Innoviti Payment Solutions announced that after successful pilots, it will now start extending its newly introduced cloud-based reconciliation technology to full-service restaurants, that require payments to be collected at a customer's table with automatic reconciliation with the bill.

The new technology works in a simple way. In a typical restaurant example, the central billing server first uploads every new bill generated to Innoviti's cloud-based integration server. Thus, the Innoviti Integration Server maintains an updated real time list of all pending bills that are yet to be paid. When a patron calls for his check, the waiter assigned to the relevant table simply uses the table's id to 'pull' the correct pending bill from cloud-based integration server on to the portable POS terminal in his hand. Once payment is completed on POS terminal, it generates an on-spot charge slip and updates back the necessary payment details against the specific pending bill on cloud server and then onwards to the restaurant billing server which initiated the bill.

Across India, Innoviti processes over US$ 6.5Bn of payments annually from over 1000+ cities, with a throughput per point of acceptance of 7000$, 2X of India's average (as per RBI data). Innoviti's payment solutions help merchants, banks and brands influence commercial transactions happening in offline commerce more efficiently than possible otherwise, through unconventional use of payment terminals.

H°eats pads-for-delivery allows restaurants and caterers the ability to stay operational as they shift from on-premise dining to a take-out/delivery model or if the need for mobile, flexible and agile food services is required. H°eats pads-for-delivery is a water-activated, flame-free, self-heating pad that is placed between two food pans, disposable foil or stainless steel. It provides safe, reliable, flame free heat for up to two hours and offers a new way for foodservice operators to continue operations when take-out or delivery is the main focus or the demands on the operator extends beyond the limitations of the existing infrastructure. H°eats pads-for-delivery's low cost and 30 second activation, are the perfect choice for a restaurant's take-out/delivery contingency plan. H°eats pads-for-delivery also allows foodservice operators the ability to scale up their feeding operations immediately, to meet the demands of increasing demand for services during emergency situations. H°eats pads-for-delivery integrates seamlessly with existing equipment and supplies and does not require accessories or special equipment to purchase

Features and benefits of H°eats pads-for-delivery include: Activates and operational in less than 30 seconds Low cost per activation Safe, non-toxic, reliable flame-free heat Requires up to 90% less water than traditional food warming methods No special equipment to operate, integrates with existing equipment and supplies First orders can be shipped within 24 hours *subject to availability

HCM The systems that fall under the human capital management (HCM) category are aimed at recruiting and retaining employees throughout their life cycle. They can include anything from recruitment and onboarding tools to salary planning, budgeting, goal-setting, and performance assessment. These tools assist the HR team in guiding employees toward success.

HRMS Human resource management systems (HRMS) may contain some elements of HCM solutions, but they also have several tools to help employees as well. These include an efficient and flexible way for workers to clock in and out, manage their schedules, and easily communicate with colleagues even if they are working remotely.

Company database An essential HRIS system component is a database where all pieces of information about employees and company HR procedures will be stored for use in other HRIS tools.

A recent study of 2,000 people conducted by Guestline, looked how people book their hotels and the factors involved in room cancellations. It was found that over a quarter of people take into high consideration the quality and detail of a hotel's website (such as photographs and information) before making a direct booking online1.

Investing money into your websites simplicity in all stages of the guest journey will help acquire traffic, increase conversion rates and drive more people to book direct. The simplicity of website use (including less re-directs) will result trustworthiness of the potential customer. Hotel management may also find reporting efficient with less redirect windows to consider.

An investment in secure payment gateways protects the data of hotel guests, and the hotels credibility. For example, if a guest was to see the wrong value on an invoice, they may become wary of how secure that hotel's payment system is and look elsewhere. A secure payment gateway also checks in advance whether the credit card exists and is covered which could reduce chargebacks. This way, the hotelier can make sure that the booking via the credit card is genuine and at the same time protect the guest's data.

A new tech platform launched earlier this week can make the matchmaking process easier between lodging operators and local emergency efforts. Owners of a property can make beds or buildings available by using an online form to specify how they’re willing to help. Cloudbeds has worked with Sabre, Marriott, and RateGain and others on the effort.

A new reservations portal provides accommodation to healthcare workers at no cost in Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. It’s called Rooms Against Covid, and GuestCentric Systems and HiJiffy created it.

For other examples, see our recent story, “Some Asia Hotels Roll Out Quarantine Packages for Travelers Looking to Self-Isolate.”

HG and Marriott International have eliminated plastic straws in thousands of hotels worldwide, removing an estimated 1 billion straws from the ocean and landfills.

Both brands also are cutting out single-use bottles in the hotel bathroom, estimating to remove more than 500 million plastic bottles every year from the environment.

the largest hotel brands will be rolling out room controls within their loyalty platforms that enable guests to preselect the room temperature, lighting mood, TV, music, blinds and more

Then in 2010, the cloud-based system came along, which changed so much more about the PMS than most hotels realize.

And now, we've come even further to the API-first era.

The PMS has evolved so much that it's not just a technology that maintains the business, but it can grow and enhance it... improving the guest experience, making operations more efficient, and, when both of these happen, increasing profitability.

The LightStay program at Hilton predicts energy, water, and waste usage and costs

Further, some hotel brands can link in-room energy to the PMS so that when a room is empty, the air conditioner automatically turns off

To create brand personas and algorithms, IHG assessed its top customer-facing senior managers across brands using cognitive, emotional, and personality assessments.