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FLEXIBLE SUPPLIER CONTRACTS and cost-effective cloud solutions provide homegrown mid-segment hotel brands in India a competitive edge over international counterparts, according to a recent study by Hotelogix, a cloud-based hospitality technology provider. The paper notes that Indian brands understand local culture and traditions better than international ones. Hotelogix's whitepaper, The Rise and Rise of India's Home-grown Mid-segment Hotel Brands, revealed that domestic mid-segment brands control about 60 percent of India's total branded rooms. These brands are leveraging management contracts and franchise models as growth strategies, gaining an edge over international chains. Also, homegrown brands with smaller inventories can expand rapidly in cities with populations between 10,000 and 99,999, where 80 to 85 percent of demand is domestic, making it difficult for international brands to establish operations.

HOSPITALITY SOFTWARE PROVIDER Canary Technologies recently closed a $50 million Series C funding round to research AI guest technology in the hospitality sector, bringing its total fundraising to nearly $100 million. The company's software includes mobile check-in and checkout, tablet registration, upsells, guest messaging, Canary AI and digital tipping. The recent investment round was led by global software investor Insight Partners, who also led the company's Series B, with participation from existing investors F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator and Commerce Ventures, Canary said in a statement. California-based Canary is led by CEO Harman Singh Narula and President SJ Sawhney. "AI is transforming the way we live, work and travel," said Narula. "Canary is at the forefront of delivering enterprise-grade hospitality AI solutions that empower hoteliers to streamline operations, boost efficiency and elevate the guest experience, This funding milestone is a reflection of the team's hard work and the immense impact that Canary is making for hoteliers, including many of the world's largest enterprise hotel brands. We continue to see significant demand in the market for our products and are excited to extend our partnership with existing investors."

The Restoring Brand USA Act took another step toward passage, clearing the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill would renew the program aimed at promoting international travel to the U.S. Brand USA has generated $56 billion to the U.S. economy since 2013 and supported more than 45,000 jobs each year, according to Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, a sponsor of the bill. The program is funded by international visitors and private contributions, and the decline in international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a loss of that funding, Bilirakis said. The bill would direct the Treasury Department to allow this program to access critical resources, funded by foreign traveler visa fees, for the next few years. "The travel and tourism industry was one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic. As we seek to restore our way of life and fully recover, we cannot overlook the work that must be done to renew this powerful engine of economic growth for communities across the nation," Bilirakis said. "Brand USA has proven itself as a successful catalyst for spurring tourism to the U.S. We need that catalyst now more than ever to help rebuild the industry and spur job growth. Common sense solutions like this will help boost the economy and help get us moving in the right direction."

MARCH IS WOMEN'S History Month, a time to focus attention on women's role in business and society. It also is the second month for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' new "Women Own the Room" program that aims to open the door for more women to achieve hotel ownership. Two of the first participants in the program are Trusha Patel, founder and CEO of Platinum Holdings in Austin, Texas, and Neha Jadhav of Chantilly, Virginia, founder of Luminous Hotel Management. Both women are opening dual-brand La Quinta and Hawthorn Suites hotels with assistance from WOTR assistance. Correcting an imbalance Wyndham launched WOTR in January in an effort to overcome the common barriers women face in developing, opening and running their own hotel. The program provides assistance with financial solutions, personalized operational support and networking and educational opportunities. Programs such as WOTR are needed to counter hospitality industry data that shows women are significantly underrepresented in hotel ownership, real estate, and investment funding roles, Wyndham said in a press release. The company cited the most recent annual report from the Castell Project, a nonprofit focused on promoting women in the industry, that found that while there are more women in the hospitality industry they still lag behind in leadership roles.

Beth Barris is the new executive vice president of sales and marketing for ELEVAT3, a revenue management consultancy led by Nilesh Patel as founder and partner. The company recently launched a new sales and marketing division to offer tailored branding solutions for hoteliers. Before joining ELEVAT3, Barris was chief sales officer at Barris Hospitality Consultancy, where she worked with hotel sales and marketing teams, owners and management companies to increase sales revenues and market share. She previously held various roles at Marshall Hotels & Resorts, including executive vice president of sales and marketing. The company combined its revenue management and sales and marketing divisions to provide a collaborative approach, ELEVAT3 said in a statement. The sales and marketing team provides services from full sales to market-plan development and prospecting, enhancing revenue management capabilities, the statement said. While clients can choose either service, both teams are designed to work together for branded and independent hotels.

