The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is convening hotel revenue professionals for two days of education, collaboration, and innovation at its ROC Americas in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ROC 2019 will be held June 18-19 and is co-located with HITEC 2019. The event is the world's largest gathering of revenue professionals in the travel industry with more than 650 in attendance.With powerful educational and networking opportunities, ROC is the must-attend conference of 2019 for learning and engagement. It's where senior leaders in hotel revenue optimization, sales, marketing, and distribution connect and engage in meaningful, thought-provoking conversations about the most important strategic issues facing the business.ROC 2019 will prepare attendees to take the lead in revenue strategy. The educational sessions are focused on elevating leadership and business acumen, anticipating and responding to headwinds, aligning sales, marketing, and revenue optimization efforts, adapting to the ever-changing landscape of hospitality technology, and driving profit throughout the customer journey.Highlights include:Dynamic and insightful general sessions on the Future of Revenue Management and Building Your Leadership MusclesThe return of the Lightning Round: Insights Worth SharingRepeated breakout sessions in multiple tracks2 days of education, including partner pre-con and faculty education sessions that were standing room only in 2018Access to the HITEC exhibit hall and general sessions (for qualified ROC registrants), a $450 valuePresentation of the HSMAI Vanguard Award for Lifetime Achievement in Revenue Optimization and Revenue Optimization Professionals of the Year AwardsROC Americas 2019 will bring together senior leaders responsible for leading revenue optimization and pricing for brands, management companies, ownership groups, hotels, and resorts. The event also showcases partner companies serving the revenue management industry, including consultants, technology vendors, and companies providing products and services in revenue management, execution, and reporting.HSMAI thanks preferred partner IDeaS, a SAS Company; platinum partners Cendyn and Rainmaker; and silver partners Infor, Milestone, OTA Insight, Sabre, STR, Tambourine, and TravelClick, and all Bronze and Media partners.Additional networking and education opportunities include a roundtable for faculty members currently teaching revenue optimization, a headshot studio that will provide complimentary professional headshots, and the return of HSMAI Helps, a volunteer opportunity benefitting Minneapolis.Go to http://www.hsmairoc.org for more information and to register.

LugLess will be offered in the Runtriz guest engagement platform so that hotel brand partners will be able to seamlessly offer guests the ability to ship suitcases, golf clubs, skis and more directly to and from their property. This integration will make it easy for hotels to put the LugLess service in the palm of guests' hands via their mobile website or app."We are thrilled to offer this timely and innovative service to our hotel partners that are looking for new service offerings to expand their guest loyalty programs and overall hotel guest experience through the Runtriz platform," said David Millili, CEO of Runtriz.By using technology to leverage existing logistics networks, LugLess has built the first luggage shipping platform that is easy and affordable for everyone. With shipping rates starting at $15, travelers now have a real alternative to the ever-increasing checked baggage fees, which for US-based airlines totaled nearly $5 billion in 2018"It's very exciting for LugLess to partner with Runtriz's hotel guest experience platform that adds value to hotel properties, their guests, and ultimately the entire travel experience," said Aaron Kirley, President of LugLess. "We are looking forward to alleviating one major pain point for travelers: their baggage."This initial US partnership program will set the stage for LugLess and Runtriz to expand globally to more than 2000 properties in 120 countries that leverage Runtriz's platform by alleviating the burden of baggage along the journey from home to airport to hotel and back again, ultimately providing guests a better hotel and travel experience.

