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PLUS: Optimizing Curbside & Drive-thru Managing Workforce Health & Safety Lessons in Native Delivery

CONTACT

TRACING How technology can help end the pandemic

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The new reality: from ghost kitchens to curbside, restaurateurs are leaving no stone unturned in their mission to serve customers and stay strong. As the industry pivots to new operational models during uncertain times, one thing is crystal clear: technology will be fundamental to the path ahead.

Journey with us to Restaurant Next, a simulated restaurant environment built for the new normal. Explore new operational concepts, tap into contactless technologies, source solutions for safer operations, and hear from the industry’s top IT minds.

A VIRTUAL EVENT | October 12-13

Registration is complimentary for qualified restaurant executives.

Solution providers, contact HT at sales@hospitalitytech.com for sponsorship opportunities.

PRESENTED BY

www.hospitalitytech.com/restaurantnext

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CONTENT This month on www.hospitalitytech.com

FEATURES & CASE STUDIES

• Sanitation Best Practices: What Can Hotels Learn from Hospitals?

• Where’s Third-Party Delivery Headed?

• 3 Ways Hotels Can Leverage Digital Signage for Health & Safety

• MGM Data Breach 14x Higher than Initially Thought

• Taco Bell Updates Digital Experience, Loyalty Program

• Contactless Transactions Are Having Their Moment

• Moe’s Kiosk-Only Location is Optimized for Off-Prem

EXCLUSIV E RESEA RCH

Contact Tracing: How Technology Can Help End the Pandemic What hospitality operators should know about emerging solutions.

C O V E R S T O R Y PAG E 10 Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Editor-in-Chief & Michal Christine Escobar, Senior Editor - Hotels

DEPARTMENTS: 4 EDITOR’S NOTE 7 VANTAGE POINT 8 NEW HORIZONS 9 HTNG CHECKS-IN 27 RTN TABLESIDE

2020 Lodging Technology Study Hotels share what is driving the need to increase IT spending in 2020 and where they’re going to spend it. This study recaps 2019 spending and identifies what’s earmarked for the year ahead. Download at https:// hospitalitytech.com/lodging-techstudy-2020 2020 Restaurant Technology Study For this 22nd annual study, HT has compiled data from 25,000+ restaurant locations across a broad variety of topics including strategic business objectives, top investment areas, planned software and hardware changes and more. Download at https:// hospitalitytech.com/restauranttechnology-study-2020-deliveringexpectations2

16 RESTAURANTS

22 LABOR MANAGEMENT

E-N E WS L E TTE R

Going All In on To-Go

Managing Workforce Health and Safety

The HT Alert is delivered every Tuesday and Thursday to your inbox, making it the most reliable source for IT news and trends.

Manage your subscriptions at www.hospitalitytech.com

Restaurants are capitalizing on curbside and optimizing drive-thrus, and groundbreaking technology is leading the way.

Technology can help hotel and restaurant brands run their operations efficiently while keeping staff safe, informed and empowered.

W W W.T W I T T E R .C O M / H T M A G A Z I N E

W W W. L I N K E D I N .C O M / I N / H O S P I TA L I T Y T E C H N O LO G Y

W W W. FA C E B O O K .C O M / H O S P I TA L I T Y T E C H N O LO G Y

YO U T U B E .C O M / H O S P I TA L I T Y T E C H M A G

HOSPITALITY TECHNOLOGY (USPS 0016-745, ISSN 1520-491X) is published seven times per year Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec by EnsembleIQ, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Ste. 200, Chicago, IL 60631; (973) 607-1300. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois and additional entries. Subscription rate in the United States: $99 one year; $182 two year; $14 single issue copy; Canada and Mexico: $119 one year; $209 two year; $16 single issue copy; Foreign: $135 one year; $255 two year; $16 single issue copy. Copyright © 2020 by EnsembleIQ. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher. Reprints, permissions and licensing, please contact Wright’s Media at ensembleiq@wrightsmedia.com or (877) 652-5295. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to HOSPITALITY TECHNOLOGY, P.O. BOX 1842, LOWELL, MA 01853-1842. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

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S B

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Join the Innovation Conversation Now is the time to innovate.

Although we don’t claim there is any upside to the pandemic — to do so would dishonor those who’ve lost their lives — we can state emphatically that there has never been a better time for all of us to listen, learn, and think differently.

For HT, that means participating in ongoing conversations about meeting current — and future — challenges. From optimizing restaurant drive-thru and curbside to managing workforce processes and wellbeing to the new science of contact tracing, we’ve packed our July/August issue with expert insight into innovative solutions.

And there have never been more ways to join the innovation conversation going on in our HT community beyond the pages of the magazine.

Here, a few places to get started: MURTEC Highlight Hub is a brand-new 24/7 virtual event space offering the best of our annual multi-unit restaurant technology conference, where you can visit a Speaker Auditorium, meet vendors in the Exhibit Hall, and browse the Inspiration Library.

Workgroups hosted by our membership-supported partners at the Restaurant Technology Network (restauranttechnologynetwork.com) and Hospitality Technology Next Generation (htng.org) are sharing industry challenges and driving start-today solutions.

Restaurant Next is our upcoming real-time event, taking place October 12 and 13 live on HospitalityTech.com. This collaboration between the Restaurant Technology Network and MURTEC will offer a unique virtual restaurant experience, must-see presentations from industry leaders, and endless opportunities for connecting with our global community.

For daily access to our latest reporting and insights, videos, and our just-launched podcast series, HT Talk, follow Hospitality Technology on LinkedIn and sign up for our free HT Alert e-newsletters.

As always, my digital door is open. Let me know what you think (rfirpo-cappiello@ ensembleiq.com).

Robert Firpo-Cappiello EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

RESEARCH ADVISORY BOARD

Steve Brooks Dir., Purchasing & IT, Tumbleweed Restaurants

Mike Blake CEO, HTNG

Mike Dickersbach Hotel Technology Executive, Industry CIO Simon Eng VP of IT, CTF Development Nelson Garrido Senior VP Information Technology, Thayer Lodging, Brookfield Hotel Properties Michael Hassel Dir. IT, Momofuko Holdings Ted Hopcroft Vice President of Technology and Professional Services, Americas iT, Marriott

Corey Kline VP IT, Noodles & Company Rocky Lucia Dir. IT, Fireman Hospitality Group Brian Pearson CIO, Stacked R. P. Rama VP Technology, JHM Hotels Joe Tenczar VP, Information & Technology/CIO, Sonny’s BBQ Marcus Wasdin CIO, Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena

Natasa Christodoulidou Professor California State University Cihan Cobanoglu, PhD School of Hotel & Restaurant Management University of South Florida Daniel J. Connolly Ph.D. Professor of Business Administration Drake University Russell Dazzio Chairman, R&R Hospitality

