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Commercial Travel
Business Wire | October 20, 2023
Hilton today announced two new digital innovations designed to create a more seamless travel experience for small- and medium-sized businesses. The innovations are part of Hilton’s long-term commitment to digitally transform the business travel experience – from booking to billing – for the millions of small- and medium-size enterprises that represent the backbone of the global economy and comprise roughly 85 percent of Hilton’s business transient guests. The initiatives, which will launch by early next year, include:
Hilton for Business: This multi-faceted program, currently in test with select customers and slated to launch globally early next year, will feature a new booking website designed especially for small- and medium-sized businesses, along with targeted benefits including:
Portfolio-wide Discounts: Small and medium businesses that join Hilton for Business will gain access to a discounted rate on Hilton.com and on the Hilton Honors app across Hilton’s global portfolio of more than 7,000 properties.
Loyalty Benefits: To recognize loyalty, the businesses will earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points for program registration and travel milestones. Hilton Honors members will continue to earn Points each time they stay.
Rapid onboarding: Hilton for Business registration is built to enable a quick and seamless enrollment for businesses online without complicated forms or processes.
Program Management: In addition to enabling travelers to easily book discounted rates, each Hilton for Business program account can be set up with varying permissions across a designated team. Business owners will have full control – or can delegate to others on their team – over the program management system built to be simple and intuitive with tools and resources.
Small Meetings and Event Packages via Events.Hilton.com: To support the growing demand for in-person gatherings, Hilton is expanding its events booking capabilities, enabling customers shopping for meeting packages for up to 35 attendees to book guest rooms and meetings or event spaces, with or without 10 to 25 guest rooms, directly on Events.Hilton.com without a separate contract or phone call. This enhancement is especially valuable to small and medium-sized businesses who need to plan small in-person meetings and events quickly without staff or third-party support.
“Even as the global pandemic significantly impacted global travel, small- and medium-sized business travelers never slowed down,” said Chris Silcock, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Hilton. “We used that opportunity to listen and learn how we could solve long-running pain points and deliver what these businesses need most -- simple booking and travel management tools and recognition and rewards for their loyalty.”
For more than 100 years, Hilton has led the industry in evolving the business travel experience by listening loudly to customers and responding quickly to their needs. These initiatives are being introduced following a year of innovations focused on addressing the needs of today’s small- and medium-sized business traveler, including the debut of two new brands -- Spark by Hilton and Project H3 by Hilton.
“Hilton for Business is an outstanding benefit for smaller companies to manage their travel programs,” said Patrick LaCava, executive vice president, Operations, Syufy Enterprises, one of the select Hilton customers currently testing and refining the program. “It offers a cost-effective hotel program for our business travelers, providing an excellent discount while still earning Points for our travelers and company.”
About Hilton
Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in 123 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for six consecutive years. Hilton has introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the more than 165 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone.
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Travel Technology
Richard Sandoval Hospitality | September 15, 2023
Richard Sandoval Hospitality, a leading restaurant group and KOPU Water, a quality-driven bottled water brand, have announced a collaboration to offer guests the best-tasting and healthiest spring water. This partnership focuses on providing environmentally friendly alternatives to glass bottle waste through aluminum recycling, promoting a zero-waste bottled water program. KOPU's Aluminum Stewardship program ensures that aluminum material is repurposed into various products within 60 days, reducing waste and supporting sustainability efforts.
Richard Sandoval expressed that with KOPU Water's supply chain, heavy glass bottles, which had previously traveled globally and ended up in landfills, were being eliminated. He emphasized their commitment to positively impacting local communities and considered it a perfect match.
KOPU spring & sparkling bottled water boasts an award-winning taste and comes in sleek and elegant aluminum bottles. This program collects all aluminum cans in addition to empty bottles, ensuring responsible recycling and sustainable practices. Richard Sandoval, renowned as the world's most prolific Mexican chef and restaurateur with over 60 restaurants globally, is driven by a commitment to doing the right thing for his guests, team members, local communities, and the planet. Richard Sandoval Hospitality will serve KOPU water in the US and have a weekly bottle pick-up and recycling program.
The James Beard Foundation hosted an exclusive dinner and conversation to launch this groundbreaking partnership. The CEO of the James Beard Foundation, Clare Reichenbach, and Chef Richard Sandoval emphasized the alignment of their values and initiatives, marking a significant step toward a more sustainable future for the hospitality sector. With an ambitious goal of eliminating 100 tons of landfill waste annually, Richard Sandoval Hospitality and KOPU Water are committed to nurturing and expanding their symbiotic partnership, showcasing exceptional leadership in shaping a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future for the hospitality industry.
About Richard Sandoval Hospitality
Richard Sandoval Hospitality, a leading restaurant group founded by the renowned Mexican-born chef, restaurateur, television personality, and philanthropist Richard Sandoval. Renowned for delivering guests an exceptional culinary journey, this globally acclaimed contemporary Latin restaurant group operates and owns a portfolio of over 60 restaurant concepts worldwide. It boasts restaurant locations across 10 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Additionally, the company has a strong international presence, with establishments in 10 countries, including Canada, Costa Rica, Greece, Mexico, Morocco, Qatar, Serbia, St. Kitts, Turkey, and the UAE.
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Business Travel
PR Newswire | October 27, 2023
Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and guest-centric technologies, expands their thriving partnership with Sentral, a leading full-building residential hospitality operator. Sentral boasts a network of Class A apartment properties across the U.S., offering flexible living services, authentic local experiences, premium amenities and community connection for residents and guests.
Stayntouch PMS operates across 14 properties in the Sentral portfolio, including Sentral Michigan Avenue and Sentral Union Station. These establishments have integrated Stayntouch Kiosk for an elevated guest experience. By effectively utilizing Stayntouch's mobile and kiosk-driven upsell technology, Sentral properties have generated ample revenue to self-fund these systems.
