by
Rich Siegel
6.7.2024

Siegel Sez 6/7/24

Siegel Sez 6/7/24

Definitely Doug 6/7/24: HITEC Innovation Preview

CORPORATE NEWS

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

MARKETING

SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS

BACK OFFICE

COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

FOOD & BEVERAGE

OPERATIONS

HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS

PIQUED OUR INTEREST

Yes, you are going to HITEC (HITEC.ORG) in Charlotte, North Carolina, in just a few weeks. There are some great educational sessions that run the gamut on technology and managing upcoming changes. Some of these sessions will have a serious focus, and some might be on the lighter side — including the Monday morning, 9 am session that I will be moderating. We’ll share with first-time attendees and those who are relatively new to HITEC all the information you need to know to get the most out of your HITEC experience. I thank our panel who will be joining me —Sherry Marek, Mike Blake from Kemper Sports and Chris Begly from Sonesta Hotels, who is a relative newbie to HITEC and will share mistakes he made the first time he attended the show. It should be an interesting and fun session for a Monday morning.

Other than sessions and, of course, the many parties that are happening at HITEC, the biggest thing — both literally and figuratively — is the exhibit hall. Can you visit every exhibitor? Probably not. In his Definitely Doug column that follows and if you’re like Doug Rice you’ll learn why you might want to visit those that are relatively new to the industry, trying to make a name for themselves. It is a relatively quick read for Definitely Doug, but it might open your eyes to look at solutions you probably didn’t even know you needed. We thank Doug for his research and his thoughts to make your HITEC experience a bit more valuable.

One of the things I love most about HITEC is all the industry announcements that are saved for this occasion. On the vendor side there are always surprises such as which companies are now sharing a booth and sometimes it is who is in the booth selling the solutions. It’s all part of the HITEC experience. Doug shares his expectations size-wise for this year’s event and it looks very impressive.

If you want to connect at HITEC, please come by the Hospitality Upgrade/Hotel Online booth (4047). I’m rarely there, but a lot more important people than me will be present. Business aside, the biggest thrill for me at HITEC is connecting with people who have been a big part of my professional life for many years. This is a great industry with great people in it. Charlotte, here we come!

Here now is Definitely Doug followed by the latest technology news. I’ll see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Don’t look for me this weekend —  I will be in Saratoga, New York, at the Belmont Stakes. I never bet favorites, but this time I think I will. It is all about Sierra Leone. Besides, I need a winner. See you in Charlotte.

Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

The annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference (HITEC) starts in just over two weeks, so it is time for my annual preview. In the past few weeks, I spent many hours poring over the floor plan and exhibitor list, identifying the first-time exhibitors and researching their products and services.

There is no practical way to identify every innovation that will be on offer at HITEC, so I focus on first-time exhibitors. My rationale? First, the most disruptive innovations tend to come disproportionately from startups, or sometimes from companies who have established products in other vertical markets and who think they might be able to fulfill a need in hospitality. Second, the established vendors already have reasonable visibility with potential customers, partners, and industry influencers. If they have something truly new and interesting, they know how to get the word out and have less need for a mention here.

As of June 6, the HITEC show floor showed 354 booths reserved by 351 separate companies, plus eight smaller stands offered to the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) competitors (one of which also has a full booth). The show floor is very slightly larger than last year, with about 82,400 square feet of rentable square exhibit space, of which 1,900 square feet were still available for the inevitable last-minute additions. Of the 351 companies, I counted 92 that are first-timers based on my records going back at least four years, plus the eight E20X contestants. That is roughly comparable to other recent years, with about 26% first-timers.

Fifteen hours of exhibit time is not enough to see every booth, or even every first-time exhibitor. I make a concerted effort to visit all the new ones at least briefly, but often their staff are busy or absent when I stop by, even when I try multiple times. My advance research helps me to prioritize the must-sees vs. the hope-to-sees, so I know where I want to be persistent.

This week I will share my priorities for who I plan to visit at HITEC. Because there are so many first-time exhibitors, I do not spend floor time looking at those who have exhibited in past years.  But if your company has something groundbreaking to show and is not a first-timer, I am always happy to schedule time for virtual updates before or after (see contact info below).

My summary below was current as of June 6 but will continue to evolve as the date approaches and last-minute changes occur. I have excluded the E20x competitors because I will be one of the competition judges and want to remain unbiased for now, but I encourage you to attend the pitch competition on Wednesday morning; there are always interesting companies who present at E20x.

The Exhibitors I Most Want to Visit

In selecting my highest-priority targets, I rely on websites and LinkedIn company profiles that showcase products and services that are new or relatively new to the market, or at least to hospitality.

·      Companies that operate in well-established spaces with lots of similar competitors, such as networking, telecommunications, guest-facing mobile capabilities, or professional development and integration services, were lower priority for me, unless their marketing materials indicated something distinctly new and different.

·      Companies with websites that fail to clearly state what they do are lower on my priority list. It amazes me that companies think it is sufficient to talk about solving problems, without bothering to mention which problems!

·      Finally, I look for credibility behind product claims: is the company large enough and experienced enough to reasonably deliver what it claims, or is their product likely to have been built using the PowerPoint operating system?

A risk with first-time exhibitors is whether they will be around in the future. Last year I had 84 first-time exhibitors to look at, and 47 of them (56%) have not reserved space this year. That percentage is quite typical. Why such low stickiness?

·      Hospitality is a challenging industry for companies that have successful track records elsewhere, due to complex decision making (owners, managers, brands) and long sales cycles.

·      Many larger companies allocate funds for entering hospitality in one budget year but (even with great products) fail to make their numbers; they often exit before ever having a chance to get traction.

·      While HITEC is the best show for technology buyers, many companies need to get their products in front of business buyers, of which HITEC has fewer. These companies often stay in the industry but prioritize shows other than HITEC.

·      Invariably there are new products that simply do not fill a business need, are too expensive for the value provided, or do not fit into the complex technology ecosystem of the industry.

Some companies do major product launches at HITEC that are not publicized in advance, or they hide in stealth mode until the show. I monitor the Hotel Online newsletter during the show to try to pick up last-minute announcements.  While there are usually only a handful, they are sometimes quite important and can certainly change my priorities.

