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🍳 The world's largest kitchen at the Paris Olympic Games athletes' village in Seine-Saint-Denis will serve 13 million meals every day for two months. Sodexo manages the kitchen with Vesto supplying 300 out of 600 machines and equipment across 13 competition sites. These reconditioned tools help adhere to France's Agec law for an anti-waste, circular economy. After the Games, Vesto will launch a crowdfunding initiative to finance the repurchase and resale of these 600 pieces of equipment at half their original price. Vesto, growing from a startup to a 37-employee company in four years, views the Games as a large-scale experimental lab.

🏆 The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is scheduled for July 26. Bernard Boutboul, director of Gira, advises restaurateurs to prepare for client influx despite worries of a deserted capital. Suggested strategies include continuous work hours to cater to non-French dining schedules, reasonable pricing, themed offerings based on event timings and countries, shared and liquid menu options, and overcoming recruitment challenges for needed staff.

🏨 Hospitality ON lists new international hotel openings and future inaugurations, providing a map of locations opened in the last 10 days, featuring group hotels and voluntary networks. The list includes location, photos, and key information. Hotels are color-coded: yellow for this week's openings, blue for announced future openings, green for rebranding openings this week, and orange for newly signed projects.

💸 In June 2024, 5-star hotels achieved a record Global Review Index (GRI) of 90.4%, 4-star hotels 86.8%, and 3-star hotels 83.2%. Review volumes decreased by 2.9% from Q2 2023. Average response times improved, with positive reviews at 3.3 days and negative ones at 4.0 days, increasing the response rate to 66.3%, up by 3.4 points from Q2 2023. Agoda's market share rose to 4.8%, a nearly 2 point increase from 2023. Expedia's market share grew by 2.7 points, and Trip.com's comment volume by 9%, while Ctrip only saw a 1.9 point increase.

🏨 Hotel technology encompasses tools and systems designed to automate operations, manage revenue, optimize distribution, analyze data, forecast, and enhance customer experience. Key trends for 2024 include Artificial Intelligence for informed decision-making, cybersecurity to protect sensitive data, hotel apps for streamlined customer interactions, energy-saving room technologies, and smart hotel features for personalized experiences. Big Data aids in better marketing and operational decisions, while virtual reality can improve booking conversion rates. Innovations in hotel operations, chatbots, and meta-search reservations are critical. Mobile technology simplifies check-ins/check-outs and payments, while high-speed internet access is essential for guests' online activities. Hotel management software, the Internet of Things (IoT), digital payments, robots for service delivery, revenue management software, cloud technology, virtual concierges, APIs, and smart TVs are among the technologies that enhance guest experiences and operational efficiency. These advancements help hotels save costs, increase revenue, and stay competitive.

🍴 The hospitality industry has seen a strategic shift towards integrating robust dining services, crucial for the success of hotel operations. This involves creating vibrant, multipurpose spaces that draw both hotel guests and locals, enhancing brand differentiation and profitability. Key strategies include concept differentiation, recruitment, training, and tackling operational efficiency and sustainability challenges. Successful hotel restaurants have become dynamic revenue-generating spaces that foster customer loyalty and support long-term growth.

📢 Eric Abihssira, Vice-President of the UMIH, anticipates an AI revolution in the hospitality sector, leveraging innovative startup solutions. AI could enhance client experiences, e-reputation, and streamline reservations and wait times. Restaurants could manage stocks more efficiently, with AI suggesting daily menus based on weather patterns. Gilles Gateau of the Apec notes that a majority of enterprises are undecided about using AI. Source: La Tribune

📌 In preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Accor is enhancing accessibility for guests with disabilities, with over half of its hotels in host cities engaged in the 'Tourisme & Handicap' label process. By early July, 80 hotels were certified and 300 nearing certification, visible on the Accès Libre platform. Accor is also expanding its Smart Room concept for seamless disability-friendly design and developing digital tools such as internal GPS for visually impaired guests and booking filters for accessible rooms.

🍳 The Trophée Marcel le Servot submission deadline is extended to September 15, 2024. The final will be held on October 14, 2024, at Ferrandi Paris, judged by 19 Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, presided by chef Georges Roux. The 7th edition challenges contestants to create a two-texture guinea fowl pie with zero-waste sauce and 8 chou-based side dishes, along with an open macaroni timbale, all under €200 for 8 servings (€25/person). Gold leaf, truffle, caviar, foie gras, and premade sauce stocks are banned. Applications are available at les-cuisiniers-de-la-republique.fr.