Archive
Weekly Update: Our 2018 Legislative Priorities
Government Affairs Committee Adopts 2018 Legislative Priorities The Government Affairs Committee (GAC) held its annual meeting this week in Seattle and adopted the Association’s 2018 legislative priorities. Identifying these priorities
What’s Fueling the Fast Casual Boom
The economy. Technology. Convenience. There are no shortage of reasons why fast casuals continue to gain market share. (QSR)
The state of sustainability today: Nearly all consumers are involved in some way
As with many consumer-driven mega-trends that have achieved mainstream stature following years of lurking on the fringes of culture (consider: online grocery shopping, organics or wellness), consumer involvement with all things “sustainable” is now at an all-time high. Building on over twenty years of examining the topic, The Hartman Group’s Sustainability 2017: Connecting Benefits with Values Through Personal Consumption report finds that 87% of adults are inside what we refer to as the World of Sustainability, meaning that sustainability-related concerns impact their values, attitudes, and actions in at least some measure. (SmartBrief)
TGI Fridays expands Amazon partnership
TGI Fridays on Wednesday announced it was expanding its partnership with Amazon, adding Alexa voice ordering and Amazon Pay to its Internet-based offerings. “We were one of the first brands to be on the Amazon Marketplace, which is basically their online mall,” said Sherif Mityas, TGI Fridays chief information officer, in an interview ahead of the announcement. (Nation’s Restaurant News)
Google Hotels Revamps Mobile Features as Its Ambitions Expand
Google wants consumers to buy more travel on it. That may prompt industry players to closely patrol the gray line between the search giant referring more customers to them and Google becoming customers’ first choice for booking trips. (Skift)
3 Ethnic Cuisines Perfect for the Snacking Craze
Three years ago in this very space, when we last discussed snacking, I talked about the “globalization” of snacks—the increasing tendency of consumer packaged goods (cpg) companies, in particular, to appropriate and redeploy different ethnic flavor profiles in their snack foods. Three years is practically a lifetime in the snacking world, where consumer behaviors and preferences are in a constant flux. (QSR)
Restaurant groups sue NYC over nonprofit deductions
The National Restaurant Association and the affiliated Restaurant Law Center are suing the City of New York and its consumer affairs commissioner to challenge requirements that quick-service operators deduct contributions to nonprofit groups. The deduction requirement, part of a package of bills signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in May that also addressed restaurant scheduling and work breaks, went into effect Nov. 26. (Nation’s Restaurant News)
Restaurant spending on Thanksgiving, Black Friday rises 6.3%
Consumers spent 6.3 percent more in restaurants on Thanksgiving and Black Friday this year than they did during those two days last year as overall retail sales surged, according to payments technology company First Data. Analyzing credit-card data from 1.3 million merchants — 1.1 million brick-and-mortar and 200,000 e-commerce — First Data saw overall spending grow by 11.9 percent for the two days compared to Thanksgiving and Black Friday last year, on top of a 7.8 percent year-over-year increase on those days in 2016. (Nation’s Restaurant News)
Eye on Hospitality: Get Ready for Paid Sick Leave
Paid sick leave is coming to Washington state, effective Jan. 1, 2018, and it is essential that all employers get prepared. While the state Department of Labor and Industries will issue the rules on paid sick leave in late 2017, here a few of the highlights of the new law.
Digital Marketing Campaigns Ideas for the Holidays
By Pia Larson Fingerprint Marketing Leave Your Mark The holidays are back (already?), and there is no more lucrative time of the year for just about any business. Everyone wants
8 Financial Themes Shaping the Hotel Industry in 2018 and Beyond
To grow and survive as digital platforms, the big hotel chains are unequivocally moving away from the hotel owner model and more towards branding, marketing, and technology-related functions. In the long run, this should translate into accelerated global growth, sweeter margins, and cash flow from asset sell-offs, but it’s also uncharted territory in many respects. (Skift)
Report Underscores The Value of Gift Cards For Businesses To Drive Sales
Three-quarters of consumers overspend the amount on their gift card by an average of $38, according to the 2017 Prepaid Consumer Insights Study released by First Data. This is good news for businesses, who can leverage gift card sales to make more money. (Hospitality Leader)
13 Meals That Prove You Can Eat Healthy At Chain Restaurants
We analyzed the menus of more than two dozen chain restaurants in search of the healthiest options. Here are the winners. (Men’s Health)