Registration, Housing Help, Mobile App Help Desk Open

Attendees and exhibitors can pick up their badge during this time. Pre-registered attendees/exhibitors be sure to bring your QR code with you either on your smart-phone or a printed copy. Also, please bring a form of identification to retrieve your registration. For those that wish to register on-site, you will also be able to do so during this time.  The HITEC Housing and HITEC Mobile App Help Desk will also be open during this time.

Digital Den Open

Take a break to relax, check email, print your boarding pass, charge your device, or watch the live streaming of the Keynotes and General Session, in the Digital Den.

Sponsored by CNN

HFTP Booth and Member Lounge

Located inside the Exhibit Hall, HFTP Members are invited to take a break, network and visit with friends and colleagues, in the HFTP Member Lounge. Enjoy refreshments, delicious snacks, discover HFTP resources, take certification practice exams, renew your HFTP membership, and much more.  (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM RSVP only)

Beverage Service

Enjoy a refreshing beverage before you settle in for the education sessions.

About HFTP Information Desk

Attendees are invited to stop by and learn more about HFTP, the association that produces HITEC.

Concurrent Session: Digital Journey

Experience the complete "customer journey," and understand the direct line between quality guest engagement, loyalty and the appropriate application of innovative technologies. Recent research on online travel shopping reports that customers visit multiple sites and spend more time gathering information prior to making a purchase. As customers migrate to mobile, they expect the same functionality and quality content as provided by desktop usage. Take part in an overview of consumer behavior to understand the techniques used by online marketers to improve targeting through content and customization. Enhance your customer's journey through technology. 

Buddy Altus is vice president of distribution with Avis Budget Group.
Laurent Idrac is a hospitality consultant and a former CIO with AccorHotels, he is also a member of the HITEC Houston Advisory Council. 
Gene Quinn is co-founder of Tnooz.
Andrew Rubinacci is with AHRHC consulting and former SVP, InterContinental Hotels Group.
Matt Blackmon is the Client Solutions Architect with Switchfly.

Concurrent Session: All-In One -vs-  Best in Class 

With so many claims, counterclaims and partial facts, it sometimes seems like the spirited debate about best-in-class solutions vs. monolithic accounting suites will not end. However, when you consider how the on-premises software model evolved and compare it to the new world of the cloud, the issues get clarified pretty quickly. Join a discussion and determine the difference between monolithic and best-in-class solutions.

Dmitry Koltunov is CTO/Co-Founder of ALICE
Mark Loyd is chief strategy officer with MSI Solution.
Paul Rantilla is EVP, global sales with Amadeus.

Concurrent Session: Ethics 2

Do you know how to make sure your business is on a path toward the moral high ground? Where are the boundaries between personal and professional ethics? Does your organization have guidelines for determining 'what is' ethical behavior? What are the potential consequences of unethical thinking or decisions? Ethics is a broad and complex subject covering moral principles that govern a person's behavior or conducting of an activity. Ethics in business is applied to decisions or problems that need to be solved in the business environment. Get an overview and history of ethical thinking, with lessons and/or examples of how to apply and incorporate ethical thinking when making business decisions.

James Bina,CHAE+, CHTP is corporate controller at Rosen Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and chair of the HITEC Houston Advisory Council.
Judy Holcomb, CHAE+, Ph.D. is chair/assistant professor at Saint Leo University.

Technology Showcase: Four Ways AI is Reimagining the Future of Hospitality

We are now at the cusp of the era of the widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitality. AI is being used to predict travel choices, personalize services, complete bookings and manage during stay or post stay needs. This brings us to the important question of whether AI can bring about any substantial changes to the “how the pain and pleasure of travel is managed and delivered in hospitality?” question. There are in fact four key areas where AI can strongly impact the hospitality industry to provide better assistance and elevate customer experience. These include: digital interactions that are conversational/voice-based; facial recognition with blockchain support, machine learning and accessing social media to uncover sentiment. 

Adnan Saulat  is GM of Travel, Transportation & Hospitality Business with Mindtree.

Exhibits Open

Join us for the largest tradeshow in the world dedicated strictly to hospitality technology. See hundreds of booths and companies all catering to the hospitality industry, and catch a glimpse of the latest emerging technologies in the marketplace. This is THE place to see the new "toys in the store." 

HITEC Helps

Help local nonprofit Compudopt provide technology access and education to underserved youth on the HITEC Helps putting green. Tickets are required and may be purchased at the HITEC Registration desk or HFTP Booth. All proceeds collected will be donated to Compudopt.

HFTP Young Professionals Meetup

Located at the HFTP Booth and Member Lounge, come visit for a light breakfast and an informal networking opportunity with young professionals and other HITEC attendees.

Tech Talk

OpenTravel:  Hotel 2.0 Release
Come hear the panel discuss the Hotel 2.0 Release and related updates from OpenTravel.

Speakers:

Gene Quinn is co-founder with tnooz and OpenTravel’s strategy development.
​Sandy Angel is specifications director with OpenTravel.
​David Velasquez is SVP technology and distribution at LinksRez.
Andrew Rubinacci, AHRHC consulting and former SVP, InterContinental Hotels Group.
Matt Blackmon, Client Solutions Architect with Switchfly.
Buddy Altus, vice president of distribution, Avis Budget Group

Beverage Service

Enjoy a refreshing beverage before you settle in for the education sessions.

About HFTP Information Desk

Attendees are invited to stop by and learn more about HFTP, the association that produces HITEC.

Closing Keynote: Hype or Reality? Your Workplace and Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & the Internet of Things —  Theresa Payton

New technologies are in the news every day, but is it all just hype or a true workplace reality? Are you leveraging blockchain, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and the internet of things (IoT) as part of your go to market strategy? You may wonder, are these data elements safe from hackers? Cyber authority and former CIO for the White House, Theresa Payton explains how to harness these newer technologies to achieve business goals while incorporating safeguards to fight cybercriminals and how the blockchain could be your new security BFF and how cryptocurrency, AI and the Internet of Things have quickly become key drivers of global change.

This session is sponsored by BluePrint RF.