Mehmet Erdem Assistant Professor, UNLV Hotel College

VICE PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Abigail A. Lorden alorden@ensembleiq.com EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Firpo-Cappiello, rfirpo-cappiello@ensembleiq.com SENIOR EDITOR, RESTAURANTS Anna Wolfe, awolfe@ensembleiq.com SENIOR EDITOR, HOTELS Michal Christine Escobar, mescobar@ensembleiq.com SALES SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Leah Segarra, lsegarra@ensembleiq.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Katherine Ware, kware@ensembleiq.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Noell Dimmig, ndimmig@ensembleiq.com EVENTS EVP, EVENTS & CONFERENCES Ed Several, eseveral@ensembleiq.com EVENTS DIRECTOR Karen Mahoney, kmahoney@ensembleiq.com MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING & BRAND ENGAGEMENT Darren Ursino, dursino@ensembleiq.com MARKETING MANAGER Stacey Bobby, sbobby@ensembleiq.com ONLINE MEDIA VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & AUDIENCE Jason Ward, jward@ensembleiq.com ART & PRODUCTION VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCTION Derek Estey, destey@ensembleiq.com DIRECTOR, DIGITAL OPERATIONS Whitney Gregson, wgregson@ensembleiq.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Colette Magliaro, cmagliaro@ensembleiq.com ART DIRECTOR Lauren DiMeo, ldimeo@ensembleiq.com DIGITAL OPERATIONS MANAGER Bayode Olorundare, bolorundare@ensembleiq.com SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER Pat Wisser, pwisser@ensembleiq.com AUDIENCE LIST RENTAL MeritDirect Marie Briganti 914-309-3378 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES/CUSTOMER CARE TOLL-FREE: 1-877-687-7321 FAX: 1-888-520-3608 contact@hospitalitytech.com

Lee Holman Lead Retail Analyst, IHL Consulting Jungsun (Sunny) Kim, PhD Assistant Professor, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, UNLV Fred LeFranc President & CEO, Results thru Strategy Barry N. Shufeld Interim CIO, Briar Group Rohit Verma Professor, Cornell University

8550 W. BRYN MAWR AVE. STE. 200 CHICAGO, IL 60631 PHONE: +1 773-992-4450 FAX: +1 773-992-4455

CORPORATE OFFICERS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jennifer Litterick CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Jane Volland CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER Tanner Van Dusen CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER Ann Jadown EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS & CONFERENCES Ed Several SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT Joe Territo

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Lessons in Native Delivery Matt Friedman, cofounder and CEO of Wing Zone, shares how his brand took possession of delivery and thrived.

“It has been this locomotive that is building,” says Matt Friedman, cofounder and CEO of Wing Zone, about the concept’s impressive same-store sales during the pandemic and economic downturn.

“Between April and May, our sales were up 45% with two-thirds of our business from delivery,” says Friedman. “The sheer number of delivery increases was pretty dramatic.”

For Wing Zone, 80% of delivery is done in-house by a Wing Zone employee and about 20% is by thirdparty delivery services. That relationship was “a little bit of a test,” says Friedman. “Within 18-24 months it has blossomed.”

Wing Zone prides itself on food delivery coming from a Wing Zone employee.

When customers order direct, the brand is able to control the experience, from order to delivery. Wing Zone prides itself on food coming Is Third-Party Delivery Worth It? from a Wing Zone driver wearing a Third-party delivery companies are Wing Zone uniform and carrying a BETWEEN APRIL maligned for their fees, of course. hot bag. These details matter, says AND MAY, OUR “When the fees creep up to 30%, the Friedman, as the brand is looking to question becomes: Is third-party SALES WERE UP 45% build and maintain consumer confi– TWO-THIRDS OF delivery profitable and worth it?” dence and loyalty.

But third-party tech platforms help “We do not market any third-party OUR BUSINESS IS brands market to new customers delivery in our stores,” stresses FriedFROM DELIVERY. and capture additional revenue. Deman. “I think it is important to have livery providers have their place in aggressive marketing of our delivery the marketplace, says Friedman, and may be the program. ‘Be a part of our loyalty program’ – we marright decision for restaurant brands looking for adket the benefits of ordering from us.” ditional exposure.

“A lot of restaurant brands think it is easy to im“We do view them as a competitor, but we are in plement their own delivery,” cautions Friedman. “It business with them. They offer delivery across the is very challenging.” Liability, insurance and packcountry for the products we have. Wing Zone works aging are three concerns he rattles off. “You have with the big three (third-party delivery companies) got to have the right POS system to do it. You have as well as some local options.” got to understand the challenges of delivery drivers,” a position that has a high turnover.

The Benefits of Owning Delivery “We believe in direct delivery and the power of data. When a customer orders direct, I know their favorite order, their favorite sauce.”

Those customer insights can be leveraged in multiple ways and through a whole slew of marketing campaigns including direct mail, SMS and email.

(Wing Zone uses Plum Reward for SMS and Bronto for loyalty rewards tied to customer phone numbers.)

Future Outlook Nevertheless, Friedman expects delivery, curbside and pickup to have staying power. “For the next 18 months, those all will be strong performers,” Friedman predicts.

As for Wing Zone, Friedman is optimistic about the future. “My outlook is continued strong sales,” he says.

“Delivery is here to stay.” HT

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Elevating the Latina Experience in the Workplace A new research study from NEW reveals the challenges Latina women face, and how companies can serve them better.

When the Network of Executive Women (www. newonline.org) published Advancing All Women, our initial study of the status of women of color in the American workplace, we found that without intervention, the number of women of color in senior positions would drop over the next 10 years.

We knew that to continue our mission, a stronger base of research was needed. The first study in a series of deeper dives, “A Foot in Two Worlds: Elevating the Latina Experience,” discusses the common biases faced by Latina women from a wide variety of cultures, how those biases might be counteracted, and solutions for employers to better take advantage of their unique skills and abilities.

Latinas in the Workplace We identified potential friction between the cultural values of Latinas, who are often raised to value the good of the group over the success of the individual, and the conventional values of corporate America.

Latinas may show a reluctance to self-promote, and a focus on achieving the best product possible without worrying about personal gain. Study participants noted that this sometimes led managers to perceive their Latina employees as less ambitious.

The needed correction here is clear: Managers can learn to appreciate these altruistic values, and not overlook women who do not display a ‘hunger’ for promotion.

Being Yourself at Work The women we interviewed often felt they were told, “Be yourself at work” — only to find that the attributes that set them apart from their white male counterparts were often the ones pinpointed as areas for change.

Bias was also a major issue cited by our study participants, including being discriminated against at work simply for having an accent, (despite 80%

reporting that they speak English “well” or “very well”), and for displaying multilingual skills and different cultural attitudes toward fashion, facial expressions, and physical proximity. Latina women earn 54 cents on the dollar compared to men, and while this discrepancy can also be attributed to a number of other factors, it cannot be denied that these biases clearly have consequences.

We Can Change Despite sometimes difficult environments, our study found that Latina women also see clear paths to improving workplaces, so their unique backgrounds and cultural values can be an asset to their careers and to their companies. Participants cited a lack of mentors and sponsors for them to work with, and an almost complete lack of sponsors from the same cultural background. By creating greater diversity in the CSuite, corporations can pave the way for greater inclusivity from the ground up.