Buyer Beware: The descriptions below come with important caveats. With a few exceptions, I have not met with or spoken with these companies, so I base my summaries on my interpretation (or possibly misinterpretation!) of marketing claims from their websites, from exhibitor descriptions on the HITEC site, or from LinkedIn page descriptions. Some of the companies are large and well-established (mostly in other industries, although that does not guarantee success in hospitality), some are small or mid-sized and well established in foreign markets but not yet in North America, while others are early-stage startups and largely unproven.

Undoubtedly many of the claims will be reasonably accurate, while others may be wild exaggerations. Nothing below is intended as a recommendation for any product or service; it is just the ones that I think most likely to be innovative. Historically I have found that maybe 30% of the new exhibitors at each year’s HITEC make marketing claims that are significantly exaggerated, but I can usually only detect that when I meet with them and ask the hard questions.

Booth numbers were as listed on the HITEC exhibitor site as of June 6 but are subject to change.

Contact Centers: Voice AI technology has improved dramatically in the past year, and I expect to see many interesting innovations in this category. EHVA.AI (booth 120) claims some impressive capabilities for handling phone calls in an automated or semi-automated way, including reservations and room service. Fusion CX (booth 209) is a rebranding of Fusion BPO (business process outsourcing); the company is well established in other vertical markets and offers many interesting-sounding digital and AI-based capabilities that should have application in hospitality. C1 (booth 1849), another established company, offers similar solutions designed to integrate well with legacy technologies.

Marketing and Sales: Atica Global (booth 3948) is a 2020 startup focused on revenue-generating capabilities for hotels that sound quite disruptive; according to LinkedIn it has already reached 84 staff, which is incredible growth. Twilio (booth 756) is an established company but first-time exhibitor with a customer data platform, campaign management, and technologies for contact centers and self-service. Directful (booth 4148) targets one-time guests and uses AI and predictive analytics to manage targeted text messaging campaigns to generate repeat visits.

Distribution: HITEC has not been a distribution-heavy show for 15 or 20 years, and in recent years has had only a modest presence from a few of the larger distribution players. But one entering the hotel market this year is TripBeast (booth 430), which will be introducing a white-label cloud platform to enable retail distribution of air, cruise, attraction, experience, ground transport, and other travel components, and an AI trip planning chatbot. iOL (booth 504), another first-timer, is an established, midsized Dubai-based company with some potentially innovative distribution models that I will be interested to see.

Guest Experience: Way (booth 3156) is a medium-sized, rapidly growing company in a hot area, enabling hotels to offer curated experiences, ticketed events and recurring programming from their websites.

Human Resources: Qualee (booth 909) provides onboarding, skill development, and an employee engagement platform designed to accelerate performance. Typsy (booth 459), an Australian company I have been watching for several years, is making its HITEC debut with its staff training and engagement programs. Gamification has been a proven winner for staff retention and morale, and it is always good to see new solutions recognizing that, so I will be looking closely at SocialCrowd (booth 130), which tracks, guides, and rewards employees to keep them focused.

Food & Beverage: DiningEdge (booth 1757) is a restaurant recipe, food cost, inventory, and procurement platform designed to simplify purchasing and procurement and reduce costs.

Operations: HubOS (booth 157) is a Europe-based company with an operations platform designed to foster connection and communications between departments. HygieneIQ (booth 123) provides a sensor-based platform that can be used to improve cleanliness by tracking hand-washing by employees, traffic in public spaces, or notifications from staff that an area needs cleaning. Dharma (booth 659) is an operations platform with an AI assistant, enhanced guest profiles, work-order management, and housekeeping. All three companies were founded in 2015-2018 and are still relatively small.

Payments: Ready Credit Corporation (booth 822) provides cash-to-card kiosks that can enable hospitality businesses to go cashless by meeting the needs of cash-paying customers without the complexity and cost involved with securing and auditing cash operations. Chargeback Gurus (booth 1027) offers a suite of products to prevent credit-card chargebacks and to recover revenue.

Sustainability: APTIM (booth 914) is an environmental solutions firm that offers consultation and customized products to improve organizations’ sustainability footprint, including energy and water management, solar solutions, and electric vehicle charging. Sensor Industries (booth 419) provides a platform and sensors to monitor and alert hotels to water leaks and running toilets.

Back Office: Corpay (booth 224; rebranded from Fleetcor earlier this year) is a large public company but first-time HITEC exhibitor. It provides centralized accounts payable automation, expense reporting, and payment capabilities that offer cash rebates and discounts. Repay (booth 912) offers payment technology that streamlines payables and receivables in one system. Lilo (booth 3949) is a startup that offers an AI-powered procurement engine, while Reeco (booth 406) offers an end-to-end procure-to-pay solution with real-time prices. Centelli (booth 418) offers (among other things) robotic process automation, which can perform repetitive menial tasks efficiently.

Robotics: There has been a lot of innovation in this space, and a new exhibitor Urbot (booth 119) this year, along with a couple of returning ones. Urbot’s RobotGpt product claims to use AI and to handle multiple tasks that previously often required separate robots.

Retail: Trinity Axis Inc. (booth 913) offers smart vending solutions including contactless vending machines, self-checkout kiosks for grab-and-go, inventory management, and touchscreen retrofits for vending machines. DIGIT7 (booth 3938) provides an AI-powered smart store solution, touchless self-checkout, and even inventory counting by drone (cool, although perhaps a bit of overkill for the typical hotel grab-and-go).

Security: Genetec (booth 4250) is an established company that is fairly new to hospitality, offering physical security solution (cloud- or premise-based) that connects systems, sensors and data including access control, video management, license plate recognition, and communications.

Conclusion

There are a lot of new companies and innovative products exhibiting this year. Some of them are almost certainly ready for prime time, while others are interesting ideas but not yet fully baked, credible products or services. Stay tuned in July for my post-HITEC wrap-up, where I will summarize what I found most compelling.

If you think I have missed a major innovation, whether from a first-time exhibitor or HITEC veteran, please let me know using the contact information below, or by commenting on the post on my LinkedIn feed that links to this article (which I will post once it has been published). I hope to see many of my readers on the floor in Charlotte!

