Grand Copthorne Waterfront Invests in the Future with Aiello’s AI-Powered Smart Room System for Hospitality

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Invests in the Future with Aiello’s AI-Powered Smart Room System for Hospitality

By Nishang Narayan

Published on August 4, 2024

In a groundbreaking move to elevate guest experiences, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has partnered with Aiello to introduce the Aiello Voice Assistant (AVA), an advanced AI-powered smart room system. Nestled along the picturesque Singapore River, the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is renowned for its luxurious accommodations, exceptional service, and strong commitment to sustainability. This collaboration marks a significant leap in integrating AI technology into the hotel’s ecosystem, setting a new standard for future-forward hospitality.

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has replaced all guest room telephones with AVA, transforming each room into a connected, smart environment. Guests can now make hands-free calls, communicate with hotel staff, and voice their questions and requests, ensuring prompt and efficient service. For instance, room service can be requested directly through AVA, streamlining operations and enhancing overall efficiency.

Aiello's system also integrates seamlessly with other hotel systems, including the Property Management System (PMS) and the newly defined Hospitality Task Management System (TMS). This integration ensures that guest requests made to AVA are automatically assigned to the appropriate employees and departments, significantly reducing communication costs and optimizing efficiency across the hotel’s front office, guest rooms, and backend operations. Guests can use voice commands to control various room features, including the TV, lights, and air conditioning, or select smart room modes like "Good Morning" and "Good Night" for added convenience and comfort.

"We are excited to introduce AVA at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing guest experiences through innovation," said Mr. Andrew Tan, General Manager of Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. "With AVA's integrated IoT capabilities, guests can experience a new level of convenience and personalized service, reflecting our dedication to delivering exceptional hospitality."

Aiello's CEO and Co-founder, Mr. Vic Shen, emphasized the transformative impact of AI integration: "Through our partnership with Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Aiello is proud to lead the charge in redefining hospitality with advanced AI technology. By replacing traditional phones with AVA and integrating IoT-connected smart rooms, we aim to set a bold new standard for intuitive guest interactions."

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This innovative guest interface not only enhances operational efficiency but also elevates the overall guest experience, marking a significant leap forward in hospitality technology.

About Aiello

Aiello is a leading provider of Voice AI in the hospitality industry. Its flagship product, Aiello Voice Assistant, is a multi-award-winning talk & touch voice AI technology solution aimed at streamlining hotel operations, enhancing the guest experience, and generating insights about customer behavior. Since 2019, Aiello Voice Assistant has been deployed in over 100 hotels, encompassing 10,000 rooms, and has answered over 14 million inquiries from 2.5 million end users in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and English. Learn more at Aiello's official website.

About Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore

An award-winning and sustainable riverside hotel, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city; an ideal one-stop-shop for travelers of all kinds. This picturesque waterfront location along the bank of the Singapore River offers easy accessibility to the business and shopping districts, enabling business and leisure travelers the best of both worlds. Our international awards and accolades include Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Award 2023, Best Convention Hotel Singapore (2019-2020), Best Luxury Hotel Singapore (2018-2019), International Five Star Hotel (2019-2020), NTUC Digital Learning Transformation Award 2018, and BCA Green Mark Platinum 2015-2021 by the Building and Construction Authority. Visit Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel for more information.

About Millennium Hotels and Resorts

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) is the global brand of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (M&C), a global hotel company which owns, manages, and operates over 145 hotels across some 80 locations. It has several distinct hotel brands, including Grand Millennium, Millennium, M Social, Copthorne, and Kingsgate, throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand, and the United States. Visit Millennium Hotels for more information.

For further information, please contact:

  • Amy Lai Marketing Manager, Aiello E-mail: amy.lai@aiello.ai

  • Carolyn Wishnowski Director, Global Branding, Marketing & Loyalty, Millennium Hotels and Resorts Email: Carolyn.Wishnowski@millenniumhotels.com


Mews expands Digital Key with Salto integration for seamless guest access

Mews expands Digital Key with Salto integration for seamless guest access

By Nishang Narayan

Published on July 12, 2025

Mews has announced a strategic integration with Salto’s smart locking system, enhancing its Digital Key offering and paving the way for a more seamless, contactless guest experience. Through this partnership, hotels using Salto’s access control can now enable guests to unlock rooms via their mobile devices using the Mews Hospitality Cloud—eliminating the need for physical keys altogether.

This move streamlines the check-in process, reduces manual front desk tasks, and strengthens overall security. Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, said, “Every step of the guest journey should be effortless. With Salto smart access for hospitality compatibility, more properties can reduce the friction around arrival and check-in. Digital Key is a win-win because it’s as much about operational efficiency as it is about improving guest satisfaction.”

Early results from Belgian brand YUST, which operates a hybrid model for short and long stays, show the integration’s impact. At its Antwerp property, 12% of guests checked in using Digital Key in the first month without any promotional push, and 64% of those with an active digital key used it to access their rooms. Dirk Van Gompel, CTO of YUST, shared, “Digital Key makes it easy for guests to go straight to their room, while creating real-time savings for our team, who can then focus on building real human connections.”

Salto’s Nora Urquiza highlighted the value of this collaboration, stating, “Our integration with Mews reinforces our commitment to delivering a seamless, secure, and modern digital experience through strong technology alliances.”

