How The Industries Of Journey & Meals Can Profit One One other In A Submit-Pandemic World
Tim Hentschel, Co-Founder & CEO of HotelPlanner
Tim Hentschel, Co-Founder & CEO of HotelPlanner, is somebody who lives and breathes journey. He launched HotelPlanner.com in 2003, on the peak of the dot-com period after an informal dialog over beer on what the largest problem to reserving resorts was for vacationers on the time.
Quick ahead to in the present day, the journey expertise firm is among the world’s high facilitators of particular person, group and company bookings, specializing in negotiated group lodge charges, prolonged stays and extra for every little thing from weddings to sporting occasions. This reserving empire gives a world portfolio of over 50,000 resorts, and continues to thrive, regardless of large setbacks within the journey house as a consequence of Covid.
Although the world noticed a lower in journey, HotelPlanner surprisingly not solely continued to obtain buyer calls, however extra so than in years prior. In response, Hentschel determined to launch a world gig-based journey agent reservations platform the place distant brokers can take buyer calls from wherever, at any time. Thus permitting prospects the flexibility to talk with precise folks, reasonably than chatbots or pre-recordings.
Hentschel at present lives in Singapore, however has traveled extensively the previous a number of months together with prolonged stays in Manila for the World Journey & Tourism Council International Summit and New York Metropolis for the NYU Hospitality Funding Convention, the place he was a speaker.
“As we come out of the pandemic, the largest barrier to journey now stays the ever-changing, complicated and complicated Covid testing, vaccine documentation, and quarantine necessities between nations, particularly within the Asia-Pacific,” explains Hentschel.
The brand new journey norm.
“With regards to culinary journey, in Asia-Pacific, Covid remains to be negatively affecting eating places and bars probably the most, provided that they’re a couple of 12 months behind of their restoration in contrast with remainder of the world. Nevertheless, in Europe and the Americas, most individuals have returned to crowded bars and eating places with out masks. In a room of 100 folks, you may even see just some nonetheless carrying masks.”
Based mostly on all of his latest journeys, we chatted with Tim Hentschel, Co-Founder & CEO of HotelPlanner, on all issues journey, together with the way it’s been affected by Covid and sensible recommendation for the typical traveler; how the journey and meals industries can strengthen each other in a recovering post-pandemic world; silver linings and extra. This is what he needed to say.
Do you suppose that variances in Covid restrictions is a deterrent? What do you see as discouraging for the typical traveler to journey overseas proper now?
. . . There are various residents in Asia-Pacific who merely aren’t touring till it turns into a lot simpler between nations. Europe is now beginning to actually take off with EU journey, and is prone to have a powerful summer season journey and August vacation season. Along with 40-year excessive inflation and about 20% larger prices for flights and resorts, the #1 disincentive for inbound vacationers to the US is the 24-hour Covid testing requirement that the US authorities nonetheless has in impact.
The US service trade is dropping hundreds of thousands a day in unrealized income from inbound vacationers who’re nonetheless holding off on their US journeys. Hopefully the US authorities will take away that testing requirement. After they do, will probably be an enormous catalyst for inbound journey to American shores.
Now that we’re getting previous the worst of the pandemic (hopefully), what do you see as the brand new norm of worldwide journey?
The brand new norm for worldwide journey will in all probability embrace having to obtain numerous apps to add your vaccine documentation and Covid take a look at, and the complicated and complicated means of touring nation to nation with disparate insurance policies. I believe issues will easy out so there’s parity and predictability between nations, however in all probability not till 2025.
Cellular app in telephone to indicate covid-19 take a look at outcomes for journey.
My recommendation is to analysis the most recent Covid insurance policies for every nation alongside your itinerary. Work out what documentation or app it’s worthwhile to use. Get your paperwork so as. Apart from Covid, with a lot pent-up demand, I counsel all vacationers to e book their journeys as far upfront as doable to make sure availability, but in addition to lock in a decrease price.
When it comes to planning a serious journey my high three suggestions embrace reserving early, researching every nation’s Covid protocols (however checking for any last-minute modifications) and contemplating journey insurance coverage, however learn the advantageous print.
Do you discover that Covid restrictions and protocol have put a damper on leisurely actions for the traveler?
The reply relies on what nation you are speaking about, however normally, the final two years have been very powerful on leisure journey. Most every little thing within the leisure house was canceled or made digital. The excellent news is that leisure journey is main the globe’s restoration as hundreds of thousands at the moment are touring to go on that epic or unique trip they’ve all the time dreamed about, or to get married or attend a marriage, or simply to attend a stay occasion like a Broadway present in NYC, or to lastly take their youngsters to Disney World.
With regards to ingesting and eating particularly, what are the variations amongst numerous nations and cities you see?
Individuals nonetheless need to drink and dine in teams, not alone. We’re social beings. However what I’ve seen alongside my worldwide travels is an absence of transparency and consistency with Covid protocols. For instance, masks could also be optionally available within the lodge foyer, however you continue to have to indicate proof of vaccine to get into the lodge restaurant. That does not make sense. Or perhaps it is a hospitality convention I am attending and the town has already eliminated its indoor masks or vaccination coverage, however the convention organizers or the convention venue are nonetheless requiring proof of vaccine.
Culinary journey.
Has culinary journey taken successful?