The Access Group Expands in North America with Acquisition of Hotel Tech Specialist SHR Group
Access will pair SHR’s capabilities with those of Guestline, a Property Management Software (PMS) with customers across DACH and Europe, which it acquired last year.
shrgroup.com

Shiji Distribution Solu tions Sees Remarkable Growth, Announces Key Promotions
In order to support success and plan for future growth, Anson Lau was promoted to Managing Director - Global, Natalie Kimball was named Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Americas & EMEA, and Lluc Pons was promoted to Director of Strategic Account Sales.
www.shijigroup.com
 
HFTP Announces 2024 Inductees to the Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame: Floor Bleeker and Terence Ronson; Honored at HITEC 2024 Next Month
The industry icons will be recognized for their influential roles in advancing hospitality technology in a special presentation on June 25, 2024.
www.hftp.org

Strawberry Completes Rollout of Mews Across Portfolio of 230 Hotels
9,000 hotel employees across almost 230 of the group’s hotels are now all using Mews, enabling ease-of-use and consistency across Strawberry’s staff.
www.mews.com
 
Maestro Cloud & On Premises All-In-One PMS Showcasing Game Changing Innovations for Independents at HITEC
As a 20-year platinum sponsor of the hospitality industry's premier technology tradeshow, the hotel industry's preferred provider of property-management solutions for independent hotels will be available at Booth 1844 June 24 to 27.
www.maestropms.com
 
Crystal Springs Resort Re-engages Maestro PMS’ All-In-One Multi-Property Solution to Boost Hotel and Spa Operations
Keeping track of two hotels, ten dining outlets, eight wedding venues, six golf courses, and more proved challenging until management decided to abandon its existing property-management system and return to its former solution,  Maestro PMS.
www.maestropms.com

Accor & Amadeus Announce a New Collaboration
Amadeus and Accor expand their strategic partnership, with Accor implementing Amadeus’ Central Reservation System (ACRS) for its extensive portfolio of properties globally.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

IRIS Announces Investment in Middle East, Following Growth in Demand for Digital Ordering Across Hospitality Sector
The global provider of digital F&B and guest experience platforms for the hospitality industry set to introduce latest features following growth across the region.
iris.net
 
InnSpire Integration with Optii Leverages AI to Optimize Hotel Operational Efficiency, Guest Service and Satisfaction
Strategic AI-powered technology partnership  to enhance operational efficiency at The Don CeSar, while ensuring a seamless end-to-end guest experience.
www.innspire.com

Lodging Interactive Launches Next-Level Social Media Service to Drive Hotel Revenue
Commingle Social Media Amplified enables hotels to capture new revenue opportunities that have been missed until now.
www.lodginginteractive.com

SONIFI Develops Network Management Tool for Hotel Conference and Event Services
The Event Manager feature is part of SONIFI’s authentication and management portal (AMP) for its HSIA customers. Through it, hotel and AV staff can easily configure custom networks for secure Wi-Fi in specific spaces.
sonifi.com

Las Vegas Leads in Meetings and Events Growth in May With an 18.5 Percent Uptick Reports Knowland
Knowland reported that Las Vegas took the lead in group business with a solid 18.5 percent growth  in May year-over-year (YoY). Oahu Island pulled in second at 17.9 percent YoY growth.
www.knowland.com

 
Knowland Announces Sub-Market Data Enhancement to Market Snapshot Report
Localized data enables hotel sales teams to quickly identify and pursue top local targets and new-to-market accounts, jumpstarting potential new business.
www.knowland.com

Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results from Accounting Software Partner
After a thorough search for the best hospitality solution on the market, Brandt Hospitality Group selected PVNG from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

Kasa Sunset Los Angeles Partners with Hotel Internet Services for Latest Industry Standards in Guest WiFi
Tech-oriented aparthotel ensures guests can seamlessly access fast and reliable internet whether for work or leisure.
www.hotelwifi.com

Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality Transitions All Restaurants, Catering, and Entertainment Venues Across Canada to Silverware POS
With an immediate need to update and standardize its point-of-sale systems across 30 restaurants plus event venues and other partners, and enable corporate to self-manage and maintain all systems, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) has transitioned to Silverware POS.
www.silverwarepos.com

HotelTechReport Surpasses 50,000 Authentic Product Reviews, Marking Growth in the Global Hotel Software Market
This milestone represents a significant achievement for the hotel software community, underscoring the platform’s commitment to transparency, quality, and user-driven content.
hoteltechreport.com
 
Amadeus Elevates Hotel Operational Standards with Launch of New HotSOS Housekeeping
The cutting-edge operations and housekeeping software intelligently leverage automation to drive the productivity needed to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

Payment Security Super Session at HITEC will Feature Technology and Finance Leaders from the Hotel and Club Sectors Plus a Fraud Specialist from the Banking Industry
The HITEC 2024 educational panel discussion, “Payment Security in a Changing Global Landscape – Club and Hotel Operations,” has been announced as a Super Session to be held Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center.
www.profact.com

Agilysys to Participate in Baird 2024 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that deliver High Return Hospitality, today announced it was participating in 2024 Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, held in person in New York City June 4-6, 2024.
www.agilysys.com
 
HSMAI Global Launches Certified Hotel Sales Leader (CHSL) Certification
This new program is designed to recognize the expertise of hotel sales leaders, emphasizing the most up-to-date sales and commercial principles, practices, and strategies.
hsmai.org
 
HSMAI Americas Announces 2024 Marketing and Revenue Optimization Honorees
“We’re honored to present this year’s awards to a group of distinguished leaders who embody the commercial excellence HSMAI strives to recognize,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO, HSMAI.
hsmai.org
 
VENZA Joins Expert Cybersecurity Session at HITEC 2024
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced that CEO Daniel Johnson will join a panel of experts in a cybersecurity educational session  at the upcoming Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC).
www.VENZAgroup.com

Yes, you are going to HITEC (HITEC.ORG) in Charlotte, North Carolina, in just a few weeks. There are some great educational sessions that run the gamut on technology and managing upcoming changes. Some of these sessions will have a serious focus, and some might be on the lighter side — including the Monday morning, 9 am session that I will be moderating. We’ll share with first-time attendees and those who are relatively new to HITEC all the information you need to know to get the most out of your HITEC experience. I thank our panel who will be joining me —Sherry Marek, Mike Blake from Kemper Sports and Chris Begly from Sonesta Hotels, who is a relative newbie to HITEC and will share mistakes he made the first time he attended the show. It should be an interesting and fun session for a Monday morning.

