Technology

SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE

Hotel 41: How personalised service took the boutique hotel to the top

19-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

In the next installment of our Spotlight on Service campaign, Malcolm Hendry, general manager of London’s five-star Hotel 41, explains why front-of-house employees are integral to creating a positive guest experience.

Accelerated decline for Aberdeen hotels in October

19-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hoteliers in Aberdeen faced further troubles in October with the Granite City’s RevPAR dropping sharply year-on-year as the declining oil industry continues to take its toll, according to the monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report.

Hospitality businesses support Bath Hotel and Restaurant School

16-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Sixteen hospitality businesses including the Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, the Bath Pub Company, the Abbey Hotel and the Hilton Hotel, have signed up to support the Bath Hotel and Restaurant School in Bath, Somerset.

VisitBritain: Social media is a ‘global influence’ on holiday choices

11-Nov-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Research by VisitBritain shows that social media has a ‘powerful influence’ in international tourists choosing Britain as a holiday destination.

Events impact September hotel performance in Scotland

22-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hotels in Scotland’s three largest cities have felt the impact from events, according to the monthly LJ Forecaster Scottish Intercity Report.

Third of hospitality business owners turn to close relations for investment

22-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hospitality business owners are likely to consider a wide range of options when seeking information about expanding their businesses with just under a third choosing to approach their friends and family for investment, a report has found.

UK Hotel investment expected to hit £8.5bn

15-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

UK hotel investment in 2015 is set to peak at £8.5bn, beating the current record of £8.3bn set in 2006.

Martin Wolstencroft: “Staff have to care about themselves and the customer”

14-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Restaurant and bar staff have to care about themselves and the customer in order to give good customer service, says Martin Wolstencroft, founder of Arc Inspirations.

Hotel chains support police fight against child sexual exploitation

14-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

International hotel chain Radisson Blu Hotels and Resorts has announced its support for a police initiative to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in hotels, taxis and other businesses.

Sat Bains and Michel Roux Jr among chef line-up at The Restaurant Show 2015

28-Sep-2015 By Sophie Witts

Sat Bains, Michel Roux Jr and Raymond Blanc are some of the big named chefs who will be sharing some of their trade secrets at The Restaurant Show next week (5-7 October).

Mobile phones cause “emotional stress” at dinner table

25-Sep-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Mobile phone use while dining out causes “constant, low-level emotional stress”, a report finds.

Velocity acquires US mobile payments app Cover Inc.

23-Sep-2015 By Emma Eversham

UK-based mobile payments app Velocity has taken its 'first major step' in its plan for international roll-out by acquiring US mobile payments app company Cover Inc.

ASK THE EXPERTS

How to turn a negative review into a positive experience

21-Sep-2015 By Guy Arnold

Guy Arnold, managing director of Sales Through Service, shares his four top tips to avoiding negative reviews of your business online and suggests how to turn them into a positive experience if you do.

Hotel guests offered chance to go on a 'digital detox' with new service

25-Feb-2015 By Emma Eversham

While hotels are being urged to embrace technology and find ways to connect better with guests via their smartphones and tablets, a new service is bucking the trend and encouraging hotel guests to have a 'digital detox' by giving up their devices...

PRODUCT NEWS

Orderella wins Star Product at The Hospitality Show

21-Jan-2015 By Emma Eversham

Orderella, the cashless app which allows customers to order drinks and food from their smartphones, has been named Star Product at this year's Hospitality Show. 

Product News

FusionWiFi launches Social WiFi

05-Dec-2014 By Lauren Houghton

FusionWiFi Ltd launches its Social WiFi marketing platform in the UK.

eRevMax launches analytics platform for hotels

11-Aug-2014 By Melodie Michel

Technology provider eRevMax has launched Analytics, a Business Intelligence solution giving hoteliers instant visibility into their business performance at anytime from anywhere. 