Culinary journey was impacted simply as a lot as some other leisure exercise. Throughout Covid, if a foodie wished to expertise unique delicacies, they in all probability needed to order it for native supply or cook dinner it themselves at dwelling.
Within the US, I’ve seen a major uptick in advertising and marketing and occasions for Brewery and Vineyard excursions, Meals excursions, and Meals and Wine and Beer Festivals. Culinary occasions are all returning robust. Each the restaurant and journey industries have actually been disrupted with Covid.
Is there a silver lining wherever?
If there’s any silver lining with Covid, it compelled eating places and journey firms to innovate and evolve, work with skeleton crews, and rent and fireplace extra rapidly and neatly. Hopefully, the everlasting change is far cleaner eating places, resorts and occasion areas. The everlasting modifications are: Enhanced cleansing, higher air filtration methods, and hand sanitizer stations all over the place.
What are some methods you see the 2 industries of meals and journey coming collectively in new, fruitful methods due to what has occurred?
Eating places and resorts and stay occasions are three pillars of the service trade, the fourth pillar of being the airways. They should work extra intently collectively now as a result of they depend upon one another for survival. For instance, a lodge or restaurant might must hire out its occasion house extra typically to stay worthwhile. And the occasion organizers want extra distinctive and versatile resorts and eating places to host their occasions. It is a symbiotic, mutually helpful, interdependent relationship.
Has Covid turn into a catalyst for optimistic change in any means that you simply see?
The optimistic change for the whole service trade, which was hit the toughest, is that they’re now main the globe’s post-pandemic restoration. And I believe plenty of trade executives are realizing that ‘we’re all on this collectively.’ I believe it will lead to extra firm partnerships that the world has by no means seen earlier than. Motels partnering with eating places. Eating places partnering with airways. Stay occasion organizers partnering with resorts, and many others.
Meal served on board of airplane.
What have been a few of your favourite eating experiences across the globe?
The delicacies in Singapore is famous and my household and I’ve actually loved increasing our culinary palettes the previous two years whereas we lived there. Now that I’ve relocated my household again to London, I am wanting ahead to genuine British pub fare like Fish & Chips; Bangers N’ Mash, or Sheperd’s Pie. And the Indian delicacies in London is world well-known too. However to reply your query immediately, a few of my favourite eating experiences across the globe had nothing to do with the meals, and had extra to do with the chums or household or enterprise companions I used to be with. Who you dine with could make all of the distinction.
What are your present favourite eating places?
Present favourite restaurant for date evening is the Quilon on the Taj Buckingham Gate in London and with the children, it is Benihana’s.
Research Shows Hotel Guest Sentiments on Technology Have Improved Over Time
By: Agnes DeFranco, Minwoo Lee and Jihye Min
May 11, 2023 marked the end of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Indeed, the pandemic has had an impact on the perception of technology usage among hotel guests. The need to safeguard hotel guests and employees during the pandemic accelerated the adoption and acceptance of various technologies in hotels. In 2020, HFTP sponsored a survey to gauge how guests view technologies in hotels. Now that the pandemic has officially ended, we thought an update on this topic would be of interest.
Over the last few years, many hotels adopted contactless check-in and check-out, allowing guests to easily bypass the front desk and use their smartphones to complete such tasks, reducing physical contact. Instead of sanitizing and recycling key cards, mobile key access via smartphones also reduces touchpoints. Inside the guest rooms, many technologies have also been upgraded such as voice-controlled assistants and smart devices for guests to control lighting, temperature and entertainment, without touching surfaces. Contactless payments have also gained popularity, minimizing the need for physical cash handling and again, reducing touchpoints during the payment process.
So, do guests like hotel technology better than before, or not? A total of 1,002 participants answered a survey in 2020 and 1,211 participants shared their opinions in 2023. Let’s take a quick dive and see if general sentiments have changed.
In terms of demographics, the most significant change revealed an increase of the 30-39 year age group from 18 to 31 percent of people who responded to the survey. In addition, 31 percent reported their most recent trip taken was in the last three to six months, with another 27 percent stating less than 3 months and 20 percent stating seven to nine months. Undeniably, travel is gradually coming back. While half of the participants in 2020 are members of loyalty programs, only 37 percent stated so in 2023. A typical stay is still two to three nights (58 percent in 2020, 62 percent in 2023), with upscale and upper upscale categories welcoming over 50 percent of the participants.
Drum rolls! The most encouraging part about technology in hotels can perhaps be summarized in this table of positive and negative statements regarding technology usage. With a scale of “1” = “Strongly Disagree” to “7” = “Strongly Agree,” a higher score is more preferred for the positive statements while a lower score is preferred for the negative statements.
| POSITIVE STATEMENTS | Average Pre-Covid | Average Post-COVID |
| I am confident I can learn technology-related skills. | 5.96 | 6.39 |
| I am able to keep up with important technological advances. | 5.10 | 5.67 |
| NEGATIVE STATEMENTS | Average Pre-Covid | Average Post-COVID |
| I have difficulty understanding most technological matters. | 2.77 | 2.11 |
| When given the opportunity to use technology in hotels, I’m afraid I might damage it in some way. | 2.80 | 2.54 |
| I have avoided technology because it is unfamiliar to me. | 2.84 | 2.15 |
| I hesitate to use hotel technology for fear of making mistakes I cannot correct. | 2.98 | 2.17 |
| Technological terminology sounds like confusing jargon to me. | 3.03 | 2.00 |
| I feel apprehensive about using technology. | 3.47 | 2.12 |
We have assuredly become more adaptable and technologically savvy during the pandemic. Hotel guests are more confident that they can learn technology-related skills, sending an already high score of 5.96 to 6.39. While keeping up with important technological advances was positive at 5.10 pre-COVID, that score also significantly improved to 5.67. Regarding the negative statements, while the scores ranged from 2.77 to 3.47, (good news in the pre-pandemic era), the scores for all six negative statements dropped to 2.00 to 2.54. This indicates our hotel guests are less negative about technology, experience less difficulty understanding most technological matters, and are generally not as apprehensive about using technology in our hotels.