Delta Hotels by Marriott Indianapolis Airport is open in Indianapolis. The hotel is owned by Blue Sky Hospitality Solutions led by President and CEO Naveen Shah. The 240-room hotel is near Indianapolis International Airport and eight miles from downtown Indianapolis. Other nearby attractions include Lucas Oil Stadium, The Indianapolis Zoo, the Indianapolis Children's Museum, Eli Lilly, Rolls Royce, Indiana University and Purdue University. The hotel has 5,193 square feet of meeting space, including a 4,370-square-foot ballroom and two smaller boardrooms. "This marks our second Delta Hotel in the Indianapolis marketplace, allowing for shared economies of scale and best practices," Shah said. "Our familiarity with the market and the brand will allow the hotel to ramp up quickly as Marriott continues the global expansion of Delta."

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE direct lender Stonehill recently originated a $79.8 million, three-year, floating-rate bridge loan for New York-based Churchwick Partners for the acquisition of a 12-property, extended-stay hotel portfolio. The deal was premised on the strong performance by extended-stay hotels even during the pandemic. Stonehill is an affiliate of Peachtree Hotel Group, led by Jatin Desai and Mitul Patel as managing principals. The deal includes 1,432 rooms in nine states, mostly Sonesta Hotels brands. "Our sponsors benefit from experienced real estate lenders able to originate and close complex transactions," said Nick Baer, Stonehill's vice president for business development. "With funding options from traditional lenders limited for hotels and other commercial real estate properties, we are pleased to provide Churchwick Partners with the lending solution, financial capacity and hospitality expertise to close this transaction in a challenging capital market environment."

IHG HOTELS & RESORTS has selected California-based Canary Technologies as the global digital tipping solution vendor, enabling guests to tip hotel staff. Founded by Harman Narula and SJ Sawhney in 2017, the company offers digital tipping solutions and an end-to-end guest management system, including mobile check-in and checkout, dynamic upsells, and guest messaging, Canary said in a statement. "Hotel staff members are the backbone of the hospitality industry and guests want to tip staff for great service," said Dhiraj "DJ" Singh, Canary's vice president of sales. "With the declining use of cash worldwide, staff tips have taken a hit over the years. We are thrilled to help IHG hoteliers boost guest satisfaction and reward hard-working team members." IHG Hotels & Resorts, featuring 19 brands, more than 6,000 hotels, and nearly 1 million rooms worldwide, will implement Canary's digital tipping solution to improve the guest experience and acknowledge employees efficiently, the statement added.

ONLY ONE IN five hotel professionals believe the current tech stack is sufficient for achieving efficiencies, cost savings and adequate guest care, according to a recent survey by the Hospitality Women's Innovation Council. Approximately 91 percent of survey respondents indicated that better collaboration among technology companies on integrations is needed, while 86 percent felt improved integration processes would encourage greater investment in technology. HWIC, a group of hotel brand executives, managers, and innovators, conducted the survey between May 25 and June 15, HWIC said in a statement. More than 300 owners, managers, and technologists participated in the survey. The study was supported by Visual Matrix, a PMS software developer in Richardson, Texas. "Industry professionals have confirmed that more than any other factor, collaboration is the key to driving better business results for hoteliers-collaboration among technology providers and between the providers and the hoteliers they serve," said Georgine Muntz, HWIC co-chair and CEO of Visual Matrix. "When we created the council close to a year ago, we began with the assumption that women leaders in hospitality can help improve the ways industry professionals collaborate for common ends and encourage better standardized integrations. Now that assumption has been fully validated. We look forward to sharing the council's recommendations on better integration, collaboration and advancing innovation, in the weeks ahead."

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING points are becoming a standard amenity at hotels, akin to the rise of Wi-Fi in the early 2000s. Benefits for the hotel owners and franchisers can include additional revenue, carbon credits as well as attracting guests from the growing number of electric vehicle drivers. A 2022 Green Lodging survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association revealed a surge in the deployment of EV chargers within the hospitality sector, with 26.6 percent of all U.S. hotels equipped with charging stations. The EV charging facilities are more commonly found at luxury hotels (nearly 90 percent offer them), while only about one in five limited-service hotels provides charging, representing significant growth opportunities. Hotel brands such as Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, BWH Hotel Group, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels International, Hyatt Hotel Corp. and G6 Hospitality have prioritized deploying EV charging based on customer preferences. Their franchisees have begun incorporating EV charging infrastructures into their properties. "We've heard from our owners that offering EV charging solutions is increasingly influential for guests when choosing hotels," said Brian McGuiness, IHG's senior vice president of global guest experience. "This is backed by our observation of guests using EVC filters on the IHG One Rewards mobile app and website. Our integrated EV-charger search filter within the IHG One Rewards mobile app allows travelers to easily find properties with EV charging capabilities, empowering them to plan their journeys conveniently and confidently."

