All published updates

Toast, Square Expand Google Partnerships to Bring Agentic AI Ordering to Ask Maps via Universal Com…

Square and Toast expanded their integrations with Google, bringing US restaurant operators into Ask Maps, Google Maps' conversational AI interface. Built on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), diners can discover, customize, and complete orders via natural language prompts while operators maintain control over menus, pricing, and first-party guest relationships. Orders flow directly into operators' workflows, bypassing third-party commissions.

Canary Technologies Sponsors 2026 Hotel Visionary Awards

Hospitality Technology announced Canary Technologies as the exclusive sponsor of the 2026 Hotel Visionary Awards. Now in its 21st year, the awards recognize the hotel industry's most innovative technology initiatives, partnerships, and leaders. The 2026 winners will be announced live during the awards banquet on Nov. 18 at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, part of Hotel Technology Forum taking place Nov. 17-19. Canary Technologies CEO Harman Singh Narula expressed pride in supporting the awards to inspire ideas, partnerships, and progress that move hospitality forward.

Bilt Expands Bilt OS for Hospitality to Luxury Travel Advisors

Fintech and loyalty platform Bilt announced the expansion of Bilt OS for Hospitality to travel advisors at the Virtuoso Travel Week Tech Summit. The platform integrates a booking engine, itinerary builder, AI concierge, and Sion commission tracking, and offers a client self-booking portal. Bilt co-developed with an advisory board of luxury agency executives, aiming to consolidate fragmented agency software tools into a unified operating system for high-producing luxury agents.

Could Food Safety Technology Have Saved Taco Bell, Sweetgreen, and Other Brands?

The U.S. is experiencing massive Cyclospora and Salmonella outbreaks, affecting 40+ states, with over 22,000 illnesses and at least two deaths. The outbreaks are linked to shredded iceberg lettuce and fresh jalapenos used by restaurants including Taco Bell and Sweetgreen. The article explores how technology can help multi-unit brands avoid outbreaks, streamline recalls, and highlights the extended FSMA 204 Food Traceability Rule compliance deadline to July 20, 2028.

Impact and considerations

Food safety incidents pose significant risks to restaurant brands; technology investment and supply chain visibility become critical, impacting operations and compliance strategies.

Bilt debuts tech platform for travel advisors

Bilt announced the opening of Bilt OS for Hospitality to travel advisors at the Virtuoso Travel Week Tech Summit. The platform is personalized to an agency's IATA number and pseudo city code, offering an itinerary builder, Sion commission tracking, and AI concierge, and allows clients to self-book via a 24/7 portal. Pricing is undetermined, with a monthly fee and a per-PNR fee.

Startup Strut Builds Booking Systems for Motels

PhocusWire covers startup Strut, founded by Matt Rose, building booking engines for independent American motels and hotels. Strut offers booking software and guest information integration, priced at $999 setup plus $349/month for Front Desk, $449 plus $149 for Network, taking 7% only on Strut-delivered guests.

Can Tech Rollouts Reverse Wingstop's Sales Slump?

Hospitality Technology reports Wingstop faces its first sustained sales slump since 2003, with Q2 domestic same-store sales down 7.5%, the fifth straight quarterly decline. The company is doubling down on tech: Smart Kitchen has halved order fulfillment times, and loyalty program Club Wingstop enrollments are 22% ahead of forecasts, yet sales remain down.

Former Google, Spotify Exec to Keynote MURTEC Executive Summit

The MURTEC Executive Summit, scheduled for October 21-23 at Loews Coronado Bay Resort near San Diego, will feature Dr. Eric Solomon, a former Google and Spotify executive, as keynote speaker. He will address senior restaurant technology, marketing, and operations executives on leading with intention in a digital world and adopting AI without losing human connection.

MBody AI Expands Hospitality Robotics Platform to Outdoor Grounds and Parking

MBody AI Corp. has secured exclusive U.S. distribution rights for autonomous outdoor cleaning robots in six key gaming and resort states, using its Orchestrator platform to unify multi-brand indoor and outdoor robot fleets, addressing software and vendor fragmentation in hospitality robotics adoption.

Hilton Promotes Witchy New England Fall Escape

Hilton promotes fall travel in New England, highlighting experiences in Boston, Providence, Connecticut, and Portland, and featuring properties like Hilton Boston Park Plaza and Graduate by Hilton Providence to attract travelers.

Uber, Amex GBT, and others report strong Q2 earnings

PhocusWire rounds up earnings from major travel companies: Uber gross bookings up 24% to $58B; Amex GBT revenue up 35% with transactions up 41%; MakeMyTrip and Ixigo show mixed results in India; Lyft active riders exceed 30 million. AI adoption is key to improving efficiency and customer experience.

Hampton by Hilton introduces first guest-created waffle flavor

Hampton by Hilton launched its first guest-created waffle flavor, Peach Cobbler, available at nearly 2,500 hotels in the U.S. and Canada for a limited time. The flavor was created by Kaylee Voight, winner of the inaugural Guest Waffle Boss competition. Research shows 42% of travelers say a great hotel breakfast makes them happy before hitting the road.

Tmpo Launches Swipe-Based Mobile App to Accelerate Hourly Frontline Hiring

NYC-based startup Tmpo launched a mobile app on iOS and Android that uses swipe-matching, AI profile generation, and automated interview scheduling to connect hourly workers with employers in hospitality, retail, and warehouse sectors. Initial rollout focuses on the New York metropolitan market. Features include mutual swipe matching, automated interview reminders, AI resume parsing, and identity verification.