The difference between the pre- and post-COVID scores are all statistically significant, indicating that these changes in sentiments are real and not likely due to chance.
A detailed white paper exploring voluntary hotel technology use among guests, their overall satisfaction regarding hotel technology, brand loyalty and changes in sentiment among subgroups will be published in July, following HITEC Toronto 2023.
So, enjoy HITEC in Toronto, where you can learn more about all the new technology there is to enhance the guest stay experience, as well as hotel productivity and profitability. And stay tuned for more research.
Agnes DeFranco, Ed.D., CHAE, CHE, CHIA, CAHTA is a professor and the Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair, and Minwoo Lee, Ph.D., CHIA, CHE is an assistant professor, at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Management, University of Houston. Jihye Min, Ph.D., CHIA, CAHTA is an assistant professor at the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism, University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
Data & Analytics Help In Distributing Hotel Inventory
The Internet had an impact on almost every industry out there and how could the hotel industry be an exception to this revolution. Traditional booking mechanisms like phones and agents have been replaced by OTAs, brand websites, and other channels. Some channels are more profitable or we can say less costly than others are. Hotels have to continuously make sure that they are using the most profitable channel to sell their inventory to maximize revenues. Yielding and Pricing strategy has the prime role to play in determining which channel shall be used to maximize revenues. However, some hotel revenue managers fail to determine which channels have been major contributors to the revenue against the costs incurred on them.
Studies reveal that the cost of distribution has grown manifold as compared to revenues. This scenario can be detrimental to the health of the hotel industry in the long run and calls for hoteliers to adopt measures to control distribution costs. Some channels even charge up to one-third of the room price as commissions.
With so much to leave on the table, it becomes imperative for hotels to continually audit the performance and contribution of different channels to the revenue. Optimum hotel distribution not only affects financial health but also has a considerable impact on marketing strategies and technology required to maintain the sales data.
The hospitality industry becomes fiercely competitive when it comes to urban properties like resorts and penthouses. They are generally booked by high spenders and hence award opportunities for hoteliers to earn handsome returns on such big size bookings. This also calls for hotels to determine the channels that not only fetch the best room rates but also clinch high-spending guests. Evaluating these drill-down parameters can only reveal the right distribution channel that is most profitable in the true sense.
Various distribution channels ranging from call/walk-ins, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) to diverse online channels like OTAs, metasearch sites, and social media have made the profitable hotel distribution task more complicated and complex than ever before. Successful hotel operation demands all three parties responsible for distribution, marketing and revenue to work together in close coordination to optimize pricing strategy, revenue generation and net profits.
Key Problems in Distribution
Let us discuss the key problems that hoteliers face in distribution and how they can use real-time search monitoring to address these challenges?
Inventory allocations
Figuring how many rooms to be sold through which channel and when
In times of high demand, revenue managers have enough room to experiment with different channels and manage to get away with decent revenues. However, in times of low demand and excess capacity, choosing the wrong or costly channel mix can bleed already lean revenues. Hotels may end up giving high commissions to OTAs even with slashed prices making it difficult to recover operational costs.
Opportunities: Real-time monitoring of search traffic through major distribution channels
Revenue management and distribution management are complementary to each other. They are committed to selling the right room, to the right customer and equally important, at the right time. This helps hotels earn maximum revenue from each channel. Hotels should monitor the performance of their distribution channels in real time so that they have a clear idea of hotel inventory availability enabling them to set the right prices on the right channel.
Real-time data for keeping track of demand
Demand estimation and changing prices in real time
The hotel industry clearly thrives on dynamic pricing. Higher the demand, higher the prices and vice versa. Hotels need to have a clear idea of their demand patterns so that they can change the prices proactively and not leave a single buck of revenue on the table. Moreover, hotels need to be equally vigilant so that their prices are reasonable and do not induce demand resistance among the target audience.
Monitoring real-time search traffic for early warnings of high, low or abnormal demand flows
As discussed earlier, hotels should be aware of market demand under all circumstances. Usually, the rise in demand at various times in the year aligns with the historical demand patterns. However, sometimes, hotel demand rises uncertainly due to an upcoming big conference or any event in the city. Hotels should monitor search data to keep a tap on any impending rise in demand. This provides hoteliers to proactively change their pricing to earn the maximum revenues out of every opportunity.
Negotiation strategies with OTAs
Identify OTAs that fetch the best guests, for the least commissions
Until now, OTAs contribute a maximum number of bookings for any hotel. There are “n” number of OTAs in the market for hotels to choose from. Selecting the right OTAs for hotel distribution can do wonders. An OTA that can get maximum bookings for least commission are the ones to be chosen. Evaluating search traffic can bring out surface stats as to which OTAs attract the maximum number of visitors. This can help hotels to shortlist OTAs to choose from.