Other than sessions and, of course, the many parties that are happening at HITEC, the biggest thing — both literally and figuratively — is the exhibit hall. Can you visit every exhibitor? Probably not. In his Definitely Doug column that follows and if you’re like Doug Rice you’ll learn why you might want to visit those that are relatively new to the industry, trying to make a name for themselves. It is a relatively quick read for Definitely Doug, but it might open your eyes to look at solutions you probably didn’t even know you needed. We thank Doug for his research and his thoughts to make your HITEC experience a bit more valuable.

One of the things I love most about HITEC is all the industry announcements that are saved for this occasion. On the vendor side there are always surprises such as which companies are now sharing a booth and sometimes it is who is in the booth selling the solutions. It’s all part of the HITEC experience. Doug shares his expectations size-wise for this year’s event and it looks very impressive.

If you want to connect at HITEC, please come by the Hospitality Upgrade/Hotel Online booth (4047). I’m rarely there, but a lot more important people than me will be present. Business aside, the biggest thrill for me at HITEC is connecting with people who have been a big part of my professional life for many years. This is a great industry with great people in it. Charlotte, here we come!

Here now is Definitely Doug followed by the latest technology news. I’ll see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Don’t look for me this weekend —  I will be in Saratoga, New York, at the Belmont Stakes. I never bet favorites, but this time I think I will. It is all about Sierra Leone. Besides, I need a winner. See you in Charlotte.

Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Definitely Doug 6/7/24: HITEC Innovation Preview

The annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference (HITEC) starts in just over two weeks, so it is time for my annual preview. In the past few weeks, I spent many hours poring over the floor plan and exhibitor list, identifying the first-time exhibitors and researching their products and services.

There is no practical way to identify every innovation that will be on offer at HITEC, so I focus on first-time exhibitors. My rationale? First, the most disruptive innovations tend to come disproportionately from startups, or sometimes from companies who have established products in other vertical markets and who think they might be able to fulfill a need in hospitality. Second, the established vendors already have reasonable visibility with potential customers, partners, and industry influencers. If they have something truly new and interesting, they know how to get the word out and have less need for a mention here.

As of June 6, the HITEC show floor showed 354 booths reserved by 351 separate companies, plus eight smaller stands offered to the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) competitors (one of which also has a full booth). The show floor is very slightly larger than last year, with about 82,400 square feet of rentable square exhibit space, of which 1,900 square feet were still available for the inevitable last-minute additions. Of the 351 companies, I counted 92 that are first-timers based on my records going back at least four years, plus the eight E20X contestants. That is roughly comparable to other recent years, with about 26% first-timers.

Fifteen hours of exhibit time is not enough to see every booth, or even every first-time exhibitor. I make a concerted effort to visit all the new ones at least briefly, but often their staff are busy or absent when I stop by, even when I try multiple times. My advance research helps me to prioritize the must-sees vs. the hope-to-sees, so I know where I want to be persistent.

This week I will share my priorities for who I plan to visit at HITEC. Because there are so many first-time exhibitors, I do not spend floor time looking at those who have exhibited in past years.  But if your company has something groundbreaking to show and is not a first-timer, I am always happy to schedule time for virtual updates before or after (see contact info below).

My summary below was current as of June 6 but will continue to evolve as the date approaches and last-minute changes occur. I have excluded the E20x competitors because I will be one of the competition judges and want to remain unbiased for now, but I encourage you to attend the pitch competition on Wednesday morning; there are always interesting companies who present at E20x.

The annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference (HITEC) starts in just over two weeks, so it is time for my annual preview. In the past few weeks, I spent many hours poring over the floor plan and exhibitor list, identifying the first-time exhibitors and researching their products and services.

There is no practical way to identify every innovation that will be on offer at HITEC, so I focus on first-time exhibitors. My rationale? First, the most disruptive innovations tend to come disproportionately from startups, or sometimes from companies who have established products in other vertical markets and who think they might be able to fulfill a need in hospitality. Second, the established vendors already have reasonable visibility with potential customers, partners, and industry influencers. If they have something truly new and interesting, they know how to get the word out and have less need for a mention here.

As of June 6, the HITEC show floor showed 354 booths reserved by 351 separate companies, plus eight smaller stands offered to the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) competitors (one of which also has a full booth). The show floor is very slightly larger than last year, with about 82,400 square feet of rentable square exhibit space, of which 1,900 square feet were still available for the inevitable last-minute additions. Of the 351 companies, I counted 92 that are first-timers based on my records going back at least four years, plus the eight E20X contestants. That is roughly comparable to other recent years, with about 26% first-timers.

Fifteen hours of exhibit time is not enough to see every booth, or even every first-time exhibitor. I make a concerted effort to visit all the new ones at least briefly, but often their staff are busy or absent when I stop by, even when I try multiple times. My advance research helps me to prioritize the must-sees vs. the hope-to-sees, so I know where I want to be persistent.

This week I will share my priorities for who I plan to visit at HITEC. Because there are so many first-time exhibitors, I do not spend floor time looking at those who have exhibited in past years.  But if your company has something groundbreaking to show and is not a first-timer, I am always happy to schedule time for virtual updates before or after (see contact info below).

My summary below was current as of June 6 but will continue to evolve as the date approaches and last-minute changes occur. I have excluded the E20x competitors because I will be one of the competition judges and want to remain unbiased for now, but I encourage you to attend the pitch competition on Wednesday morning; there are always interesting companies who present at E20x.

The Exhibitors I Most Want to Visit

In selecting my highest-priority targets, I rely on websites and LinkedIn company profiles that showcase products and services that are new or relatively new to the market, or at least to hospitality.

·      Companies that operate in well-established spaces with lots of similar competitors, such as networking, telecommunications, guest-facing mobile capabilities, or professional development and integration services, were lower priority for me, unless their marketing materials indicated something distinctly new and different.

·      Companies with websites that fail to clearly state what they do are lower on my priority list. It amazes me that companies think it is sufficient to talk about solving problems, without bothering to mention which problems!

·      Finally, I look for credibility behind product claims: is the company large enough and experienced enough to reasonably deliver what it claims, or is their product likely to have been built using the PowerPoint operating system?

A risk with first-time exhibitors is whether they will be around in the future. Last year I had 84 first-time exhibitors to look at, and 47 of them (56%) have not reserved space this year. That percentage is quite typical. Why such low stickiness?

·      Hospitality is a challenging industry for companies that have successful track records elsewhere, due to complex decision making (owners, managers, brands) and long sales cycles.

·      Many larger companies allocate funds for entering hospitality in one budget year but (even with great products) fail to make their numbers; they often exit before ever having a chance to get traction.