To serve women of color, corporate environments must be open to women of color. Can any business expect to meet revenue targets for their Latinx audiences without Latinas in the C-Suite?

Diversity and inclusion isn’t just a buzzy phrase.

It’s good business. And it’s the right thing to do. HT

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HTNG Workgroup Delivers the 411 on New 911 Laws A Hotel Industry Advisory from HTNG, a technology solutions association for the hospitality industry, brings clarity to recent federal laws impacting telecommunication systems regarding how these regulations will impact the hotel industry within the United States.

Streamlining Emergency Response Kari’s Law requires all phone systems to allow users to dial 911 directly, with or without a prefix, and must report the “Dispatchable Location” of the caller to a location likely to be staffed. Section 506 of the RAY BAUM’S Act requires that all 911 calls include the “Dispatchable Location” of the caller as additional information provided to the 911 center with the call.

The published summary goes into further details of each of these laws and the effects they have on hospitality, including their distinct requirements and different enforcement dates. The responsibilities for multi-line telephone service (MLTS) manufacturers, resellers/installers and owners/operators is also provided in the document.

Enhancing Safety & Security “This HTNG effort on clarifying the new 911 laws is critical for all hoteliers as it relates to safety and security of guests and associates as well as first responders,” said co-chair Lasse Norgaard-Larsen of Marriott International, Inc. “We are delighted that HTNG has produced this valuable summary for our industry.”

After analyzing and explaining these laws, HTNG’s workgroup concludes that the compliance requirements for Kari’s Law are clear and concise.

However, the separate requirements for the RAY BAUM’S Act still need to be deciphered further to ensure all parts of the law are interpreted correctly by the industry as a whole.

“While Kari’s Law had clearly defined requirements, the ambiguity of the term ‘Dispatchable Location’ with RAY BAUM’S Act has caused several industry partners and hoteliers to seek clarification from HTNG,” said co-chair Frank Melville of Phonesuite (phonesuite.com). “Partnering across the industry and also with NENA (National Emergency Number Association) will help add clarity and uncover current and upcoming technologies to

“THIS HTNG EFFORT ON CLARIFYING THE NEW 911 LAWS IS CRITICAL FOR ALL HOTELIERS [...] WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT HTNG HAS PRODUCED THIS VALUABLE SUMMARY FOR OUR INDUSTRY.” — LA S S E N O RGA A R D - LA R S E N O F M A R R I OTT I N TE R N ATI O N A L, I N C

allow hoteliers and PBX manufacturers to better understand the requirements.”

Next Steps Following publication of this 911 laws summary for hoteliers, the next steps for the HTNG 911 Location Communication Workgroup include continued joint effort with NENA to gain more clarity on the areas of the RAY BAUM’S Act that are still in the unknown.

The group will then publish information on present and future technologies to ensure compliance, as well as an updated summary once the remaining unknowns are better explained.

Learn More The Hotel Industry Advisory document can be downloaded at htng.org. For questions or more information, please contact workgroups@htng.org. HT

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BY ROBERT FIRPO-CAPPIELLO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND MICHAL CHRISTINE ESCOBAR, SENIOR EDITOR - HOTELS

CONTACT

TRACING: How Technology Can Help End the Pandemic WHAT HOSPITALITY OPERATORS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EMERGING SOLUTIONS

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There is no easy fix. Masks and social distancing are essential. A vaccine is months away.

But there are emerging solutions to slowing and ending the spread of COVID-19 that can be supported and enhanced by technology.

As the hospitality industry attempts to adjust, and readjust, to reopen, and reassess, it is clear that the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over, and that the threat of multiple hotspots emerging and receding will remain for the foreseeable future. As we went to press, infections were rising in 28 states.

The challenge is, of course, that the novel coronavirus is so easily transmittable, via droplets and fine aerosol, from one person to another. One infected person can infect, on average, 2 to 3 others. If each of those infected people infect three more, in just 10 rounds that ‘patient zero’ can turn into more than 59,000 cases, according to research from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

An emerging consensus about how best to contain the virus suggests that we will continue to see flare-ups at the local level. In communities with more than 25 infections per 100,000, lockdowns will be the only effective means of containment, according to Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics.

But in communities with less than one case per 100,000, the virus can be controlled through testing and contact tracing.

Disease Detectives to the Rescue Contact tracing is a process by which people who are infected or have come into close contact with an infected person are identified and isolated. Contact-tracing programs have been successfully deployed in Europe and East Asia to slow the spread of infection.

The process is not dependent on technology — it has been used for decades to contain infectious diseases by relying on people trained to trace the circle of family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers that an infected person may have been in contact with — essentially a team of “disease detectives,” keeping notes and notifying local health officials.

Contact tracing has proved most effective when combined with ample testing, and when a community is either in an early stage of infection or in recovery — at present, for instance, rates of infection in some U.S. states are too high to rely on contact tracing.

But for the appropriate communities, efficient deployment of contact tracing can indeed help to end the spread of the virus.

Significant Challenges Efforts to launch and coordinate effective contact tracing programs have faced all the challenges one might expect at the local level.

Finding and hiring trained contact tracers is difficult — by some estimates there are only a

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few thousand people in the U.S. with the necessary experience. Training and managing new contact tracers has been fraught with miscommunication, inappropriate compensation, and low morale. (New York City’s efforts have produced mixed results and decidedly uninspiring headlines that often include the word disaster.)

The logistics can seem daunting, whether one is focusing on a statewide effort, municipal level, or simply on a hospitality ecosystem such as a hotel: Tracing the footsteps of a ‘patient zero’ from their home to, say, a hotel lobby and elevator, gym or grocery store, and then similarly tracking the footsteps of other guests and staff with whom they may have come in contact.

And that is where technology can be a game changer.

Emerging Tech Solutions Technology solutions for contact tracing range from wellmeaning but ineffectual apps (due to inaccurate location information, incompatibility among platforms, and lack of adoption by the public) to good-but-not-ready-yet ideas such as a national disease-tracking system (similar to stormtracking systems used by the National Weather Service).

In the sweet spot — tech that is available and holds promise for hotels, restaurants, theme parks, casinos, and cruise lines — are a range of solutions that employ video content analytics, asset tracking, global positioning, and automated reporting and record-keeping.

Here, a look at just a few of the contact-tracing tech solutions hospitality operators may want to consider.

Asset Tracking Most of us are familiar with the term “asset tracking” as a means of locating and monitoring physical goods — such as baggage carts, rolling tables, and portable beds in the case of hotels. A transmitter is attached to the item and its whereabouts and movements can be easily tracked. But “assets” can also be people who carry transmitting devices such as smartphones or badges. When asset tracking is applied to people, it can become a valuable component in a contact-tracing program.

“If someone has tested positive and they offer their information to their HR representative, asset tracking can be used to ascertain the historical locations within the build-

ing that that individual visited in the last 14 days,” says Nadir Ali, CEO of Inpixon (inpixon.com), an indoor intelligence company. “Those areas may benefit from a deep cleaning process. It can also show the other devices (such as smartphones) that were in those areas near that time.”