Beyond convenience, the integration also cuts down on environmental waste by removing the need for plastic keycards and supports a fully digital, on-the-go check-in and check-out process. Fully embedded within the Mews Hospitality Cloud, the Digital Key capability allows hotels to customise and automate the guest experience, opening new avenues for upselling and enhanced guest engagement.

Mews has been on a roll with tech enhancements, recently rolling out a Multicurrency feature for customers across Europe.


OYO Joins Hands with Yatra to Strengthen Business Travel Offerings

OYO Joins Hands with Yatra to Strengthen Business Travel Offerings

By Manu Vardhan Kannan

Published on July 12, 2025

Hospitality tech firm OYO has entered a strategic partnership with leading online travel platform Yatra, bringing over 500 company-serviced hotels under mid-premium and premium brands to Yatra’s booking platform for the first time. These hotels will cater specifically to the rising demand in the business travel segment across India.

The hotels listed include OYO’s SUNDAY, Palette, Clubhouse, Townhouse, Townhouse Oak, and Collection O brands. The collaboration covers key business hubs like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad, along with fast-growing industrial and transit corridors.

OYO plans to list 1,000 more company-serviced hotels on Yatra by September 2025, enhancing Yatra’s accommodation offerings in emerging metros, where business travel is expanding due to infrastructure growth and regional economic activity.

India’s business travel sector reached $38.2 billion in 2024, making it the 8th largest market globally and 4th in Asia-Pacific. The OYO-Yatra partnership aligns with this growth by offering curated business accommodation solutions with added benefits such as:

  • Standardized amenities like clean linen, AC rooms, Wi-Fi, and hygienic washrooms
  • Centralized billing and GST-compliant invoicing
  • Flexible cancellation/rescheduling policies
  • Expense tracking and dedicated account managers for corporate bookings

Yatra, with over 800 large corporate clients and 10,000+ SMEs, earns 65% of gross bookings from corporate and B2B travel. This partnership adds substantial value to its users by expanding quality lodging options in previously underserved regions.

Earlier this year, OYO launched Oravel Travel Solutions, a vertical focused on corporate travel, offering end-to-end services like smooth check-ins, meal plans, event support, and custom holiday packages.

Speaking on the development, Varun Jain, COO of OYO, shared:

“While direct demand continues to be our mainstay, contributing nearly 80% of our total business, we are now looking to tap into a niche segment of business travelers who are exploring emerging business hubs. This partnership also opens up opportunities to cater to companies embracing blended travel programs, combining business and leisure.”

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the business travel market is on track to return to pre-2019 levels by 2025, backed by strong corporate earnings and a rise in in-person meetings. This trend suggests a sustained increase in demand for reliable and quality stay options.

With this partnership, OYO and Yatra are set to redefine India’s corporate travel landscape, delivering convenience, flexibility, and consistency for the modern business traveler.


XECH Eyes Pan India Retail Growth, Launches Experience Centres in Ahmedabad & Hyderabad

XECH Eyes Pan India Retail Growth, Launches Experience Centres in Ahmedabad & Hyderabad

By Nishang Narayan

Published on July 3, 2025

XECH is making bold strides in its retail journey with the opening of its latest Experience Centre in Ahmedabad, located at Dhanlaxmi Complex, Ashram Road, Usmanpura. Designed to provide an immersive, hands-on shopping experience, the store caters to walk-in customers, resellers, and corporate buyers alike. This is XECH’s third major retail expansion, following the successful debut of its Hyderabad Experience Centre on 31st May, 2025, at Rudram Towers, PG Road, Secunderabad, and its flagship outlet in Pune which launched on 19th October, 2023.

The Ahmedabad inauguration saw participation from the company’s leadership team and local channel partners, making it a standout moment for tech enthusiasts and the retail community in western India.

Each of XECH’s stores is strategically set in high-growth urban centres, functioning as brand hubs where customers can explore the expanding range of lifestyle tech products, smart gadgets, and premium corporate gifting solutions. With robust expansion plans in place, XECH is targeting a 2X revenue growth this fiscal year, driven by its omni-channel approach, innovative product portfolio, and scalable business model. These Experience Centres are central to XECH’s goal of bridging the digital-physical divide — creating spaces where quality, speed, and tangible engagement meet.

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Speaking on the expansion, Mr. Pranay Punjabi, Founder and CEO of XECH Technologies Pvt. Ltd., shared,

“Each city plays a strategic role in our retail vision. Pune gave us our first physical touchpoint, Hyderabad validated our scale strategy in a dynamic tech market, and Ahmedabad will strengthen our presence in western India — connecting us to customers who value smart, dependable tech. These are more than just stores; they’re brand experience hubs where people can interact with our innovations firsthand. We’re focused on making practical, well-designed technology accessible to those who need it — whether at home, work, or in business.”

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Shoppers visiting these stores can explore XECH’s entire tech ecosystem, including its bestsellers and upcoming launches, all in an interactive setting. From portable kettles and cordless vacuum cleaners to Bluetooth clocks, eye massagers, tyre inflators, and garment steamers, XECH’s range is sharply focused on addressing real-world needs with intuitive, multi-functional, and thoughtful tech — equally suited for individual users and corporate gifting.

To celebrate the Ahmedabad launch, XECH is offering an exclusive 10% in-store discount throughout July, inviting customers to experience their innovations firsthand.

Looking ahead, XECH plans to continue expanding its retail footprint across India in the coming quarters, building more such immersive spaces that blend tactile experiences with the convenience of modern retail.

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