Restaurant And Hospitality News – June 1, 2015
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, Yum Brands is contemplating home delivery from KFC and Taco Bell, McDonald’s is changing the way it presents its burgers to boost sales, RFID technology is helping hotels respond to emergencies, and Wendy’s has opened a new IT Innovation Center.
KFC And Taco Bell Contemplating Home Delivery Services
Fortune reported that Yum Brands is contemplating adding home delivery services to its KFC and Taco Bell Restaurants. According to Yum Chief Executive Greg Creed, the company is seriously considering added the service across all three of its chains – Pizza Hut is currently the only brand that delivers – saying that Taco Bell delivery in particular could be “a massive sales driver for the brand.” He explained, “What we want to do is get into a test, probably a couple of stores near a couple of college campuses.” In all, home delivery comprises just a very small percentage of food-service industry sales, but it is an attractive market particularly to attract Millennials who use their mobile devices to place food orders. But Creed says Taco Bell delivery would be limited, probably to evening weekend nights, to meet the strongest demand. And Taco Bell food also poses delivery challenges that KFC does not, since Taco Bell’s menu contains a mix of hot and cold ingredients. In contrast, Creed explained, a bucket of KFC chicken hold temperature quite efficiently. “I think KFC is set up with a menu offering that really sets us up to be a great delivery service,” he said.
McDonalds Shaking Things Up To Boost Burger Sales
McDonald’s is still trying to boost its slumping sales, and thinks it has found the solution in warmer buns, according to Time. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said that the chain is “recommitting to hotter, tastier food.” Easterbrook also launched a new strategic turnaround plan in early May, according to Fortune, in which it put emphasis on franchisees to spur growth and win back customers. “My immediate priority for the restructured business in returning critical markets to growth,” Easterbrook said. The latest changes include toasting buns 5 seconds longer, warming the bread by 15 more degrees. It also will help bring heat to the hamburger patties themselves, and the chain is also changing the way it sears and grills the beef to create juicier end products. Easterbrook believes that every little bit counts and sums up “to a big difference for our customers,” he said at a conference Wednesday morning, according to Buzzfeed.
New York Hotels Leveraging RFID To Help Staff In Times Of Emergency
At least 45 New York City hotels have installed a real-time location system (RTLS) from RF Technologies called HelpAlert in the last two years, according to RFID Journal, in an effort to improve responses to staff members in times of emergency. The move follows demands raised in 2013 by the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, a union of hotel workers in the New York City metro area and in New York State’s capital region), and the installations took place after the Hotel Association of New York City, which represents 160 of the approximately 450 hotel properties in NYC, voted to accept those requirements. The HelpAlert system uses Wi-Fi based active RFID tags to track personnel and assets, and is able to closely identify a tag’s whereabouts. As RFID Journal explained, “With PinPoint 2.2, a user can not only receive an alert indicating the ID number and location of an employee who issues a call for help via a PinPoint RFID pendant, but also view video from the four cameras closest to that individual.” To date, at least 90 hotels have an RTLS solution in place, about half of which are using the PinPoint solution.
Wendy’s Opens IT Innovation Center
Wendy’s has announced the launch of the 90 Degrees Labs near the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, a new IT Innovation center that will provide an open, collaborative environment for Wendy's employees to explore forward-looking ways to utilize technology for key business initiatives. The facility will house about 25 IT and operations employees who will focus on opportunities to spur innovation, while working closely with employees from Wendy's Dublin Restaurant Support Center. The center will focus first on consumer-facing opportunities involving Wendy's restaurants, such as mobile ordering, pay and other digital experiences. The Lab will also focus on strengthening support systems like optimizing business intelligence and internal communications technologies. "Our goal is to create an agile working environment, with a dedicated cross-functional team, that will enable us to take greater advantage of rapidly evolving technology in all areas of our business," said Emil Brolick, president and CEO, The Wendy's Company. "The labs will be an important asset in Wendy's continuing transformation, as we work to drive growth by making our restaurants more inviting and by giving consumers greater access to our brand through technology."