This week’s Partner News is highlighted by Volara’s hands-free, voice-first, guest-engagement platform with Google Nest Hubs being implemented at Legoland resorts; Paramount Hospitality Management partnering with Nuvola, Maestro PMS and 360 Networks teaming up with Nomadix. Read about all that and more below.
Volara’s Google Nest Hubs come to Legoland resorts
In every guestroom at the newly opened Legoland Hotel at Legoland New York Resort in Goshen, NY, as well as in each guestroom at Legoland Hotel and Legoland Castle Hotel at Legoland California Resort in Carlsbad, CA, guests are engaging with hotel staff and services through Google’s voice-first hotel solutions on Google Nest Hubs with Volara’s engagement software.
With the help of Google Assistant, guests are saying things like “Hey Google, call the front desk,” “Hey Google, bring me fresh towels” or “Hey Google, set a Lego alarm” and are receiving answers immediately. They are watching their favorite creators on YouTube, listening to their favorite songs on YouTube Music, and connecting their personal mobile devices via Bluetooth to play their own music playlists through the symphonic speaker on the Google Nest Hub.
Utilization of Nest Hubs with Volara has reimagined the in-room guest experience, even eliminating the need for high-touch items like bedside alarm clocks and telephones.
Paramount partners with Nuvola, Maestro PMS
Paramount Hospitality Management (PHM) has partnered with Nuvola and Maestro PMS to integrate the tech providers’ communication tools via open application programming interfaces (APIs). PHM has enlisted the joint solution services across four of its hotels within its current portfolio with plans for future hotel and resort integrations.
Avanti Palms Resort and Conference Center, Avanti International Resort, Floridays Resort Orlando and The Point Hotel & Suites are the first four properties to begin utilizing Nuvola’s Events for service request management, Pass-On Logbooks, Lost & Found, Housekeeping Productivity, and Guest Chat (SMS texting), combined with Maestro’s browser-based solutions hosted in Paramount’s private cloud services. Maestro operations modules including Multi-Property Centralized Front Desk, Condo Owner Management Alternate Inventory, Analytics, Guest ID Card, Loyalty, SMS Messaging, Travel Agency, Mobile Housekeeping, Work Order, and Yield Management are all in place as part of the total solution.
The joint integration enables each resort and condo hotel to access guest profiles, pulled together from one centralized system, from reservation to check-in/out procedures to specific requests or questions during each stay. Welcome, farewell and on-site offerings or updated health and safety protocols can all be automated to send to each guest via SMS text.
360 Networks teams with Nomadix
Nomadix has formed a new partnership with 360 Networks, the maker of the hospitality communications platform ComXchange, to equip hotels with Angie in-room voice assistants, an upgraded phone alternative powered by the ComXchange PBX. This partnership comes soon after the Nomadix announcement of its acquisition of Angie Hospitality and will expand Angie’s market share through 360 Networks’ portfolio of resellers.
Angie’s patented technology uses both voice control and touchscreen capabilities to offer a complete solution for hoteliers looking to increase guest satisfaction, streamline operations, improve staff efficiencies and maximize revenue opportunities. As hoteliers look to offer contactless, touch-free options for guests to engage when and how they want with hotel associates, Angie uplevels the experience for making service requests, asking questions about the hotel, controlling smart room functionality and sharing recommendations—all via voice or touchscreen. Additionally, Angie offloads already stretched staff members by reducing calls and drop-bys at the front desk, addressing an important pain point for hotels in this post-pandemic environment.
Mitch Brown joins Hanes Industries
Hanes Industries has hired Mitch Brown as director, sales, Hanes Fabrics. He comes to Hanes with more than 37 years of experience and a wealth of knowledge of both fabrics and customers, according to the company. He will direct the sales team, cover the West Coast and bring in export opportunities.
Hanes Fabrics provides a wide assortment of drapery linings and bedding fabrics for both the residential and hospitality markets. Hanes Fabrics is a business segment of Hanes Companies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leggett and Platt.
ROAR for Good hires Peter Klebanoff
ROAR for Good, a technology company for hotel worker safety, has hired Peter Klebanoff as SVP, business development.
Klebanoff, who had been a full-time sales consultant for the last six years, specializes in the development of marketing and sales strategies that accelerate growth for technology companies of varying size. In this new role, he will implement a strategy to increase market share within the hospitality industry, gather intelligence to improve the platform, build out the sales force and penetrate new verticals, such as healthcare.
He brings decades of insight and industry relationships to the team, serving 16 years as a director and VP at LodgeNet Interactive (now SONIFI Solutions) where he worked with clients to improve the hotel guest experience with technology. He has formed partnerships with major brands and engineered marketing plans to support the adoption and implementation of new products. He has also overseen the design and installation of security technology for the U.S. government and helped develop one of the first guides for preventing infant abduction with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.