These reasonable stats can help hotels negotiate the much painful commissions and establish grounds for demands by the OTAs. Not all OTAs work out well for any hotel and any hotel cannot rely on one OTA for all the bookings. Hotels need to tie up with different OTAs to assess which perform better and discard the ones that are less profitable.
Customer segmentation
Identifying guest categories
Guest is no less than Gods to hotels. They are the king and shall be dealt with appropriately. However, like fingers, not all guests are the same. They can be categorized according to different parameters, such as age, booking motives, such as leisure or business
The hotel’s success depends much on their ability to deliver 1-to-1 personalized offers and services to each guest. However, there are many things the Revenue Manager can do to better understand the guests searching for a room, the context of the travel and the distribution channels being used. Insights about the purpose of the travel, such as leisure or business, families, singles or groups can be derived to offer more targeted offers.
Use real-time search context to identify customer segments and improve offers
With changing business models, up front it is not easy to figure out which bookings are business bookings and which ones are purely leisure, in fact, these days it is a mix of both (Bleisure). However, considering mid-week bookings as business and weekend bookings as leisure bookings can help in some way. This lets hoteliers come up with suitable packages at the right time for the right customer group, which fits in their budget thus increasing the number of bookings.
Hotel distribution is an intricate and painful staking process exposed to a myriad of market forces. We can decode some of the governing forces and develop strategies around them to utilize them for our benefit.
By the discussion above, our readers can clearly establish how search-based analytics can help hotels optimize the hotel inventory distribution game.
Total Revenue Management and the Mi$$ed Opportunities
Written by: Katerina Papadima
Total revenue management is not a new concept, but it is one that hoteliers will embrace more for the years to come. To implement it, though, we first need to define it. What is total revenue management?
Extending Revenue Strategy Across All Departments and Guest Journeys
Revenue managers have been focused on maximizing room revenue, and for a good reason: it is the highest contributing revenue stream. In the post-pandemic era, as travel levels surged and properties were running below full capacity given the staff shortages, we saw hoteliers pushing rates. As the effect of revenge travel wears out, business travel is yet to recover and inflation is rising, revenue leaders need to seek new ways to maximize revenue other than just pushing room rates.
Revenue managers should seek customer data to yield insights into the organization’s most valuable customers in terms of profitability and lifetime value (CLV) with an end goal of developing a profitable customer base for many years to come. Hoteliers tend to be myopic, focusing on room bookings and measuring the short-term transactional value of a guest. Wrong! A traveler’s relative worth to the hotel goes beyond the price they are willing to pay for a room night stay and includes ancillary purchases on property, long-term loyalty relationships, and in today’s digital world, their ability to influence other potential guests through social media platforms and guest ratings.
Hotels should provide options for guests to customize their stay throughout the guest journey. What do guests want? When? The time to sell is important for conversion. Hotels that are relevant win. Every touch point in the guest journey provides an opportunity to provide something relevant, gather important insights for guests, and improve revenue strategies.
Take the first stage, for example: Inspiration/Research/Shopping. Data regarding property-related search frequencies by region or time of year can help revenue leaders answer the questions of “who” and “when” to target, respectively. Having access to related queries can also help hoteliers understand what guests are looking for in relation to the subject property. Are they searching for other competitor hotels? If so, who are those, and do they match the ones already in the compset? Are guests searching for the hotel’s amenities or F&B establishments? Hotels should update their online descriptions and seasonal offerings to align with the keywords guests search for. SEO is instrumental to driving bookings, and accordingly revenue, to the hotel.
Let’s look at another stage: Review/Post Stay. In today’s digital ecosystem, travelers are becoming more accustomed to reading reviews or relying on recommendations from KOLs on where to stay. Since customers’ choices are impacted by social media sentiment, the latter should be incorporated into the demand forecasting models used for pricing decisions. Moreover, a good social media presence can give hotels the opportunity to request premium rates. Social media and guest ratings could also help hotels do a better job defining their comp-set based on how they are positioned on a reputation level.
These are some examples of how and why hoteliers need to evolve away from siloed business models and extend their revenue strategy beyond the booking stage and encompass the whole guest journey.
New Key Performance Indicators
As hoteliers adopt a more holistic approach to driving bottom-line revenue for the whole asset, momentum should be given towards driving new, more applicable performance indicators. The traditional RevPAR-focused approach will become obsolete, and revenue leaders should look toward driving TRevPAR, ProfPAR, and RevPAG (Revenue Per Available Guest) instead. Most notably, RevPAG measures a hotel’s revenue performance in conjunction with guests’ total spending. As revenue management is transitioning away from the traditional inventory-centric approach to a more customer-centric orientation, it’s not just about filling up rooms anymore. Shifting the attention towards RevPAG will ensure hoteliers change their focus away from selling rooms to targeting the right guests and maximizing spending per guest.
A Single Interconnected System
Unfortunately, many hotels do not have their tech stack aligned in a manner allowing them to reach their total revenue potential. As some put it, we have an “infrastructure problem.” The core challenge facing Revenue managers today is fragmented data across countless disconnected systems including PMS, CRS, RMS, DCs, F&B reservations systems, spa software, reputational management systems (ie, Revinate, ReviewPro, TrustYou, etc.), group management systems ( ie, CVENT, Event Planner, etc.) — the list is endless. Taking complete control of revenue management strategies across all commercial functions and the whole guest journey requires a single interconnected system with a holistic view across a hotel’s entire ecosystem. Whoever is next to design such a system will change the industry.