Maastricht, The Netherlands - At the beginning of this month, Hospitality Net was present at HITEC Europe 2019 in Mallorca. The team visited various exhibitors to talk about their new and innovative products which were on display at the show. Here's a recap of what they have been talking about:A 360o solution for the telecommunications infrastructure in hotels. From design to network management.NETHITS is a global provider of advanced ICT solutions. Moreover, NETHITS has more than 13 years of experience as an agent at the telecommunications market, as a Broadband and Internet Service provider and also as a technology integrator specialized in hospitality.Our commitment to improve the customer experience and provide operational and economic efficiency to our hotel partners is based on a single platform that combines hardware and software intelligence (GPON, HOTSPOT, IPTV, VoIP, IPKEEPER), support services (Call Center, Bandwidth Management, Network Monitor and Management) and know-how at your disposal (Integration with Strategic Partners, Security Policies, Management and Support Tools, Integration with PMS and other customer systems).Increasing Guest Engagement and Streamlining Staff Management through Hospitality TechnologyINTELITY is the provider of a complete end-to-end enterprise guest engagement and staff management platform in hospitality. INTELITY is on a mission to provide its customers with the most direct and advanced connection to their guests, while also supporting back-of-house operations and business intelligence.INTELITY's platform is a multi-point solution to the common pain points experienced by hospitality industry workforces and offers the most comprehensive collection of certified, discrete integrations with PMS, POS, room controls, locks, spa management, loyalty programs, and ticketing systems. The platform is comprised of three key areas - INTELITY Guest, INTELITY Staff, and INTELITY Connect - providing management teams with the tools to better track and manage guest and staff activity through a single platform.Visit INTELITY's profile on Hospitality Net.Infor Completes Acquisition of ReServe InteractiveInfor announced the completed acquisition of Efficient Frontiers, Inc. dba ReServe Interactive. Headquartered in Livermore, Calif., ReServe Interactive is a leading provider of cloud-based sales and catering, restaurant reservations, and floor management software that serves the restaurant, sports and entertainment, event center, golf and country club, and hotel markets in the U.S. and Canada. ReServe Interactive's highly scalable, dynamic, and intuitive sales and catering solution will enable Infor to offer more functionality through Infor CloudSuite Hospitality, and increase Infor's presence in non-hotel hospitality venues such as entertainment centers, stadiums, wineries and conference and convention centers.Visit Infor's profile on Hospitality Net.Bonomi offers guest engangement through AI MessagingBy providing AI messaging assistants, Bonomi opens up a new direct channel for hotels to connect with their guests along the entire journey. Practical, intuitive, fun to use and easy to retrieve from their favourite messaging app, guests can turn to the hotel's own assistant for questions, booking, check-in, service orders, housekeeping requests or live chat with reception.Integrated in the hotel's website or PPC campaigns the assistant will increase direct bookings & build an opt-in database of subscribers for future marketing messages. Offering personalized guest alerts & recommendations will boost both guest satisfaction and ancillary revenues. With direct integrations to your Channel Manager / PMS / Service Optimization software, you can fully automate booking, check-in or service order processes, and thanks to our custom AI engine, your assistant will answer frequent questions automatically, reducing frontdesk workload.Interactive, self-service dashboardsDatavision offers a new self-service dashboards which transform data into stunning graphic visuals and share them with colleagues on any device. Collaborate and share dashboards with your colleagues. Datavision has provides self service report building since the company began over 24 years ago.Datavision since creating an integrated database with data from virtually every system on property or in the cloud. Datavision integrates information from all your key systems (PMS, POS, Spa, Golf, Labor, Sales & Catering, Google Analytics, Comment cards, GL etc.) and delivers actionable business intelligence.Visit Datavision's profile on Hospitality Net.Keystep Launches into EuropeKeystep Solutions are a market leader and innovator in the electronic door locking l sector. Opendoor replaces traditional electronic door locking systems that can expensive to maintain; magnetic strips wear out, cards need replacing, and replacement locks are costly. Opendoor offers greater functionality at a fraction of the cost by introducing a lock that offers both RFID and Mobile access in one. With a Bluetooth board fitted as standard you are future proofing your investment. All the locks come with a 3 year warranty and are CE marked and pass all the EU fire regulations.Having successfully delivered Opendoor to many leading hotel brands in the UK, including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Red Carnation and Elite Hotels, to name a few, Keystep are now expanding their reach into Europe. The launch was kick started by exhibiting at HITEC 2019 in Mallorca. Andrew Evans, Chief Executive Officer comments "We are very excited to launch our solution to mainland Europe. HITEC was a perfect platform and we've had some really great meetings with hoteliers not just in Europe, but also further afield. We look forward to following up on those discussions to see how we can help them resolve their guest access requirements".hotelkit - hotel operations & communication softwareBy a hotelier for hoteliershotelkit is an award-winning global software designed to simplify and