TECHNOLOGY HOTEL BRAND EV Evolution and construction solutions firm ServiceTry recently created a joint venture, EV Hotel Corp. The $400 million deal will fund the development of EV Evolution Venue hotels in international markets. Their new hospitality concept, The Eloise Project, is set to debut its first property by late 2025. ServiceTry will acquire a 40 percent equity stake in EV Hotel Corp., gaining access to all of EV's global revenue streams, the companies said in a joint statement. "We're not just building hotels; we're crafting worlds," said Ken Patel, EV Hotel Corp's., chairman and CEO. "The Eloise Project is about immersing guests in luxury and wonder. We're creating spaces where every moment is memorable, and every stay is extraordinary." The partnership will expand EV Hotel's global presence with ServiceTry as its largest shareholder, the statement said. The concept offers Dubai-style amenities and guest-centric experiences.

BWH HOTEL GROUP will offer cashless tipping to guests via eTip and Visa. The function will allow guests to express gratitude to hotel associates through pre-selected or custom tipping in the U.S. and Canada. The eTip process will be available at properties of the group, including Best Western Hotels & Resorts and SureStay Hotel Group hotels, the statement added. BWH said the new facility will empower guests to financially give to those who rely on tips as latest reports revealed that only 16 percent of U.S. customers carry cash. "We are committed to providing the best possible experience for our guests and bringing value to BWH hoteliers and their associates," said Michael Morton, BWH vice president for brand management. "We're excited to offer eTip digital tipping solution as a convenient way our valued guests can show appreciation to our dedicated hotel associates. We are equally excited to offer our associates a choice to receive their tips in real-time directly into their bank accounts. Innovation and caring are at the heart of our brand and we're proud to partner with eTip to innovate the tipping experience for guests and hoteliers alike."

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS will continue expanding its economy and midscale brands while adding new upscale and lifestyle offerings in 2025. The company also aims to add technology and digital capabilities to improve experiences for its owners and guests. The company will continue leveraging its scale to provide franchisees with tools, solutions, and technology to drive business, Wyndham said in a statement. "We navigated an unforgettable year in 2024, remaining steadfast in our ability to deliver for guests, owners, and shareholders," said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham's president and CEO. "From welcoming our 25th brand and expanding into new markets to broadening our portfolio of aspirational hotels and generating new owner revenue streams through the industry's best tech platform - 2024's successes have both Wyndham and our franchisees well-positioned for the years ahead."

COSTAR GROUP, A real estate marketplace and analytics provider, granted STR's hotel data subscribers access to its full product suite, enabling users to leverage multisegmented market analytics and forecasts. The services include a tenant database of 7.8 million spaces, an inventory of 6.7 million properties, a pipeline tracking 79,000 projects and a transactions database with 4.2 million sales comparables, CoStar said in a statement. "Today, CoStar becomes the product for tens of thousands of hotel users worldwide," said Andy Florance, CoStar Group's founder and CEO. "With access to the full product offering, hotel owners, operators and brand representatives will gain comprehensive insights across all commercial asset categories, enabling them to refine their sales strategy and identify new investment opportunities." STR's latest benchmarking solution debuted within the CoStar product in May 2023, the statement added. This comprehensive, multilingual tool offers enriched STAR Reports, detailed property and portfolio insights, and advanced visualizations to streamline revenue and performance management, operations, sales, marketing, and finance.

VIRDEE, THE CONTACTLESS check-in technology firm, secured $12.4 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Moneta Ventures, bringing its total funding to $21 million. These funds will be used to finance research, expand product features, grow the workforce, and strengthen the company's presence in the hospitality sector, the company said. Other participants in the latest fundraising process include Silverton Partners, Koch Real Estate Investments, Alumni Ventures, DJR Advisors, Capital Factory, and strategic partners, Virdee said. This investment follows Series Seed financing led by Silverton Partners in February 2022 and a 2020 angel investment led by Rajiv Trivedi, former brand president for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc.'s La Quinta Inn and chairman of TST Capital.

ACCOR HAS SELECTED IDeaS as its global revenue management software provider for its portfolio of more than 5,600 hotels across 110 countries. IDeaS will "future-proof" Accor's revenue management strategy to provide a competitive advantage, the companies said in a joint statement. "We are thrilled to be selected as a global partner to drive Accor's commercial revenue platform transformation at a moment of unparalleled growth and opportunity for the company worldwide," said Ravi Mehrotra, IDeaS' cofounder and chief scientist. "In a new era of innovation and consumer and product diversification, we are pleased to bring IDeaS' market-leading automation, pricing approach, and a singular focus on holistic revenue optimization to Accor's diverse brand portfolio."