This blog post was awarded First Place in the Spring 2023 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect through July 2023. Learn more at HFTP News.
Katerina Papadima joined the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business program with more than three years of experience in revenue management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration; during her time there, she held multiple hotel revenue management internships, including Preferred Hotels & Resorts, First Hospitality Group and Starwood Hotels. She has also worked as a revenue management analyst/revenue manager with Choice Hotels in Washington, DC and was part of the Marriott APEC Revenue Management team based in Singapore.
Bryant, J., & Rubinacci, A. (2023, March 22). Automation and AI in Hospitality – where are we, and what’s next? A conversation between a hotelier and an entrepreneur. Hospitality Net. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4115533.html
Crowley, C. (2023, February 23). Six Revenue Management Trends to Watch | By Chris Crowley. Hospitality Net. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4115109.html
Duetto. (2023). Targeting Greater Profitability in 2023 Special Report Trends & Predictions to Boost Your Revenue. https://www.duettocloud.com/hubfs/2023/Special%20Reports/Targeting%20Greater%20Profitability%20in%202023.pdf?_hsmi=250511826&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9uywj0RzRiroGHeyO4eO3nBT9NnTOlGWaxix5FaMJGz82l0 G0NpP4wwRtjGBDAoh8TokfZs-FaLeFm0GjKA9l5ef8hl_CbUuSQxLRit4XuxfoFy6s
Duncan, K. (2023). Who owns your rates Rethinking the hotel tech stack for optimal revenue optimization — By Kevin Duncan. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000234.html
Stanziale, R. (2023). Rethinking Revenue Management for 2025 and beyond — By Russ Stanziale. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000215.html
Stephens, K. (2023). 3 Changes That Are Shaping The Future Of Digital And Revenue Management — By Karen Stephens. Hotel Yearbook. https://www.hotelyearbook.com/article/122000195.html
Discounts and deals include free food, drinks and other discounts
With the end of the school year approaching, teachers are being recognized with specials at retailers and restaurants across the US for Teacher Appreciation Week.
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt began the effort to create Teacher Appreciation Week and National Teachers Day when she urged Congress in 1953 of the need for a day recognizing teachers, according to School Specialty. National Teacher Day was initially celebrated on March 7, but in 1984 it was moved to May. At that time the National Parent Teacher Association began calling the entire first week of May as Teacher Appreciation Week.
“Teachers play a critical role in driving the success of our children’s education and lives,” The National Parent Teacher Association says. “They are the ones who inspire and guide our kids to become future leaders, innovators and problem solvers.” The organization has ideas on how to thank a teacher on its website.
When is Teacher Appreciation Week?
There’s some disagreement about when Teacher Appreciation Week occurred, with the National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association observing it May 8-May 12, while some states and school districts started celebrating it this week.
During the actual week of recognition, there’s usually a National Teachers Day, which some celebrate May 2. But the National Day Calendar and Calendarpedia, places the day of observation as May 9, the first Tuesday of the first full week in May.
When can teachers get deals for Teacher Appreciation Week?
Teachers, whenever you want to celebrate, there’s plenty of deals. There’s also deals for National Nurses Week, May 6-12. And don’t forget Cinco de Mayo, which also means plenty of food and drink deals.
Teacher Appreciation Week 2023: 20 of the best gift cards to give teachers
recalls: Family Dollar initiating recall of Advil shipped to certain stores
Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes National Teacher and National Nurses Week deals
Through May 6, teachers and nurses get a free Little Moo shake at Mooyah Burgers with any purchase (show your teacher or nurse ID when ordering).
Office Depot and OfficeMax teacher appreciation deals
Now through July 1, Teachers with a free Office Depot and OfficeMax Rewards membership can get 30% back in bonus rewards on qualifying in-store purchases. Just present the appropriate coupon available online at officedepot.com/rewardsoffers, a valid teacher ID, and your Office Depot OfficeMax Rewards Member number at checkout.
Staples Teacher Appreciation Week deals 2023
Teachers get $30 back in Staples Rewards when they spend $100 or more in stores from May 7 to May 13. Teachers can also get $15 off signs, banners, and posters when they spend $75 or more, and $10 off document printing when spending $40 or more (both deals expire May 27).
Want to help your local school and teachers? Join the Staples Classroom Rewards Program to earn 5% back on in-store purchases to give to a local teacher or school, as well as 5% back in Staples Rewards.
Crocs, Michaels, Xfinity, Sleep Number deals for teachers with SheerID
Third-party verification service SheerID, which collects information that assists in verifying eligibility, has a slew of exclusive teacher deals with partners including ASICs, Crocs, Dockers, LL Bean, Michaels, Peloton, Vineyard Vines and Sleep Number. Find teacher deals at Sheerid.com/shoppers/teacherdeals.
Teacher deals from Samsung, Verizon, DirecTV with ID.me
Another verification service, ID.me, has partnered with brands including Adidas, DirecTV, Hotels.com, Ray-Ban, Samsung, Sam’s Club, Saucony, Under Armor and Verizon Wireless to confirm eligibility for teacher discounts. See the list of businesses at Shop.id.me/teacher.