Inpixon’s Workplace Readiness solution is different from some current content-tracing tools in that it is employermanaged and employer-owned, with no data leaving the company’s ecosystem and no app or personal information collected. Inpixon’s technology is used by hospitals to help with locating people and assets, and offers hotel operators the opportunity to monitor guest movements and crowding, and can offer guests the ability to check, for instance, whether the property’s on-site restaurant is busy.

Asset tracking technology can often utilize existing Wi-

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Automated Reporting

AMANDA NICHOLS, KRONOS INCORPORATED

Contact tracing can be supported by automated property and staff management systems. Here, thought leadership from two solution providers.

“Setting up HR with a process for carrying out contact tracing is a vital aspect of any return-to-work strategy,” says Amanda Nichols, Kronos Incorporated (kronos.com), a provider of automated reporting.

She notes that the best way to ensure the frontline workforce is safe, and also prepared to move forward and thrive in this new environment, is through a combination of organizational agility, flexibility, and transparency. Nichols also reports that hotels using the contact-tracing capability from Kronos have the means to analyze existing labor records and the time and attendance data they already collect to quickly identify employees that have been potentially exposed to COVID-19 at work. An employer would simply enter an afflicted employee’s ID number – nothing personally identifiable or health-related – along with location(s) of interest and a date range in order to generate a simple list of potential contacts, i.e. everyone who worked in the same hotel, or certain floors or areas of the same hotel, and at the same time, based on overlapping timestamps. That report can then go straight to HR, which has a responsibility to immediately notify potentially exposed employees and ensure their people receive appropriate care, treatment, and proper direction.

“With HealthePassport, employees, on a daily basis, can input four safety actions into the portal, including symptoms, body temperatures, self-health declarations and health tests such as antibody tests,” says Jonathan Erwin, CEO of Redeapp (redeapp.com).

(To learn more about Redeapp’s HealthePassport, read “Managing Workforce Health & Safety,” page 22.)

Erwin also notes that HealthePassport can integrate contact tracing in two different ways, both of which are opt-in for employees: 1) via phone input or 2) via GPS-based location services that identify a device’s location. The privacy-safe implementation of GPS, geo-fenced to only identify a device while in the workplace, tracks proximal and surface exposure, which can’t be done using Bluetooth.

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Fi access points, allowing properties to launch the system quickly without additional hardware installation or on-site visits. Inpixon’s system integrates sensors like Wi-Fi access points, transmitters in various tags and smartphones, interactive digital maps, software, and APIs and SDKs.

Video Content Analytics Video surveillance has been part of some hotels’ security routines for years, for keeping an eye on both the relatively mundane (say, spilled beverages in a corridor) and more serious threats. Video can also be invaluable in criminal investigations. Now, there’s an opportunity to leverage existing video technology — and some emerging enhancements — to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

“Video content analytics technology can play an essential role in productively and rapidly determining which persons came into contact with an infected individual,” says Stephanie Weagle, CMO of BriefCam (briefcam.com), a provider of video content analytics solutions. “When a guest or employee discloses that he/she has been diagnosed with the virus, a hotel can leverage video intelligence software to pinpoint the individual throughout video. With face matching or appearance similarity filters, the hotel can quickly track the individual’s movements across cameras and days. By locating all his/her appearances, the surveillance operator can review relevant video segments to identify staff and areas with which the person interacted during the incubation period, and who need to be advised to self-isolate. By filtering video, the surveillance operator limits the amount of video to review only to the instances where the affected person appeared, and thus saves hours of time in manual review.”

Video content analytics can also help hospitality operators proactively monitor guest activity to identify non-compliance with public health recommendations, including wearing masks and maintaining proper physical distancing. It can analyze guest and staff activity via heatmaps or data visualizations to indicate which areas of the property tend to be the most trafficked, allowing hotels, casinos, restaurants, theme parks, and even cruise ships to benchmark desired norms and to set alerts to prevent overcrowding.

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AI-Assisted Positioning “Contact tracing has been used for decades, but has been time-consuming and error-prone when conducted via phone calls and manually updated charts,” says Michael Bettua, CEO of Volan Technology (volantechnology.com), developer of the AI-assisted Volan Positioning System (VPS). “This is not sustainable for hotel operators. To properly protect staff, the hospitality industry is looking to deploy their own private solutions.”

In an AI-based positioning system, real-time 3D-location positioning replaces the dependency on smartphones, GPS, or Wi-Fi. Using a private Bluetooth mesh network, VPS is secure and “can do in seconds, for hundreds of people, what one manual tracer can accomplish in a week,” says Bettua. VPS allows hotel operators to see and report incidents of concern, such as medical emergencies, intruders, fire, or assault, from anywhere on the site, and can perform historical tracing of both direct and indirect exposure to the virus based on location, proximity, duration, and frequency of exposure. This allows operators to instantly create reports and a ranked chart that prioritizes those people most exposed, helping to protect staff from contagion and keeping operations running smoothly even during an emergency.

“We are also deployed at Black Fire in Las Vegas, an innovation center for the hospitality industry showcasing the latest technology advancements for operating hotels safely and efficiently,” notes Bettua. “Black Fire is the first of its kind tech hub for the hospitality industry. Black Fire brings the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), one of the nation’s top research institutions, and Caesars Entertainment,

the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment provider, together in a collaborative environment to spark innovations that drive our industry and community forward.”

Wearable Tracking Devices It’s been well established that potentially high-density settings such as hotels, cruise ships, and long-term care facilities are especially at risk for transmission of the novel coronavirus (not to mention other airborne pathogens such as influenza). Wearable tracking devices can be a solution to the challenges of contact tracing in those contained settings; guests wear a tracking device around their wrist, which can work with an array of sensors the way smartphones and badges can.

CarePredict (carepredict.com) PinPoint is an automatic digital contact tracing solution that uses the CarePredict Tempo wrist device, which is worn by every staff member, guest, and visitor to a property. When a suspected carrier is identified, the device can provide a digitized list of all the people and places that were exposed to the suspected carrier within seconds.

The technology classifies contacts based on duration and risk of exposure to high- and low-priority contacts. PinPoint also provides a report highlighting the path taken by the infected person within a property and a heatmap of the high traffic areas so that site staff can streamline decontamination and disinfecting efforts in these specific areas. The wearable can also be used for electronic door access and voice communication, allowing site staff to quickly alert the management team by pressing the button on their wearable or by speaking directly into the Tempo. HT

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RESTAURANTS

Restaurants are capitalizing on curbside and optimizing drive-thrus, and groundbreaking technology is leading the way.

GOING ALL IN ON

TO-GO

As restaurants face the realities of doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re increasingly leaning in to off-prem, including drive-thru, curbside and to-go operations.

With dining rooms closed (or closing again), drive-thrus have dominated off-prem, according to Service Management Group’s (SMG) June study of 8,500 consumers. More than 75% of consumers surveyed have used a drive-thru in recent weeks, and more than half of respondents have used carryout (55%) and curbside pick-up (51%).