·      While HITEC is the best show for technology buyers, many companies need to get their products in front of business buyers, of which HITEC has fewer. These companies often stay in the industry but prioritize shows other than HITEC.

·      Invariably there are new products that simply do not fill a business need, are too expensive for the value provided, or do not fit into the complex technology ecosystem of the industry.

Some companies do major product launches at HITEC that are not publicized in advance, or they hide in stealth mode until the show. I monitor the Hotel Online newsletter during the show to try to pick up last-minute announcements.  While there are usually only a handful, they are sometimes quite important and can certainly change my priorities.

Buyer Beware: The descriptions below come with important caveats. With a few exceptions, I have not met with or spoken with these companies, so I base my summaries on my interpretation (or possibly misinterpretation!) of marketing claims from their websites, from exhibitor descriptions on the HITEC site, or from LinkedIn page descriptions. Some of the companies are large and well-established (mostly in other industries, although that does not guarantee success in hospitality), some are small or mid-sized and well established in foreign markets but not yet in North America, while others are early-stage startups and largely unproven.

Undoubtedly many of the claims will be reasonably accurate, while others may be wild exaggerations. Nothing below is intended as a recommendation for any product or service; it is just the ones that I think most likely to be innovative. Historically I have found that maybe 30% of the new exhibitors at each year’s HITEC make marketing claims that are significantly exaggerated, but I can usually only detect that when I meet with them and ask the hard questions.

Booth numbers were as listed on the HITEC exhibitor site as of June 6 but are subject to change.

Contact Centers: Voice AI technology has improved dramatically in the past year, and I expect to see many interesting innovations in this category. EHVA.AI (booth 120) claims some impressive capabilities for handling phone calls in an automated or semi-automated way, including reservations and room service. Fusion CX (booth 209) is a rebranding of Fusion BPO (business process outsourcing); the company is well established in other vertical markets and offers many interesting-sounding digital and AI-based capabilities that should have application in hospitality. C1 (booth 1849), another established company, offers similar solutions designed to integrate well with legacy technologies.

Marketing and Sales: Atica Global (booth 3948) is a 2020 startup focused on revenue-generating capabilities for hotels that sound quite disruptive; according to LinkedIn it has already reached 84 staff, which is incredible growth. Twilio (booth 756) is an established company but first-time exhibitor with a customer data platform, campaign management, and technologies for contact centers and self-service. Directful (booth 4148) targets one-time guests and uses AI and predictive analytics to manage targeted text messaging campaigns to generate repeat visits.

Distribution: HITEC has not been a distribution-heavy show for 15 or 20 years, and in recent years has had only a modest presence from a few of the larger distribution players. But one entering the hotel market this year is TripBeast (booth 430), which will be introducing a white-label cloud platform to enable retail distribution of air, cruise, attraction, experience, ground transport, and other travel components, and an AI trip planning chatbot. iOL (booth 504), another first-timer, is an established, midsized Dubai-based company with some potentially innovative distribution models that I will be interested to see.

Guest Experience: Way (booth 3156) is a medium-sized, rapidly growing company in a hot area, enabling hotels to offer curated experiences, ticketed events and recurring programming from their websites.

Human Resources: Qualee (booth 909) provides onboarding, skill development, and an employee engagement platform designed to accelerate performance. Typsy (booth 459), an Australian company I have been watching for several years, is making its HITEC debut with its staff training and engagement programs. Gamification has been a proven winner for staff retention and morale, and it is always good to see new solutions recognizing that, so I will be looking closely at SocialCrowd (booth 130), which tracks, guides, and rewards employees to keep them focused.

Food & Beverage: DiningEdge (booth 1757) is a restaurant recipe, food cost, inventory, and procurement platform designed to simplify purchasing and procurement and reduce costs.

Operations: HubOS (booth 157) is a Europe-based company with an operations platform designed to foster connection and communications between departments. HygieneIQ (booth 123) provides a sensor-based platform that can be used to improve cleanliness by tracking hand-washing by employees, traffic in public spaces, or notifications from staff that an area needs cleaning. Dharma (booth 659) is an operations platform with an AI assistant, enhanced guest profiles, work-order management, and housekeeping. All three companies were founded in 2015-2018 and are still relatively small.

Payments: Ready Credit Corporation (booth 822) provides cash-to-card kiosks that can enable hospitality businesses to go cashless by meeting the needs of cash-paying customers without the complexity and cost involved with securing and auditing cash operations. Chargeback Gurus (booth 1027) offers a suite of products to prevent credit-card chargebacks and to recover revenue.

Sustainability: APTIM (booth 914) is an environmental solutions firm that offers consultation and customized products to improve organizations’ sustainability footprint, including energy and water management, solar solutions, and electric vehicle charging. Sensor Industries (booth 419) provides a platform and sensors to monitor and alert hotels to water leaks and running toilets.

Back Office: Corpay (booth 224; rebranded from Fleetcor earlier this year) is a large public company but first-time HITEC exhibitor. It provides centralized accounts payable automation, expense reporting, and payment capabilities that offer cash rebates and discounts. Repay (booth 912) offers payment technology that streamlines payables and receivables in one system. Lilo (booth 3949) is a startup that offers an AI-powered procurement engine, while Reeco (booth 406) offers an end-to-end procure-to-pay solution with real-time prices. Centelli (booth 418) offers (among other things) robotic process automation, which can perform repetitive menial tasks efficiently.

Robotics: There has been a lot of innovation in this space, and a new exhibitor Urbot (booth 119) this year, along with a couple of returning ones. Urbot’s RobotGpt product claims to use AI and to handle multiple tasks that previously often required separate robots.

Retail: Trinity Axis Inc. (booth 913) offers smart vending solutions including contactless vending machines, self-checkout kiosks for grab-and-go, inventory management, and touchscreen retrofits for vending machines. DIGIT7 (booth 3938) provides an AI-powered smart store solution, touchless self-checkout, and even inventory counting by drone (cool, although perhaps a bit of overkill for the typical hotel grab-and-go).

Security: Genetec (booth 4250) is an established company that is fairly new to hospitality, offering physical security solution (cloud- or premise-based) that connects systems, sensors and data including access control, video management, license plate recognition, and communications.