“The Teachers” book available at a bargain price
You can get the critically acclaimed new book The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession, a USA Today “Hottest New Book Release” and New York Times Spring Nonfiction pick, will be available for just $1.99 as an ebook (down from the $15.99 retail price) from May 8 to May 13.
Firehouse Subs’ free sandwich deal for teachers
Firehouse Subs will give teachers nationwide any free medium sub with the purchase of any medium or large sub, chips, and drink, May 8-May 12. Any medium sub is eligible, including the limited-time Smokin’ Triple Stack sub.
McAlister’s Deli
Teachers and nurses can get a free 32-ounce tea through May 10 by showing valid educator or medical ID at participating at McAlister’s Deli locations. No purchase necessary, but limit one per person; not valid on flavored shots or other beverages. Must order in person for dine in and take out orders only.
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery’s Teacher Appreciation Week deal
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery is giving teachers 20% off meals May 8 to May 12 when they present a valid teacher ID and are members of the restaurant’s E-Club rewards program (join prior to May 8; the offer can be used multiple times during the weeks).
Potbelly Sandwich deals for National Teacher Appreciation Week and National Nurses Week
Potbelly will give teachers and nurses a free cookie or regular-sized soft drink when they purchase an entrée May 6 through May 12. Just show your work ID or badge when ordering any entrée (sandwich, salad, soup, or pick your pair; in -shop orders only).
Sonic Teacher Appreciation Week free cheeseburger deal, DonorsChoose donation match
Sonic is giving all those enrolled in its Teachers’ Circle Rewards program a free cheeseburger with any purchase from May 9 to May 16 made online or in the Sonic App. Any teacher, faculty or staff at a K-12 school or degree-granting university can use the app to sign up for Teachers’ Circle and get exclusive rewards; get verified before May 9 for the free cheeseburger deal.
Also on May 9, the Sonic Foundation will match 50% of public donations – up to $1.5 million – to education non-profit group DonorsChoose. (A portion of proceeds for every drink, slush and shake sold goes to the Sonic Foundation, which has donated more than $24 million to funding US classrooms since 2009.)
Those who want to donate can text GIVE to 31869 and receive a direct link to a teacher’s classroom in their local community. Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary) is a celebrity spokesperson for the campaign. “Public school teachers have dedicated their lives to inspiring America’s youth, and we must ensure they have all the tools they need as they shape the hearts and minds of our children,” he said in a statement.
McDonald’s teacher appreciation 2022 deals
McDonald’s doesn’t have a national Teacher Appreciation Week deal, but some locations have regional or local deals over the week. Check with your McDonald’s to see if there is a local offer for teachers. And also check the app for other deals including free fries.
Whataburger Teacher Appreciation Week breakfast deal
Educators can get free breakfast entrées from May 8 to May 12. During the week from 5 am to 9 am, teachers get a free breakfast entrée plus a Taquito with cheese, Breakfast on a Bun or Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. They also get a 25% discount on all items in the Whatastore with the code WHATATEACHER23.
More than 55 teachers who were nominated by their peers and community members, will be awarded a $1,000 grant for their schools, totaling more than $70,000 to support teachers communities within Whataburger’s 14-state footprint.
Buffalo Wild Wings $1 boneless wings deal
Whether you are a teacher or not, any customer who orders a burger at Buffalo Wild Wings can get six boneless wings for just $1 more, through May 30.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.What’s everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teacher Appreciation Week 2023: Food deals, discounts for educators
A New Era of Training
Written by: Amanda Charreton
Imagine putting on a headset and suddenly finding yourself behind the front desk attending to a guest in need or behind the scenes in the kitchen setting up the perfect tray for room service delivery. Even though virtual reality (VR) first made its name in the gaming industry, this technology has become increasingly popular in different sectors such as medicine and the military. The ability for a user to fully immerse themselves in a lifelike computer-generated environment is now slowly making its way into the hospitality industry. So far, VR has been an indispensable marketing tool for hotels to better manage their guests’ experiences and expectations. With a headset, anyone can be transported to any part of the world and benefit from visual tours and visits to different locations and sites. But what about using this technology for more internal and resourceful purposes? Hilton, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, has started utilizing VR as a tool to successfully train all of its employees, starting from entry-level all the way up to corporate and executives. After being awarded a number two ranking in World’s Best Workplace in Fortune magazine in 2020, one can’t help but wonder: is VR the source of such success? What are its possible implications in HR and training?
Since the pandemic, one of the biggest challenges faced by the hospitality industry is a labor shortage. Hotels worldwide have had difficulty filling vacant positions, and when they do, most possess little to no knowledge about the industry. Since most come from different fields and sectors, they lack the necessary skills to confidently perform in hospitality. VR calls for a new, experiential way of learning that exposes employees to real-life working scenarios, role-playing and decision-making simulations. They are exposed to the complexity and physicality of all the different aspects of hotel operations, whether it be conflict management with a guest, room service or even learning all the different steps that go into the perfect room cleaning and housekeeping procedures. Nonetheless, can this technology be used for more than just the physical aspect of onboarding? Can VR help employees develop the empathy and emotional intelligence required to operate successfully in the hospitality industry?