Delivery continues to grow, however, the majority of consumers prefer to pick up off-premise orders, whether it’s due to health and safety or financial concerns, according to SMG’s third annual study. This is not only good news for QSRs that were built with drive-thrus, but also for sit-down restaurants and fast casual formats that have added curbside and in some cases added pop-up drive-thrus in recent months.

Rethinking Traditional Drive-Thru Large QSR brands with drive-thrus in place are not resting on their existing tech stack. McDonald’s has been setting the pace when it comes to investing in technology. Last year the global QSR closed several tech acquisitions: voice-based, conversational technology company Apprente, personalization and decision logic technology Dynamic Yield (which is being used in drive-thrus and on digital menu boards across the U.S. and Australia), and Plexure, a mobile app vendor.

These investments build on several key technology initiatives McDonald’s has introduced in recent years to improve the employee and customer experience, especially at its Experience of the Future stores. With mobile order ahead and mobile payment, the drive-thru is becoming contactless.

Meeting Consumer Demand With concerns about health and safety front and center, consumer demand for contactless transactions has surged during the pandemic. This digital transformation of the customer journey will not be temporary; it marks a new normal in consumer be-

Focusing on Convenience Starbucks is among the brands that is leading the charge on “convenience-led formats” and is rolling out curbside pickup, drive-thru, mobile order-only pickup and combinations thereof that align with customers’ preferences for contactless off-premise orders.

havior in a post COVID-19 marketplace, according to FIS Research.

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“As we navigate through the COVID-19 crisis, we are accelerating our store transformation plans to address the realities of the current situation, while still providing a safe, familiar and convenient experience for our customers,” said CEO Kevin Johnson in a recent earnings call with analysts.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is among the brands that have updated its expansion plans to respond to the demand for increased off-prem. Earlier this year, Chipotle said it was looking to double the number of Chipotlanes, its drive-thru for digital orders, but that number was ratcheted up based on sales performance. “…The mix of higher-margin order ahead and pickup transactions has more than doubled for these restaurants (with Chipotlanes) as compared to the pre-COVID time frame,” CFO Jack Hartung said in an earnings call with analysts.

The brand has invested in the infrastructure to expedite off-prem. First and foremost, like Starbucks, the brand has a rad mobile app. Most all Chipotle locations have a second make line for digital orders and have shelves for to-go orders. Chipotle continues to innovate its digital pick-up experience, and has introduced walk-up windows at multiple locations in dense urban areas and other stores where drive-thrus are not possible.

Starbucks is closing 400 corporate locations in the U.S. and Canada, but is planning to open 300 new stores, including pickup-only stores in densely populated urban areas, during the current fiscal year. Select stores will be remodeled; a separate counter for mobile order pickup will be added.

Prior to COVID-19, Starbucks says approximately 80% of U.S. transactions were on-the-go, driven in part by the ability to order and pay ahead using the Starbucks App. As consumers continue to seek out contactless and convenient transactions, Starbucks says it will continue to leverage its mobile ordering and payment app and drive engagement with its 19.4 million Starbucks Rewards members.

Counting on Curbside Einstein Bros. Bagels is also preparing for the future of off-premises. “We know people are becoming less interested in sitting down inside a restaurant, and we’re seeing Einstein Bros. Bagels locations with drive-thrus doing well,” says Alex Sterling, Director of Marketing Communications.

“Our goal is to figure out how we make all of our locations act like drive-thrus.”

The brand has taken additional steps in this direction, adding new features to its mobile app including order ahead followed by curbside pickup,

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RESTAURANTS he explains. “As COVID-19 continued, we realized we needed to add a curbside offer to provide an additional level of safety,” Sterling explains. “…It was important to our customers, who didn’t want to leave the safety of their car in order to enjoy a fresh-baked breakfast or lunch.”

Brands such as Chicken Salad Chick, Famous Daves, Bolay and Beef ‘O’Brady’s have added pop-up drive-thrus with a tent, cones, and signage while leveraging local social marketing.

About 36% of Chicken Salad Chick’s 160 locations have traditional drive-thrus. Where possible, Chicken Salad Chick does virtual pop-up locations.

Using social media, the franchise promotes that they’re taking orders and will be dropping them off in a predesignated location from the branded popup tent. Customers order and prepay.

Curbside pickup has been offered by restaurants, including Dine Brands and Bloomin’ Brands, for eons, but it is soaring to new levels during the pandemic. As part of its Experience of the Future stores, McDonald’s began adding designated curbside pickup spots for mobile order pickup. In recent months, brands of all sizes and formats have been adding curbside including Cousins Subs, Dickey’s Barbecue, Domino’s, Dunkin’ and Panera Bread.

“Curbside pickup is quickly taking over as the new normal, and in a lot of ways it serves as an expansion of the traditional drive-thru,” says Rick Smith, director, business development for self-service and kiosk, Elo Touch (elotouch.com). “Over the years, the industry has made tremendous efforts to increase order accuracy while improving speed

of service in the drive-thru lane, and it is now crucial that restaurant operators gain every advantage possible, both in the lane and at curbside, as outdoor business will continue to increase.”

In most all cases, curbside and other contactless services are being powered through the brand’s mobile app.

Adding new channels is a complicated process, agrees Famous Dave’s Senior Vice President of Operations Al Hank. “When people say curbside is just the act of bringing food to the car, there’s much more involved,” he says.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. CEO Ritch Allison also commented on the mountain of work done behind the scenes to roll out and ramp up contactless services and reduce friction points. Domino’s spent much of Q2 “retooling almost 60 years of standard operating procedures and doing that over a matter of weeks,” admitted Allison during an earnings call with analysts. “Our teams and franchisees have done an outstanding job of implementing many things rather quickly, including protocols around contactless delivery, … the roll out of Domino’s car side delivery, which provides an incredibly convenient and contact-free carryout experience for our customers, and many digital enhancements that our teams have developed to make ordering, selecting service methods, paying and tipping even easier.”

Here’s how it works: When ordering online, customers select curbside, and note their vehicle’s color, make and model, which will be used to identify them when they arrive at the store. When they arrive, they hit the “I’m

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TECH TOOLS to Ramp Up Off-Premises HT TALKED WITH TECH EXECUTIVES ABOUT THE TOOLS OPERATORS SHOULD USE AT THE DRIVE-THRU AND CURBSIDE TO POWER EVEN GREATER EFFICIENCIES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE

here” button on the Tracker page or in the app. Domino’s customers can also reply “HERE” to Domino’s opt-in text. Once alerted to their presence, a team member from the store will bring the order to their vehicle.

Panera Bread has put its curbside technology on steroids, adding geofencing technology and expanding Wi-Fi to let restaurant staff know when a curbside customer has arrived. An employee is alerted automatically and brings the order to the vehicle. Customers who don’t opt-in to the geofencing can still alert staff to their arrival by hitting the “I’m here” button in the app.

Select Starbucks are offering curbside pickup. As with similar solutions, customers use the Starbucks App to order and pay ahead as well as check-in at designated parking spots at the store once they arrive. Over the coming months, Starbucks said it will increase the number of stores that offer curbside pickup as well as pilot a select number of locations to exclusively offer this format.