Flowify launches front-of-house software

14-Jul-2014 By Melodie Michel

Software provider Flowify has launched Sofia, an interactive tool working as a real-time advisor to front of house restaurant teams. 

Zapper app comes to UK restaurants

26-Jun-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Zapper for restaurants app offers restaurants and hospitality businesses a smart QR Code billing system so customers can pay their bills direct from their smartphones.

Simple and affordable Wi-Fi upgrade system launched

04-Jun-2014 By Carina Perkins

Netwrx has launched a new Wi-Fi solution enabling hotels to offer high-speed wall-to-wall coverage in guest rooms using existing telephone cabling.

TenderOne launches new cocktail machine

27-May-2014 By Carina Perkins

TenderOne Bar Services has launched a new multi-line dispenser that produces freshly-mixed cocktails in seconds.

Miele Professional unveils 'Brilliant' freshwater dishwasher for spotless glassware

27-May-2014 By Carina Perkins

Miele Professional has launched the first ever dedicated glassware dishwasher, which promises to give spotless results and eliminate the need for manual polishing.

Casio launches widescreen Android EPOS

15-May-2014 By Carina Perkins

Casio Electronics UK launched the first widescreen EPOS terminal with an Android operating system for pubs, hotels, restaurants and cafes at Caffe Culture this week.

Quadriga launches SmartQubeTV for hotels

08-May-2014 By Lauren Houghton

Quadriga have launched a new box that lets hotels upgrade their TVs and offers WiFI.

Customer-focused technology: Smart experiences

24-Feb-2014 By Carina Perkins

In the second of our three-part focus on technology in hospitality, we look at how mobile technology can be used to improve customer experience from the moment they walk in the door.

‘Wheel of fortune’ app offers free marketing opportunity for pubs

25-Nov-2013 By Luke Nicholls

A new mobile app which allows customers to ‘spin of a wheel of fortune’ to win exclusive money-off promotions is now completely free for pubs and bars across the UK.

Music design consultancy launches cloud-based music platform MusicManager

15-Nov-2013 By Helen Gilbert

Music design consultancy Open Ear has launched a new cloud-based music platform providing bespoke playlists for bars.

Global Payments rolls out Discover Global Network acceptance

28-Oct-2013 By Emma Eversham

Card processing provider Global Payments has rolled out its Discover Global Network acceptance to enable its UK customers to take five major international credit and debit cards. 

Hyper local restaurant booking app Ruffl launches

24-Oct-2013 By Emma Eversham

New 'hyper local' restaurant app Ruffl has launched, connecting diners to restaurants with available tables in the area they are in and helping to fill restaurant owners' empty tables. 

Magnuson Worldwide launches CRS1 global reservation system

17-Oct-2013 By Emma Eversham

Magnuson Worldwide has launched the CRS1, a new a low-cost global hotel reservation system designed to help hoteliers cut their reservation transaction costs by up to 90 per cent.

Global Payments launches Global Pay Now

10-Oct-2013 By Emma Eversham

Global Payments has launched its Global Pay Now terminal in the UK, allowing restaurants and pubs to let customers settle bills in less than a minute.

Zonal launches EPoS table management solution

04-Oct-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) system provider Zonal is helping foodservice outlets overcome busy periods with a new one-stop product which it says will ‘transform the way operators manage wait times, meal stages and table-turn times’.

Quadriga launches new mobile housekeeping app for hotels

18-Sep-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Hospitality technology solutions provider Quadriga has launched a new mobile application designed specifically for housekeeping services, to reduce costs and deliver improved efficiencies for hoteliers. 

IT ‘stitch-up’: Hospitality managers misled with long agreements and hidden costs

05-Sep-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The majority of hospitality business managers believe they have been ‘misled’ by IT suppliers and are now saddled with upfront and on-going spiralling costs which were not transparent from the beginning.

Omnico launches its fastest range of all-in-one PoS systems

05-Sep-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Global retail technology provider Omnico group has released the Digpos A Series – a new, high-speed, all-in-one point-of-sale (PoS) unit for hospitality businesses.

