Latest news with #SalesAndCatering
Hospitality Net
11 hours ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Champion Hotels Unlocks Group Business Growth with STS Rollout Across 21 Properties
a leader in sales and catering software solutions for the hospitality industry, is excited to announce its partnership with Champion Hotels. Champion Hotels, the largest privately-owned hotel operator in the United States, has selected STS Cloud as its group sales and event management platform, and already successfully onboarded 21 of its properties. Based in Oklahoma, Champion Hotels operates a diverse portfolio of over 150 properties ranging from luxury full-service hotels to limited-service accommodations. By adopting STS Cloud, the company aims to optimize group sales processes, streamline event management, and enable real-time collaboration across its locations. The STS platform provides end-to-end functionality for event management, spanning lead generation, booking, planning, event execution workflows, reporting, and analytics. It modernizes the event management business by replacing cumbersome manual processes with a comprehensive, easy-to-use system, empowering clients to efficiently manage and grow their event operations. "STS Cloud stood out as the right choice for our growing portfolio because of its intuitive design, comprehensive reporting, and real-time accessibility across departments,' said Mike Farney, Area Director of Sales, Champion Hotels Management & Development. 'We're confident this platform will not only streamline our group sales and catering operations, but also support better communication and faster decision-making across all 21 properties.' The cloud-based STS Cloud platform facilitates seamless lead tracking, booking management, and reporting capabilities. Designed for the modern hospitality industry, it allows sales and event teams to work from any location or device, ensuring maximum flexibility and productivity. Ryan Hamilton, Co-Founder of added, 'We're thrilled to welcome Champion Hotels to the STS Cloud family. Champion's commitment to excellence in hospitality aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver smart, powerful tools that drive group sales success. This partnership showcases the strength of STS Cloud in supporting multi-property operators with modern, scalable technology.' continues to lead the way in providing robust, affordable solutions for hotel groups, management companies, and independent operators, ensuring they can efficiently manage group sales and events in a competitive and dynamic industry. About Champion Hotels Champion Hotels, headquartered in Oklahoma, is the largest privately-owned hotel operator in the United States, with over 40 years of experience in the hospitality sector. Managing over 150 properties nationwide, Champion Hotels operates a mix of luxury full-service and limited-service hotels, consistently delivering exceptional guest experiences across its portfolio. To learn more visit About provides the most affordable, full-featured Sales and Catering systems for hospitality. Its STS Cloud Sales and Catering system is widely installed and engineered to give property sales teams the sales tools that help them achieve their goals. systems are developed and supported by the company's US-based offices. It is a trusted full-service sales and catering partner that delivers solutions via a software-as-a-service model that ensures greater client communication to streamline the sales process and maximize staff productivity. systems help hotel companies meet revenue goals through anytime-anywhere data access and integration with multiple PMS systems. STS Cloud delivers unparalleled performance to help you thrive in today's competitive sales environment. For more information, please visit Mike Pavicich Vice President of Global Sales
Travel Daily News
26-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Accor develops ecosystem for meetings and events bookings
This global website will be available as a pre-launch version in late 2025, with initial functionality for sales teams connected to Salesforce and online booking for small accommodation groups of up to 30 guestrooms. In early 2026, a more comprehensive suite of features will be introduced, including online booking for meeting rooms and residential seminars, guestrooms and meeting rooms, as well as connectivity to external channels. MeetingPackage, the best-in-class online central reservation system for booking Accor meetings & events space, will be used as the backbone of this future platform, connecting listed sales & catering tools to the Accor website and external third-party channels. The meetings & events ecosystem is also being developed in collaboration with several globally renowned technology providers that will seamlessly integrate their expertise and technologies to enhance the overall meetings & events management experience across Accor's global portfolio. These include: Oracle – OPERA Cloud Sales and Event Management is Accor's new cloud-based application, and the first out of the 4 S&C providers in being fully connected with MeetingPackage and Accor Ecosystem. An integrated component of OPERA Cloud Property Management unifying all Accor's hotel departments, Sales and Events Management will be offered in three versions: Premium for luxury hotels as well as large meetings & events properties, Standard for small and medium hotels, and an Essential version will be offered to cover hotels who manage accommodation only groups Backyou – Accor's trusted European provider and sales & catering solution for small and medium meetings & events hotels in Europe and North Africa. iVvy – is a leading sales & catering solution provider trusted by Accor's Mantra properties and Accor hotels in the Pacific region. iVvy is Accor's preferred sales & catering solution for small and medium hotels in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and The Americas. Amadeus – Delphi is a leading sales & catering solution for the hospitality market, tailored solution for premium and luxury hotels as well as large meetings & events properties, and clustered hotels. Delphi is a trusted solution already adopted by more than 250 Accor properties in the premium and luxury segment. 