Inn-Flow Enhances Labor Management Platform to Automate Complex Hotel Payroll and Compliance

Inn-Flow, a cloud-based back-office and accounting platform for hospitality, launched major enhancements to its Labor Management platform. The update automates complex wage calculations, including blended overtime, pay-per-room housekeeping wages, and multi-property FEIN tracking, with state-specific compliance logic for California and Colorado, reducing compliance risks and manual processing.

BWH Hotels Selects Toast as Endorsed POS Solution Across North America

Toast has been named an endorsed POS technology provider by BWH Hotels for its properties across the US and Canada, covering 18 global brands and ~4,300 properties. The partnership provides access to Toast Go handhelds, Mobile Order & Pay, Toast Kiosks, and more, unifying multi-outlet operations and integrating into existing hotel tech stacks and PMS.

Your Labor Cost Percentage is Lying to You

Author Jim Taylor argues that labor cost percentage is a lagging indicator that misguides operators. He recommends using covers per labor hour (CPLH) and sales per labor hour (SPLH) as predictive metrics. BLS data shows Q4 2025 wages rose 6.3% but output only improved 1.8%. Adding staff can sometimes lower labor cost percentage, as in Chili's investment case.

Restaurant Operators Know Where AI Belongs. Why Aren't Brands Listening?

A Harri survey of over 600 hospitality professionals found that nearly 40% of operators see scheduling and labor optimization as AI's biggest opportunity, while about one in five see no use for AI. Operators want AI embedded in existing workflows, not standalone dashboards. Over 90% prefer AI built into existing tools or as proactive background alerts. AI should handle logistics, not personnel decisions.

Tours and Activities Growth Outpacing Travel Overall, Distribution Lagging

A report by Arival and Phocuswright sizes the global travel experiences market at $253 billion in 2024, projected to grow to $342 billion by 2029. Experiences bookings grew 17% in 2024 vs. 6% for travel overall. However, distribution lags: only 33% of experiences were booked online in 2025 vs. 64% for travel overall. The report also analyzes consumer behavior, such as averaging 3.5 to 4.7 experience bookings per trip.

Airbnb Partners with Boutique Hotel Operator Lark

Airbnb has signed a distribution agreement with Lark, a boutique hotel operator based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to bring over 75 boutique hotels onto the Airbnb platform. Lark manages nearly 100 independent hotels across the U.S. and Mexico. The partnership aligns with Airbnb's strategy of offering unique, localized stays.

Inside CKE's Massive POS Cleanup

CKE Restaurants shared its POS system consolidation experience at a Restaurant Technology Network town hall. The company previously operated over 22 different POS platforms, creating significant technical debt. By standardizing to a single centralized menu database, CKE reduced new product release cycles from two weeks to under two days, improving operational efficiency.

BCD Travel's Guide to GBTA 2026 Sessions

BCD Travel published a guide to GBTA 2026, highlighting sessions led by its experts on topics such as using data and AI to influence traveler behavior, compliance risks, modernizing service expectations, and the future of airline retailing. It also showcases the newly launched Tripsource platform.

Who Owns the Customer Relationship When the Booking Happens Inside the Feed

TikTok GO launched in the US in May 2026, allowing users to book hotels, tours, and experiences directly within the app, with partners including Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, and others. This shifts where hotel bookings begin, as travelers no longer need to leave the app. AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are also becoming entry points for travel planning and booking. This results in hotels losing first-party data, challenging loyalty programs. The article suggests hotels capture data at owned touchpoints and ensure loyalty value is clear within platforms.

Your Hotel Is Invisible on LLMs, But Not for the Reason You Think

A benchmark study by Americas Great Resorts (AGR) reveals serious issues with AI engines recommending hotels. The study tracked 824 recommendations across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode in six major U.S. markets, finding that AI recommendations are highly concentrated, with an average of just five hotels taking half of all recommendations. More critically, AI recommendations include closed hotels, such as the demolished Mandarin Oriental in Miami. The study indicates that AI search relies on document authority rather than entity facts, leading to stale information. It suggests hotel IT and marketing co-own data governance to optimize public entity records.

Salsarita's Throws Out Industry Playbook to Rethink Loyalty with Data-Driven Approach

Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill, with 65+ locations, relied on vendor data showing top 75th percentile performance, but store metrics didn't match. VP of Technology Laurens Pitts shared at an RTN Town Hall how the brand formed a cross-functional team to observe stores in person, discovering only one in four customers are loyalty members, and that high-frequency customers may not be digitally connected. Analyzing DoorDash heatmaps revealed dedicated customers living 5-10 miles away. The brand shifted focus to the three out of four customers not in the loyalty platform, balancing tech tools with operational awareness.

Signia Hilton Savannah Partners with Chef Mashama Bailey for Culinary Experience

Hilton announced a culinary partnership with James Beard Award-winning Chef Mashama Bailey and her company Grey Spaces for the Signia Hilton Savannah, set to debut in 2028. Grey Spaces will lead the culinary direction for the hotel's food and beverage program, overseeing concept development, menus, wine lists, and guest experiences across multiple venues, including a lobby bar, all-day dining restaurant, and rooftop destination. The 444-room hotel will serve as the headquarters hotel for the Savannah Convention Center, featuring over 34,000 square feet of meeting space.