Sentral Michigan Avenue achieved a remarkable 253% ROI from their Kiosk subscription within a year, or a 120% ROI from their combined Kiosk and Cloud PMS subscriptions. Similarly, revenue from mobile-based early check-in offerings at Sentral Union Station covers their combined Cloud PMS and Kiosk subscription costs.
Todd Butler, Chief Technology Officer at Sentral comments, "Stayntouch PMS and Kiosk has streamlined and enhanced our check-in process. Guests now have the option of a rapid, staff-less welcome experience, presented in a way that avoids any sense of pressure - the upsell decision rests entirely with the guest. The revenue generated from ancillary upsells and offers is significant, surpassing our subscription costs and tech investment with Stayntouch. We're extremely satisfied with the additional revenue to offset costs, all the while providing guests with an enriched stay."
Priya Rajamani, VP of Implementation and Support at Stayntouch said, "We are very excited that Sentral has leveraged our platforms not only to enhance their guest experience but to boost their bottom line and generate a positive ROI. Ultimately, our mission is to develop technology to enhance hospitality for hotel operators, staff, and their guests, and we are proud that Sentral has been able to use our technology to reimagine flexible living communities."
Sentral aims to roll out the Stayntouch Kiosk at additional properties, seeking to amplify financial benefits while consistently elevating the guest experience.
About Sentral
Sentral is the leading full-building residential hospitality operator, maximizing NOI lift for Class A owners through superior performance and enhanced experience. The company is redefining home for the modern renter by transforming upscale, multifamily properties into dynamic communities in the nation's most coveted cities. Sentral delivers flexible living services, authentic local experiences, premium amenities, community connection for residents and guests, and a tech-enabled platform that enhances operational efficiency. The company manages over $5 billion in Class A multifamily assets and is backed by world-class firms in technology, hospitality, and real estate, including ICONIQ Capital and Ascendant Capital Partners. Sentral is headquartered in San Francisco and Denver.
About Stayntouch
Stayntouch delivers a cloud-native and guest-centric hotel property management system (PMS) with a comprehensive library of over 1,100 integrations. Stayntouch's cloud-native PMS empowers independent hotels, hotel groups, and management companies to drive revenue, reduce costs, enhance service, and captivate their guests. In 2022, Stayntouch launched Stayntouch 2.0, a fully integrated technology suite featuring its core cloud-native PMS and guest kiosk solution, a comprehensive chain management module, a seamless booking engine (Stayntouch Booking), a robust payment processing platform (Stayntouch Pay), and a powerful channel manager. Stayntouch 2.0 enables hotels to streamline their operations, maximize and diversify their revenue streams, and deliver an even more enhanced guest experience with the innovation and support of one trusted technology partner. Stayntouch is supported by a team of professionals with deep roots in the hospitality industry and is a trusted partner to industry-leading management companies, including Sage Hospitality, HEI Hotels & Resorts, and EOS Hospitality, innovative independent brands such as Village Hotels, Pod Hotels, and First Hotels, and iconic flagship properties such as the TWA Hotel, Showboat Hotel Atlantic City, and Zoku Amsterdam.
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Hospitality Trends
Cendyn | October 13, 2023
Cendyn, a leader for digital transformation in the hospitality industry, has significantly expanded its capabilities by strategically acquiring PUSHTech, a pioneering force in hotel Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services and marketing automation technology. This acquisition represents Cendyn's dedication to elevating the future of CRM within the hotel sector, driven by innovation, customer-centric solutions, and empowering hoteliers to optimize revenue through advanced CRM strategies.
Jack Blaha, CEO of Cendyn, commented,
"By seamlessly integrating PUSHTech's next-generation technology into Cendyn's portfolio, we are poised to elevate the industry's standard for hoteliers seeking to amplify their sales and marketing CRM capabilities."
[Source –Cision PR Newswire]
The company's core mission centers on refining the guest experience through sophisticated technology and services, with a strong focus on customer-centricity. Jack further expressed enthusiasm for the acquisition, highlighting its potential to further realize their mission.
PUSHTech, a cloud-based Customer Data Platform (CDP) and CRM platform excels in marketing automation, guest journey automation, and sales CRM, offering a unified solution tailored to the hospitality industry. Built on a modern tech stack, this platform empowers hotels to enhance direct bookings, boost guest loyalty, and automate guest journeys across various channels, including email, SMS, WhatsApp, social media, and more.
The acquisition signifies a significant milestone in Cendyn's evolution, symbolizing a pivotal stride for the industry. Cendyn is resolute in its aim to deliver a next-generation CRM platform for the hospitality sector. With this acquisition, Cendyn doubles down on its dedication to innovation and its core mission: enabling hoteliers to reshape how they engage with guests, foster enduring loyalty, and ultimately enhance profitability.
Amid the growing challenge of fostering guest loyalty in the modern era, Cendyn's acquisition of PUSHTech reaffirms the company's strong commitment to advancement in the CRM sector. This strategic decision underlines Cendyn's unwavering dedication to providing hoteliers with the means to cultivate long-lasting guest relationships, ultimately leading to enhanced loyalty and more lucrative revenue streams.
About Cendyn
Cendyn, a leading digital transformation provider in the hospitality industry, specializes in assisting hotels worldwide. The company empowers businesses to enhance profitability and cultivate guest loyalty through an integrated technology platform. It harmoniously aligns key hotel departments, including revenue, eCommerce, distribution, marketing, and sales, by providing centralized data, applications, and advanced analytics. This convergence allows hotels to capture more demand and expedite their growth efficiently. With a global presence, Cendyn’s mission is to drive excellence and innovation in the hospitality sector, enabling hotels to thrive and achieve enduring success.
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