'At Accor, we are fortunate to collaborate with best-in-class technology providers who are helping us create a seamless and efficient user experience. Through this new digital Meetings & Events ecosystem, Accor's entire event inventory will become more visible, accessible, and appealing. Our venues will be recognized as top destinations to gather with colleagues, clients, friends, or family. This digital transformation aligns with recent research from Accor highlighting that in-person meetings are more valued than ever. Meeting planners consistently report that face-to-face events drive higher revenue than virtual alternatives, that corporate away-days are essential, and that in-person business interactions significantly boost employee mental health. Our new platform will support these vital connections by simplifying the booking and management process, while also integrating our ALL Accor loyalty program to enhance the overall customer experience.'said Julien Houdebine, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, Accor. According to Allied Market Research, the overall value of the business travel industry is forecasted to rise from US$695.9 billion in 2020 to US$2 trillion by 2028. The forecasted expenditure by business travelers will also rise, according to a survey by GBTA and Mastercard, increasing from US$933 billion in 2022 to US$1.4 trillion in 2026. With a leadership position in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, where the market still offers strong growth potential, Accor is aiming to expand its footprint, strengthen local partnerships, and deliver tailored, innovative solutions that meet evolving client needs across these key regions. Accor has the most diverse brand portfolio in the hospitality industry, encompassing more than 45 hospitality brands from luxury to economy. The Group's leading brands for meetings & events include Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, MGallery, Pullman, Mövenpick, Novotel, Mercure, and ibis as well as lifestyle brands like The Hoxton, Mama Shelter, SLS, and SO/ through Ennismore.
Hospitality Net
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
How STS Cloud is Bringing Mindful AI to Hospitality Tech - An interview with Co-Founder, Ryan Hamilton
Hospitality technology balances tradition with innovation - personal service with digital efficiency. Ryan Hamilton, co-founder of represents a different approach to tech leadership. While competitors race to claim AI dominance through marketing hype, Hamilton's team has quietly integrated AI for years, creating practical solutions with tangible benefits. This methodical approach has earned him respect as a leader who honors both technological advancement and industry tradition. As STS Cloud and ProposalPath evolve in an AI-enhanced world, Hamilton shows how established companies can embrace new technologies without losing their identity. In this conversation, we explore how his approach - valuing clarity, conviction, and service - creates an AI vision for hospitality that strengthens rather than diminishes the human element at its core. Q/Ivana: While most tech executives are racing to make sweeping AI proclamations, your approach seems refreshingly deliberate. You've built platforms that have quietly transformed how thousands of hotels manage their sales operations. Now, as AI reshapes the technology landscape, I'm curious - how are you applying that same thoughtful philosophy to this new frontier? A/Ryan: I've come to see AI as a journey we're navigating collectively, not a destination we're racing toward. The truth is, our team has been quietly integrating AI into our processes for years now. My business partner and our development team discovered early on that AI tools could enhance their coding workflows, creating space for deeper creative thinking. What feels different now is the accessibility and maturity of the technology. We're witnessing a convergence of possibility and practicality that opens doors for meaningful transformation—not just incremental improvement. Q: That's fascinating that you've been integrating AI tools behind the scenes for so long. How do you personally navigate your role in guiding the company through what many are calling an AI revolution? A: I'm embracing my role as a translator between technological potential and human-centered application. In our company culture, where trust and clarity are foundational values, my responsibility is to ask the essential questions: How can AI remove unnecessary friction for our customers? Where can it genuinely enhance how we work together? How do we build with AI rather than around it? This intentional approach ensures we don't chase technology for its own sake but rather align these powerful tools with who we are and the value we create for our community. Q: Let's talk about implementation. How is your team currently using AI in their day-to-day operations? A: We're cultivating an organic integration strategy, allowing AI to flow naturally into areas where it creates immediate value. Our development team pioneered this approach, finding that AI tools could optimize their workflows and create space for deeper problem-solving. Now we're expanding this thinking across our entire ecosystem—from support to sales, marketing to operations. We're identifying those small but powerful wins that compound over