News Briefs

PathSpot  announced the launch of its SafetySuite, an innovative range of interconnected hardware and software tools designed to modernize and elevate back-of-house (BOH) safety procedures. PathSpot’s expanded product portfolio delivers best-in-class health, safety and hygiene management technology to help businesses that prepare and serve food drive profitability, simplify compliance and promote a Culture of Cleanliness both inside and outside of their four walls. 

Recognized for its flagship HandScanner that detects harmful bacteria contaminating employees in real-time, PathSpot’s SafetySuite now offers additional capabilities that enable brands to efficiently control the food and equipment safety itself.  This includes managing temperatures, tracking expiration timelines, monitoring hygiene and meeting other health-related inspection requirements to identify and mitigate unseen risks, optimize labor, reduce costs and foster a safer environment. Even more, its SafetySuite Hub centralizes cloud-based analytics from its range of solutions to improve visibility into food preparation in order to  help operators maintain consistent, high-quality food safety standards shared throughout  an organization – no handwritten, potentially  inaccurate audits required. Available from any connected device, the SafetySuite Hub provides real-time feedback, insights into data trends and smart recommendations that reduce risks across the safety spectrum, ensure accountability and empower operators to take quick action for audit-readiness. 

“As the hospitality and food service industries continue to face a variety of macro-economic challenges, brands simply can’t afford to spend time manually managing safety and compliance and risk the potential for food waste, expensive shutdowns, insurance hikes and audit failures,” said Christine Schindler, Co-founder & CEO at PathSpot. Schindler received HT’s Top Women in Restaurant Technology – Rising Star award at MURTEC 2023. “Our new SafetySuite digitizes the full health and safety system to save operators meaningful time and resources with tools that streamline the audit process, improve reporting accuracy and empower employees to focus on what matters most – the culinary and guest experience. We’re thrilled to be leading the way for digital safety and wellness for the food service industry as we work to make the preventable spread of foodborne disease a thing of the past.”

In addition to its flagship HandScanner, PathSpot’s innovative SafetySuite includes:

• PowerTemp - Low-cost temperature and humidity loggers track performance data to avoid bacterial growth, prevent food loss and comply with industry-specific requirements.
• PowerTasks - Task management system simplifies in-store checklists, allowing brands to track, manage and store electronic records for maximum operational efficiency.
• PowerLabels – Advanced label system pairs with existing printers to make food labeling quick and easy and improve reporting accuracy. 

“By embracing PathSpot, we’ve significantly improved our compliance and safety standards, reducing the risk to our brands by automating the onerous task of filling out manual HACCP logs,” said Doug Davis, Sr. Global Director of Food Safety at Marriott International.

“We use PathSpot across all of our commissaries,” added Rob Trudel, VP of Quality Assurance at Bento Sushi. “My staff loves the cooldown process probes and environmental temperature sensors because they replace the need for pen/paper HACCP forms. And the HandScanners are a constant gut check on handwashing. This stuff is too important to mess around with. The more you reduce the risk of manual error, the more trust you earn with regulators. It’s a no-brainer, and it should be the industry standard.”

To learn more about PathSpot’s SafetySuite, please visit https://pathspot.com/ or request a demo here: https://pathspot.com/request-demo/.

Domino's Pizza Inc. introduces its new and improved loyalty program. 

Domino's Rewards offers loyalty members even more opportunities to earn and redeem points across its corporate and franchise store locations. Domino's enhanced rewards program allows customers to:

• Earn points for less
  • Loyalty members will now earn 10 points on every order of $5 or more
• Redeem points for even more menu items – and earn free Domino's after just two orders
  • Members can redeem a variety of points for more menu items:
    • 20 points: A free dipping cup, a 16-piece order of Parmesan Bread Bites or a 20 oz. drink
    • 40 points: An order of Bread Twists or Stuffed Cheesy Bread
    • 60 points: A medium, two-topping pizza; pasta; Oven-Baked Sandwich; or a 3-piece order of Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes
• Earn more rewards
  • Loyalty perks are now even better, as members will have exclusive access to member-only deals, special discounts and opportunities to earn bonus points!