With VR, companies can better assess how users handle situations by observing their emotional state, tone of voice, facial expressions, language and vocabulary. As a result, trainers can better evaluate the employee’s performance potential by analyzing their perceptual cues and stimuli to computer-generated simulations. Some hospitality companies are even using this tool as a way to train their corporate and executive-level employees in different coaching, leadership and empathy training programs. By exposing them to the hotel’s day-to-day operations, top-level teams can better understand the complexity of the daily tasks, developing greater empathy and appreciation for lower-level teams. Therefore, companies can now offer greater hospitality services and promote employee development, engagement and satisfaction. From an employer perspective, this type of training allows for more realistic training than classical in-room or e-learning training and onboarding. Employers can benefit from training their workforce at a bigger scale and faster pace, all at a lower cost. As mentioned by the senior director of learning innovation at Hilton, Blaire Bhojwani, the hospitality company was able to reduce its in-class training time from four hours to 20 minutes. PwC, which also uses VR training, has noted training completed at a much faster rate as employees demonstrated greater commitment and engagement to their learning from both a cognitive and emotional point of view.
The use of VR training in the hospitality industry now helps companies bridge the gap between unskilled labor and employee performance. As a result, employees benefit from cross-skill training in housekeeping, F&B procedures and conflict management. And who knows what comes next? As VR continues to expand, we are just beginning to discover all its different opportunities within the industry for customers and human resources.
This blog post received Third Place in the Fall 2022 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect through March 2023. Learn more at HFTP News.
Amanda Charreton is is a student in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between three world-leading hospitality management schools over three continents: EHL (École Hôtelière de Lausanne), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Conrad N. Hilton College at University of Houston.
Resources:
Seabourn uses VR solution to train cruise waitstaff. Hospitality Technology. (2021, December 17). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalitytech.com/seabourn-uses-vr-solution-train-cruise-waitstaff
Minett, D. (2018, January 22). What virtual reality can teach us about the guest experience: By Dean Minett. Hospitality Net. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4086237.html
Pougnet, S. (2020, Nov. 11). Virtual reality: An efficient tool for recruiting new talent: By Stephanie Pougnet, Phd. Hospitality Net. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4101581.html
How Hilton uses Oculus for learning & development: Oculus for business. How Hilton Uses Oculus for Learning & Development | Oculus for Business. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://business.oculus.com/case-studies/hilton/
Virtual reality: The future of education? Hospitality News & Business Insights by EHL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/virtual-reality-future-of-education?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=VR
Hospitality news. Heart of the House Hospitality. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.heartofthehouse.com/virtual-reality-training-hotels/
Virtual reality: The future of education? Hospitality News & Business Insights by EHL. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/virtual-reality-future-of-education?utm_source=Youtube&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=VR
Schrier, C. (2021, Sept. 9). Virtual reality training prepares hospitality workers for the next era of Travel. Strivr. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.strivr.com/blog/accenture-hospitality/#:~:text=Through%20case%20studies%20and%20client,companies%20can%20train%20their%20employees.
HotelKey Partners With Rate Gain To Provide Competitive Pricing And Distribution For HotelKey Customers Worldwide
Dallas, February 23, 2023: HotelKey, the leading cloud-based property management platform for hotels, announced a partnership with RateGain Travel Technologies Limited (RateGain), a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality, to integrate RateGain’s global distribution, central reservations, and pricing capabilities into HotelKey’s platform PMS. The integration will roll out across HotelKey’s portfolio of more than 4,000 properties, with hundreds of properties already accessing the combined capabilities.
“We are excited to bring RateGain’s next-gen pricing and distribution capabilities to our partner hotels,” said HotelKey Co-Founder and President, Aditya Thyagarajan. “RateGain is an unparalleled innovator, and bringing their revenue-generating capabilities to HotelKey’s intuitive property management system is a huge plus for hotel owners and operators. We look forward to accelerating our partnership in the months ahead.”
Through the collaboration, hotels on the HotelKey platform will see RateGain’s pricing and distribution tools on the HotelKey platform. This will enable hoteliers to save time and achieve efficiencies, making better distribution decisions faster and, ultimately, saving money as well as building revenue.
“RateGain’s mission is to generate more revenue every day for hotels, and we are now delighted to include hotels on the HotelKey platform among our partners,” said Chinmai Sharma, President of the Americas at RateGain. “The HotelKey-RateGain partnership moves in the direction of providing a one-stop-shop for hoteliers looking for better ways to run their properties, train their employees, and maximize pricing, distribution, and revenue. We are excited to continue building out our collaboration with HotelKey.”
Along with other benefits, HotelKey and RateGain’s mobile-first API integration provides hoteliers with a seamless transition to the new offering, with each property gaining access to real-time inventory management and efficient oversight of third-party distribution and price parity across channels.
RateGain’s platform is designed to help hoteliers grow revenues by improving pricing, generating more bookings, and optimizing conversions across distribution channels. RateGain works with 23 of the industry’s top 30 hotel chains, and powers more than 191,000 hotels to unlock more revenue, acquire more customers, and provide outstanding on-property experiences.
About HotelKey
HotelKey was founded in 2015 and today counts large enterprise chains among its clients, including G6 Hospitality, Extended Stay America, and Red Roof Inn. HotelKey’s client portfolio includes roughly 400,000 live rooms and over 4,000 live properties, including 500 independent hotels around the world. In addition to its industry-leading PMS solution, HotelKey also offers an enterprise-grade central reservations system and point-of-sale system, RetailKey, along with a host of other products and services specifically designed for the hospitality industry. For more information visit hotelkeyapp.com, and connect with HotelKey on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
About RateGain
RateGain Travel Technologies Limited is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality that works with 2800+ customers and 700+ partners in 100+ countries helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.