Conclusion

There are a lot of new companies and innovative products exhibiting this year. Some of them are almost certainly ready for prime time, while others are interesting ideas but not yet fully baked, credible products or services. Stay tuned in July for my post-HITEC wrap-up, where I will summarize what I found most compelling.

If you think I have missed a major innovation, whether from a first-time exhibitor or HITEC veteran, please let me know using the contact information below, or by commenting on the post on my LinkedIn feed that links to this article (which I will post once it has been published). I hope to see many of my readers on the floor in Charlotte!

CORPORATE NEWS

The Access Group Expands in North America with Acquisition of Hotel Tech Specialist SHR Group
Access will pair SHR’s capabilities with those of Guestline, a Property Management Software (PMS) with customers across DACH and Europe, which it acquired last year.
shrgroup.com

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Shiji Distribution Solu tions Sees Remarkable Growth, Announces Key Promotions
In order to support success and plan for future growth, Anson Lau was promoted to Managing Director - Global, Natalie Kimball was named Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Americas & EMEA, and Lluc Pons was promoted to Director of Strategic Account Sales.
www.shijigroup.com
 
HFTP Announces 2024 Inductees to the Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame: Floor Bleeker and Terence Ronson; Honored at HITEC 2024 Next Month
The industry icons will be recognized for their influential roles in advancing hospitality technology in a special presentation on June 25, 2024.
www.hftp.org

GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Strawberry Completes Rollout of Mews Across Portfolio of 230 Hotels
9,000 hotel employees across almost 230 of the group’s hotels are now all using Mews, enabling ease-of-use and consistency across Strawberry’s staff.
www.mews.com
 
Maestro Cloud & On Premises All-In-One PMS Showcasing Game Changing Innovations for Independents at HITEC
As a 20-year platinum sponsor of the hospitality industry's premier technology tradeshow, the hotel industry's preferred provider of property-management solutions for independent hotels will be available at Booth 1844 June 24 to 27.
www.maestropms.com
 
Crystal Springs Resort Re-engages Maestro PMS’ All-In-One Multi-Property Solution to Boost Hotel and Spa Operations
Keeping track of two hotels, ten dining outlets, eight wedding venues, six golf courses, and more proved challenging until management decided to abandon its existing property-management system and return to its former solution,  Maestro PMS.
www.maestropms.com

RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

Accor & Amadeus Announce a New Collaboration
Amadeus and Accor expand their strategic partnership, with Accor implementing Amadeus’ Central Reservation System (ACRS) for its extensive portfolio of properties globally.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

IRIS Announces Investment in Middle East, Following Growth in Demand for Digital Ordering Across Hospitality Sector
The global provider of digital F&B and guest experience platforms for the hospitality industry set to introduce latest features following growth across the region.
iris.net
 
InnSpire Integration with Optii Leverages AI to Optimize Hotel Operational Efficiency, Guest Service and Satisfaction
Strategic AI-powered technology partnership  to enhance operational efficiency at The Don CeSar, while ensuring a seamless end-to-end guest experience.
www.innspire.com

MARKETING

Lodging Interactive Launches Next-Level Social Media Service to Drive Hotel Revenue
Commingle Social Media Amplified enables hotels to capture new revenue opportunities that have been missed until now.
www.lodginginteractive.com

SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS

SONIFI Develops Network Management Tool for Hotel Conference and Event Services
The Event Manager feature is part of SONIFI’s authentication and management portal (AMP) for its HSIA customers. Through it, hotel and AV staff can easily configure custom networks for secure Wi-Fi in specific spaces.
sonifi.com

Las Vegas Leads in Meetings and Events Growth in May With an 18.5 Percent Uptick Reports Knowland
Knowland reported that Las Vegas took the lead in group business with a solid 18.5 percent growth  in May year-over-year (YoY). Oahu Island pulled in second at 17.9 percent YoY growth.
www.knowland.com

 
Knowland Announces Sub-Market Data Enhancement to Market Snapshot Report
Localized data enables hotel sales teams to quickly identify and pursue top local targets and new-to-market accounts, jumpstarting potential new business.
www.knowland.com

BACK OFFICE

Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results from Accounting Software Partner
After a thorough search for the best hospitality solution on the market, Brandt Hospitality Group selected PVNG from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

Kasa Sunset Los Angeles Partners with Hotel Internet Services for Latest Industry Standards in Guest WiFi
Tech-oriented aparthotel ensures guests can seamlessly access fast and reliable internet whether for work or leisure.
www.hotelwifi.com

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality Transitions All Restaurants, Catering, and Entertainment Venues Across Canada to Silverware POS
With an immediate need to update and standardize its point-of-sale systems across 30 restaurants plus event venues and other partners, and enable corporate to self-manage and maintain all systems, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) has transitioned to Silverware POS.
www.silverwarepos.com

OPERATIONS

HotelTechReport Surpasses 50,000 Authentic Product Reviews, Marking Growth in the Global Hotel Software Market
This milestone represents a significant achievement for the hotel software community, underscoring the platform’s commitment to transparency, quality, and user-driven content.
hoteltechreport.com
 
Amadeus Elevates Hotel Operational Standards with Launch of New HotSOS Housekeeping
The cutting-edge operations and housekeeping software intelligently leverage automation to drive the productivity needed to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS

Payment Security Super Session at HITEC will Feature Technology and Finance Leaders from the Hotel and Club Sectors Plus a Fraud Specialist from the Banking Industry
The HITEC 2024 educational panel discussion, “Payment Security in a Changing Global Landscape – Club and Hotel Operations,” has been announced as a Super Session to be held Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center.
www.profact.com

Agilysys to Participate in Baird 2024 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that deliver High Return Hospitality, today announced it was participating in 2024 Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, held in person in New York City June 4-6, 2024.
www.agilysys.com
 
HSMAI Global Launches Certified Hotel Sales Leader (CHSL) Certification
This new program is designed to recognize the expertise of hotel sales leaders, emphasizing the most up-to-date sales and commercial principles, practices, and strategies.
hsmai.org
 
HSMAI Americas Announces 2024 Marketing and Revenue Optimization Honorees
“We’re honored to present this year’s awards to a group of distinguished leaders who embody the commercial excellence HSMAI strives to recognize,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO, HSMAI.
hsmai.org
 
VENZA Joins Expert Cybersecurity Session at HITEC 2024
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced that CEO Daniel Johnson will join a panel of experts in a cybersecurity educational session  at the upcoming Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC).
www.VENZAgroup.com

Yes, you are going to HITEC (HITEC.ORG) in Charlotte, North Carolina, in just a few weeks. There are some great educational sessions that run the gamut on technology and managing upcoming changes. Some of these sessions will have a serious focus, and some might be on the lighter side — including the Monday morning, 9 am session that I will be moderating. We’ll share with first-time attendees and those who are relatively new to HITEC all the information you need to know to get the most out of your HITEC experience. I thank our panel who will be joining me —Sherry Marek, Mike Blake from Kemper Sports and Chris Begly from Sonesta Hotels, who is a relative newbie to HITEC and will share mistakes he made the first time he attended the show. It should be an interesting and fun session for a Monday morning.