"We are thrilled to give the brand's loyal customers additional ways to earn free Domino's items more often," said Mark Messing, Domino's vice president of digital experience and loyalty. "At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino's is doing the opposite. We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster."

Marketing a LTO 

From now until Oct. 22, 2023, rewards members can take advantage of a limited time offer to redeem 20 points for a free order of Domino's new Pepperoni Stuffed Cheesy Bread, which is normally a 40-point redemption, in celebration of the product's recent launch. 

LUX Interactive, a pioneer in digital innovation, proudly announces a groundbreaking collaboration with Red Roof Inn (RRI) aimed at revolutionizing its digital infrastructure. This innovative partnership drives the seamless migration of RRI's website from Tridion on-premise to Tridion Cloud, setting a new benchmark for digital excellence.

Red Roof Inn, a renowned hospitality brand with nearly 700 properties spanning multiple brands, sought a cutting-edge solution to elevate its digital presence and operational efficiency.

Benefits of Tridion Cloud Migration:

• Enhanced Scalability: Tridion Cloud's adaptable infrastructure empowers RRI's website to effortlessly manage increased traffic, ensuring uninterrupted user experiences during peak demand, aligning with RRI's growth trajectory.
• Agility and Rapid Deployments: The migration facilitates agile deployment of updates, new features, and improvements, enabling RRI to swiftly adapt to market changes and user preferences
• Cost Optimization: Operating on Tridion Cloud eliminates on-premise infrastructure overheads, optimizing RRI's expenditure. The pay-as-you-go model ensures efficient resource allocation and cost savings.
• Robust Security Measures: Tridion Cloud boasts robust security protocols and compliance standards, fortifying RRI's data protection and ensuring adherence to industry security regulations.
• Performance Enhancement: Leveraging Tridion Cloud's distributed server infrastructure enhances RRI's website performance, resulting in faster loading times and an improved user experience, thereby boosting engagement and satisfaction.
• Reliability and Disaster Recovery: Tridion Cloud's redundancy and disaster recovery mechanisms guarantee uninterrupted operations for RRI. Reliable failover systems ensure website resilience against potential disruptions, ensuring continuous availability.
• Innovation and Integration Capabilities: Tridion Cloud's suite of services and integrations empowers RRI to innovate rapidly. Access to cutting-edge technologies and seamless integrations with third-party services enables RRI to remain competitive and innovative.

The collaboration between LUX Interactive and Red Roof Inn signifies a significant leap towards digital transformation, showcasing a commitment to leveraging technology for business elevation. The migration to Tridion Cloud heralds a new era of efficiency, scalability, and innovation for RRI's digital infrastructure.

Seabourn, the leader in ultra-luxury voyages and expedition travel, has announced that its fleet of ultra-luxury ships has been equipped with next generation Wi-Fi connectivity with SpaceX's Starlink, the leader in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology. The upgraded technology provides Seabourn's guests with faster service, greater connectivity and more reliable Wi-Fi wherever Starlink's services are available.

"Following the positive feedback we received from our guests from the successful rollout of Starlink's enhanced connectivity on our expedition ships, we are thrilled to share that both our ocean and expedition ships in our ultra-luxury fleet now feature Starlink. Our guests can now choose to connect or disconnect as they wish during their extraordinary journeys with Seabourn," said Natalya Leahy, president of Seabourn. "Whether exploring the polar regions, cruising the Mediterranean, or navigating across the oceans, our guests can now enjoy an even more dependable connection, enabling them to effortlessly share those cherished 'Seabourn Moments' and experiences with their loved ones when they are sailing with us."