time—enhancing communication clarity, distilling complex data into actionable insights, and creating more impactful training resources. What energizes me most is the absence of fear I see in our team. Instead, there's genuine curiosity and enthusiasm. Everyone recognizes we're learning together in this space. My role is to nurture this mindset that AI is a tool for elevating our collective capabilities, not replacing our essential human contributions. Q: Your company's flagship products, STS Cloud and ProposalPath, have become essential tools for hotel and venue sales teams. How do you envision AI enhancing these platforms? A: This is where our purpose comes alive. Our platforms already empower sales teams to work with greater efficiency and effectiveness, so the question becomes: how can AI amplify this value in authentic ways? We're exploring capabilities that align with real user needs—like summarizing incoming RFPs to highlight key requirements, automatically populating proposal details based on historical patterns, suggesting contextually relevant content, and even adapting communication tone to resonate with different client personas. The guiding principle is that these AI enhancements must feel intuitive and invisible. When we implement them correctly, users won't marvel at the AI—they'll simply notice their workflow becoming more fluid and their results more impressive. That's the mark of technology that truly serves. Q: You've often described your leadership approach as that of a "quiet builder." How does this philosophy influence your AI strategy, especially in an environment where AI is often surrounded by hype and bold claims? A: I believe the most transformative innovation happens quietly, in the background—creating value without demanding attention. That's precisely our approach to AI integration. We're not interested in AI as a marketing buzzword or status symbol. We're focused on delivering tangible benefits that make a real difference in people's work lives. Success for us isn't when someone marvels at our sophisticated use of AI—it's when they simply express that their day became easier, their work more fulfilling, or their results more impressive. This quiet builder mindset has guided us away from the pressure to be first-to-market and toward the discipline of getting it right. It's the foundation that has made our platforms trusted, stable, and genuinely valuable, and it's now shaping our thoughtful journey into the AI landscape. Q: Looking ahead, what excites you most about the next phase of your AI journey? A: What energizes me is that we're at the beginning of discovering what's possible. We're already seeing meaningful value from our early implementations, and with the technology advancing so rapidly, I believe the next 12-24 months will bring exponential growth in how we can serve our community. Our path forward is clear—continuous learning, staying open to new possibilities, nurturing our collective curiosity, and integrating AI in ways that honor our core values of being thoughtful, practical, and customer-focused. This isn't a passing trend or a checkbox for us; it's a powerful capability we're learning to master together—with our team and our customers as collaborative partners in the journey. That shared exploration is what makes this moment so full of possibility. Q: Thank you for sharing these insights, Ryan. It's refreshing to hear such a balanced perspective on AI - one that acknowledges both its transformative potential and the importance of purposeful implementation. A: Thank you for this conversation. It's truly an exciting time to be building in this space—not because of the technology itself, but because of the potential it holds to enhance how we serve and connect with one another. I'm deeply grateful to be on this journey with a dedicated team and a supportive customer community who share our vision for technology that elevates rather than replaces the human experience. Ryan Hamilton's approach to AI integration offers a refreshing blueprint for technology leadership in an era often dominated by hype cycles and quick-fix solutions. What stands out about his philosophy isn't just what he's building, but how he's building it—with intention, patience, and a deep respect for the human element at the heart of hospitality. For hospitality professionals and business leaders trying to make sense of AI, Hamilton offers a refreshing perspective: it's not about replacing people or blindly chasing trends — it's about using technology to support what we already do well, and taking thoughtful steps forward, one move at a time. About Puzzle Partner Puzzle Partner is a leading marketing consulting firm specializing in the hospitality and travel technology sector. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the company serves as a trusted advisor to innovative change-makers in the global hospitality and travel technology landscape. With exceptional domain expertise, an influential industry network, and decades of collective experience, Puzzle Partner delivers customized marketing solutions that amplify brand visibility and drive sustainable growth. The firm's team of experts possesses unparalleled understanding of the interplay between travel, hospitality, and wellness technology branding. Over the past decade, Puzzle Partner has established a proven track record of helping clients outperform competitors, achieve profitable exits, expand into the Americas, and realize extraordinary business outcomes. The company maintains the highest level of client advocacy in the industry while transforming visionary companies into unforgettable brands through strategic storytelling, brand positioning, and innovative content marketing. To learn more, visit Lauren Ramesbottom VP of Strategic Storytelling and Content Puzzle Partner Ltd.