This increased efficiency is a win-win for brands and their customers. “In the new world, as it emerges, we are focused on how we can best serve our customers and meet them where they are,” said Panera Bread CEO Niren Chaudhary.

Delivering Speed Predictive arrival technology, which has become a standard offering for many large grocery retailers’ digital order pickup, is gaining momentum in restaurants as it helps brands deliver orders to customers quickly upon their arrival.

City Barbeque has partnered with Radius Networks (radiusnetworks.com), a location-based technology company, to launch an improved curbside pickup experience, FlyBuy Pickup.

FlyBuy is integrated with City Barbecue’s digital ordering platform. All curbside and delivery orders are automatically ingested into the system and alerts are provided to staff.

The technology enables City Barbeque’s 48 locations to have complete visibility into the customer’s journey to the restaurant,

Digital Signage “When you have a lot of change it needs to be communicated quickly and effectively. Nothing does this better than digital signage,” said Dave Haynes, founding editor of Sixteen:Nine an online publication that covers all things digital signage, during Samsung V/X Back to Business conference. “Those companies that have already invested in digital signage technology are really, really happy they did so because they had a tool that was ready to go to communicate change.”

With dining rooms closed, customerfacing digital signage is being repurposed in other areas of the restaurant.

For example, some QSRs and fast casual brands are moving the digital signage to the back of house to help inform staff about third-party delivery orders, Haynes explained.

Restaurants have been accelerating usage of digital menu boards in the drive-thru and using them in more complex ways to provide visually appealing content, dayparting, limited time offers, personalization and more.

Also part of the digital signage movement is the visual order confirmation – it shows you what you ordered, taking mistakes out of the equation, says Jeff Bradbury, Senior Director of Marketing, HughesON (hugheson.com).

Outdoor Ordering “Technology is playing a major role in increasing the efficiency of ordering and pickup that takes place outside of a restaurant’s walls … Over the years, the industry has made tremendous

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RESTAURANTS

maximizing food freshness and decreasing wait time. FlyBuy sends the restaurant an accurate ETA and alerts the restaurant when the customer or driver is within a certain radius of the restaurant, upon entrance to the property, and when they have arrived in a parking spot in a virtual pickup zone. This helps the restaurant fire the order at the correct time and have it ready for customer pickup when the customer arrives.

Within days curbside sales increased from 14% to 35% of sales. “…FlyBuy Pickup has helped us operate efficiently while stores begin to reopen, and enables us to replicate the five-star experience that customers receive when they are dining in the restaurant, with fresh food and prompt service,” says Judy Kadylak, CMO from City Barbeque. HT

Contactless Drive-Thru Done Right The contactless drive-thru experience is here to stay, says Rakuten Ready (rakutenready.com), pointing to Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell as two brands that have rolled out best-in-class contactless drive-thru experiences across their U.S. locations. Both brands: 1. Encourage customers to order online or via the brand app that provides a contactless payment and order solution; 2. Confirm orders via a mobile receipt or QR code shown through the window; 3. Ensure the cashiers never handle food; 4. Have a dedicated “food-only” employee who hands off food without contact.

Pullaway Lane For maximum efficiency, brands with double drive-thru windows should consider changing the “pay-only” window to an “order ahead only” with a pullaway lane, suggests Rakuten Ready. Customers who ordered online or via the app can pick up their food at the first window and exit the drive-thru via a designated pullaway lane that shortens wait times and decreases bottlenecks. Data science consulting firm Strategywise (strategywise.com) estimates a pullaway lane would reduce the average drive-thru wait time by 15% and increase order throughput by 19%.

Another possible fix: designated parking spots for customers waiting for large or complex orders, combined with a contactless carside delivery.

efforts to increase order accuracy while improving speed of service in the drive-thru lane, and it is now crucial that restaurant operators gain every advantage possible, both in the lane and at curbside, as outdoor business will continue to increase. Having a place where customers can check-in or order outside gives the kitchen a head start and also reduces the perception of wait time.

We’ll also start to see features like geofencing, facial or gesture recognition, and contactless payments incorporated into outdoor ordering solutions to further improve the guest experience,” said Rick Smith, director, business development for self-service and kiosk, Elo Touch.

Streamlined Communications “There is an increased need for streamlined communication between restaurants and their customers, especially for those adjusting hours, capacity or ramping up takeout operations,” says Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of Numa.com. “There are tools available today that are improving customer connection with the best conversational messaging experience.

Restaurants and consumers are also taking advantage of technology that enables text takeout and curbside pick-up mode, which also means no per-order fee, and makes pickup orders much more efficient and hands-free.

“Some of the new advancements in technology enable brands to offer a ‘message’ button from within Google Maps and Google Search. Google’s Business Messages … allows restaurants and other businesses to not only further their conversations with customers, but also drive and improve sales, as well as customer loyalty.”

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Join the Community Solving Restaurant Challenges G E T O N B OA R D, A N D R E A P T H E R E WA R DS.

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8/3/20 7:26 AM

LABOR MANAGEMENT

Managing Workforce

Health &

Safety

Technology can help hotel and restaurant brands run their operations efficiently while keeping staff safe, informed and empowered.

In states where hotels and restaurants have begun to expand operations, a great emphasis has been placed on guest safety in the hopes that guests will return to their favorite lunch and vacation spots. But guests are only half of the equation.

Of equal importance is the safety of employees and organizations are taking a stand to ensure that employees are safe. One example: Recently, the Hotel Council of San Francisco, the California Hotel and Lodging Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association filed a lawsuit to overturn the County of San Francisco’s Healthy Buildings ordinance, alleging that it “endangers the health of hotel employees by mandating increased contacts with guests, and it fails to align with widely recognized federal and state infectious disease experts health guidelines for hotels.”

The good news is that there are many technologies available to help hotel and restaurant brands keep their staff members safe.

Here is a small sample of the types of technologies currently available and examples of how some hotels and restaurants are using them to effectively manage their workforce.

TAKE THOSE TEMPS

Taking employee temperatures before allowing them to come into work has quickly become a standard health safety protocol implemented by both hotels and restaurants. Concord Hospitality is one such brand carrying out this procedure.

“Daily temperature checks are conducted when associates enter the property,” says Dean Wendel, Vice President of Food

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and Beverage at Concord Hospitality. “If a fever is determined, they are sent home. Vendors and delivery persons are scanned as well before they are allowed to enter the premises. Any sick associates are instructed to stay home.”

Recognizing the need for a way to implement temperature screening as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, many companies have developed innovative solutions. For example, Safe Space Scan Technologies (safespacescan.com) offers employers an automatic, non-contact free-standing infrared scanner that is FCC-certified and can scan for both elevated temperatures and mask compliance in less than one second. Those without masks and/ or with an elevated body temperature will receive an audio alert, while notifying the business or building management of the occurrence. Typical locations for the scanner include building entrances, security desks, and elevators.

Samsung Electronics America (samsung.com) partnered with Palmer Digital Group (palmerdigitalgroup. com) to introduce a temperature screening kiosk. The kiosk uses a simple red and green light stop/go system with green conveying a safe temperature and entry while red conveys the opposite.