Guestline launches EPoS system for hotels

08-Aug-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Hotel management software provider Guestline has unveiled its ‘next generation’ EPoS system, offering hoteliers a host of new features including complete integration with PMS, optimisation on all mobile devices and more detailed reporting and stock analysis.

Appy Hotel: New mobile marketing app boosts revenue opportunities for hotels

07-Aug-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Appy Hotel, a mobile marketing app that helps independent hotels and small to medium-sized chains compete with larger brands, has launched in the UK.

Zonal launches Aztec iServe application to turn Apple devices into portable tills

02-Aug-2013 By Emma Eversham

EPoS provider Zonal has added a new app to its range of products and services that can turn any Apple mobile device into a hand-held payment terminal. 

TripAdvisor Connect: Review website launches ‘ground-breaking’ online platform for independents

18-Jul-2013 By Luke Nicholls

Review website TripAdvisor is launching an online platform which will allow all independent hotels and B&Bs to access services only previously available to major online travel agencies, booking engines and hotel chains.

Consolis launches small, low-cost integrated EPoS for SMEs

12-Jul-2013 By Emma Eversham

Consolis Payments has launched a small, low-cost EPoS system for small and medium sized businesses to enable customers to pay bills in a variety of ways.  

Guestline launches mobile version of Rezlynx PMS

01-Jul-2013 By Emma Eversham

Cloud-based hotel management and distribution system provider Guestline has launched a mobile module for its Rezlynx web-based Property Management System (PMS).

Fourth launches new software to 'democratise' business intelligence

29-May-2013 By Emma Eversham

Fourth has developed new software that can provide hospitality businesses of all sizes to analyse all aspects of the business, from labour, to purchasing and profits, at the touch of a button.

MenuSpring gives restaurants extra control of online reputation

26-Apr-2013 By Luke Nicholls

MenuSpring – a recently-launched online web-portal of restaurants and their menus – is gathering pace in the UK, with over 8,000 venues already listed on its database.

ReviewPro aims to boost hotel revenue with Revenue Optimizer

19-Apr-2013 By Emma Eversham

Hotel reputation management service ReviewPro has created a new tool called the Revenue Optimizer which is designed to help hoteliers increase hotel revenue by finding out where their business stands against their competitors on room rate and online reputation.

LivingSocial highlights importance of online marketing for restaurants

04-Apr-2013 By Luke Nicholls

LivingSocial, the social e-commerce platform that helps restaurants find and retain customers, has released research which reveals that 89 per cent of British consumers now go online to discover new businesses.

Sigma Touch Solutions launches small and durable EPoS terminals

06-Mar-2013 By Emma Eversham

Hospitality technology supplier Sigma Touch Solutions has launched a range of space-saving and durable EPoS systems. 

Hospitality technology: Behind the scenes of the hotels, restaurants and pubs of the future

01-Mar-2013 By Peter Ruddick

In the final part of our series of special articles on technology in hospitality, BigHospitality paid a visit to three of the most high-tech restaurants, hotels and pubs to investigate the business benefits for a special video report.

Talisyn introduces Ophelia Interactive to give hoteliers control of extra TV channels

01-Mar-2013 By Peter Ruddick

Hospitality technology developer Talisyn has released Ophelia Interactive - an update to its system which allows hoteliers to directly control a number of information channels on their hotel room's TV sets.

Call Systems Technology launches TrackSmart to eliminate table numbers

28-Feb-2013 By Peter Ruddick

TrackSmart, launched by Call Systems Technology (CST) on 1 January this year, is a tag-based system which monitors a customer's location eliminating the need for table numbers or loud calling.

Hospitality technology: Enhancing the customer’s experience during their visit

27-Feb-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The world of technology is, by its very nature, driven by innovation and change. Ordering room service through smartphones, dining with on-table touchscreens and browsing drinks lists on iPads are not visions of the future, they are happening right now.