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HFTP, the producers of HITEC® Dallas 2021, is excited to introduce this year's official HITEC guest bloggers, who are ready to begin sharing their stories and event experiences with you. HITEC is less than two months away, taking place September 27-30 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas USA. Continue reading to learn more about the seasoned hospitality professionals who will be blogging all about their HITEC experiences next month.
Residing in Denver, Colorado, Jennifer Jones is the president of J2 Hospitality Solutions, an IT consulting firm specializing in IT project management for a wide variety of hospitality-related endeavors including new construction, renovations, re-branding and technology stack evaluations and implementations. Jennifer has spent over two decades in the hospitality technology space on both the vendor and property sides of the spectrum. Her background has provided her the experience to provide complete start-to-finish advisement on projects such as PMS, access control, sales and catering, PBX, HSIA, CRS, POS, digital signage and more. She attributes a lot of her success to being well integrated with construction teams to provide IT support from the inception of a project to assist with smart, cost-effective decision-making.
Jennifer is also a veteran HITEC guest blogger and covered HITEC Minneapolis in 2019. Go back and read her entertaining and astute HITEC insights from two years ago on HFTP Connect, including:
What Jennifer looks forward to at HITEC this year:
"Most importantly, I miss faces! I can’t wait to roam the HITEC Exhibit Hall for three days to catch up with colleagues and learn what’s new with them and their organizations....While many of us have kept in touch via phone, email or Zoom meetings to check-in, it will be great to see smiles, give hugs and hear all about life over the last two years. I also love Texas! I’m looking forward to some great BBQ, line dancing and cowboy hats along with some nice warm September temperatures."
Her thoughts on the hospitality industry today:
"While COVID emphasized a lot of contactless technologies to limit person-to-person interactions, that conflicts with the core hospitality essence our industry is known for....I think some of these new contactless conveniences will stay, but at the same time I hope it will complement traditional technologies and not replace them so we can still offer it to our guests who desire personal interactions.
I’m also interested to see how the meetings and events industry is pivoting to deal with event cancellations and any new technologies that have allowed them to be creative with their space. While many corporations have begun traveling again and hosting meetings across the country, recent changes in the pandemic could allow companies to extend work from home policies and ban company travel again. Alternatively, some resorts have catered to more opportunities outside to accommodate concerned groups."
Ron Strecker, CHAE+, CHTP+ is an independent consultant, author, and speaker with over 35 years of senior financial leadership roles. These roles span a broad spectrum of hospitality brands, ownership types, and management companies. His expertise in finance is matched with a strong understanding of technologies in use today throughout the industry and has been a long-time member of HFTP.
Ron is also a long-time HITEC attendee who is excited to share the valuable conference tips and tricks he has learned from his past experiences to help you prepare for HITEC's grand return to in-person education, exhibits and networking. Read this blog series he recently wrote for Hospitality Upgrade:
What Ron looks forward to as guest blogger and attendee at HITEC this year:
"I’m honored to have been selected by HFTP as a guest blogger for HITEC 2021! This will be my 25th consecutive HITEC, and it will have been 27 months since HITEC was last held in person. I am really looking forward to seeing (in person) the new features that vendors are offering around the contactless guest experience and the increasing presence of artificial intelligence. And then, of course, there is the opportunity to network with thousands of friends and vendors who share my passion for hospitality technology. See y’all in Dallas."
Tim Henthorn is the CEO of Capsolve. He is a product innovator and strategic leader in marketing, software, technology and analytics. His research covers thousands of solutions, delivering insights into the research, evaluation, selection and implementation of these solutions. His 28 years of experience ranges from startups to Fortune 500 organizations and he has held executive, leadership and consulting positions with industry participants, solution providers, marketing agencies and consultancies across multiple industries. His education includes a BSME from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
With Tim's extensive experience in the hospitality industry, presenting market information about the software and technology solutions designed for it, and coverage of the categories of solutions that HITEC vendors provide and attendees seek, HFTP Connect readers can look forward to his exploration and observations of various technology education sessions and the HITEC Exhibit Hall.
What Tim looks forward to as guest blogger and attendee at HITEC this year:
"I'm thrilled to get the industry back together and discuss the pressing issues and opportunities resulting from the recent ebbs of the market. It's times like these that force us to stop, innovate and redefine our future as companies. HITEC is the perfect place to watch the results of this era defining occurrence and continue formulating our future roadmaps as suppliers and vendors. While I will be taking copious notes during my HITEC visit as a guest blogger, I will have a toolkit with me to help you get the most of your HITEC experience. Don't hesitate to stop me and ask what's in it."
HITEC Dallas has scheduled a four-day education program addressing the biggest industry topics such as: emerging technology in F&B, decentralized ID, direct distribution vs. third-parties, hyper-personalization, defining a digital hotel, ethical conundrums in technology, pressing cybersecurity threats and more. In addition, HITEC features a world-class exhibit hall which will host over 250 solution providers displaying a range of products and services to support the hospitality technology industry.
Each blogger will write and publish blog posts all about their professional insights and conference experiences before, during, and immediately after HITEC. Be sure to continue checking our HFTP Connect Blog starting next month and plan to meet up with them in Dallas next month.
If you have not registered yet for HITEC Dallas, what are you waiting for? Register by August 16 for the best possible price.