Other than sessions and, of course, the many parties that are happening at HITEC, the biggest thing — both literally and figuratively — is the exhibit hall. Can you visit every exhibitor? Probably not. In his Definitely Doug column that follows and if you’re like Doug Rice you’ll learn why you might want to visit those that are relatively new to the industry, trying to make a name for themselves. It is a relatively quick read for Definitely Doug, but it might open your eyes to look at solutions you probably didn’t even know you needed. We thank Doug for his research and his thoughts to make your HITEC experience a bit more valuable.

One of the things I love most about HITEC is all the industry announcements that are saved for this occasion. On the vendor side there are always surprises such as which companies are now sharing a booth and sometimes it is who is in the booth selling the solutions. It’s all part of the HITEC experience. Doug shares his expectations size-wise for this year’s event and it looks very impressive.

If you want to connect at HITEC, please come by the Hospitality Upgrade/Hotel Online booth (4047). I’m rarely there, but a lot more important people than me will be present. Business aside, the biggest thrill for me at HITEC is connecting with people who have been a big part of my professional life for many years. This is a great industry with great people in it. Charlotte, here we come!

Here now is Definitely Doug followed by the latest technology news. I’ll see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Don’t look for me this weekend —  I will be in Saratoga, New York, at the Belmont Stakes. I never bet favorites, but this time I think I will. It is all about Sierra Leone. Besides, I need a winner. See you in Charlotte.

Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Siegel Sez 6/7/24

Yes, you are going to HITEC (HITEC.ORG) in Charlotte, North Carolina, in just a few weeks. There are some great educational sessions that run the gamut on technology and managing upcoming changes. Some of these sessions will have a serious focus, and some might be on the lighter side — including the Monday morning, 9 am session that I will be moderating. We’ll share with first-time attendees and those who are relatively new to HITEC all the information you need to know to get the most out of your HITEC experience. I thank our panel who will be joining me —Sherry Marek, Mike Blake from Kemper Sports and Chris Begly from Sonesta Hotels, who is a relative newbie to HITEC and will share mistakes he made the first time he attended the show. It should be an interesting and fun session for a Monday morning.

Other than sessions and, of course, the many parties that are happening at HITEC, the biggest thing — both literally and figuratively — is the exhibit hall. Can you visit every exhibitor? Probably not. In his Definitely Doug column that follows and if you’re like Doug Rice you’ll learn why you might want to visit those that are relatively new to the industry, trying to make a name for themselves. It is a relatively quick read for Definitely Doug, but it might open your eyes to look at solutions you probably didn’t even know you needed. We thank Doug for his research and his thoughts to make your HITEC experience a bit more valuable.

One of the things I love most about HITEC is all the industry announcements that are saved for this occasion. On the vendor side there are always surprises such as which companies are now sharing a booth and sometimes it is who is in the booth selling the solutions. It’s all part of the HITEC experience. Doug shares his expectations size-wise for this year’s event and it looks very impressive.

If you want to connect at HITEC, please come by the Hospitality Upgrade/Hotel Online booth (4047). I’m rarely there, but a lot more important people than me will be present. Business aside, the biggest thrill for me at HITEC is connecting with people who have been a big part of my professional life for many years. This is a great industry with great people in it. Charlotte, here we come!

Here now is Definitely Doug followed by the latest technology news. I’ll see you at the end with this week’s attempt at you-know-what. Don’t look for me this weekend —  I will be in Saratoga, New York, at the Belmont Stakes. I never bet favorites, but this time I think I will. It is all about Sierra Leone. Besides, I need a winner. See you in Charlotte.

Rich
rich@hospitalityupgrade.com

Definitely Doug 6/7/24: HITEC Innovation Preview

The annual Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference (HITEC) starts in just over two weeks, so it is time for my annual preview. In the past few weeks, I spent many hours poring over the floor plan and exhibitor list, identifying the first-time exhibitors and researching their products and services.

There is no practical way to identify every innovation that will be on offer at HITEC, so I focus on first-time exhibitors. My rationale? First, the most disruptive innovations tend to come disproportionately from startups, or sometimes from companies who have established products in other vertical markets and who think they might be able to fulfill a need in hospitality. Second, the established vendors already have reasonable visibility with potential customers, partners, and industry influencers. If they have something truly new and interesting, they know how to get the word out and have less need for a mention here.

As of June 6, the HITEC show floor showed 354 booths reserved by 351 separate companies, plus eight smaller stands offered to the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) competitors (one of which also has a full booth). The show floor is very slightly larger than last year, with about 82,400 square feet of rentable square exhibit space, of which 1,900 square feet were still available for the inevitable last-minute additions. Of the 351 companies, I counted 92 that are first-timers based on my records going back at least four years, plus the eight E20X contestants. That is roughly comparable to other recent years, with about 26% first-timers.

Fifteen hours of exhibit time is not enough to see every booth, or even every first-time exhibitor. I make a concerted effort to visit all the new ones at least briefly, but often their staff are busy or absent when I stop by, even when I try multiple times. My advance research helps me to prioritize the must-sees vs. the hope-to-sees, so I know where I want to be persistent.

This week I will share my priorities for who I plan to visit at HITEC. Because there are so many first-time exhibitors, I do not spend floor time looking at those who have exhibited in past years.  But if your company has something groundbreaking to show and is not a first-timer, I am always happy to schedule time for virtual updates before or after (see contact info below).

My summary below was current as of June 6 but will continue to evolve as the date approaches and last-minute changes occur. I have excluded the E20x competitors because I will be one of the competition judges and want to remain unbiased for now, but I encourage you to attend the pitch competition on Wednesday morning; there are always interesting companies who present at E20x.