enhance hotel operations and internal communication by connecting employees together on a single platform. The idea was born when hotelier, Marius Donhauser, took over the 4 star boutique hotel in Salzburg in 2011. Today the software is used by 40.000 employees across more than 800 hotels of all categories, sizes & types worldwide. Among them are the Le Meridien, moxy Hotels, Intercontinental Vienna, Hard Rock Hotels, prizeotel, Kempinski and many more.hotelkit is the central hub of communication and contains all important information about SOPs for every department of a hotel. It helps to document knowledge in a more transparent and sustainable way and to process daily tasks, checklists and repairs more efficiently. Employees can use hotelkit via PC, tablet and smartphone any time. For hotel chains or groups, the multi-property solution hotelkit Connect is offered.Quore adds award-winning, Housekeeping module to its Hotel Management platformQuore's award-winning housekeeping solution, Cleanings Plus, empowers your team to manage everything from room notices and cleaning projects to work orders. A centralized view of all issues by room means housekeepers can address all room needs at once without having to run all over your property to track down the information they need. The Cleanings Plus feature takes the guesswork out of identifying rooms that need to be cleaned, speeding up the process and ultimately saving the property time and money.Using real-time, cloud-based technology, Cleanings Plus automatically signals rooms that are ready to be cleaned through staff mobile devices, tracks cleaning performance in detail and notifies supervisors when room cleanings are complete, reducing delays for spotless, guest-ready rooms. Digital breakouts and push notification alerts increase team efficiency, and a management overview provides live insights into daily department operations--so your team stays connected at every level, from anywhere.Visit Quore's profile on Hospitality Net.VENZA's suite of resources protect data and demonstrate commitment to privacy, from corporate to on-premis, tech stack to cultureSince 2008, VENZA has helped hotel groups. We focus on taking measures to secure data and preserve confidentiality. As the industry's guide in an evermore treacherous journey toward data protection, our organization strives to provide up-to-date expertise and tools to achieve, assess, track and document progress. For example, during VENZA's central involvement in HTNG's GDPR for Hospitality work group, close attention was given to the unique needs that hotel groups have with regards to privacy regulations (i.e. GDPR, CCPA). As a result, VENZA launched a program that includes access to a privacy management system with multiple functionalities to facilitate compliance (e.g. Data Registration, Data Subject Request Management, Incident & Breach Management, 3rd Party Management). The system is equipped with templates for hotel systems and processings. These templates, along with the always-welcome assistance of VENZA's on-staff Privacy Engineers, ensure maximum meaningful application of the system.In another example of innovative change, our organization now delivers a full suite of the tools and resources (e.g. DR Back Up, RMM, Mail Protection/Archiving) to ensure that your network is properly monitored and managed. However, VENZA knows that central to all intelligent IT initiatives in hospitality today is a commitment to security. Therefore, our logging, monitoring and incident response program focuses on keeping data secure while satisfying standards (ICO27001) and compliance requirements (PCI DSS, GDPR).Visit VENZA's profile on Hospitality Net."Sertifi is already looking forward to next year."Sertifi showcased their closing technology, including eSignatures, ePayments, and eAuthorizations, which enhances security, guest and employee convenience, and speed. With more and more international organizations like Hyatt and Hilton using Sertifi, they're elated to eliminate inefficient and wasteful paper-based processes and help more hospitality organizations around the globe reach their fullest potential.Visit Sertifi's profile on Hospitality Net.Entrepreneur 20XCONGRATULATIONS to HOTELWAY for winning the E20X Judge's Choice Award!CONGRATULATIONS to Oaky for winning the E20X People's Choice Award!THANK YOU to all the other start ups for participating!

IDeaS Revenue Solutions today announced the 2019 IDeaS Cornell Management Scholarship recipients. As the leading provider of revenue management software and advisory services, IDeaS works in partnership with the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. The scholarships present hospitality professionals with the opportunity to earn online certificates developed by senior Cornell faculty leaders.Currently celebrating its tenth year, the scholarship program fosters professional development in the field of revenue management around the world, with this year's recipients representing six countries and six different hotel organizations.Winners of the 2019 IDeaS Cornell Scholarship include:Certificate in Hotel Revenue ManagementEric Marichal, revenue manager, Witham Family Hotels, United States of AmericaJana Vystupova, revenue optimization manager, Bohemian Hostels & Hotels, Czech RepublicCertificate in Advanced Hospitality Revenue Management: Pricing and Demand StrategiesKevine Otieno, inventory manager/assistant revenue manager, Aloft Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesJunius De Silva, director of revenue, The Sebel Melbourne Docklands & Residencies, AustraliaCertificate in Data Analytics 360Blanca Maria Torres, revenue analyst, Casa Andina Hotels, PeruRenata Makarova, head of revenue management, Halldis Spa, ItalyJunius De Silva, director of revenue, The Sebel Melbourne Docklands and Residencies, said: "Winning this IDeaS-sponsored, prestigious scholarship through Cornell University will further amplify my efforts in curating a revenue culture within our hotels as we shift from traditional revenue management toward strategic revenue management. This scholarship will enable me to create awareness, share knowledge and inspire the future revenue leaders of our industry."Jana Vystupova, revenue optimization manager, Bohemian Hostels & Hotels, said: "I'm excited to study at the renowned Cornell University. Having learned revenue management mostly on the job so far, this IDeaS scholarship provides a fantastic opportunity for me to deepen, structure and enhance my knowledge to be on top of my game. In this complex and critical field, the competitive advantage comes from a combination of analyst skills, knowledge and strategic use of data and tools."Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, president, founder & chief scientist, IDeaS, said: "A key part of IDeaS' mission to drive the future of revenue management is ensuring the brightest minds are given opportunities to lead. Our ongoing relationship with the hospitality program at Cornell University bridges business and academia to recognize and promote the next generation of hotel revenue leaders, worldwide."For more information on the program or to apply for future scholarships, visit http://ideas.com/about/scholarship/.About the School of Hotel AdministrationThe School of Hotel Administration, at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, is shaping the global knowledge base for hospitality management through leadership in education, research, and industry advancement. The school provides management instruction in the full range of hospitality disciplines, educating the next generation of leaders in the world's largest industry. Founded in 1922 as the nation's first collegiate course of study in hospitality management, the School of Hotel Administration is recognized as the world leader in its field. For more information, visit sha.cornell.edu.

RMS today announced it has won a highly competitive tender to become the sole Property Management System (PMS) for The Ascott Limited (Ascott), one of the leading international lodging owner-operators.The pilot commenced in early 2018 with three select Ascott properties in Singapore, China and France - Ascott Orchard Singapore, Ascott Raffles City Chengdu and Citadines Bastille Marais Paris. The global rollout commenced in March 2019 across 30 countries.This included RMS' Property Management, Central Reservations, Distribution and built-in Channel Manager technology to support online bookings, maintain channel management and operate a front office system in a single application. The rollout is expected to be completed in May 2020.With the Open API architecture design of RMS, Ascott is able to fast track many digitalization initiatives to drive better operational efficiency and achieve improved customer satisfaction. The news was announced today by RMS Founder and Managing Director, Peter Buttigieg, who welcomed the Ascott partnership as a major step forward for the business."We are very excited to be working with Ascott - they are a great company with big plans, and we look forward to growing with them," Mr. Buttigieg said. "Our global partnership with Ascott will also enable us to accelerate the development of our technology, something that will benefit all our users," he said.The Ascott Limited is a leading international lodging owner-operator with more than 58,000 operating units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as close to 42,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 100,000 units in over 660 properties.The company's serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott, Citadines, Citadines Connect, Somerset, Quest, The Crest Collection, lyf, Preference, Vertu, Harris, Fox, Yello and POP!. Ascott's portfolio spans more than 170 cities across over 30 countries.Mr. Alfred Ong, Ascott's Head for Global Operations, said: "Moving into Cloud is one of our digital initiatives to support Ascott's fast-growing business. Ascott achieved record growth last year, crossing 100,000 units globally. We expect to continue with this strong growth momentum to achieve our target of 160,000 units worldwide by 2023. As we expand, we need systems that are scalable and RMS' solution meets this requirement."It's one of several recent successes for RMS, most notably becoming the first hospitality technology company to achieve US Government FedRAMP security certification, a stringent security assessment, enabling it to win a major contract with the US Federal Government."RMS is the only PMS approved for use by US Government agencies, giving us a significant first-mover advantage in the huge North American market," Mr. Buttigieg said.About The Ascott Limited:The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. It has more than 58,000 operating units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as about 42,000 units which are under development, making a total of over 100,000 units in over 660 properties. The company's serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott, Citadines, Citadines Connect, Somerset, Quest, The Crest Collection, lyf, Preference, Vertu, Harris, Fox, Yello and POP!. Ascott's portfolio spans more than 170 cities across over 30 countries.Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.Ascott's achievements have been recognized internationally. Recent awards include DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards 2019 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; World Travel Awards 2018 for 'Leading Serviced Apartment Brand' in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; TTG China Travel Awards 2018 for 'Best Serviced Residence Operator in China'; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2018 for 'Best Serviced Residence Brand'; Business Traveller UK Awards 2018 for 'Best Serviced Apartment Company' and Business Traveller China Awards 2018 for 'Best Luxury Serviced Residence Brand'. For a full list of awards, please visit https://www.the-ascott.com/ascottlimited/awards.html.