"We are so proud to provide a high level of enhanced technology for our guests who want to stay connected, whether it's sharing their personal experiences with friends and family or staying connected with work," added Kathleen Erickson, Seabourn's vice president of technology. "Having this technology will only enhance their experience when they sail on Seabourn."

Starlink is now available on Seabourn's two new purpose-built ultra-luxury expedition ships, Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, as well as its ocean ships, Seabourn Sojourn, Seabourn Quest, Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Ovation.

Award winning Pacific Hospitality Group has deployed Silverware’s native purpose-built digital GuestX Ordering & Payments solution at their lifestyle properties. This exclusive group includes The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif. (Olive & Hay Restaurant – awarded the Napa Valley Wine Award by The Napa Valley Vintners in recognition of the restaurants expansive collection of renowned locally sourced wines); the Grand Reserve at The Meritage, also in Napa; the Paséa Hotel and Spa in Huntington Beach, Calif.; Hotel Viata in West Lake Hills, Calif.; and the Ko’a Kea Hotel & Resort in Koloa, Hawaii (Red Salt Restaurant – four-time recipient of Honolulu Magazines Hale ‘Aina awards for Best Kauai Restaurant).

“Silverware’s mission has always been to set PHG up for success,” said JB Crawford, an IT analyst and project manager with PHG. “They do that by developing flexible software, building strong integration partnerships, and providing unrivaled customer service. “Our operations teams are constantly analyzing and improving the performance of their concepts and items. For IT, this state of evolution means there is no such thing as ‘set it and forget it.’ We have to keep up, and Silverware’s flexibility and ease of use helps us do just that.”

GuestX – fully integrated into the Silverware POS system – is transforming the digital dining experience at PHG properties.

“GuestX has had a huge impact on our operations,” Crawford said. “Our teams are depending on it more than ever before. We use it for pools, spas, in-room dining, cafes, and large concert events. One thing that management relies on is Silverware’s ability to post to multiple PMS systems across our portfolio. For large, multi-PMS campuses, this is groundbreaking. Having multiple credit-card gateway integrations keeps our business competitive with the various credit-card processors.

“COVID raised hospitality technology standards for the foreseeable future,” he said. “Touchless payments and flexible ordering are not going away. Digital technology is now commonplace; it’s a self-service tool that diners appreciate because it is seamless and frictionless, and owners like it because of the tremendous return on investment. I’d like to give a nod to Avero, FreedomPay, Givex, Infor HMS, Opentable, Profitsword by Actabl, and Yellow Dog Inventory who have deep integrations to Silverware POS. I would also like to say ‘thanks’ to the Silverware Help Desk whose level of knowledge on PHG properties is really impressive. The team is extraordinarily calm in moments of stress and they escalate quickly if need be. We could not be more pleased with Silverware.”

Modern Dining Experience

The GuestX Digital Platform was curated for hotels and resorts to elevate the guest experience in every corner of a property. The solution supports In-Room Dining, Grab & Go, Pool Side, Beach Front, Golf Course, and Banquets operations. GuestX allows guests to seamlessly place orders and pay through their mobile phone from every outlet on your property by credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and even post directly to their room. The platform is fully customizable to match your restaurants’ branding ensuring a consistent experience for your guests. Whether a property is dealing with labor shortages or skyrocketing labor costs, operators need a solution to maximize revenues and profits. Silverware GuestX goes a long way in solving these challenges.

“GuestX is not an online ordering system converted for in-restaurant use, but rather it is a platform specifically designed for in-restaurant dining that frees up staff to focus on upselling and increasing guest spend … improving speed of service … boosting operational efficiencies … and curating an exceptional dining experience,” said Thomas Small, Silverware Global Enterprise Sales Director. “Like PHG, Silverware is forward-thinking in everything we do – especially evolving to meet the digital needs of today’s dining patrons. Our mutual goal is to deliver excellent service and singular, personalized experiences. As the PHG portfolio continues to grow, Silverware is confident that we will continue to grow with them and serve the brands and independents who are looking to activate a digital and modern dining experience.”