their travel needs. The system has also significantly extended usability, allowing users access via any browser or any Android or iOS device, replacing the legacy desktop-only service. iFly Staff now handles all Oman Air active and retired employee's ID travel, supplementary ticketing, and annual leave ticketing, as well as the staff ticketing of partner companies TRANSOM Catering, TRANSOM Handling and TRANSOM SATS Cargo.
The platform's highly configurable business rules engine means Oman Air gains the ability to dynamically update its policies, create and roll out new policies and processes, thus reducing the lead-time to implement policy changes. This has resulted in significant gains on operational efficiency over the last six months since the system went live.
"Our partnership with IBS Software has transformed the staff travel experience, simplifying processes to make it far easier for our employees to manage their personal and corporate travel, Navigating the intricacies of constantly updating travel policies represents a major win for the whole airline – from both an employee satisfaction and operational efficiency perspective."
-Dr. Khalid Al Zadjali, Senior Vice President Digital, Oman Air
The new staff travel system comes as part of Oman Air's ongoing efforts to enhance the benefits and facilities presented to employees, said Hilal Al Siyabi, Senior Vice President, People, Oman Air. "Self-service and mobile capabilities have significantly improved our employees' travel experience while reducing the workload associated with providing facilities.
"It has been a privilege to work with the teams at Oman Air, who are constantly striving to deliver new, innovative services to staff and passengers alike, Fully digitalizing processes has allowed them the ability to not only provide superior staff travel functionality and ease of use for users, but also considerably improve Oman Air's internal operations. We're also proud that the deployment of iFly Staff was managed remotely due to Covid-19 travel restrictions."
-Vijay Chakravarthy, Vice President and Head of Staff Travel, IBS Software
About IBS Software
IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise and hospitality industries. IBS Software's solutions for the aviation industry cover fleet & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. IBS Software also runs a real time B2B and B2C distribution platform providing hotel room inventory, rates and availability to a global network of hospitality companies and channels. For the tour and cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. IBS Software is a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Further information can be found at https://www.ibsplc.com/.
About Oman Air
Oman Air (WY), the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, began its operations in 1993. Initially founded to serve key domestic routes, it has since undergone rapid growth and is today recognized as a major international carrier connecting cities around the world to Oman's spectacular natural beauty, captivating charm and genuine openness. A Five-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating from Skytrax and two consecutive (2021 and 2022) Five-Star Major Airline Ratings from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) are among its many industry accolades.
The airline has played a vital role in transforming Muscat into an important traffic hub in the Middle East, supporting adjacent commercial, industrial and tourism activities. With a fleet comprising ultra-modern, fuel-efficient aircraft that feature luxuriously appointed interiors, Oman Air is renowned for its exceptional products and services, both in the air and on the ground, and for the signature Omani hospitality available to guests on every flight.
Ongoing investments in new technologies, innovative products and enhanced guest services have solidified its position as a premium, multi-award-winning airline of outstanding repute. Both Oman Air and Oman Air Holidays proudly display the Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) for best practices relating to standardized global health and hygiene protocols.
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DESTINATION AND TOURISM
Jumeirah Group & Incode Technologies | May 11, 2022
Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hospitality company and member of Dubai Holding, has announced a strategic partnership with Incode Technologies, the industry-leader in identity verification and authentication for global enterprises, to transform hospitality expectations and further innovate the guest experience.Today, the industry is filled with time consuming processes that often do not meet the expectations of omnichannel guests who seek flawless interactions across every touchpoint. Designed to provide a seamless experience from the moment a guest steps foot in a Jumeirah hotel or resort, the partnership with Incode will tackle this challenge head-on through enhanced digital and biometric technology. In accordance with best practices to ensure privacy and security, the system uses their identity to customise and create truly personalised experiences, on and off property.
“Time is precious for our guests and so we constantly look at ways in which to make their experience as seamless as possible so they can maximise their time with loved ones, With our new partnership with Incode, we will leverage the system's personal recognition capabilities and connectivity so that our in-house systems can intuitively tailor the guest experience based on purchasing behaviour and stored personal preferences, building trust and strengthening connections.”
-Pedro Deakin, Senior Vice President of Brand & Design at Jumeirah Group.
The two companies share a vision to disrupt today’s hospitality experience, where generic and disjointed experiences remain pervasive. Highlights of the partnership include:
Transparent guest identification: In a matter of seconds, even before arrival, the industry’s only fully automated identity verification engine validates the identity of a guest and associates him or her with a Jumeirah One account. This allows guests to identify themselves at their convenience and immediately introduces a magical, personalised experience upon arrival.
Automated digital ID creation: A digital profile of each guest is automatically created from existing IDs and payment sources. The guests’ identity becomes the foundation for customising every interaction, on and off property.
Seamlessly integrated experience: Once onboarded, guests use their most unique attribute – their faces – to fully manage their respective journeys. From booking on Jumeirah.com, to accessing a digital key and ordering amenities and room service, the identity-centric journey translates into the industry’s most transparent experience; all while ensuring that privacy and security remain paramount.
Contactless payments: Using biometrics, guests pay for any service across their respective property without the need for a physical payment card.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to partner with Jumeirah Group – visionaries in luxury guest experiences – to pave the way for a new generation of highly curated and personalised services, Together, we have created an experience that brings a ‘wow’ factor, creating ‘aha’ moments across every touchpoint in the guest journey. By remodelling and removing friction across these experiences, we are building trust and creating delight between hotels and their customers.”
-Ricardo Amper, Founder and CEO of Incode.
About Incode
Incode is a leading identity company that is reinventing the way humans verify their identity and interact with the world’s largest companies with a highly secure and delightful AI-based experience. Incode’s end-to-end fully automated orchestration platform enables seamless access across multiple channels with products focused on onboarding, authentication and payment verification that increase conversion and reduce fraud. With its mission to power a world of trust, Incode works with a number of the world’s biggest banks, fintechs, hotels, governments and marketplaces. Incode is based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Latin America. To learn more about Incode, visit www.incode.com
About Jumeirah Group:
Jumeirah Group, a member of Dubai Holding and a global luxury hotel company, operates a world-class 6,500+-key portfolio of 25 luxury properties across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
The group boasts some of the most prestigious and captivating properties in the world, from the iconic flagship hotel and timeless pinnacle of luxury, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, and lavish Arabian palaces across Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah, to its contemporary Maldivian island paradise at Olhahali Island and art-inspired dolce vita on the island of Capri. Whether a modern twist on a British classic in the heart of Belgravia at The Carlton Tower Jumeirah, or a futuristic setting at Jumeirah Nanjing, Jumeirah’s name is synonymous with service excellence, crafting exceptional experiences for everyone who walks through its doors.
Beyond its properties and resorts, Jumeirah Group is also dedicated to destination dining experiences, combining the most authentic and diverse cuisines with spectacular settings to create those unforgettable moments worth sharing. With over 85 restaurants across its portfolio, Jumeirah Group’s award-winning homegrown concepts including Sal, KAYTO, Shimmers and French Riviera, enjoy an enviable reputation for culinary excellence alongside the group’s Michelin stared Shang High and L’Olivo restaurants.
The health and safety of guests and colleagues remains Jumeirah Group’s utmost priority and as such, the group has implemented a series of protective measures across all of its hotels and strictly adheres to each market’s respective government directives.
www.jumeirah.com
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