CORPORATE NEWS

The Access Group Expands in North America with Acquisition of Hotel Tech Specialist SHR Group
Access will pair SHR’s capabilities with those of Guestline, a Property Management Software (PMS) with customers across DACH and Europe, which it acquired last year.
shrgroup.com

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Shiji Distribution Solu tions Sees Remarkable Growth, Announces Key Promotions
In order to support success and plan for future growth, Anson Lau was promoted to Managing Director - Global, Natalie Kimball was named Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Americas & EMEA, and Lluc Pons was promoted to Director of Strategic Account Sales.
www.shijigroup.com
 
HFTP Announces 2024 Inductees to the Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame: Floor Bleeker and Terence Ronson; Honored at HITEC 2024 Next Month
The industry icons will be recognized for their influential roles in advancing hospitality technology in a special presentation on June 25, 2024.
www.hftp.org

GUEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Strawberry Completes Rollout of Mews Across Portfolio of 230 Hotels
9,000 hotel employees across almost 230 of the group’s hotels are now all using Mews, enabling ease-of-use and consistency across Strawberry’s staff.
www.mews.com
 
Maestro Cloud & On Premises All-In-One PMS Showcasing Game Changing Innovations for Independents at HITEC
As a 20-year platinum sponsor of the hospitality industry's premier technology tradeshow, the hotel industry's preferred provider of property-management solutions for independent hotels will be available at Booth 1844 June 24 to 27.
www.maestropms.com
 
Crystal Springs Resort Re-engages Maestro PMS’ All-In-One Multi-Property Solution to Boost Hotel and Spa Operations
Keeping track of two hotels, ten dining outlets, eight wedding venues, six golf courses, and more proved challenging until management decided to abandon its existing property-management system and return to its former solution,  Maestro PMS.
www.maestropms.com

RESERVATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

Accor & Amadeus Announce a New Collaboration
Amadeus and Accor expand their strategic partnership, with Accor implementing Amadeus’ Central Reservation System (ACRS) for its extensive portfolio of properties globally.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

GUEST FACING TECHNOLOGY

IRIS Announces Investment in Middle East, Following Growth in Demand for Digital Ordering Across Hospitality Sector
The global provider of digital F&B and guest experience platforms for the hospitality industry set to introduce latest features following growth across the region.
iris.net
 
InnSpire Integration with Optii Leverages AI to Optimize Hotel Operational Efficiency, Guest Service and Satisfaction
Strategic AI-powered technology partnership  to enhance operational efficiency at The Don CeSar, while ensuring a seamless end-to-end guest experience.
www.innspire.com

MARKETING

Lodging Interactive Launches Next-Level Social Media Service to Drive Hotel Revenue
Commingle Social Media Amplified enables hotels to capture new revenue opportunities that have been missed until now.
www.lodginginteractive.com

SALES & CATERING, GROUPS & MEETINGS

SONIFI Develops Network Management Tool for Hotel Conference and Event Services
The Event Manager feature is part of SONIFI’s authentication and management portal (AMP) for its HSIA customers. Through it, hotel and AV staff can easily configure custom networks for secure Wi-Fi in specific spaces.
sonifi.com

Las Vegas Leads in Meetings and Events Growth in May With an 18.5 Percent Uptick Reports Knowland
Knowland reported that Las Vegas took the lead in group business with a solid 18.5 percent growth  in May year-over-year (YoY). Oahu Island pulled in second at 17.9 percent YoY growth.
www.knowland.com

 
Knowland Announces Sub-Market Data Enhancement to Market Snapshot Report
Localized data enables hotel sales teams to quickly identify and pursue top local targets and new-to-market accounts, jumpstarting potential new business.
www.knowland.com

BACK OFFICE

Brandt Hospitality Group Getting Great Results from Accounting Software Partner
After a thorough search for the best hospitality solution on the market, Brandt Hospitality Group selected PVNG from Aptech.
www.aptech-inc.com

COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

Kasa Sunset Los Angeles Partners with Hotel Internet Services for Latest Industry Standards in Guest WiFi
Tech-oriented aparthotel ensures guests can seamlessly access fast and reliable internet whether for work or leisure.
www.hotelwifi.com

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality Transitions All Restaurants, Catering, and Entertainment Venues Across Canada to Silverware POS
With an immediate need to update and standardize its point-of-sale systems across 30 restaurants plus event venues and other partners, and enable corporate to self-manage and maintain all systems, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) has transitioned to Silverware POS.
www.silverwarepos.com

OPERATIONS

HotelTechReport Surpasses 50,000 Authentic Product Reviews, Marking Growth in the Global Hotel Software Market
This milestone represents a significant achievement for the hotel software community, underscoring the platform’s commitment to transparency, quality, and user-driven content.
hoteltechreport.com
 
Amadeus Elevates Hotel Operational Standards with Launch of New HotSOS Housekeeping
The cutting-edge operations and housekeeping software intelligently leverage automation to drive the productivity needed to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.
www.amadeus-hospitality.com

HOSPITALITY EVENTS AND ASSOCIATION NEWS

Payment Security Super Session at HITEC will Feature Technology and Finance Leaders from the Hotel and Club Sectors Plus a Fraud Specialist from the Banking Industry
The HITEC 2024 educational panel discussion, “Payment Security in a Changing Global Landscape – Club and Hotel Operations,” has been announced as a Super Session to be held Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Charlotte Convention Center.
www.profact.com

Agilysys to Participate in Baird 2024 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference
Agilysys, Inc., a leading global provider of hospitality software solutions that deliver High Return Hospitality, today announced it was participating in 2024 Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, held in person in New York City June 4-6, 2024.
www.agilysys.com
 
HSMAI Global Launches Certified Hotel Sales Leader (CHSL) Certification
This new program is designed to recognize the expertise of hotel sales leaders, emphasizing the most up-to-date sales and commercial principles, practices, and strategies.
hsmai.org
 
HSMAI Americas Announces 2024 Marketing and Revenue Optimization Honorees
“We’re honored to present this year’s awards to a group of distinguished leaders who embody the commercial excellence HSMAI strives to recognize,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO, HSMAI.
hsmai.org
 
VENZA Joins Expert Cybersecurity Session at HITEC 2024
VENZA, a leading provider of data protection and regulatory compliance solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced that CEO Daniel Johnson will join a panel of experts in a cybersecurity educational session  at the upcoming Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC).
www.VENZAgroup.com

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