Restaurant And Hospitality News – August 22, 2016
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, the Delta Outage reinforces the importance of prioritizing and protecting IT capabilities; Red Robin is poised to win back guests with new initiatives; and more hotels are turning to keyless entry capabilities via guest smartphones.
IT Lessons From the Delta Outage
A recent article in Tech Target highlights the lessons of the recent Delta Outage that affected flights and travelers worldwide. The Delta outage started with small fire and escalated via a chain reaction that resulted in more than 2,000 cancelled flights, millions of dollars in lost revenue, loss of reputation, and numerous questions for IT execs.
It turns out, during the outage, some 300 of Delta’s 7,000 servers were unconnected to backup power. Delta CEO Ed Bastian explained that the company had been unaware of this vulnerability, despite having invested “hundreds of millions of dollars in technology infrastructure upgrades and systems, including backup systems.”
Bastian added, “It’s not clear the priorities in our investment have been in the right place. It has caused us to ask a lot of questions, which, candidly, we don’t have a lot of answers for.”
The Delta outage also demonstrates the domino effect that results from a lack of DR testing, said Forrester Research analyst Stephanie Balaouras. "IT environments have become so complex with intricate interdependencies that outages like this are becoming the norm, because it takes a failure of just one component or one human mistake to cause a widespread outage," Balaouras said.
The moral of the story is that IT security – including providing backup systems in case of emergency – must be a priority for all hospitality and travel enterprises or they risk catastrophic consequences.
Red Robin Focuses On Value and Speed To Regain Momentum Through Delivery and Online Ordering
Newly appointed Red Robin CEO Denny Marie Post outlined her initiatives to regain momentum during a call with Wall Street analysts, stating “I don’t know if you can blame stagnant incomes, or whether they have big ticket purchase debt or politics, whatever it is. But it’s really clear the economic recovery has been far from even across the population, and, in particular, the middle-income guest that has traditionally driven casual dining is disproportionately affected by that.”
As part of the renewed efforts to bring guests back into their stores, the chain has rolled out three new products on its Tavern menu, according to The Nation’s Restaurant News. They include a Buzz Mac ‘n’ Cheese Tavern Double burger topped with macaroni and cheese, pepper jack cheese, and a spicy ranch sauce served on a sesame seed bud; a Four Melt Grilled Cheese that boasts Swiss, provolone, Cheddar, and Parmesan on Parmesan-and-Cheddar-crusted bread; and the half-pound Tavern Mac ‘n’ Cheese bowl.
Post said, “Guests are demanding value and menu news, particularly at lunch,” and Red Robin is responding, trying to convince guests that they can get in and out on short lunch hours in order to “get its mojo back” as a chain.
The changes also reflect the rollout of a new kitchen display system to boost speed, investments in labor to improve service, tabletop touch-screen ordering devices, and other customer-facing technologies that allow guests to control their own experiences.
Today’s Red Robin guest wants the option to control their dining occasion by choosing, first, whether to order online and carry out or dine in,” she said. “If they choose dine in, they want certainty that they can be seated and potentially even order their meal ahead.
“The days of waiting patiently with a buzzer in their hand outside a crowded restaurant are long gone,” said Post
Keyless Entry Now Being Embraced By Hotel Chains
Some of the largest global hotel companies are now experimenting with keyless entry technology, allowing guests to bypass the front desk and open rooms with their smartphones, according to USA Today. “Digital key is revolutionary,” Joshua Sloser, vice president of digital product innovation at Hilton Worldwide, told USA Today. “It improves their stay and it improves their arrival.”
Membership in a loyalty program is a common requirement for accessing the keyless entry and mobile check-in functions. Among the chains that have already piloted or implemented keyless entry programs are Hilton (Digital Key), Starwood Hotels and Resorts (SPG Keyless program), Marriott International (Mobile Key), Choice Hotels, and InterContinental Hotels Group.
And the move is not limited to larger chains. Smaller ones like Arlo Hotels, are also jumping on the keyless bandwagon. One reason for the shift is an effort to appeal to the millennial travelers, who are dependent on the smart devices. Carlson Rezidor spokesman Ben Gardeen explained that the new Radisson RED brand “recognizes that the modern traveler wants to be in control of how they interact with hotels and customize the experience using their device.”