Innovation

📣 GuestDiary.fr offers hoteliers a comprehensive solution to enhance customer loyalty and streamline management. It enables personalized communication, such as booking confirmations and special post-stay offers, tailors experiences based on customer data, simplifies booking processes by centralizing reservations from various sources, manages customer feedback effectively, and helps create and manage loyalty programs with exclusive discounts and special offers. This all-in-one platform is presented as a key to improving customer satisfaction, simplifying operations, and fostering sustainable business growth.

🏨 Viceroy Hotels and Residences launches the first phase of a transformative brand relaunch on November 13, 2024. The brand aims to be a leader in the travel industry by focusing on innovative design, intuitive service, and immersive storytelling. The new era promises an exceptional customer experience with upcoming innovations in dining, drinks, and wellness, catering to luxury travelers' desire for authenticity and cultural immersion. Locations span from Santa Monica to Saint Lucia, Los Cabos, Chicago, and Snowmass.

🏕 Amazon expands its travel brand offerings for Cyber Week, running from November 25 to December 2, 2024. During this American shopping holiday following Thanksgiving, consumers can save on various items and book vacations. In 2024, Amazon partnered with brands like American Airlines, Delta, Avis Budget, Visit Florida, Viator, and Royal Caribbean. Viator’s VP of marketing, Laurel Greatric, emphasizes the ease of offering an amazing travel experience for the holidays through these Cyber Week travel deals.

🌐 ICANN and Smart Africa sign a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance Internet governance in Africa. Their collaboration commits to promoting a stable, secure, and inclusive Internet, focusing on capacity building events, training workshops, and increasing African stakeholder participation in governance discussions, aiming for digital transformation across the continent.

💰 Bounce raised $19 million in Series B funding to accelerate international expansion led by Sapphire Sport with Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Thayer Ventures, and other investors. The company, launched in 2019, has over 13,000 partners in 100 countries and operates in more than 4,000 cities, including Paris with over 275 partners and Nice with nearly 40. The funds will enhance services for travelers and residents globally.

🛡️ Cyberattacks are increasingly sophisticated in the hospitality sector. In 2023, account hacking, phishing, and ransomware were prevalent. Isabelle Leganne, VP of the Digital Commission of GHR, highlighted this at EquipHotel (Nov 3-7, Paris). Gilles Berthelot from GIP ACYMA noted the industry's underestimation of the threat. The 2024 ImpactCyber study revealed that 62% of small and medium businesses feel they are at low risk or unaware, and 78% feel inadequately prepared. GIP ACYMA urges communication in the event of an attack.

🛫 The region of Ile-de-France withdrew a €1 million subsidy from ADP, in partnership with Volocopter and Lilium, for the flying taxi project after the initiative missed its launch during the Paris 2024 Olympics. This decision, announced by Valérie Pécresse on November 17, 2023, follows delays in engine delivery, DGAC certification, and EASA endorsement. ADP remains ready for experiments from the Austerlitz vertiport in December.

🍴 Olivia Grégoire's amendment to perpetuate the use of meal vouchers for any food product in medium and large retail outlets was adopted by the French National Assembly's Economic Affairs Committee. This change, which diverges from the original intent of meal vouchers, has received criticism, especially from Catherine Quérard, President of GHR, and Laurent Frechet, President of restaurateurs, due to its significant impact on restaurants since its implementation in October 2022.

📶 Streaming video requires 3-5 Mbps for HD, 5-8 Mbps for Full HD, and 15-25 Mbps for Ultra HD. A standard home usage typically needs 100 Mb/s, while intensive use, such as for large families or heavy online activities, requires 300 Mb/s to 1 Gb/s. Professional use may demand several Gb/s. Fiber to the Home (FTTH) in France offers up to 1 Gbps, whereas Fiber to the Office (FTTO) ensures even higher, symmetrical speeds suitable for businesses. Maximum theoretical speeds reach 8 Gb/s for FTTH and 10 Gb/s for FTTO, but actual speeds may vary due to factors like distance, user traffic, installation quality, and environmental conditions. Wifirst specializes in FTTO solutions for businesses, offering customizable bandwidth options exceeding 1 Gb/s.

📱 Api & You developed Console Team Affinity, targeting the hospitality and restaurant industry to streamline, optimize, and energize recruitment, enhancing employer branding. Rémi Ohayon, founder of Api & You and Meilleur Ouvrier de France in Digital Communication, highlights the changing expectations of candidates in the competitive job market, emphasizing the distinctive needs of the sub-30 talent demographic.