RateGain today is one of the world’s largest processors of electronic transactions, price points, and travel intent data helping revenue management, distribution and marketing teams across hotels, airlines, meta-search companies, package providers, car rentals, travel management companies, cruises and ferries drive better outcomes for their business. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in India, today RateGain works with Top 23 of 30 Hotel Chains, Top 25 of 30 Online Travel Agents, and all the top car rentals including 8 Global Fortune 500 companies in unlocking new revenue every day. For more information, please visit https://www.rategain.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this document relating to future status, events, or circumstances, including but not limited to statements about plans and objectives, the progress and results of research and development, potential project characteristics, project potential, and target dates for project-related issues are forward-looking statements based on estimates and the anticipated effects of future events on current and developing circumstances. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and are not necessarily predictive of future results. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.
Contact Media
Ankit Chaturvedi
[email protected]
Global Head-Marketing
How the Hotel and Travel Industry Can Monetize Non-Fungible Tokens
Written by: Dominika Duziak
Editor’s Note: This blog post will feature podcast episodes from the HospitalityVerse Podcast, a new series that discusses the latest trends in hospitality technology, including discussions on the Metaverse, blockchain, NFTS and more.
Remember NFT: one of the hottest buzzwords of 2021? Looks like last year’s hype died down — impacted by the “crypto winter” and the FTX meltdown.
Just to recap: non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent unique digital assets recorded on a blockchain that certifies their authenticity and ownership. Typically, when we talk about NFTs, we think of digital art and collectibles. Christie’s, one of the most renowned auction houses, sold an NFT image for 69.3 million dollars in an online auction. Since then, the NFT market exploded. Projects like Bored Apes Yacht Club and CryptoPunks made millions in a very short time. Big names from sports to fashion such as the NFL, F1, Adidas, Nike, Prada, McDonald’s and Tiffany’s jumped on the NFT bandwagon. At the same time, it has also drawn a lot of criticism.
Some experts have compared the NFT market to an economic bubble or a Ponzi scheme — and in the second quarter of 2022, the market started collapsing, reacting to crypto market volatility and lack of confidence and trust.
So, does that mean the NFTs are over? Not at all. In fact, the value of the NFTs extends way beyond just a trendy or rare image. This value should be derived from the utility associated with the NFT. While most NFT projects in the hotel industry today focus on art and collectibles (see Marriott, InterContinental and Pullman), we can also see some market players experimenting with other creative use cases.
NFTs have been quickly adopted in the sports industry, and the concept of digitizing the access right or a membership card is currently being explored in travel, as well. Air Europa, for instance, announced their ticketing platform will support traditional and NFT reservation processes. NFT ticket holders will be granted more flexibility and allowed to trade their tickets up to 72 hours before departure. Air Baltic decided to link their “Planies” NFTs with their frequent flyer program as the first step of a bigger loyalty program transformation. Companies like Takyon or Pinktada develop online marketplaces with NFT-based tradeable bookings that allow hotel guests to enjoy lower prices on non-refundable rooms with the flexibility to sell the reservation in case plans change.
NFTs offer an opportunity to reimagine loyalty and rewards programs and boost brand engagement. In this scenario, NFT acts as a gateway to additional perks in both the virtual and physical worlds. SEM9 eSports hotel issued a collection of NFTs dedicated to gamers. Aside from a cool collectible, the token unlocked access to a free hotel night, limited merchandise, invitations to physical and digital events, and other benefits.
Based on my MBA research and interviews with hoteliers in Dubai, I have found that NFT-redesigned customer loyalty programs resonate well with hospitality managers. But there are other ways NFTs can support the business.
In the Hospitality and NFTs episode of the HospitalityVerse Podcast, we dig deeper into the uses of NFTs, exploring the concept of fractional ownership and cause-driven NFT projects that marry innovation with CSR.
These may seem to be very different, but ultimately both have a positive impact on the triple bottom line. “CSR NFTs” can attract millennials and Gen Z, who expect travel and hotel providers to be more sustainable and authentic. Projects like Unchained Elephants support regenerative and responsible tourism, give back to the community, educate and promote a sustainable brand image of participating entities.
While the digitization of a physical property may still be challenging and subject to unclear rules in many geographies (although there are already NFT platforms like Aqarchain in Middle East facilitating individual investments in hotel properties), memberships, loyalty and rewards or cause-driven projects are easier than you would think.
In this interview with Arek Kwoska, the CEO of NFT start-up Collectico Labs, we bust some myths about the complexity and high costs of NFT implementations. Arek says that in a few years NFTs will become as popular and common as emails — and I agree with this statement. With the evolution of blockchain and transition to Web3, we’ll see more real NFT applications driving value to all stakeholders of the hospitality and travel ecosystem.
Dominika Duziak is a host of the HospitalityVerse podcast. She combines product development and product management skills acquired in banking with a passion for new tech to uncover innovation opportunities. During her MBA program in International Hospitality Management at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai, UAE, Duziak focused on business applications of Blockchain technology in the hotel industry. This research led to the creation of the HospitalityVerse, where hospitality professionals can learn about the latest trends and developments in hospitality technology effortlessly. Head over to https://hospitalityverse.io/ or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Follow HospitalityVerse on LinkedIn for daily updates from the hospitality tech world.