ASK THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

A mobile app health questionnaire can be essential to daily operations.

Fernando Mateo, VP of Operations of NYC-based restaurant Zona de Cuba, approached Datapult, a technology and wellness developer, for an app that would monitor his restaurant employees’ health so that he could better serve his customers and keep his employees safe in the wake of coronavirus. @ Work by Achu Health (achuhealth.com/atwork) was developed to do just that. Users receive a daily health check-in push notification on their phone, employees input their symptoms, if they are experiencing any, or note that they are feeling well enough to work. These reports are sent directly to the employer, where they can then communicate with any symptomatic employee and coordinate whether they should come in.

“We are very happy with the @Work technology,” Mateo says. “Our employees feel safer and more comfortable at work, and it gives us more control of our schedule because we know in advance if someone is not coming in. The dashboard is mobile friendly and easy to use. This is the extra layer of protection we were looking for in the time of COVID.” Harri (harri.com) also launched a COVID-19 Employee Health Check Platform which allows man-

agers to gather an employee’s health symptoms, prior to starting their shift, by following a pre-built COVID-19 health questionnaire and logging an employees temperature. Based on the answers supplied and the employee’s temperature, the system will alert the manager to whether the employee passed or failed the health check.

QDOBA is also requiring that its employees fill out a pre-shift questionnaire to help screen for symptoms. The fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain has restaurant managers screen employees as they arrive to work and has partnered with OpsAnalitica (opsanalitica.com) to log and track employee responses.

Meanwhile Hard Rock Casinos and Hotels is using Redeapp’s HealthePassport (redeapp.com) in a variety of ways to keep staff members safe. When it comes to employee health screening, HealthePassport asks employees prior to their shift to input four safety actions into the portal, including symptoms, body temperatures, self-health declarations and health tests such as antibody tests.

EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE

Staff training in new protocols has never been more vital. Multimedia Plus (multimediaplus.com), a training and communications technology platform used by the retail and hospitality industry, said in its study, titled: “The Surprising Spending: Retail & Hospitality COVID-19 Im-

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LABOR MANAGEMENT

pact Survey,” that 75% of respondents said employee training was their highest priority initiative.

Choice Hotels has an entire platform dedicated to training called Choice University (ChoiceU). And it was able to put the platform to excellent use when the pandemic hit. It developed additional learning content including the Disaster Recovery Website, Revenue Management training and Commitment to Clean Education Hub. As a result of the company’s quick adaptation, ChoiceU.com has seen record-breaking franchisee engagement on these modules, with 8,000 completions to date.

Concord Hospitality was also quick to educate employees. According to Wendel, all associates have been given specific training on sanitation, handwashing techniques and personal hygiene procedures. Additionally, the company has its own COVID-19 training video.

CitizenM has also created online training tools which cover not only health and safety (such as special in-depth training for all housekeeping staff on the use of disinfectants and methods for surface cleaning) but also supporting behavior, including how to deal with heightened levels of anxiety, both in staff and in others around them, says Michael Levie, COO, citizenM. Meanwhile, on the restaurant side, QDOBA is using Articulate Rise (articulate.com), an eLearning platform, to build and distribute training courses to its frontline staff members. By using eLearning, the

company is able to offer real-time updates to staff and be a one-stop shop for information, says Jesus Alvarez, Senior Manager, Risk & Asset Protection, QDOBA. The technology allows for leader-led training and/or self-paced learning, and the courses are also multi-modal, providing employees with multi-media, visual, auditory and written functionality so as to help increase retention rates. Plus, QDOBA is keeping track of completion rates to keep teams accountable.

DIGITIZE SCHEDULING & ATTENDANCE RECORDS

Scheduling employees and clocking staff members in and out is another area that stands to benefit from a technology update. How so?

Being able to manage shifts via mobile app prevents employees from making unnecessary trips to their workplace just to view their schedule, says OpenSimSim (opensimsim.com). Meanwhile, managers can use the app to make schedule changes and approve timecards, ensuring they spend less time using communal back office computers. And when at work, employees can clock in and out of shifts using their own mobile device. This reduces the risk of spreading viruses by eliminating a communal clock-in system.

ADP (www.adp.com) has also come up with a replacement for traditional time clocks. Businesses can download the ADP Time Kiosk App to their own tablet device where they can enable facial recognition for identification and voice commands for

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Offer Mobile Tipping Options Both hotels and restaurants might also consider implementing a mobile tipping technology to help keep employees safe both during and after the pandemic.

Money has a fairly dirty reputation as is, but the pandemic has brought that fact into the limelight.

“In light of COVID-19, it is now clear that the general public are going to be highly averse to using cash going forward. This means that hospitality staff are at considerable risk of losing a critically important element of their take home pay,” says Adrian Harris, Founder, thankU (thanku.app).

Plus, as society increasingly moves in a cashless direction, mobile tipping could be an appropriate solution with long-term benefits.

According to TipGenie.io, staff members benefit from mobile tipping because it allows employees to gain and recover the lost opportunity for tip-based earnings which also leads to increased morale among staff members.

But it also enables management to gain insights from data analytics generated by tip transactions.

Nicolas Cassis, founder of eTip Inc. (etip.io), also points out that mobile tipping is great for audit compliance and managing employee performance.

“When it comes to audit compliance, restaurants and hotels can now track employee tips to ensure that they are complying with tip regulations set by the IRS,” Cassis states. “And through customer ratings and reviews,

TIP

restaurants and hotels can manage their employees and the performance of their locations.”

So how does it work?

For TipGenie.io and eTip Inc. users, the company creates unique QR codes which can be assigned to an individual employee, a team, a location, or event. These QR codes can then be placed anywhere the business likes: a hotel room, concierge desk, or the valet stand. A customer scans the QR code, enters the tip, and leaves feedback. No mobile app is required, and the customer can pay however they prefer: credit card, Google Pay or Apple Pay. “Once set up, TipGenie.io worked immediately and smoothly. For guests and staff alike. It’s plug and play — the QR code works seamlessly and is easy for guests to understand and we could see the Stripe transactions immediately. Our servers and housekeeping staff really appreciate receiving tips from our lodge guests who increasingly travel without cash,” says Jess Wilson, Highland Center General Manager.

The thankU mobile tipping system is a little different. It requires that customers download the thankU mobile app to their phone. Then when they wish to tip an employee, they open the app and hold their phone near a thankU badge which can be worn (like a wristband or cuff button) or displayed. The badge contains a wafer thin NFC microchip.

“A thankU tipping transaction feels pretty much like using Apple Pay at the grocery store, but you are just holding your phone to this smart little thankU badge, not an expensive payment terminal,” says Harris.

Restaurants and hotels also have the option of offering staff access to a mobile tipping program such as the TruCash platform from DCR Strategies Inc. (dcrstrategies. com). Employees receive their tips loaded to a unique mobile wallet automatically, which helps reduce the risk associated with handling cash each night. Once loaded onto their wallet, staff can use the companion mobile app to load funds onto a prepaid card, to pay bills directly from the app or to make e-transfers directly to their bank account.

