International hotel chain taps Houston staffing startup to get teams back to work

SAAS moves

Choice Hotels has a new partner in Houston-based WizeHire. Photo courtesy of Choice Hotels

A Houston startup has struck a deal with a major new client focused on getting employees back to work at its 6,000 locations worldwide.

Maryland-based international hotelier Choice Hotels International Inc. selected Houston-based WizeHire into its Qualified Vendor program as its only current recruiting solution for the thousands of franchised locations under the Choice Hotels umbrella. WizeHire provides its clients tech-enabled, customized hiring solutions and has a suite of software available for users to utilize.

"We're so excited to support Choice's independently-owned hotels with the most personal and complex part of their businesses—hiring great talent," says Sid Upadhyay, WizeHire's co-founder and CEO, in a press release.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hospitality industry saw an unemployment rate of 13.5 percent. With travel expected to increase this year, Choice Hotels is looking to provide its franchisees opportunities to efficiently rehire.

"As a long-time Choice Hotels owner and WizeHire customer, I'm thrilled for what this partnership means for growing my business," says Tushar Patel, owner of Quality Inn & Suites Round Rock - Austin North, in the release.

Hospitality represents one of the six industry verticals WizeHire has listed on its website, and the startup provides "job templates created with industry experts, built-in pre-screening tools specifically for hospitality jobs and benchmarks that help identify the soft skills needed for numerous hotel roles," according to the release.

Choice Hotels nationwide will have access to these resources effective immediately, per the release.

"At a time when there is so much uncertainty for many individuals and employers in the hospitality industry, WizeHire has the opportunity to meet hiring needs at this critical moment," says Justin Nimergood, head of franchise sales for WizeHire. "I'm thrilled to be leading that charge."

After a tumultuous year in which hiring across industries essentially came to a halt, WizeHire is seeing immense business growth as companies plan to rehire, says Upadhyay in a recent interview with InnovationMap. The company recently raised a $7.5 million series A round to gear up for this growth.

With all the uncertainty last, Upadhyay says he and his team instead focused on providing resources, such as PPP loan guidance, for small businesses — something the company is focused on continuing.

"We're really going beyond just the hire," Upadhyay says in a recent episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "We're getting to this role where we're going to help you grow your business."

Listen to Upadhyay on the Houston Innovators Podcast:

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston femtech co. debuts new lactation and wellness pods

mom pod

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously known as Work&Mother, has introduced new products in recent months aimed at supporting working mothers and the overall health of all employees.

The company's new Lactation Pod and Hybrid Pod serve as dual-use lactation and wellness spaces to meet employer demand, the company shared in a news release. The compact pods offer flexible design options that can serve permanent offices and nearly all commercial spaces.

They feature a fully compliant lactation station while also offering wellness functionalities that can support meditation, mental health, telehealth and prayer. In line with Work&'s other spaces, the pods utilize the Work& scheduling platform, which prioritizes lactation bookings to help employers comply with the PUMP Act.

“This isn’t about perks,” Jules Lairson, Work& co-founder and COO, said in the release. “It’s about meeting people where they are—with dignity and intentional design. That includes the mother returning to work, the employee managing anxiety, and everyone in between.”

According to the company, several Fortune 500 companies are already using the pods, and Work& has plans to grow the products' reach.

Earlier this year, Work& introduced its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas, representing Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions for landlords and tenants.

The company, founded in 2017 by Lairson and CEO Abbey Donnell, was initially focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents. While Work& still offers these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allowed the company to also address the broader wellness needs of all employees.

The company rebranded as Work& earlier this year.

5 Houston innovators who made headlines in August 2025

Featured Innovators

Editor's note: Innovators hailing from both Rice University and University of Houston made headlines in August by developing a new biomaterial that could replace plastic and deploying a new flood scale to help Houstonians stay safe. Plus, one local innovator has a big move on the horizon.

Here are five Houston innovators to know right now.

​M.A.S.R. Saadi and Muhammed Maksud Rahman, Rice University and University of Houston

A team led by M.A.S.R. Saadi and Muhammad Maksud Rahman has developed a biomaterial that they hope could be used for the “next disposable water bottle." Photo courtesy Rice University.

Collaborators from two Houston universities are leading the way in engineering a biomaterial into a scalable, multifunctional material that could potentially replace plastic. The research was led by Muhammad Maksud Rahman, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Houston and an adjunct assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University. M.A.S.R. Saadi, a materials science and nanoengineering doctoral student at Rice University, was first author on the study. The study introduced a biosynthesis technique that aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, which resulted in robust biopolymer sheets with “exceptional mechanical properties,” according to the researchers. Learn more.

Paul Cherukuri, Rice University

Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s first vice president for innovation and chief innovation officer, will leave his post next month. Photo via Rice.edu

Paul Cherukuri, Rice University's top innovation executive, responsible for some of Rice’s major innovative projects like the Rice BioTech LaunchPad and Rice Nexus, will leave the university at the end of September to accept a position at the University of Virginia. Cherukuri, Rice’s first vice president for innovation and chief innovation officer, will become the University of Virginia’s Donna and Richard Tadler University Professor of Entrepreneurship and the school's first chief innovation officer. Learn more.

Steven Paul Woods (pictured) and Natalie C. Ridgely, University of Houston

Steven Paul Woods, professor of Psychology, at UH. Photo courtesy of UH

University of Houston Professor of Psychology Steven Paul Woods and doctoral student Natalie C. Ridgely recently partnered with the Space City Weather (SCW) blog to create a new flood alert scale for the trusted weather site. “My lab does work on how people access, understand, and use health information, so I thought we could adapt some of that ongoing work and our expertise in psychological science to answer questions about weather communication, and help keep Houstonians informed and safe,” said Woods. Learn more.

Rice biotech studio secures investment from Modi Ventures, adds founder to board

fresh funding

RBL LLC, which supports commercialization for ventures formed at the Rice University Biotech Launch Pad, has secured an investment from Houston-based Modi Ventures.

Additionally, RBL announced that it has named Sahir Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures, to its board of directors.

Modi Ventures invests in biotech companies that are working to advance diagnostics, engineered therapeutics and AI-driven drug discovery. The firm has $134 million under management after closing an oversubscribed round this summer.

RBL launched in 2024 and is based out of Houston’s Texas Medical Center Helix Park. William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, previously called the launch of RBL a “critical step forward” for Houston’s life sciences ecosystem.

“RBL is dedicated to building companies focused on pioneering and intelligent bioelectronic therapeutics,” Ali said in a LinkedIn post. “This partnership strengthens the Houston biotech ecosystem and accelerates the transition of groundbreaking lab discoveries into impactful therapies.”

Ali will join board members like managing partner Paul Wotton, Rice bioengineering professor Omid Veiseh, scientist and partner at KdT Ventures Rima Chakrabarti, Rice alum John Jaggers, CEO of Arbor Biotechnologies Devyn Smith, and veteran executive in the life sciences sector James Watson.

Ali has led transformative work and built companies across AI, cloud computing and precision medicine. Ali also serves on the board of directors of the Drug Information Association, which helps to collaborate in drug, device and diagnostics developments.

“This investment by Modi Ventures will be instrumental to RBL’s growth as it reinforces confidence in our venture creation model and accelerates our ability to develop successful biotech startups,” Wotton said in the announcement. "Sahir’s addition to the board will also amplify this collaboration with Modi. His strategic counsel and deep understanding of field-defining technologies will be invaluable as we continue to grow and deliver on our mission.”

View All Listings