The Laundry Rooms, a property management company that provides extended-stay accommodations for guests with the feel of a hotel, utilizes DCR’s payment solutions for payroll and gratuity disbursements for its staff.

“Working with Mews property management systems and their partner solutions, along with TruCash, we are able to provide a touch-free and cashless end-to-end solution,” says Matthew Opferkuch, CEO, The Laundry Rooms.

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LABOR MANAGEMENT

starting/ending shifts or taking a break.

Both OpenSimSim and ADP have found a way to attach health questionnaires (and temperature readings in the case of OpenSimSim) to their clock in/out technology. OpenSimSim even allows managers to track which employees have completed their required COVID-19 training, and rules can be implemented to ensure only those who have completed the requisite training can be scheduled.

ADP’s scheduling solutions can be used to stagger shifts, offering multiple shift start, break and end times, to reduce employee traffic and exposure. And its analytics and insights functionality can be used to spot trends in employee absences, possibly allowing management to catch an outbreak sooner than they may have otherwise.

OpenSimSim also helps employees stay up-todate on required hygiene practices and government regulations via in-app messaging, which includes a read function so managers know if their post has been read. And if an employee falls ill, managers can create time off requests for the required isolation period. These requests will automatically unassign the ill employee from all of his or her shifts during this period. To find a replacement worker, managers can view up-to-date employee availability right in the app.

MAKE COMMUNICATION FAST, EASY

A large part of labor management revolves around one very “simple” task: effective communication with employees. However, in hospitality, employees are constantly on the move making this simple task not so simple after all.

In fact, according to Jonathan Erwin, Redeapp CEO, up to 80% of hotel and restaurant workers don’t sit at desks and they rarely have a company email.

“These frontline hotel and restaurant/delivery workers aren’t sitting at a desk all day long and aren’t plugged into email or any of the other platforms that are geared to those who do sit at desks,” Erwin states.

“Yet, they need to be communicated with — whether it’s about shifts, new company health guidelines/protocols, or anything else that affects them.”

Mobile apps, however, are helping hospitality businesses overcome this issue.

Prior to COVID-19, Redeapp was already in use by the hospitality industry as a workflow and business communications platform. During the pandemic, it launched HealthePassport — a health management solution — to aggregate several health inputs from employees and integrate contact tracing through a partnership with El Toro. It

allows companies to monitor outbreaks, identify at-risk employees and expedite communications between employers, managers and employees which helps keep employees and businesses safe.

Beekeeper (www.beekeeper.io) also allows managers to communicate with employees via a mobile app, even in the employee’s preferred language. Businesses can target and segment information based on different levels in the organization, enable trainings/quizzes/reminders/ tips, and enable immediate access to protocols, guidelines. During the pandemic, Beekeeper released a coronavirus package that allows managers to share updates on the virus, allows staff to ask questions on the virus, provides daily updates from the WHO, and more. It also allows staff to fill out a Symptom Alarm, request sick leave, and request protective equipment. The company has also released a Next Normal package which helps businesses re-educate their workforce as well as re-integrate furloughed workers and communicate about quickly changing regulations.

“We use Beekeeper for training so staff can review the latest hygiene standards and protocols,” says Terry Kwan, Head of People Development, Swire Hotels. “Safety and health information is easy to gloss over, so we try to make it more fun and engaging by posting videos. We also share best practices on room cleanings, acknowledging guests, new guidelines, etc.” HT

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7/31/20 12:21 PM

From Painful to Practical: RTN Serves Up RFP Best Practices The Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) recently published its Buyer’s Guide and RFP Best Practices: POS, currently available to RTN members as a cornerstone benefit of membership.

The output is a result of over a year of collaboration with restaurants and suppliers in a virtual workgroup, whereby participants provided experience and expertise to produce a best practices document, complete with tips and checklists, to guide the industry forward.

Most CIOs agree that RFP processes are cumbersome, time consuming, and complex, even for the most sophisticated buyers and suppliers. In fact, according to Joe Tenczar, co-founder of Restaurant CIOs, member of RTN’s Board of Governors and key contributor to the Buyer’s Guide, RFPs tend to be a CIO’s least favorite obligation. Tenczar revealed it can take dozens of RFPs before someone is totally comfortable with the process, and when RFPs are outsourced (which they commonly are), consultants may charge tens of thousands of dollars for the project.

“The intent of this guide was to present a framework for technology procurement, including questions to ask that may save you literally hundreds of hours and countless dollars,” commented Tenczar. “Since this document was co-authored by several technology solution providers, it provides value to both purchasers and sellers. It will likely save both sides a ton of extraneous effort.”

Chris Heard, CEO and co-founder of Olive and also a key contributor to the Buyer’s Guide, agrees. “Understanding what your business truly needs and finding the right solution for it is a mammoth task that few get consistently right,” he told us. “The Buyer’s Guide helps to navigate some of the common pitfalls of the process, ensuring buyers are making strategic, data-driven decisions, as opposed to emotional ones.”

Another key contributor, Niko Papademetriou, VP of major accounts and business development at Qu, believes the Buyer’s Guide solves two major pain points: ‘Where and how do I begin?’

and ‘What did I miss?’ Papademetriou told us his main takeaway is the strategy around including, empowering and most importantly serving the needs of various stakeholders within your organization.

The bottom line? “The RFP process should be simple and streamlined for non-mission critical applications,” noted Tenczar. “While individual organizations prioritize certain systems, most companies would benefit from a normalized, clearlydefined plan, adaptable to specific needs.” HT

The RTN Buyer’s Guide and RFP Best Practices helps buyers and sellers accelerate the procurement process by: • • • • • • •

Identifing what constitutes a quick decision vs. full-fledged RFP process Ensuring clear objectives for buyers and suppliers Creating a framework to prioritize requirements Increasing buy-in from stakeholders and executive teams Defining clear communications with vendors Simplifying the selection and proof of concept test process Reducing complexity wherever possible

To access RTN’s Buyer’s Guide & RFP Best Practices, scan QR code (must login to access).

Meet Us at Restaurant NEXT! On October 12 & 13, RTN will co-host a unique real-time virtual event at HospitalityTech. com, featuring simulated restaurant environments, presentations from top restaurant leaders, and global networking opportunities.

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7/30/20 12:05 PM

DECEMBER 1 - 3 Join us as we bring technology solutions to life with Hotel NEXT, a completely simulated hotel environment.

Explore how tech solutions function in environments like lobbies, guest rooms, F&B outlets and back offices, while engaging in meaningful real-time connections.

WHY ATTEND •

3-day virtual event, complimentary for qualified hoteliers

•

Explore Hotel Next — a simulated hotel environment created for the new normal

•

Lessons learned from other industries on how they are adopting new technologies

•

Technology solutions that meet new protocols and exceed guest expectations

•

Build out roadmaps to create and refine priorities

•

Amplify your network by making real-time connections.

PRESENTED BY

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Learn more at www.HT-NEXT.com

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